for jsp special characters

I have some XML tags in jsp like.

<esi:assign name="searchfor">'''someval like < or >'''</esi:assign>  

Now on the basis of request param i want these tags should render with value < or > on the basis of what is inside tags. I applied the below code but didn't work. Any Idea.

<c:if test="${testval}" >  
  <jsp:text><![CDATA[<xmp>]]></jsp:text>  
</c:if>  
<esi:assign name="searchfor">'''>'''</esi:assign>  
<c:if test="${testval}" >  
  <jsp:text><![CDATA[</xmp>]]></jsp:text>  
</c:if> 

Any Idea