Time was when the nation’s educational standard was quite high. Pupils held their teachers in awe, just as strict rules governed every aspect of the schooling experience.
Cheating at examinations and other forms of malpractices were not tolerated, while teachers and parents complimented each other to maintain discipline.
By Emmanuel Mogbede But by the accounts of educationists and other observers, the situation has since changed and things appear to be falling apart in the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions across the country.
They point to collapsing infrastructure, poor academic performance, as well as declining discipline.
While the citizens bemoan the situation, governments at all levels are exploring ways to reclaim the standards of old.
No doubt, various reasons have been adduced for the apparent decline in the nation’s educational system, the proliferation of schools notwithstanding.
Mr Godwin Aniashaka, an Abuja-based Political Scientist recalls his secondary school experience at Mater Dei Grammar School, Ashaka in Delta State and concludes that things have gone awry.
Aniashaka says that governments, parents, teachers and the students all share blame in the decline of standards.
There have been the neglect of the education sector by government; lack of interest on the part of students, indifference by their parents and the nonchalant attitude of teachers and proprietors,” he says.
He notes that in the past, pupils were serious because their parents picked interest in their school work, while teachers took their jobs very diligently, to ensure that their students excelled.
He laments: ‘The teachers we have in our schools today are simply businessmen and women who are masquerading as teachers. They abandon their pupils in class after roll call to pursue private businesses.
“The situation is not different at the University level as lecturers now take delight in organising private classes for selfish gains.
“Unless governments at various levels take drastic steps to address the situation, it will get to a stage where our university graduates will be half-baked,’’ Aniashaka says.
Like Aniashaka, most observers agree that parents are not doing enough, as they hardly have time to oversee their children’s works.
Some parents, while admitting some blame, point out that the difficult economic times are not helping matters, though they are trying their best.
“In those days, parents, especially mothers, spent longer periods with their children; going through their school work because they were mostly house wives.
“This is no longer the case as we have to go to work, so as to boost the family’s income. House rents, school fees and other costs are skyrocketing and our husbands cannot shoulder the burden alone,” says Ndidi Nkechika, a female civil servant in Abuja.
Mrs Yetunde Bada, a parent, says she cannot afford to stay at home, especially when she had gone to school to acquire a certificate.
“The current economic situation will not allow me to stay at home as a full-time house wife. I have to work to pool resources with my husband, so that we can meet our responsibilities,’’ she says.
Bada, also a practicing journalist, however, admits that her not spending enough time with her children could have a negative effect on them.
“I actually feel for them, especially when I leave home for work every morning. They will always ask to know when I will be coming back.
“However, I try as much as possible to fix my annual leave during their holiday period so that I can spend time with them’’ Bada says.
Another parent, Mr Kenneth Ugonaji, says he cannot afford the luxury of making her spouse a full-time housewife.
“I had to find her a job to supplement the family’s income, so that we can meet out responsibilities. My income alone cannot take care of our responsibilities.
“The truth is that my pay cannot take us through the month, let alone pay the children’s school fees and house rent.
Some school teachers, however, absolve themselves from total blame over the declining standards, saying that they too, are part of the Nigerian society.
“If we had to do other things to survive, it is an economic reality forced on us by the hard times but we still know our responsibilities to our pupils, ‘’ says Jaiyesola Popoola, a school teacher in Lagos.
Says Andrew Tekula, a teacher in the FCT: “Some parents do not help us at all. We are not allowed the free hand to discipline our pupils as was the case in the days of yore.
“In the past, parents will encourage a teacher to discipline their wayward children by reporting them to the school authority. But these days, even when you go out of your way to instill discipline in a child, the parents will frown at you and even complain to the school authority.
“This, in some cases, has led to the dismissal of teachers by some school proprietors who fear the lose of patronage.’’
Towards solving the problem, a number of suggestions have been made by educationists, political leaders and other stakeholders alike.
Gov Mahmud Shinkafi of Zamfara says that an urgent redemption of the nation’s education system is imperative.
Shinkafi canvasses the declaration of a state of emergency in the sector, against the backdrop of mass failure in the last NECO and WASC examinations.
“Considering the rate of failure recorded in the recent WAEC and NECO examinations, it is obvious that something is terribly wrong with our educational system,’’ the governor says.
Mr Asishana Okauru, Director-General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) agrees with Shinkafi, saying that “it is indeed about time a national emergency is declared in the education sector”.
Okauru, who led the NGF’s Peer Review Team on a fact-finding tour of the education sector in 33 states, believes that such a move is the only way to redress the decay in the sector.
“There is an urgent need to declare a national emergency in the country’s education sector, particularly at the primary school level because that is the base of education.
“We must begin to take drastic steps to get education right, starting from that level, if we must have doctors, engineers, lawyers and other professionals to run the affairs of the country in future,’’ Okauru advises.
He says that states in the north must act decisively to redress the spectre of pupils taking lessons under the trees, on bare floors or on wood trunks.
“This is very deplorable and unacceptable at this time and age,’’ he stresses, while tasking state lawmakers to rise to the challenge of redeeming the sector through the right appropriations and legislations.
He, however, admits that some of the problems in the sector are beyond the capacities of the state and local governments; hence there is the need for the federal government and international agencies to intervene.
“Although the NGF secretariat has been mandated by the 36 governors to constitute a committee to look into the decay in the sector and the high failure recorded in the 2009 NECO and WAEC examinations, a synergy between the states, the federal government and international agencies is also necessary to address the problem holistically,’’ Okauru says.
As the NGF braces to the challenge of fast-tracking the redemption of the education sector in the states, stakeholders believe that its committee for that purpose must be resolute to achieve results.
They also note that since education is the fulcrum for any meaningful socio-economic and political development of any nation, all efforts must be harmonized and purposeful.
Culled from NAN
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