A University don, professor Danladi Matawal of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, has identified corruption, insecurity poor funding, and decline of the teaching profession as major factors responsible for the decline in educational standards in Nigeria.

He stated this during the Keffi Old Boys Association, KOBA, one billion Naira Launching for the completion of Umaru Musa Yar’adua e-Library and academic infrastructure, and Cheetah Awards Night, held at Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Center, Abuja, Saturday.

Lamenting the devastating effect of insurgency on education, particularly in northern Nigeria where some schools were closed down due to the activities of Boko Haram, and banditry, professor Danladi Matawal, said the government must rise to tackle the menace to enable the younger generation to acquire sound education.

Speaking on the topic: Seeking solutions to a Lost Era of Educational Excellence in Nigeria, professor Danladi who is also a KOBA member, opined that the paper captured the most conspicuous indication of the lost era of educational excellence is the abysmal quality of the student’s intake, especially in the tertiary institutions.

According to him, the problems in basic and post-basic education in Nigerian include inadequate funding, unlawful appropriation of accessible funding which is corruption, and lack of adequate and qualified teachers and called on policymakers, academics, and educational administrators to consider seriously the desirability of the rescue of the educational sector from the decay using a model and the efforts of KOBA in confronting the dilapidation of the Alma mater, the government college, Keffi.

One of the awardees who spoke to Journalists after receiving his award, Member Representing Keana Constituency at the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Mohammed Adamu Omadefu, said he emerged as the youngest prominent Nigeria so far in history to get the highest gift of Keffi Old Boys Association KOBA, the Cheetah Gold Award and promised to justify it in serving humanity.

Adamu Omadefu was overwhelmed with the honour done to him by KOBA and dedicated the Cheetah Award of Excellence he received from Keffi Old Boys Association ( KOBA) an Umbrella body for the alumni of Government College, Keffi, to Governor Abdullahi Sule and Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi, Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly for their support at all times.

Omadefu who is the Chairman of Nasarawa State House of Assembly Committee on Information and a KOBA member said that he would continue to contribute his quota positively to the development of Government College, Keffi, education, and humanity at large and urged the people of the state to respect the constituted authorities for development to thrive.