El-Rufa’i and his teachers

The events surrounding the state of education in Kaduna state and the governor’s move to rectify the situation have attracted much attention across the country and revealed a state of primary education which some of us already knew was in existence.

The scripts we have seen from the state governor Malam Nasir El-Rufai, although cannot be said to be representative of the whole, are disturbing in many ways. We cannot afford to toy with the future of our children by putting them under the tutelage of individuals who lack the capacity for elementary educational appreciation.

Education is the key to the development of any society and must be taken seriously by both individuals and governments everywhere. Primary education is particularly important as it is the foundation on which any further education is erected. Knowing how essential the states of all foundations are, it must be paid the utmost attention. For this reason that I applaud the courage of the governor to look into this situation and his willpower to try to remedy the situation.

The way in which he has gone about this however leaves much to be desired by me. While I am a firm believer in making bold decisions to correct ills in our society and public institutions, I also strongly believe these developmental steps must be people oriented.

In a democratic society like ours, our leaders must learn to work with the people, gather relevant stakeholders, utilize the art of persuasion, and consider inputs, solutions and alternatives that would bring about the best result with the least drawbacks.

In this sense, the governor should have organized consultations with educational stakeholders in the state, properly convincing them of the need for the test and providing of possible plans to incorporate the unqualified teachers into other areas of the public service or to reintegrate them after they have been retooled.

To render over 20,000 men and women jobless with no hope of an employment future is grossly inhumane. Any developmental stride that does not carry the people along is not sustainable.

It is equally important to note that the sacking of these teachers is not THE SOLUTION to the problem by any stretch. These teachers are the products of a wide range of conditions and system. They did put themselves in those position to begin with, the government did. Throwing them off their jobs barely scratches the surface of the rot in our educational system.

The problem must be tackled holistically and comprehensive from the process of their selection, their working conditions, the education budget of the state, to the occasional retooling of these teachers.

In other words, all hands must be on deck in addressing the situation in the long-term. I hope that the governor finds the magnanimity, equal to his courage, to reach out to relevant bodies and individuals across the state to work with him in bringing about a true and sustainable actualization of his vision for education in the state.

We need to get things right in this country and it doesn’t take so much; just some bunch of smart people in power. Gilbert Nyanganji, Abuja.