The poor performance of students in SSCE/WASCE has further brought to the fore the decadence in our entire National life in which the educational system is cardinal. With the unprecedented proliferation of private schools complemented with the ICT era, this development still remains a mystery, the Nigerian paradox I may want to say. Parents are the first to be held culpable in this regard. Learning and growth start from birth most especially when the child gets to the cognitive stage. Rather than enforce books and other instructional materials on the child, most parents erroneously see the possession of electronic contraptions like tablets, expensive phones by their children as a reflection of pride and status symbols most especially when these stuffs are not used to aid knowledge rather are used for mundane activities. Furthermore, parents see the enrolment of their children into expensive schools with gigantic structures also as symbols of status and standards without giving attention to quality of teachings and instructors in such schools. Children now spend more time with remote controls tunning from more channel to the other, more time with iPhone, ipad , BlackBerry and androids than their books and assignments. Recently i visited some family friends who by all standards are elites and belong to the middle/working class, I met the children playing games on their patents tablet, suddenly I asked One of them times table question, I was overwhelmed by their lacklustre performance. Parents, most especially mothers have greater roles to play here, we should not allow economic pressure to distract our attention at the home front, mothers are the Prime ministers or COOs, while the fathers are like the President or Commander-in-Chief providing security and protection. The need to inculcate good cultural, traditional and moral values becomes expedient, most parents are prided when their children communicate in foreign language (English) than their local languages, they see it also ad status symbols, through this practice local languages are already facing the danger of extinction that portends a dangerous and bleak future for our society. We all are culpable in this area. Schools proprietors are by defaults entrepreneurs who are more predisposed to managing their resources to yield optimal returns,( to put it in plain language; Profit making motive) they do not place premium on the engagement of qualified manpower with adequate and regular training teaching aid, staff are poorly remunerated, a poorly paid staff who sees teaching as a stop-gap in the absence of a better job is not likely to put his best. Most proprietors who In most cases make final decision are not career educationists, they are more interested in erecting massive superstructures with attractive aesthetics than placing same premium on content of instructions and quality of instructors, you can not give what you dont have. The big question is where this we miss the road and how can we trace our steps back to discover the right track, the future of any nation depends among other things on the kind of future leaders it breeds today that is inextricably tied to the quality of education both formal and informal being given by its leaders. The insurgency in the northern part of the country is a result of the action/inaction of their leaders right from independence, wherever we find ourselves today is a result of our yesterdays decision, wherever we desire to be tomorrow depends on our decision today. What must we do? .......... To be continued
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 12:48:33 +0000
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