PETITION FOR COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION MANIFESTO BY ELECTION CANDIDATES: CALL TO ACTION.

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The Joint Education Stakeholders Action Coalition (JESAC) is the action coalition of concerned education stakeholders with membership profile of over 30 million citizens that include Parents, Students, Staff, Leaders, Professionals and other Citizens. JESAC, an initiative of Exam Ethics Marshals International, is mobilizing members to move away from being passive political observers to being proactive political playmakers and game changers; to deploy its population, networks, organizational skills and expertise to identify, support and vote together to elect education-friendly political leaders that can invest the required courage, political will and resources needed to liberate education. JESAC Nigeria was launched at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja on September 8, 2010 as offshoot of JESAC AFRICA (established by The Accra Declaration of 23rd November, 2008 at Wangara Hotel, Accra, Ghana)

Project JESAC 2023 has started with the process of identifying education-friendly candidates with clear, bold, courageous, visionary, strategic, and out-of-the-box actions plans for addressing structural and systemic challenges in education through the assessment of education reform manifestos for 2023 general elections in Nigeria.

It has been observed that the majority of education manifestos so far released by Candidates for Presidential, Gubernatorial, Senatorial, House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly hide behind scant generalizations and provide no specific reform initiatives for addressing specific aspects of the challenges in education. This makes it difficult to empirically, objectively and comparatively analyze proposed interventions for relevance and potential impact. Generalizations will also make it difficult to assess levels of performance or non- performance of elected candidates.

It is against this background that Stakeholders are demanding that Candidates provide details of proposed reform initiatives to enable objective choice of those to support and vote for as well as establish performance benchmarks against which elected candidates will be held accountable after taking office. This is also why Candidates are being asked to sign off on their education reform manifestos to provide assurance of seriousness to deliver and assurance that their manifestos are not just an election period political gimmick for winning over education votes as has been the case in the past.

As a concerned stakeholder, you are encouraged to please join in signing this important online petition and to also join in mobilizing other stakeholders to also sign by sharing this message and the link. 

The process of identification of Education-Friendly Candidates includes the generation of the Education Reform Indices of their manifestos (measure of potential impact) using the JESAC Education Manifesto Diagnostic Instrument.

The challenges in Education calls for a new collective bargaining strategy by Stakeholders. History and current realities teach us that post-election strike actions, shutting down of public institutions and disruption of academic activities have proved unsuccessful as a collective bargaining strategy in education. Let us engage our potential political leaders now. After the election will be too late.

To qualify for the support and vote of over 30 Million Education Stakeholders, the Education Reform Manifesto of the Candidate is required to proffer specific answers to specific problems. For example, how does the candidate intend to end systemic corruption, examination malpractice, academic dishonesty, racketeering, extortions, scams in education to restore its moral foundation, infrastructure, regulatory and inspectorate frameworks? What is the plan for restoring the universal code of ethics, truth, honesty and integrity that govern the search for and dissemination of knowledge? What are specific plans to enhance safety and security of schools and for eradication of cultism and sexual harassment?

What is the action agenda for reversing the migration of the country’s best brains to other countries? What are the proposed initiatives for treating teachers as No 1 citizen group and highest paid public servants in the country? How do you ensure that the administrative, operational, financial and academic autonomy granted to tertiary institutions are effective not only in theory but in practice? What is the plans for sending the 20 Million out-of-school children back to school?

What are the specific actions plans for providing lecture halls in public tertiary institutions to end the inhuman packing of 1000 students like sardines in lecture halls meant for 100 with many peeping through windows? For providing hostels in public tertiary institutions where 95% of students are forced by lack of hostel facilities to live in dangerous cult-infested “student Villages”? For ending the spectacle of institutions being littered with abandoned projects of hostels, classrooms, laboratories, water, electricity and roads after contractors collect 90% upfront payments and vamoose?

What is the plan for ending the phenomenon of “Dry Labs” for science courses in tertiary institutions for lack of re-agents? And “alternative-to-practical” for sciences lessons and exams in basic and secondary schools for lack of re-agents? What are the plans for replacing archaic, outdated and comatose library facilities with no books with automated libraries subscribed to major global knowledge gateways? Etc. Etc. Etc. Is the Candidate willing to commit to investing 30% of annual budget in education? If not, what is he committing to and why?

Education-friendly Candidates that show understanding of the 100 focus items outlined in JESAC Charter of 100 Irreducible Minimum Education Reforms. (ISBN978-2727-06-7) will be supported through the JESAC 5-Minutes Teacher Mobilization Strategy provided they sign off on their education manifestos to provide assurance of seriousness to implement the reforms.

Even though signing of manifestos does not make them legally binding with penalties for breach of non-performance, the act of signing is a confidence-building act of social contract with citizens which has political repercussions for performance or non-performance as the new electoral law has promised that all votes will be made to count.

Project JESAC 2023 continues with the 4th JESAC National Education Manifesto Diagnostic Conference of Education Leaders and Candidates scheduled to hold Green Minds Hotel, Abuja from 14th to 15th December, 2022 on the theme “Education Manifestos and Contract with Education”. The First JESAC Nigeria Confab (Project JESAC 2011) held at the Centre for Women Development Centre, Abuja on 28th October, 2010. Presidential Candidates for 2011 general elections including His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR; His Excellency, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR and His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, GCON presented and defended their education plans to stakeholders at the Conference.

Please support Project JESAC 2023. JOIN TO SIGN THIS PETITION. Join to mobilize other stakeholders by sharing this message and petition link to your other platforms of friends, colleagues, parents, students, teachers, principals, lecturers, staff, proprietors, administrators, professionals, alumni, old boys and old girls. 

We will be honored to answer any of your questions or provide more details about the concepts, instruments, tools, strategies and methodologies of Project JESAC 2023. As you sign you will be automatically be captured in the list of potential members of Manifesto Assessment and Mobilization Task Teams in your constituency if you volunteer. You will also be listed to receive JESAC Newsletter updates on progress. Members of the National Steering Committee of including Jamiu Ibrahim, Rasheed Abiodun and Chima Obike stand highly commended for their pro bono work, commitment and sacrifice.

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Ike Onyechere, MFR.

Convener/National Coordinator, JESAC.

Chairman, Exam Ethics Marshals International.

Tel: +234 803 342 5958. +234 708 123 3547

Mail: examethicsmarshals2014@gmail.co