Sos on Nigerian Public Schools
I hope our government is reading this very article which is joining a whole lot others from different voices overtly calling on our federal government to quickly intervene in the present long neglect and crisis our education system has found itself. If the Nigerian government fails to act now, very soon the country will become the only country in the world without education. It is quite unfortunate that while other small nations of the world are determinedly structuring its education sector to lead to the growth and development of these countries, the case of Nigeria has been discard public schools and set up a any school of your own if you can.
As I write this article, my I feel pains emotionally in me because I am obviously a product of public schools in the country, two of those built by Alhaji Lateef Jakande, a man I have come to respect so much and would beat my chest and state anywhere is arguably one of fewest best Governors the country has ever produced. When Jakande began to establish public primary and secondary schools then he was grossly criticized over what enemies of progress labeled “Poultries” because of the structure of these schools. Many of us graduated from these poultries but today the sons and daughters of these enemy-politicians who have inherited political positions from their aristocratic parents are looking beyond addressing the myriads of problems confronting our public schools fast on the extinct.
The Government of Nigeria has finally decided to negligently abandon our public schools to private individuals, business tycoons, investors, importers and exporters, churches and mosques. Setting up schools in Nigeria is now a investment friendly ventures suitable for any interesting persons or groups who posses the financial capability to do so. With this arrangement, danger is hanging on the head of Nigeria.
Nigeria could boast of many ugly problems in the education sector which no government has so far shown willingness to address. First is the problem of no seat and desk in our classroom, it is a funny arrangement asking newly admitted primary and secondary students to resume with their personal chairs and desks or sit on the floor even though we all know that classroom without seats and desks are merely party halls, blackboards are at times missing and students are expected to purchase canes, cutlasses and chalks for their teachers to use.
Second, in our so called universities, students are treated like potential carpenters and bricklayers who found their ways into the four corners of the universities, and the attitudes of lecturers are at best not fit to be explained here. Students are constantly reminded that if education is too expensive, they should try ignorance, the same way we were collectively once told that telephone is not for the poor. Relations that exists in every Nigerian university is terrible, most times teachers find it impossible as a result of fear to knock at the doors of lecturers’ offices because they may just be asked to walk away for reason at all, good or bad. Male students often retain their female counterparts as agents to lecturers because lecturers give priorities to female students and disregard male students
Generally, education as operated in Nigeria is too expensive. Fees increase every semester for no reason at all, and usually students pay these fees after mild protests and are subjected to further payments as penalties for damages incurred during such protests. Students have no one to speak for them in spite of the existence of Student Unions and other Associations. The Government of the country never shows interests in these developments anyway.
Ironically while students in developed countries are encouraged to attend classes with certain electronics such as lap top computers, the Nigerian education authority would even discourage the use of mere common calculators inside the classrooms, a reason our education curriculum and policies are far lagging behind even countries with worst education systems.
Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) set up to officially admit candidates into Nigeria’s Universities and Polytechnics amongst others have become the headaches of candidates seeking admissions as candidates are of the opinions that admissions can only be bought in Nigeria. The criteria employed by JAMB to effect admissions are difficult to understand at least by candidates. One should even expect that in this computer era, question papers can be electronically marked online and released within weeks but in the case of National Examination Council (NECO) and West African Examination Council (WAEC) the news of release of results is like rumour because it takes several months before they are released.
Is it not laughable that candidates who manage to get admitted into Nigerian Institutions of learning throw parties and even organize thanksgiving in churches? Universities on their own have complicated admission exercise in Nigeria with what we now know as “post JAMB test” a fruitless exercise only meant to generate money for all the Universities involved. Where does such money go into? We fail to learn everyday in this country.
Our public schools today are like institutions where only beggars and housemaids are found. Do you not consider it interesting that the populace now consider parents whose children are in public schools as poverty-stricken fathers and mothers? But what have the private schools to offer nothing but high school fees payment.
As far as our education sector in Nigeria is concerned, our government is still sleeping, sleeping and contributing to the worsening situation. When teachers are paid little or no salaries, when everyone in our societies look down on our teachers, when no one wants to end up being a teacher for the reasons you already know, what do you expect?
There is only one solution to these all, enact the law that will mandate every public office holder to enroll their wards in Nigerian schools, this will force our political office holders to look the way of education sector after all no one wants to produce half baked scholars after spending so much amount of money on them. A word is enough for the wise; a word is enough for the government too.
Emeka Esogbue
http://www.articlesbase.com/college-and-university-articles/sos-on-nigerian-public-schools-620590.html
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