Philosophers of Education Association of Nigeria (PEAN) held its 40th anniversary celebration and 41st annual conference at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
The two in one event held from the 26th to 29th October 2021. The 40th anniversary which should have been held in University of Benin could not hold while the conference was held virtually because of the COVID -19 pandemic but the celebration was done during the 2021 annual conference at UNN.
The celebration included awards of fellowship and recognition to deserving members, states of the federation – Bornu, Enugu, Delta, Kano, Lagos, Plateau and Rivers and Partnership for Social and Governance Research (PASGR) from Kenya.
This year’s annual conference with the theme “Education, Security, Economy and Viability of Digital Response” had in attendance over one hundred and twenty participants from Universities and Colleges of Education, some of whom presented papers on different subthemes.
The annual conference noted sadly that the country presently suffers from serious and unprecedented security challenges which have adversely affected the economy in general and the education sector in particularly.
PEAN in a communique signed by its President,Professor ‘Kola Babarinde at the end of the annual conference resolved as follows:
- Affirmation of digital response as a viable instrument for revitalisation of educational practice, security architecture and economic development;
- Government needs to fight insecurity more vigorously in order to make schools safe for all learners to achieve their potentials;
iii. Early warning signs and preventive measures should be part of school – neighborhood relations and school management system;
- All stakeholders in education should deploy digital devices in responding to security challenges in the country;
v.There is an urgent need to create more avenues in schools for community dialogue, community policing and engagement with the students and staff in the day to day running of the school system;
- Formation of groups in all schools that will be saddled with the responsibility of awareness creation in the promotion of human life, dignity of labour and education for peace and patriotism;
vii. Establishment of units in all local government education inspectorates and state ministries of education that will coordinate security problems faced by schools;
viii. Telecommunication and media organisations should urgently give school security a priority by providing free flow of information on security and
ix. Revitalisation and digitalisation of learning materials, and more inclusive methodologies for teacher education programmes.
