A lot has been said and written about the parlous state of Nigerias educational system. The recent release of the SSCE result has further exposed what is already well known; that the level our educational system has sank so terribly over the last 20 years or so. Even if we want to gratify ourselves by claiming that good English does not necessarily mean high quality education, it is obvious that in whatever field, a student that does not understand the language of instruction in the first instance cannot comprehend what he or she is being taught using that language. Yet, one can hardly get graduates who speak, let alone write, passable English language. There are many places to leave the blame - the parents, teachers, the school system, etc. But for how long are we going to continue the blame game while producing unusable materials from factories which machineries have long passed salvage value. Before we continue, lets purse and pose a few questions. Why is it that even in the most financially endowed States such as, say Akwa Ibom, teachers in primary schools are owed upwards of two to three months salaries? Why is it difficult to design an incentive scheme that encourages teachers to accept postings to rural schools. Of what benefit is a product of a university system where the regulatory authority, the National University Commission, perks admission at only 20% on merit and the remaining 80% on considerations that has addresses anything but merit? What happens to the 6-3-3 system that was expected to transit the less mentally endowed students to trade(craft) school system that would produce quality artisans that we so badly need in our economy? How have we positioned our colleges of education and polytechnics to meet our manpower needs without making it look inferior to the university certificates. Something drastic should be done, and seen to be done, to redress these anomalies in our educational enterprise. For one, we must come to terms with the fact that theuniversity is primed to produce high level manpower for the economy. It called ivory tower because it does not, and should not, have the stomach to contain substandard materials. Today, in the name of whatever parlance created by a warped political system, it an alchemy the good, the bad, and the ugly. There various approaches to bringing back glory to our educational system. The one that appeals to me most is what I call the top- bottom approach, where we shoot down mediocrity in high institutions of learning with a cascading effect, over time, on the lower trunks. If we admit only qualified candidates, say on average grade of 60% at JAMB for the universities, 50% minimum for the polytechnics, and not less than 40% for colleges of education, parents, wards, and secondary/ primary education administrators would sit up. It would become apparent to exam cheats and their collaborators, that thecsrrying about doctored certificates that cannot earn them admission is of no use. Besides, state by state peer review mechanism could be instituted that would expose States that pay lip service to education quality. We must come away from this ostrich mentality and take a bold step to confront this issue. Failure to do so can only postpone the evil day.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 16:46:49 +0000
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