JSP :: XML Tags - Special Characters

I have some XML tags in jsp like.

<esi:assign name="searchfor">'''someval like < or >'''</esi:assign> . Now on the basic 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>