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CHINWE OBAJI’S BLUEPRINT FOR EDUCATIONAL TRANSFORMATION
BY: LLES LEBA
Last Wednesday, the Federal Executive Council (F.E.C.) directed the Education Minister, Mrs. Chinwe Obaji to prepare a blueprint for the transformation of the education sector, and approved the Pre University Matriculation Examination (U.M.E.) test. The FEC decision would be a signal of official admission of the abysmal state of education at all levels from primary to tertiary in our country today. The recognition of the failure of our educational system took so long in coming, but even now that the government appears willing or intent on appropriate remedial action, what success can we expect from the new initiative?
In order to succeed in this enterprise, the Minister would be expected to approach the problems of the educational sector in a professional manner. There would be a conscious definition of the objective, and then an appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the current system b4 consolidating a set of proposals and related processes for the improvement of educational standards.
The definition of the objective would imply that the content of the syllabus and the final products from our educational establishments would compare favourably with the best from anywhere in the world. This would not be seeking the impossible; indeed, the products of our institutions before 1985 matched the abilities, aptitude and performance of products from the United States and the UK. Indeed, it was common place to find exchange students from these countries in our secondary schools and universities, and the qualifications and degrees which were awarded were respected and accepted all over the world! But sadly the situation is now different as Nigerian candidates who seek admission into institutions abroad would now normally be expected to have performed well in the Cambridge and Oxford G.C.E. or other such internationally recognized examinations such as TOEFEL and SART, which only affluent Nigerian students can participate in because of the astronomical cost of preparing for such exams in private commercial schools and colleges.
Furthermore, it is well known that degrees awarded from our universities, polytechnics and colleges of higher education are also not recognized anywhere else apart from Nigeria! Indeed, some multinationals operating in Nigeria and most blue chip companies have shown preference for employing candidates who graduated from overseas colleges and universities for obvious reasons. In the Minister’s pursuit of educational excellence, she would be expected to retain and consolidate the positive features and strengths which are inherent in the current structure while jettisoning those systems and practices which have pulled us down in the last thirty years or so! The way things are, it is not easy to identify the positive features in our current educational system; however, the objective of integrating children from different ethnic backgrounds and moulding them into young ‘Nigerians’ as encapsulated in the philosophy of the Federal Unity School programme appears to be a worthy quality which would promote the cause of unity in the country; however, there is a lot left to be desired in the current adoption of this worthy goal.
Another positive feature of the current system is the application of a single examination for the school leaving General Certificates of Education for both the primary and secondary levels. This system has simplified the process of evaluating the performance of students from different institutions throughout the country with a uniform standard; however, the system of administering the common entrance, GCE and JAMB examinations has become fraught with man-induced and avoidable discrepancies.
In the positive features of the current educational system are not so glaring, the case is very different when we consider the issues of the inherent weaknesses.
Some observers who claim that the differential marks ‘cutoff’ protocol is probably the worst feature of the current system! I recall difficulty in explaining to the Principal of Achimota College in Ghana the reason why my son could not gain admission into one of the Federal Unity Schools over twenty years ago, in spite of what he considered to be very good results! My ‘defence’ that the relatively high cutoff marks demanded from students of the then Bendel State origin was responsible for his failure to secure a place in the federal government college was confounding! “Why” he asked, “were the children of Bendel State origin required to perform well above other Nigerian children to secure entry”? I was constrained to further explain that the authorities had concluded that people of Delta State origin already had too many educated citizen particularly within the civil service structure! But the man continued and won’t let go and wondered if Bendel was not part of the oil producing areas in Nigeria; i.e. the special goose that lays the golden eggs that are used to fund the vast range of infrastructure and development in Nigeria! My answer was naturally in the affirmative, but I could not satisfactorily explain why the table of educational opportunities was deliberately skewed against the people of my state and then he dropped the clanger of an observation; “you mean” he said “that a child with a score of 150 could be given a place while a more qualified child with a score of 270 would be refused entry?” again, I answered, “yes!” “Hmm” he countered, “then there can be no hope for the Nigerian educational system: he concluded! Twenty years down the road, his prophetic observation has become reality!
Also intertwined with the bogey of federal character representation in the educational system is the Quata System. This requirement and that of differential cutoff marks can never produce a progressive and efficient educational system that would ensure that merit is enthroned in the matrix of our educational culture, and without merit, we will never be able to successfully tap the full extent of the available intellect and ability in the country.
The Education Minister’s blueprint for the transformation of the education sector must contain a strong recommendation for better remuneration and welfare for teachers and lecturers in our institutions. A situation where the take-home-pay of such vital professionals cannot take them above
SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVE NIGERIANS!
