Minister: Education should prepare youths for knowledge-driven economy

By NAN

The minister of state for education, Goodluck Opiah, has called for an educational system that will prepare the youths for a knowledge-driven economy.

Opiah made the call at the inauguration of the Council of the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management on Tuesday in Abuja.

He reiterated the need for the members of the institute to contribute and work toward a sustainable economy.

According to him, treasury management is “a must’ for any nation that targets sustainable development because it is a strategic approach to optimising beneficial returns of innovative deployment of both public and private finance.

“Treasury management helps to put in place preventive mechanism to safeguard resources and ensure that there is value for money,” he said.

“I am very confident that the benefits and impacts of the establishment of this institute will be positive on our society and the Nigerian economy when fully operational.”

The minister, while highlighting some of the benefits of treasury management, said it would help in the supervision and management of cash flow and its balances would be better managed and utilised.

He said it would also enhance a better service from banks as well as proper allocation of funds would be achieved, while fraud and embezzlement would be minimised.

“We all know that with the above mention benefits, the economy will function better with adequate financial resources appropriately allocated and disbursed,” he added.

“The Chartered Institute of Treasury Management is particularly important to the education sector because it will help ensure that finances allocated to the sector by government, civil society and nongovernmental organisations are judiciously utilised.

“This will help for the achievement of the ministry’s three focal areas of access, quality and systems strengthening and of course, the timely attainment of the ministry’s 10 Pillars of the Education for Change: A Ministerial Strategic Plan,’’ the minister said.

Opiah said that there was need to prepare and arm the youths to take competitive advantage of the 21st century knowledge-driven economy within and outside the country.

He, therefore, charged council members to contribute their best to ensure that the vision, mission, mandates and functions of the institute as enshrined in the Act that established it were achieved.

Responding, the Registrar of the institute, Nwude Chukwu, thanked the minister for the opportunity, while promising to carry out the mandate of the institute as enshrined in the Act.