PRESIDENT BUHARI’S UNFULFILLED PROMISE
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One of the promises made by President Muhammadu Buhari at the outset of his administration was to allocate up to 20 per cent of the annual budget to the education sector.
In addition, the President pledged to invest in the training of teachers at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels; promote effective use of teaching aids in primary and secondary schools; provide one meal a day for all primary school pupils across the country and address the out-of-school children phenomenon.
Buhari also promised to increase spending on university education; eliminate or reduce examination malpractices in schools; re-negotiate the 2009 Agreement with the various staff unions in tertiary institutions, among others.
Three years later, unfortunately, most of the promises have been unfulfilled and the education sector, which has been almost crippled by persistent strike actions, is the worse for it.
To the last count, investigations show, the sector is burdened by the presence of nearly 11 million out-of-school children, especially in the northern parts of the country. Also, despite the President’s pledge to inject more funds into education at all levels, adequate funding remains a mirage. The Federal Government allocated a paltry seven per cent to the sector in 2017, in spite of the 20 per cent that Buhari promised.
Also, there have been concerns over a progressive decline in the quality of teaching across the country in recent time. Over 50 per cent of teachers, especially in primary and secondary schools, are believed to be unqualified to teach in these schools.
Cases of examination malpractice seem to have increased in the past three years, despite the courageous efforts of the West African Examinations Council and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation to check them. Moreso, a recent report by the World Bank indicates that a small percentage of Nigerian youth are literate.
Against this backdrop, Emeritus Prof. Michael Omolewa of the University of Ibadan, in an interview with one of our correspondents, described Nigeria’s education sector as being far from achieving a global outlook.
Omolewa said, “I would give the sector 70 per cent for access to tertiary education because of the emergence of more actors at the private level in providing universities, polytechnics and colleges. This has led to an increase in student enrolment.
“However, on the global dimension, the score would be 20 per cent. This is because many institutions have become local in terms of student and staff recruitment.”
Omolewa urged the Federal Government to stop monopolising policy-making so as to get basic and tertiary education right.
He said, “The government should not make policy-making a monopoly, but it should throw issues open for discussion among parents, employers and the civil society, including professional bodies.
“It should also encourage private-public partnership in funding of education and work out the mechanism of sustaining the quality provision of education at all levels. Nigeria should aim at exceling and producing the best and most innovative students who will assist to take the nation forward to the next century.”
Omolewa also said that despite the provision of more space to reduce the high student to teacher ratio currently experienced in basic and higher education sub-sectors, the focus should be on the improved interaction among students and teachers.
“The high student to teacher ratio is not exclusively explained by the affordability factor of public schools because it is also high in many of the private institutions. Other factors include the demand for placement by frustrated parents and the students who are tired of waiting at home doing nothing and with little hope of a breakthrough. The solution is predictably the provision of more space, and that requires greater investment in education which is lacking.
“There are many recommendations depending on the level of education and the subject involved. However, the emphasis is on the need for close attention to pupils and encouragement of interaction between the teacher and the learners,” he said.
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