Former President Olusegun Obasanjo
registered for doctorate degree at the National Open University of
Nigeria (NOUN) Lagos. With him is NOUN Vice-Chancellor Prof Vincent
Tenebe.
Said he: “There isn’t much improvement
due to the challenges of infrastructure. The government needs to work on
this to enable teachers dispense their duties well. There should also
be a focus on Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The
Government still needs to give the necessary support to schools to bring
them to standard.
A parent Mr Adebayo Oluwasegun, who
lives at Agric, Ikorodu, said: “There is little improvement but the
school needs the support of the government on some school amenities to
give pupils or student standard education.
Another parent, Mr. Samson Olawale, feels that rather than trade blames, concerted efforts by all is necessary.
“The standard of education of a nation
depends not only on the government, but also everybody. I believe the
education standard of Nigeria is far below standard compared to 10 or 20
years ago.
“Firstly, the government is supposed to
spend much on education, but in Nigeria, government budget is still less
because it is not concerned about quality. They are instead after their
pocket.
“Many government officials own private
schools that children of the poor could hardly attend. They don’t care
about what happens to the less privileged. This is the cause of
dilapidated facilities in our schools,” Olawale added.
A teacher in Ojo area of Lagos, Mr Sola
Olagbamigbe, lamented that employment of would-be teachers in many
states is no longer based on merit, but political compensation.
He said: “Teachers are not employed
based on their certificate and qualification, but only because of the
godfathers job seekers have at the top and in the ministry. This is the
reason teachers no longer give quality service to pupils.
Aside, a drop in reading culture by pupils, Olagbamigbe blames parents for poor monitoring of their wards.
“In addition, there is a reduction in
the reading habit of our children who now prefer to use their time for
frivolities like watching foreign football matches and browsing on
social media, which to me, add no value to knowledge.”
“Also, parents cannot be left out of the
blame as many do not devote enough time to train their children, but
leave home early for work and return late at night. They often leave
their children in the hands of housemaids and there is a popular,
saying: “You cannot have your cake and eat it.”
Abdullahi Faruk Ayoola, a pupil of
Atunrase Senior High School, said governments seem to deploy more
teachers in urban areas, advising that same gesture be extended to rural
areas.
“For education to be better in Nigeria,
the government should transfer more qualified teachers to rural areas
and equip the schools with ICT and other necessary tools for teaching.
“Children these days have the
opportunity to be taught by qualified teachers and are also exposed to
computer education at an early age. The government is also making
efforts to better the education system in some parts of the country, but
they seem to be less concerned about rural areas.
“We can see that there is a difference
between the result of last year’s West African Secondary School
Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and this year’s and the government
should be blamed for the outcome of poor results.
Mrs. Adefolayan Oluwatoyin a teacher in Fortlad International School, Mushin, Lagos also has a different view.
“Education in Nigeria is nothing to
reckon with,” Oluwatoyin lamented. “The system is too poor. Students,
who claim to be educated, cannot speak coherent English. Teachers on
their part focus more on personal businesses than teaching the pupils
for which they were employed; this is making Nigeria education to
suffer.
“The Government should also ensure that
teachers’ salaries are reviewed yearly. This, I believe, would make them
happy and always want to carry out their duties and as at when due. The
government should provide schools with necessary amenities, as this
will make them more effective.
But Managing Director, The Education
Partnership Centre, Dr Mo Adefeso-Olateju, noted that though Nigeria has
not yet attained the Vision 20-20-20; she has done her best.
She said: “If you look at the philosophy
of Nigerian education, what our founding fathers had was very noble,
articulate and well put together. In 1969, they came together to have a
curriculum conference. What they arrived at in that conference was very
fantastic. But times have since overtaken some of those things. So, we
don’t just have one vision, we have to continuously update where it is
that we see ourselves as a country.
“No country can say she has achieved her
vision in education so Nigeria will continue to work towards achieving
its vision for education as it evolves.”
Mr Samuel Olusanya of the Department of
Economics, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), noted that
education in Nigeria started very well, adding : “now, I will say
education is going down. This is because of the unskilled lecturers and
secondary school teachers we have today, and this is because many of
them get their degrees through back door.
“Another problem is the man-know-man way
of doing things” Olusanya continued. “Someone is not qualified but
because he knows influential people, he is employed as a lecturer and
when he finds himself on the job, he begins to fumble and his failure
falls back on the students, which is what we are experiencing these days
in form of failure in major examinations.”
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