‘Education can’t develop without improved funding’

updated: Thursday 19-06-2008

Hon Kayode IdowuThe Sub-Committee Chairman, Education Trust Fund (EFT) in the House of Representatives, Hon Kayode Idowu, in this interview with SEYI GESINDE, speaks on factors affecting developments in the education sector, how such can be addressed and the way out of the unemployment crisis in the country. Excerpts:

The low funding of the education sector has really contributed to the lowering of standards in the public institutions, so also, with the influx of private institutions, many have insinuated that government seems to be less interested in the public ones, what do you say to this?
Looking at education sector generally, really, we are not having a desired result and when you look at the money pumped into the education sector, evidently, the results are considerably low. Also you find out majority of people at the helm of affairs at the tertiary, secondary and the primary level too are complaining of inadequate funding. Again, when you also look at the functions of Education Trust Fund (ETF), there are still some bottlenecks being faced in assessing funds from the ETF and that has been a major problem. The procedure of ETC is that, it is after the completion of a project and it is certified good that the subsequent amount of money used in completing the project is released. However, this has given the key players in the education sector the opportunity to say we have confidently arrived in terms of money being accrued or appropriated to them. You find out today that there are some institutions that have not even finished assessing the ETF funds of years 2005, 2004 and 2003; all these are still pending with the ETF. But largely, you find out that today, the major focus is still on education because, once we conquer ignorance, you should know that all other problems can easily be solved.

But how can the pending problems in the sector be eradicated?
Funding must be improved, so that necessary infrastructures, classrooms, materials and other necessities can be procured for students and be made available with little or no cost, so that at the end of the day, everybody will have access to good books and information.

Then, on the area of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development, what are we doing?
The area of ICT should actually be looked into, it makes education interesting and allows student to capture whatever they are being taught easily, government should look into this area. People in the system should also be encouraged in terms of their of take home pay. Many still complain of low salary and when you look into at all these things, they are not encouraging. If we want to say that institutions should supplement the allocation in paying salaries with their internally generate revenue, it will not help growth in the institutions. The institution grows only when there is adequate funding and educational materials are made available and accessible to the people, when people working in the environment too are encouraged.

Then the issue of the cabal who owns the private institutions allegedly influencing government to slow down the pace of developments at the public institutions to boost patronage in their private ones, how can this also be addressed?
This may be a little bit controversial, looking at the kind of system we run in this country and why things are not working, you find out that we have a few cabal who are in control of affairs, we call them the bourgeoises, they are really in control of the economy in this country, and there domineering nature is given someone a lot of concern. When you ask why the power sector is not working, you find out that the big men in this country are behind it. You may not believe it, but that is the exactly what is happening. So when you now look into people establishing private institutions, it is still this same set of people who still have their ways into government activities in order to in a way have more students to themselves.

There could be a way by which they slow down the pace at which the government is trying to develop the public institutions, whether federal or state; they have a way they do their things. So, when I say we are running a kind of imperialists’ government, people will wonder why. It may not be more pronounced, but internally, you find out that there are still some hands working underneath causing all sorts of troubles within the economic sector. At the end of the day when there are problems, you cannot say Mr. A or B is responsible for it. I’m not saying the establishment of private institutions is bad, no, because we still need more institutions in this country, there are many students entering the secondary schools and many others competing to enter into the higher institutions, so the private school is very good, but government must be very careful in the way and manner by which our education policy is being directed and implemented and be cautious of the kind of people teleguiding affairs, these are lots of things we have to look at.

The issue of teleguiding and proper policy implementation, how can this also be handled?
Let me confess this to you, in this country, we have good policies, be it education, economy and so on. But the implementation of our policies has been the major problem. Those implementing it are the problems and you find out that in the National Assembly, we are to make laws for good governance and by the time they are made, we pass it to the executive for implementation, while the judiciary do the interpretation. There is little we can do when it gets out of the National Assembly, but we have to beef up the area of implementation without fear or favour.

The power sector has been probed. Will you also call for a probe in education sector?
Personally, I don’t like the word probe, I prefer investigation, though I’m not a grammarian, I studied Computer Science, but not withstanding, when you do your investigation according to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as related to the functions of the legislators, because according to the Constitution, we have the power to investigate, and that can be used in two ways. One, it is a way of amending the existing laws in order to have a better one. Two, it is to be used to pass a resolution for the onward implementation by the executive. The issue of probe is gathering a lot of noise all around and to me personally, I don’t see it as the best way to handle our case. The reason being that, one, when you see the way it is being handled, with information being released to the Internet, people outside this country in particular will have access to information, and it adds to the dent on the image of Nigeria which we are trying to sanitise. Two, it could heat up the system and it is not good for the good of the democracy we are trying to build. Three, I don’t understand the attitude of Nigerians to our leaders, when leaders are there, people praise them, immediately they leaves office, they begin to say some other things. To me personally, it is not the best, so when you are condemning everything the past President Olusegun Obasanjo did, what kind of a country is that? You don’t do that. No matter how anybody may see it, the last administration really achieved for this country, they’ve done their best.

Then how can the efforts of a cabal teleguiding government’s policy implementation can be curtailed?
It is the duty of legislators to look at the oversight functions of these parastatals. For instance, look at people, now saying a particular amount was expended on particular project and it wasn’t implemented, like referring to the past administration, you now ask yourself, didn’t people in the National Assembly do their job when Obasanjo was there? Why didn’t they complain then? All these things they are now saying, to me personally, it is as if we just want to heat up the polity. I’ve always been saying this; apart from the areas of policy and policy implementation, the area of funding also should be well addressed. Any money given at all for a particular project, we should ensure that it is released on time, if not, how will the problem be addressed and also make infrastructures available and encourage people in the system.

What of the issue of turning out unemployed graduates to the system, how can this also be addressed?
It is important for us to get one point that, having degrees is not a license to have a salary paid job. Going to higher institution is for students to develop themselves in all ramifications, meaning that the curriculum of our tertiary institutions should be tailored towards entrepreneurship, by the time a student thinks, what can I do with my education, then such begins to fashion out and see how to achieve them. But the orientation people are having today that once I finish my degree I should go and look for a job, to me personally, we should not encourage this and our curriculum should address this and ensure that we make our graduates marketable, so that at the end of the day, the knowledge they have acquired can be put into creative use, so that they too can be employers of labour. When I was still lecturing at the polytechnic, I used to emphasise that the education we are giving students is for sustenance that at the end of the day, they can think on their own, create things on their own and be employers of labour. The government too can help by improving on the power generation, companies can’t work without it, and we don’t even have anything we produce in this country, in essence there is no job opportunity for graduates. The power situation has greatly contributed to the problems we are having today, it is seriously affecting the economy, and this must be addressed.

So what is the House Committee doing to beef up action on the overhauling of curriculum in school?
They are working on it and when you look at the NBTE (National Board on Technical Education), it has really been up and doing in the polytechnic education, I must confess that to you because that is the system I came from. They modified their curriculum to suite the purpose of making their graduates employable or be employers of labour. It allows for entrepreneurship activities and we have a number of courses made compulsory for polytechnic students to make them engage in creative activities. On the basis of that, I think the NBTE is doing a good job. While we go on our oversight functions, we will surely encourage things like this in our institutions.

Then on the allegation of private schools selling their certificates to highest bidders, how do you correct this, so it will not tarnish the image of Nigeria’s education?
It all depends on individuals in this country. You know we fashioned our education system round the British own, and you discover that they value certificates. We should look for a way to bring out the real quality in the products from our schools. For instance, when I was in the private sector, we don’t employ a graduate of Computer Science on the basis of verbal interviews; you have to demonstrate the skills you have acquired. Let everybody be tested to justify the quality of the certificate they’ve acquired. Also the supervising agencies should be up and doing in supervising the kind of education given to our students.

Teachers’ strike and psychological trauma for NECO candidates

Kunle Awosiyan, Lagos

Professor OkpalaIts quite unfortunate that the Federal Government had to wait for Nigerian teachers to embark on strike before it could give approval for partial implementation of the their Salary Structure.

Though, the government might see the three-day warning strike as a routine, its damage was so enormous, especially to Nigerian students who are currently writing the May/June 2008 Senior Secondary School final examination.

Prior to and during the strike the Minister of Education, Dr. Igwe Aja-Nwachukwu had repeatedly said that he was not perturbed by the teachers’ strike, stating that the government could not go ahead to implement the policy unless the state governments are ready to do so.

Looking at the consequences of the strike, one would have expected the minister to keep silence while searching for a better solution to address the scenario. But he boldly said, “We are not perturbed by the teachers’ action.”

Within the three days, thousands of Nigerian students who were candidates for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination, being organized by the National Examination Council could not continue with the examination.

The strike abruptly ended the examination, resulting into psychological trauma for the candidates who had spent months preparing for the assessment.

It must be noted that strike, right from the military era had been the major bane of the country’s educational development. As a matter of fact, many teachers who knew their onions left the shore of the country and carried their trade somewhere greener because of incessant strike in Nigeria.

The strike, no doubt had done the country a great havoc. And with the calibre of leaders at the helm of affairs in the country, who are teachers, one thinks that never again would teachers go on strike.

But President Umar Yar’Adua and his Vice, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and of course the Minister of Education, Igwe who are all lecturers have indirectly failed their primary constituency.

Interestingly but unfortunately, the warning-strike dealt a big blow to Nigerian students who could not write Practical Physics and Chemistry while the strike lasted.

According to a teacher of Physics at Dolphin Secondary School, Lagos Island, Mr. Niyi Bada, both the teachers and candidates have been psychologically disturbed. “We have prepared so hard for this examination but it is unfortunate that we cannot write it. I don’t know why government should be so indifferent to the life of its people,” he said.

He continued, “Please help us to tell the government. This strike can be averted. The government has caused so much pain for our children in this country. This singular act can lead to massive examination malpractices. When students have lost concentration, then there is tendency that they may result to cheating to catch up with what they have forgotten during the strike.”

During the strike, Education Tribune observed that all schools, examinations centres, were closed across the country while the invigilators and students waited at the school gates for further information.

According to Bada, the candidates were supposed to write the Physics examination but they could not because of the strike action.

The Physics teacher said that all the subjects, including Practical Chemistry had been postponed indefinitely pending when the teachers called off the strike.

He lamented how he had created extra periods to teach his students, a week to the examination and how he would not sleep well at home just to make sure that his students excelled in the examination but added, “Here we are today, the strike has spoilt our day. I have suffered a lot. I could not sleep well just because of this examination.

Speaking to Education Tribune, a candidate, Miss Ebere Onu of Bab Fafunwa Millennium Grammar School, Ojodu Ikeja said that she was not aware of the strike, adding that, “We were not informed that there would be strike until I got to school that day.”

She said, “Most of us who have seriously prepared for this examination were worried. We do not know when we will write the examination now. This is a temporary set back for me. I don’t plan to pass through this.”

Obviously, stoppage of NECO examination is a temporary setback for most students and before it could become permanent; the federal government waded into it.

To prevent more damages, the government quickly met with the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers and gave approval for partial implementation of TSS for teachers.

This includes Unity schools, Police schools and Colleges, Command and Defense schools but without circular backing it, which had been one of the grouses of the teachers.

Following this, the union announced the suspension of the three-day strike but called on the Federal Government to immediately release the circular backing the implementation of the TSS across all the tiers of governments, saying that it would not hesitate to move to the next phase of the struggle to ensure the full implementation of the structure at all levels.

However, in one of the NUT’s fora, the Chairman of the union, Lagos State Wing, Comrade Olukoya-Alogba had described the strike as a double-edged war that might later involve the Nigeria Labour Congress if government failed to comply.

According to him, the current President of NLC, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar is a teacher and has promised to use his position to fight for the right of the teachers. “It is a double edged war. This is done to ensure that this war is won,” he said.

Alogba-Olukoya explained that the union would make the country ungovernable if the federal government failed to implement the teachers’ salary structure within the stipulated period.

Olukoya-Alogba said that the NUT was waiting for government to take positive action to address the plight of teachers without which the union would embark on an indefinite strike.

“Examination or no examination, we will go on with the strike. This is a warning strike of three days and if the government fails then, we will embark on a mother of all strikes,” he stated.

The labour leader said, “Nigerian teachers have waited for too long and their patience is fast running out. We have waited for almost two decades with promises and promises alone while others have enjoyed with reviews of professional salary structure.

We do not want to be patient, awaiting an undertaker. We have gotten to take our destiny in our hands.”

He lamented why government had failed to implement the policy after it had approved it and presented it to the National Incomes, Salaries and Wages Commission over a year ago.

“NUT has exhausted all legal, professional and bureaucratic procedures towards the implementation of a separate structure for its members. We have been fed ever since with discordant tunes on who is actually holding on to the report. This is quite unfortunate,” he said.

However, while briefing journalists on the just concluded Civil Service Week in Lagos State, the Head of Service, Lagos Public Service, Alhaji Yakubu Balogun had sympathised with the candidates, adding, “We are very sorry that this has happened now.”

He stated that Lagos State public school teachers would have not joined the strike but that it did so for solidarity sake.

According to him, the State Government has a uniform salary scale for all its workforce, including teachers, adding, “I don’t see why Lagos teachers would have loved to go on strike if its not because they do not have option than to join their counterparts for solidarity reasons.”