Posted by By MODESTUS CHUKWULAKA, Abuja on
Minister of State for Education, Dr. (Mrs.) Grace Ogwuche is in love with The Sun titles. The easy-going motherly minister said she could not just resist the titles published under The Sun logo because they tell the truth at all times, and in their peculiar way.
Minister of State for Education, Dr. (Mrs.) Grace Ogwuche is in love with The Sun titles. The easy-going motherly minister said she could not just resist the titles published under The Sun logo because they tell the truth at all times, and in their peculiar way.
"The Sun is raw in the way it tells the truth, you just hit the nail at the head," Ogwuche who confessed she rarely misses her favourite tabloid said in her office.
The minister thinks the kind of truth borne by the newspaper should gladden the hearts of public servants because it not only keeps them on their toes, but also helps to keep them on course and out of trouble.
According to her, any public offer of her calibre who disregards the mass media or find unnecessary fault with them as many do is only planning to fail because he or she would soon lose touch with the base and be groping in the dark.
"I want to be told the truth, including the ones that might not be so pleasant, whoever tells you the truth loves you," the minister said, adding, however, that fairness and objectivity should be the watchwords of journalist as they discharge their onerous responsibility.
As a teacher of many years standing, Ogwuche said she could not have had a better preparation for her present portfolio as Minister of State for Education because she not only understands the heartbeat of teachers, but also the role of education in national development.
She, therefore, sees her appointment as a vote for teachers, and gave credit to President Olusegun Obasanjo under whose leadership, she said, education has received the kind of priority that was never accorded it in the country before now.The Minister of State for Education particularly charged secondary school principals to strive to improve the quality of education in the country now that, by the grace of government, they have now begun to receive their rewards, even while here on earth.
Addressing officials of the All Nigeria Conference of Secondary School Principals (ANCOPS) who paid her a courtesy call in Abuja, Ogwuche said the present administration has initiated a number of teacher-friendly policies, including the appointment of teachers, especially women into top government positions.
She said principals of Federal Government colleges would now fully participate in ANCOPS activities to enable them share their experiences with other principals to broaden their knowledge of school administration.
Describing her education portfolio as a familiar terrain, she noted she had been principal of various secondary schools and thanked President Olusegun Obasanjo for giving her the opportunity to serve her nation in her area of specialty.
Earlier, National President of ANCOPS, Chief Nzemeka Olisah, had thanked the president for appointing teachers and technocrats to the education portfolio, adding that Ogwuche would bring her wealth of experience to bear on the administration of education in Nigeria.
Olisah told the minister that ANCOPS would host this year's annual conference of the organisation in Owerri, Imo State, and solicited the assistance of the Ministry of Education in the hosting of the conference.