Broken English, Broken Graduates - By: Leadership Editors At the passing-out parade of the last batch of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), the Kano State coordinator of the scheme, Mr Sanusi Abdulrasheed, disclosed that about 89 per cent of corps members could not write good application or communicate effectively in English. Rather, the NYSC administrator said, the corps members, a majority of whom hold a first degree or its equivalent, prefer to communicate in “broken English”, a variant of the language that linguists refer to as “pidgin”. Of course, it does not conform to standard usage and not acceptable in academic curriculum. Ordinarily, Abdulrasheed’s statement could have been regarded as another red herring or an exaggerated opinion of some critics of the state of affairs in Nigeria. But he said the finding was revealed in a research undertaken by the NYSC management nationwide. Revelation of this embarrassing trend, therefore, came from a credible source. It is no news that the nation’s education system is in a shambles. It is also discomforting that most fresh graduates are no longer employable. This indictment is not only for the corps members. Their schools, the society and the government should share in the embarrassing verdict. A system that shuts down schools for a half of the academic year cannot produce quality graduates. A student that is ill-equipped with the grammar of the official language of communication is bound to code-switch and make largely ungrammatical expressions. It has been found that most of the tutorials in our institutions are delivered in unorthodox English. Some teachers are equally guilty, if truly mastery of English was a pre-requisite for appointing them. Perhaps the time has come to make possession of a credit in English language mandatory for everyone seeking admission into our institutions of higher learning. And teachers must be adequately trained and re-trained to impart knowledge. It is trite to suggest the use of local languages in schools. No. It will not wash with the mosaic of languages in the country. The foundation should also be made stronger. In the days before and immediately after independence, the quality of instruction was strong and even Standard Six holders could hold their own. The society should be concerned about this revelation and the deepening crisis in our education system. A good number of corps members are usually posted to schools. With poor foundation in the language of instruction, it needs no gainsaying that they would impart their warped expressions to their pupils, and the ripple effects would have no end at the end of the day. Employers of labour are also faced with the danger of losing many of those who might ordinarily be competent but lack the grammatical accuracy to impress recruitment officers.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 22:45:23 +0000
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