|
A diligent and faithful appraisal of the Nigerian school
system would reveal that we have a tragedy in our hands. The
standard of education in Nigeria is undergoing a free fall
and nobody seemed to be worried. It is like Darwin’s
evolution theory in the reverse. Instead of each successive
generation of poor products to improve adaptively over
preceding generations what we have is a progressive
regression. A lot of money has been wasted on workshops and
seminars without addressing the root cause of the problem. I
say with conviction that if our educational system is not
cured of its infirmities, in the next ten years our
development process will ground to a halt.
We stood by and watch our schools collapse before our eyes.
The sound school system bequeathed to us at independence by
the British has been deprived of its soul through bad
leadership, corruption, frequent change of policy and poor
planning. What is most disturbing is the indifference of our
leaders to this decay in our school system. They are not
bothered and those deprived remain silent as if they are
under a spell.
Few months ago, the biography of a governor in one of the
middle belt states was launched. This governor, who is still
under 50 years, is just three years in governance. The
governors’ forum donated N72 million with each of the thirty
six governors sending in N2 million. Few weeks after the
launch, the N.T.A showed some primary schools in Nassarawa
state where pupils were sitting on the floor. This calls to
question the wisdom of the N2 million donated by the
Nassarawa State governor.
The British school system was a straight course to progress,
but we have on our own introduced a labyrinth. In the last
three decades, education planning had been a knee-jerk
enterprise bereft of a feedback mechanism and control. The
lack of a systemic approach in the management of the
different levels of education has deprived the system of the
desired linkage that could produce a synergy. The system is
now without a memory. It is like the Markov chain in
mathematics where the future development of each event is
independent of all historical events. Each Minister of
Education wants to be identified and glorified with a new
policy even if there is nothing wrong with the existing
policy. At independence, it was 6-5-2-3, which means six
years in the primary school, five years in the secondary
school, two years in higher school and three years in the
University. In the mid 1980s, the two years in higher school
was abolished on the flimsy reason that students no longer
do well in the Higher School Certificate examinations. Ghana
retained its higher school and so did the United Kingdom. We
all know that it is now almost impossible to gain entry into
the top ten British Universities including Oxford,
Cambridge, London School of Economics and the Imperial
College without the Advanced Level certificate. The higher
school has been brought back through special schools in
Lagos for the children of our policy makers and the rich who
are hell bent in sending their children to foreign
Universities. The current 6-3-3-4 system is being run with
eyes closed to its aims and objectives. The three years in
the Junior Secondary School is for the identification
through an assessment of the aptitude and skills of students
while the three years in Senior Secondary School is to
consolidate on them. How can you do a useful assessment on
students in schools that are ill-equipped, poorly funded and
without trained teachers? I hear the 6-3-3-4 system is on
the verge of being changed. This is incredible.
It is very unfortunate and saddening that at this time good
education is only available to the children of the rich in
the society. This was not so before. In the school
certificate examination written in 1968, Master David Adeoye
and Miss Margaret Ologun produced the best results in
Mathematics and Health Science respectively in Nigeria.
They were students of my school, Akoko Anglican Grammar
School, Arigidi-Akoko in Ondo State. They were children of
farmers with a meager income. Then, Arigidi, where we
schooled was a little village unknown to many. With their
brilliant performance, these students cared less whether
schools like Kings College, Lagos, Government College,
Umuahia and Barewa College, Zaria were in existence. Also,In
the year 1958, my maternal uncle gained admission to Kings
College, Lagos from the remote village of Ogori in Kogi
State. At that time, there was no tarred road leading to
Ogori from anywhere. Most times people had to trek a fifteen
kilometer dusty route to Okene to board a vehicle to the
outside world.
They achieved these outstanding feats partly because they
had a sound primary school education. At that time, all
primary schools in Nigeria including those in remote areas
were good. They were created equal and staffed with teachers
from quality teacher training colleges. This quality primary
school education is only available now to children of the
rich most of whose parents contributed in killing the
system. Isn’t it ludicrous that some parents now pay up to
N1 million per annum as fees for their children in primary
school?
It is certain that no child from a poor home can ordinarily
pass the entrance examination to a first class secondary
school like the Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja. It is not
because they are not intelligent but for the reason that
they wouldn’t have been privileged to attend a good primary
school.
The level to which the standard of education has sunk in
Nigeria is alarming. In a recent interview I conducted for
twenty one secondary school graduates, I discovered to my
amazement that only five of them could divide the number
thirty two by four. This question betrayed their poor
knowledge of the multiplication table as the figures 3 and 2
are not easily divided by 4. Only one of he candidates could
correctly write, One million, twelve thousand and six, in
figures. Out of the essays, just two could match that of a
good primary six pupil in the year 1970.
The interview of University graduates was more revealing. A
graduate of Chemistry could not discuss the Periodic Table.
She could not state two gas laws. She confounded me more by
declaring that there are only thirty elements on the
periodic table. In spite of the fact that knowledge of only
the first thirty elements was required of secondary
school students, our chemistry teacher told us in 1972 that
the latest and the one hundred and fifth element, Dubnium,
was discovered in 1970. I do not believe that I have a
higher Intelligent Quotient than this lady. Her problem is
that she has been de-schooled. The candidate with a degree
in Mathematics would definitely collapse if confronted with
some questions from the old book, “Arithmetic by C.V
Durrell”. I am very convinced that more than sixty percent
of final year University students in Mathematics, Physics,
Chemistry and Biology would fail the old G.C.E Advanced
Level Papers on these subjects. In the past, only very sound
first degree holders are allowed to teach Advanced Level
science classes. Then, to pass the Advanced Level
Examination, you just have to be “born again”.
In Nigeria, a University degree is now two for penny. Most
of the ladies selling GSM recharge cards in my street in
Benin-City are on a part time degree program. In one of the
Universities about one hundred kilometers radius from my
house in Calabar, about 5,000 students are on a part time
degree program run through a Consultancy. Through this
arrangement, the University and the lecturers make cheap
money. I had to advise an office assistant in our factory to
resign her appointment when I discovered she was a part two
Marine Geology undergraduate. What she does is to retire to
the hostel at the close of work and copy the notes of any of
her course mates. I wonder how she has been passing her
examinations in a practically based course like Marine
Geology.
Whenever you come across a young Nigerian university
graduate who tells you he or she is a graduate of
Bio-Technology, Computer Engineering, Chemical Engineering,
Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Computer Science and
Nuclear Physics, congratulate him or her, smile and move
ahead. The young graduate is a clown.
The government should hasten to save our schools. Salvation
should start from the primary school level. Schools should
be comprehensively equipped and staffed. Technical schools
should be improved and their image enhanced. They should not
be seen as a dumping ground for pupils who failed to gain
admission to secondary schools. It is unreasonable to give
approval to schools without a field for sports. That is not
comprehensive education. Teacher education and standard
monitoring should be given adequate attention. The teachers
should be well paid and motivated in order to attract the
best hands.
Mr. Oluwole Osagie-Jacobs – An Economist and a Chartered
Accountant.
Celestial Church of Christ
3, Otokang Street
Calabar
08037871553
jacobsosagie@yahoo.com
|
Published
October 5, 2010
