An in-depth investigation on the position of public schools in Nigeria shows glaring decayed structures and absence of learning and teaching tools as well as qualified and motivated teachers with demoralized parents to conveniently handle the education sector successfully.
One needs not to be told that the educational standard of Nigeria has fallen off the quality cliff courtesy of sharp corrupt practices, absence of committed and educated educational managers in the supervising organs of government.
Nigeria remains an ever-interesting country with charlatans and clowns on the saddle of affairs under the protection of security agencies. Across the country, the echo of accumulated challenges reverberates at highly resounding decibels, yet no one cares to pay serious attention, and when the attention is finally extended to the situation, it is usually for a reason spiced with corruption and stealing of whatever is budgeted.
In the opinion of several commentators, the Nigerian government shares the largest blame for the deplorable state of public schools and falling standard of education. We often mention the existence of dilapidated buildings, incessant strikes and several other popular excuses that makes even reading online and conventional newspaper articles quiet boring sometimes.
In the real sense of it, however, every one of us is to be blamed, including those usually referred to as illiterates in Western education, for their compromised silence in the face of abnormalities by the government in their localities.
Governments at all levels are saddled with the responsibility of regulating the education sector. This entails good policy formulation, establishment and enforcement of standards, as well as the day-to-day operations of public institutions.
Overall, governments at all levels are inconsistent hence one cannot categorically state that the government is good, bad or worst.
Over the years, the Nigerian education sector had witnessed an immense infiltration in form of privatization by private individuals in collaboration with corrupt public servants as hidden shareholders. About 30-40 years ago, Nigeria as a whole could not even boast of over 20 privately owned institutions including those floated by the missionaries.
Unlike the educational institutions of the ‘70s and ‘80s where standards were appreciable, substantial and competitive, Nigeria now unfortunately parades institutions whose standards are lower than the lowest anywhere churning half-baked educated that can hardly be differentiated from exposed village palm wine tapper.
The worm first ate into the primary schools with the introduction of several privately owned ‘international’ nursery and primary schools under the guise of providing quality education as a support to government policy. Most if not all of those private schools were targeted at the rich for foolery and pride.
The proprietors and proprietresses were quick in transforming education into marketing, maximizing profits, in the absence of a strict policy for regulation by the compromised regulatory units of government thereby encouraging the proliferation of so called schools.
Nowadays, even dilapidated buildings and makeshift structures are registered to serve as nursery, primary and secondary schools where students are presented for government organized examinations to produce the half-baked products who, are subsequently transferred to secondary and tertiary institutions for other rounds of poorly arranged educational system.
Like the primary schools, the number of secondary schools in Nigeria today is alarming and beyond comprehension that the government itself cannot give an account of their number from available records.
The enrollment criteria are mostly bogus and the quality of education in several of them is quite ludicrous. The demarcation between the rich and the poor is well pronounced in the schools their children attend with the government looking the other way from the disparity due to corruption.
In Nigeria, there is no minimum acceptable standard for the secondary schools and colleges. Virtually all sorts of buildings—flats, uncompleted, duplexes, bungalows, partitioned warehouses, even comatose factories have suddenly metamorphosed into colleges where anything can happen to retard the progress of education unchecked.
The students are managed like failed banks and prepared for half-baked courses for the SSCE, UTME and NECO, in some cases, outside hands are recruited to write the exams for students that can afford the hiring fee while the school prides itself for scoring good marks to justify the exorbitant fees paid.
University education is also gradually losing its quality and taste owing to government’s inability to enforce standards. There is currently a gradual evolution of private universities admitting students not qualified for government-owned universities.
Today, in virtually each of the 36 states of Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), there are privately-owned universities masquerading as institutions of higher learning, whose primary objective is extortion while admitting students and flaunting the NUC approval in a similar way herbalists present NAFDAC numbers.
Apart from the non-existence of incessant ASUU and NASU strikes, most private universities are nothing more than glorified secondary schools. In fact, some secondary schools are even better in structures and facilities.
Apart from government’s own portion of the blame, lecturers and teachers are also not helping matters. At all levels, negligence has gained prominence, unqualified and not so qualified personnel are now “qualified” enough to teach and lecture from the standard of private institutions while the states teachers service commissions are nothing more than moribund government agencies where the idle are paid monthly salaries for gossiping while idling.
Recently, in one of the states, government conducted an interview for its teachers, and the results were shocking to the marrow. Indeed, it was like a Nollywood comedy drama rehearsal as one social studies teacher could not say what UNESCO stands for; an accounts teacher was also unable to give the full meaning of PAYE!
In addition, on the part of students, punctuality is trading places with truancy. Astute studying is no longer a necessity and unserious attitudes are acceptable and examinations are no longer dreaded as they were in times past when education was what it used to be, a source of pride and respect.
Unfortunately, students nowadays believe so much in their parents’ buying abilities and the complacency of teachers and school administrators who understandably agree to the yearnings of desperate parents who will go to any length to get what they want, even if it entails bribing through the system.
Motivation in teaching is on the negative side. Only but few parents voluntarily encourage and allow their wards to get admitted into Colleges of Education and vocational training centres, and the National Teachers Institute has gradually become synonymous to Nigeria Police College.
The First Republic educational policy of Free Education introduced by the regional governments was helpful in raising the standard of education from grass to grace which was sustained in most northern and western states.
Students are no longer serious as before because governments settle all the bills, parents have become uninterested in the continued education of their wards because it costs them nothing and no government or even company jobs for their graduated children; governors can afford to owe teachers several months of salaries for the absence of any revenue generated from the schools; and teachers can afford to be less serious with their classes because they are disenfranchised from the mainstream of the civil service.
Some of the ongoing security challenges bedeviling our communities are torrents of the aftermaths of this collaborative innovation that has eroded our education sector of its glory, the type that once produced first class intellectuals and globally recognized innovators and erudite scholars.
Sadly, due to so many factors, the attention of the youths in public schools and even in the private schools are gradually turning to the booming Yahoo enterprise, thuggery, militancy, insurgency, banditry, cultism and other sundry crimes to rake in easy money without sweat for ostentatious living.
Governments need to reassess their education policies to save the situation early enough. The quality of teachers allowed to teach should be revisited. We should strive to forget the usually trumpeted political gimmick of free education because free education is no education, as quality education comes with a price.
We always make reference to advanced countries with stable and standard educational institutions even in African countries, but we have woefully failed to leave out the costs. Reputable universities all over the world are autonomous so should ours be if we desire quality education for the good of the future.
Muhammad is a commentator on national issues.
