Text of the Paper Presented by an Active Member of the Akwa Ibom Young Professionals Leadership Initiative (Ak-Pro), Miss Emem Dominic at the 2014 Akwa Ibom Youth Day Celebration held on Friday, 5th September 2014 at Ibom Hall, Uyo, AKWA Ibom State. ‘CONSOLIDATING ON THE GAINS OF FREE EDUCATION: THE AKWA IBOM STATE PERSPECTIVE’ BEING A PAPER PRESENTED BY MISS EMEM DOMINIC AT THE AKWA IBOM YOUTH DAY HELD ON FRIDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER2014 AT IBOM HALL UYO, AKWA IBOM STATE. Protocols. A prominent diplomat addressing a distinguished gathering of very important personalities started by likening protocol to the Ten Commandments. He stated that however faithful one strives; you will run afoul of at least one of those commandments! So, at the risk of breaching any protocol, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, please permit me to stand on existing protocols. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, 1. I want to first and foremost appreciate the organizers of this programme for giving me the opportunity to present this paper. I am delighted and feel honoured to be invited to share my thoughts with you, as guest speaker, at this epochal event, even at very short notice – I was informed that I will be the guest speaker only three days ago! 2. Education is said to be the bedrock of every society. It is an investment in human capital, the investment and characteristics of education given by the society can be simply measured by the quality of its products. This anchors the Federal Government’s declaration that education has been adopted as a mechanism par excellence for effective national development (FRN1981). 3. Definition: The oxford advanced learners dictionary defines education as “the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, an enlightening exercise especially at a school or university”. Furthermore, it is defined as the act or process of imparting or acquiring knowledge or skill, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment thereby preparing one for a matured and acceptable role in the society. While educational institutions on the other hand are built to promote the acquisition of skills and knowledge as well as moral development of the student. The primary, secondary and tertiary institutions are designed to produce a varied workforce for an economy need for different types of skilled labour. (The first definition which says giving systematic instruction proves the education ought not to be just quantitative but qualitative.) A Philosophers View on Education: 4. Albert Einstein reasons that ‘the education of the individual, in addition to promoting his own abilities, would attempt to develop in him a sense of responsibility for his fellow men in place of the glorification of power and success in our present society’. The Akwa Ibom State Free and Compulsory Education 5. Over the years education has been categorised as the best legacy any assiduous government, leader, parent or guardian could leave for his/her people, children or ward. This axiom seems to be the guiding principles of His Excellency Chief (Dr.) Godswill Akpabio CON , who has not only declared free education in Akwa Ibom State but has made it compulsory for every child from primary school level up to Senior Secondary School level. (This I find highly applaud able as it caters for both indigenes and non-indigenes who are resident in Akwa Ibom state). 6. The scheme was launched in 2009 with the allocation of free exercise books to schools, books for libraries, science and technology equipments for science and technology laboratories etc. In addition, schools hitherto that were dilapidated have been renovated and more schools and classroom blocks built across the state to cater for the anticipated mass enrolment. The State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio argues, and quite rightly, that illiteracy compound poverty, while education does not only enlightens but also empowers. 7. His Excellency, the Governor has also given subvention to all school heads and principals of public and post- primary schools at the rate of N100 per pupil and N300 per student per term, this money is to assist in the purchase of chalks, teaching materials etc. So far, 98% achievement has been recorded in this aspect. Furthermore, millions of Naira has been released for payment of registration fee for NECO/SSCE and NABTEB examinations for Akwa Ibom candidates in public schools. There has also been an increase in the number of schools and enrolment figures. There are about 1,157 public primary schools and 234 public secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State and school enrolment as at 2012/2013 school year was about 584,912. This number will increase in the 2014/2015 school year. To make the free and compulsory education scheme effective there has also been an increase in recruitment of teachers. In 2012, 1,400 graduate teachers were employed by the state secondary education board and 100 graduate teachers for state technical school. There is a further recruitment plan for 5000 more teachers to accommodate the demands of the scheme. Free education is indeed expensive but Governor Akpabio said ‘it is the best way to spend funds, in investing in the future’. The Gains of Free Education: Some of the gains include; • Reinstatement of the dignity to the Akwa Ibom people who before now were known to be experts in domestic staffs and lacking in the league of the highly educated. (Akwa Ibom was among the educational less developed). • Relieving indigent parents and guardians of the nightmare of not being able to educate their children. • Brought an awakening to even the young ones that they stand a chance among their contemporaries globally and can look at the future with hope that there is no height they would not attain in life if they vigorously pursue their education. This development saw the state taking 1st position in the 2013 NNPC National Quiz competition to represent the south-south zone at the national level, also the state team for Mr President Debate won 1st position at Bayelsa to represent the south-south zone at the national competition and represented Nigeria in Thailand Last month. • An involvement of youths in politics, decision making and policy formulation for a better Akwa Ibom etc. • The ability of Government to disseminate timely information to the citizens at ease. • Discharge of civic responsibilities un-persuaded. • Ones perception having correlation with his/her reasoning and judgment. • Thorough and sound cognitive reading and writing skills development. • Living a healthy life through simple hygiene practice (The Ebola/Deborah story). The gains are enormous and to that effect the government realising the need to cater for the products of free education has been proactive enough to revamp the State University. This is highly commendable and is a sure way of galvanizing social harmony, relative peace and economic advancement to the benefit of all, by all I mean the youths of Akwa Ibom state. Consolidating the Gains 9. The term consolidation literally means to make whole, strong, united. One would then ask how we can consolidate the gains of free education in Akwa Ibom state? CHINA EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTION 10. China has made enormous strides in educating its population. During the Cultural Revolution the teaching force was effectively destroyed and the educated people including the teachers were sent to the fields to work. In 1986, China enacted the law of compulsory education which required every child to complete nine years of formal schooling (six years of primary and three years of junior secondary school). In order to achieve this, the government of China provided an all inclusive system where all students were expected to perform at high levels, raise teachers pay and upgrade teachers’ standards and teachers education, reduced the emphasis of rote learning and increase the importance on profound understanding with ability to apply knowledge to solve new problems and think creatively. These are reflected in deep reforms in the curriculum and examinations. Lessons from China • Today after three decades china is among the contenders for top positions on the world’s education table league. • Has become the major industrial centre of the world. • A part of China ( Shanghai) educational reform was design down-top (i.e. from the grassroots) and not top- down as the local government did not only take part in the design but also intervened in the process eg in running the schools and improving teaching. The Akwa Ibom State Perspective 11. I see the Governor Akpabio led administration free education policy as a step to re-invent Akwa Ibom and to successfully do this, you have to re-invent Akwa Ibomites. A good place to start is to ensure that those who aspire to lead us have the necessary skills to carry out the task. 12. But to truly re-invent Akwa Ibom we must go beyond exposing our leaders to better preparation. The changes we need are so enormous that they require that every single Nigerian is involved. We must prepare all our people to be good and productive citizens, with relevant knowledge, and with the right values and orientation. In short, to transform our nation we must invest in all our human capital. In South Korea, which is believed by some to have the best educational system in the world, the largest government expenditure is on education. Education is so important to South Korea that the Minister of Education was recently elevated to the position of Vice Prime Minister. In South Korea, education is mainly state funded and is compulsory for all children from the age of 6 to 14 years, although most parents send their children to school from the age of 3 years. In his autobiography the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, writes that at the time he took over as the leader of the Labour Party, he felt that the nation needed a re-birth, a complete rejuvenation in accordance with the vision of ‘new Labour’. His three priorities to achieve this were firstly, education; secondly, education; and thirdly, education. This is because, as he argues, no society can be transformed unless its educational system has been transformed. I agree with Tony Blair. To re-invent Nigeria, and of particular interest to me, Akwa Ibom, we will need to totally overhaul our educational system. 13. I am sure all of you here are saying to yourselves all this may be a good wish list but how do we pay for all these desirable things? I think that the funds are there. It is simply a question of how we define our priorities. In any case even if education is expensive we have no choice because we have tried the alternative, i.e. ignorance, and it is simply not working. 14. In summary, to re-invent Akwa Ibom so as to bring most of our people out from poverty, we must transform our educational system, and provide appropriate training for our leaders. It will be an expensive undertaking but we can do it. Most importantly, we cannot afford not to do it because the present situation in our dear country is simply unacceptable, unsustainable, and, if care is not taken, could lead to our youths becoming uncompetitive globally. The Way Forward The current transformation in the state requires conscious tactical planning(edian ubok initiative) that would produce a generation of educated , knowledgeable manpower that would not only maintain the ongoing progress but will cause quantum improvement in positioning Akwa Ibom state as the pride of Nigeria and the world. In all these, the success involves government and the citizenry. Obanya (2000) suggests government coordinates the resources properly as the coordination will aid in providing quality graduates from the educational programme. Babalola (2006) postulates that school managers must carefully and efficiently handle both financial and human resources in their custody. There is the view (and am completely aligned with that view) that the following have to be areas of concentration if we are to consolidate on the gains of the free education policy to transform our education and make our people the change agents for a new Akwa Ibom. There are as follows; • Ensure more of qualitative and quantitative education. • Recognition for excellent performance .It is important to encourage hard work by instituting prizes and other awards that recognise and acknowledge excellent performance at all levels to serve as incentives for both the pupils and their teachers. • Consider international metrics , there should be a debate by experts on how a new curricula and assessment strategies can enhance, impact learning and achieve social and economic goals. • There should be an introduction of a policy tracking system of students performance especially those who excelled in SSCE and JAMB and pre-degree examinations to see the correlation to their final academic performance upon graduation , to see if the consistencies are maintained as this would definitely promote the spirit of continuing high performer. • Introduce a thorough research –based teacher education programmes that prepares teachers not only in content but educational theory in order for them to research and proffer creative academic solutions for teaching. • Develop shared understanding and common reason among groups and stake holders to achieve a coherence and continuity of the system. • Provide ICT training and technology based teaching, learning materials and subjects to improve the ICT level of both teachers and students. • Teachers should approach teaching with passion knowing that the job of shaping the future of millions lie in their hands (teaching shouldn’t be seen as a last resort when you can’t get a job, it wasn’t for me, I chose to contribute my quota in developing the society via teaching so that is why i am doing it now) • Teachers and student should engage themselves in self development (don’t sit and wait for government to do everything for you, consider what you can do for yourself and for government). • Parents and guardians should desist from bribing teachers or anybody for that matter to ensure the success of their children or wards. • Well placed individuals, groups and companies should partner with government through scholarships, grants and foundations to aid students further up to tertiary level. • Introduction of compulsory internship programmes despite the disciplines to equip the students with not only job skills but hands on experience. • Professionals and teachers should volunteer to be mentors, coaches and counsellors to aid the youth plan and secure a viable career path (youths should learn how to volunteer and work for free if need be to gain work experience as it will help them get acquainted in the work environment and prepare them for that dream job). • Foster an engagement with youth organisations like Akwa Ibom Young Professional leadership initiative (AKPRO) on their developmental projects on education and human capital development through training and research applications. In conclusion, let me remind us that Akwa Ibom under then Cross River State was among the first places that had a taste of western education in Nigeria with the establishment of Methodist Boys High school, Oron in 1905. A famous greek proverbs states thus ‘a society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. If we must make education the foundation of our future, if we must consolidate the gains of the free education, if we must create a knowledge based economy; then we (all of us) must make a quantum leap in reforming our educational structure from being a mere box for students gathering to a citadel of value, because as drivers of the Nigeria’s future economy, we are not competing within the blue waters but against the global ocean current. As a land of promise it is time for us to reclaim our pride in the educational arena, as Akwa Ibom remains a state where no man is oppressed. Let us determine to crave for directional change, sleep it, eat it, drink it, and let it be in our DNA. Get involved in chatting the change for this state. Develop yourself, get educated, go back to school if need be, have a re-orientation, purge yourself of every negative liable and scandalous attitude. Everyone can’t be a commissioner, special adviser, special assistant, personal assistance, local government chairman or councillor. You can be an entrepreneur, an instructor, a business associate, a professional who can contribute and whose expertise could be sort for to help formulate policies or be involved in the, implementation and monitoring process of government programmes. Most times there is so much gratification in being a team player than being a team leader. EDIAN UBOK! Thank you for Listening. REFERENCES Goswami, R. “Economic growth and higher education in India and China.” July 2012 Harmon, C., Oosterbeek, H., Walker, I., “The Returns to Education. A Review of Evidence, Issues and Deficiencies in the Literature”, Centre for the Economics of Education, LSE, 2000. Babalola, J. B. (2006). Overview of educational management. Ibadan: Codat Publications. Obanya, P. A. (2000). Ten questions Nigeria would answer about UBE. Daily Punch, December 4th, 24-30. Akapbio,I.U . & Sammy, M.E ‘Implementing free and compulsory education in secondary schools in Akwa Ibom state through resources availability: a panacea for achievement of education for all. elombah/index.php/articles/nasir-el-rufai/11812-akwa-ibom-sbudget accessed 03 September 2014 Federal Republic of Nigeria (1981 Revised). National Policy on Education. Lagos: NERDC. Oxford Learners Dictionary uncommontransformation.tv/?q=free-and-compulsory-education accessed 03 September 2014 Planning Research and statistics Ministry of Education allafrica/stories/200911230340.html accessed 03 September 2014 nuc.edu.ng accessed 03 September 2014 nigerianstat.gov.ng accessed 03 September 2014 Miss Emem Dominic is a lecturer with the Akwa Ibom State University For more, follow us on Twitter @AkwaIbomOnline and on BBM 296D678C or contact the Head of our Advert and Marketing Department on 09090002146
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 07:18:24 +0000
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