“The administration of Governor Bala Muhammed has over the years, deployed humongous resources to the education sector. Despite the concern and effort, the sector seems yet to appreciate the huge spending. Certain things must be ongoing wrong somewhere to have forced the governor’s recent comment on the deplorable situation of that sector. But since then, the situation is fast changing and it must continue to change for better”…….Comrade Mouktar Gidado
Although, in his displayed displeasure, Governor Bala Muhammed was not specific on which component of the education sector is in shambles. Investigation reveals that the governor’s attention is needed on the ongoing scandal rocking the foundation of Bauchi State College of Health Technology, Ningi where academic excellence is not a priority and replaced by corrupt practices, scams and sexual scandals nearing perfection as the governing style.
At inception, it was an institution that churned out some of the best trained laboratory scientists, health technologists and other health workers. It was an institution worth its name and a pride of the state.
Unfortunately, sharp corrupt practices and unabated cases of sexual abuse including extortion of students, indiscriminate admission of courses not even offered and the sex for marks syndrome, have transformed the institution to almost a brothel and a replica of its former self administered on the reverse gear that deserving a thorough probe to unearth the scandals rocking the institution and restoring its fading place of pride.
For Governor Bala Muhammed to have a sound sleep and the fading glory of the College of Health Technology Ningi restored, the management of the institution should be suspended to pave a smooth way to unearth the hidden scandals through a probe. While the probe is ongoing, the governor should keep a distance from lobbyists that may scuttle the effort.
Today, there are approximately five million children in Nigeria who are 20 years of age. By this age, they are ordinarily in conventional situation expected to be able to read and understand simple domestic and community hygiene and attend to at least other minor health related issues including serving their communities as sanitary inspectors.
How can such children learn the ropes of health techniques to render community service if established government health institutions the likes of Ningi College of Health Technology are transformed to extortion centres and brothels by those responsible for its smooth management?
Foundation skills such as common hygiene and prescription of simple medications to minor health related issues allow for cognitive development and acquisition of more complex skills in the health system. When a whole government accredited institution fails to provide those skills as mandated to students, the society becomes increasingly frustrated and discouraged.
The consequence is high levels of poorly trained graduates fueling the dearth of the health sector against government plans for the sector.
So, what are those absurdities hidden but responsible for the ongoing unabated cases of corrupt practices, scams and sexual abuse enveloping the College for Health Technology, Ningi and retarding the progress of the institution to achieving its set objective?
From investigation, first, is the quality of lecturers. There are low levels of lecturer competency and pedagogical skills. 50% of those lecturers in the college are lacking in minimum lecturing qualifications and commitment to the ideals of the teaching profession due to sharp corrupt practices and other vices.
Second and related to the first, is the limited capacity of lecturers to assessing students in classrooms using simple diagnostic tools that tell what students know and can do.
Third is the absence of modern teaching equipments despite the huge resources periodically realized from student’s intake and other consultancy services to interested parties from the institution.
Resources generated are allegedly squandered on sexual scandals or at best, shared among those in management positions under the guise of service delivery that can neither be located nor seen. A thorough probe of the financial records of the dying institution may expose other cases of malfeasance for address.
Fourth, is the low and regressive expenditure on facilities in the college as the bulk of resources generated are channeled to irrelevant issues rather than the provision of necessary facilities, and attending to decayed infrastructure, structures and environmental sanitation to the status of a health institution.
Although, it is known that education expenditure in most cases is consumed by recurrent expenses such as teachers’ salaries leaving little to invest in improving quality of education, the case of College of Health Technology Ningi is at variance. What Ningi has are overcrowded lecture halls and hostels, poor lecturer student ratio and chronic shortage of qualified lecturers and committed management in the midst of surplus.
The good news is that despite all efforts to discredit government commitment to improving the standard of the College of Health Technology, Ningi, Governor Bala Muhammed has already generated local and international evidence on what works to improve literacy and numeracy based on global best practices. He has exonerated his administration from any blame so far notwithstanding the hidden plans on play.
Given the scale of the challenge at hand and the urgency to rescue the Ningi College, we should all partner as concerned people with government. It needs coordinated and harmonized action by all around a common framework of action. The starting point must be to galvanize the education sector around the common purpose of ending the scandals rocking the foundation of the college. We can and must do it. We owe it to the over six million people of Bauchi State most especially to those that have interest as a right to train and receive quality health education to brighten our lives.
Muhammad is a commentator on national issues
