Debate the education sector please
It is apparent that Nigeria as a nation is now being guided onto the path of national rebirth. The midwife is preparing the environment for successful delivery. For decades, ‘project -Nigeria’ remained an idea which previous successive governments’ preferred not to consider.
Corruption with all its corrosive tendencies was celebrated and entrenched. It embedded our national character and psyche, destroying every institution including the most cherished and cohesive-the family. Little wonder that Nigeria became fertile environment for the growth and spread of insecurity, indiscipline, inefficiency, and ineffectiveness in everything we did.
For decades the nation lost its character (in spite the campaign:”Not In Our Character”), bearing and even purpose as federated peoples. The poor, down trodden and a few from amongst the elites are religious and godly so they turned to God. Acknowledged, even the political class is religious, but it tends to discard that in its craving for power and political controls.
We have started noticing this change, locally in our filling stations, power supply, fight against terrorism, and internationally Nigeria has returned to its place in the comity of nations. Nigerians abroad are proud to carry Nigeria’s passport. All these within the last four months. Nice.
However, there is another Augean stable that needs immediate national attention. The education sector. It is gratifying that the Kaduna State Government has taken the gauntlet to declare a state of emergency in the sector. This declaration and follow up actions should go national. And the Federal Government should also the fight against Boko Haram, carefully draw up a team of serious and pragmatic educationists and educators to tackle the decay in the sector.
Let it be clearly stated that education is neither schooling nor the vice-versa. Schooling is a vehicle or means for providing education. In Nigeria today, corruption has destroyed the three vehicles for education, namely the family, the school and the community. The school has become dysfunctional, the family is impoverished and the community has lost its values.
It is obvious that in Nigeria today there is no curriculum, schooling is hijacked by some ‘insurgents’ in the name of private schools. The ‘schools’ proprietors in accord with the ‘Parent-Teachers Association’ have banked on the absence of a functional school system to churn out the private schools, extort parents by not only paying high school fees but also forcing selected books (which in many cases were never made use of in the class).
We cannot claim ignorance of the existence of ‘miracle centres.’ They are all over the country.
The fight against terrorism, corruption and bad governance cannot be won and sustained without sound education system through which those cherished national values and patriotism can be inculcated in the minds of our ever growing number of youths.
Mr President, Nigeria needs functional basic education first and fast.
Muhammad A Muhammad sarkimaje@yahoo.com