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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / Gov. Amosun, It’s Time To Eat The Humble Pie (867 Views)
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Gov. Amosun, It’s Time To Eat The Humble Pie by idris4eva(m): 7:36am On Aug 22, 2015 |
It’s very easy to conclude that any man that dumps the
responsibility of taking care of his household on the society
and goes about wining and dining as if he has no care in the
world is irresponsible. But it’s amazing how the story changes
when those perceived to be irresponsible are people in power,
especially people that think they wield absolute powers to do
and undo as their imperial majesties please.
That is when one begins to hear different interpretations of a
word as simple as irresponsibility. A very simple analysis is
subjected to complexity and all sorts of interpretations and
conjunctions come to the fore. This is what happened in Ogun
State a couple of days back when a simple summary passage
highlighting government’s irresponsibility in the education
sector was turned to something else.
According to reports, Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun
State took a swipe at some school officials for setting what he
described as an offensive English Language question for public
schools’ students in the state. The question was a summary
passage in the State Unified Examination.
The summary passage indicated that in spite of the money being
spent on the education sector, there was little or no impact on
the people. It noted that schools run by government had lost
their prestige, forcing parents to withdraw their children and
sending them to private schools that are better managed. For
highlighting an obvious phenomenon that the students could
easily relate with, angry Governor Amosun sacked all the top
education officials involved in setting the question. To him, the
workers were trying to bite the finger that fed them and
therefore deserved no mercy.
I guess this level of abuse of power can only happen in a country
like Nigeria. Here, leaders are seen as lords and masters,
emperors, kings and rulers whose authority is unquestionable.
In all sincerity, I can’t see the difference between a government
that impoverishes its people and is half committed to its
responsibilities and a man who thinks his major task in life is to
give birth to children that someone else would train for him.
Nigerian leaders waste millions of naira on self-aggrandisement
and do not care if the people they govern go hungry for days. In
fact, we have become accustomed to being short-changed to
the point that we celebrate mediocrity and call it excellence.
A look at statistics of private schools in comparison with
government schools in Ogun State clearly validates the
summary question that Governor Amosun is complaining about.
Ogun State has a total of 4,137 primary schools and of this
figure, the government controls 1,490 while the remaining
2,647 are privately owned. And out of its 1,156 secondary
schools, 474 are owned by government while 682 are privately -
owned.
It is no longer news that the best schools in Nigeria especially at
the primary and secondary school levels are privately owned.
Enrolment in public schools is dwindling every day while private
schools are increasing.
The situation is so bad that the country does not even have the
figure of its private schools. Statistics from the National Bureau
of Statistics only indicate that there were 54,434 public
primary schools and 7,129 junior schools in the country in
2006. But a lot of people know that private schools are much
higher in number. They are almost in every corner, especially in
the country’s major towns and cities.
Whether Governor Amosun likes it or not, the fact remains that
many of these private schools offer a higher quality of
education. They have better physical infrastructure and are
better equipped than the public schools. Their teachers are
better paid and more motivated to work. Their products
perform better in external examinations and are admitted to top
universities. Whereas products of public schools rarely do well
in external examinations.
You know a serious country by the attention it gives to the
education of its people. Government remains the major
provider of primary and secondary education in countries like
Australia, the UK and the US to mention just a few. Even in
Ghana, government is still substantially responsible for
providing education at primary and secondary school levels.
There are 24,372 schools in England. This includes nursery
schools, state funded primary schools, state funded secondary
schools, special schools, pupil referral units and independent or
what we call private schools in Nigeria. But according to Good
Schools Guide, only nine per cent of children being educated in
the UK are doing so at fee-paying schools at GSCE level and 13
per cent at A Level. And unlike what obtains in Nigeria,
enrolment in government schools is increasing in the UK with
32,471 more pupils enrolled in public schools in the 2013/2014
academic session.
In Australia, government is the main provider of quality
education for its citizens. In 2014, 2,406,495 students
representing 65.1 per cent of student population in the country,
were in government owned schools compared to 1,287,606
students (34.9 per cent) attending non-government schools,
according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
In Ghana, private sector share in schools at the primary, junior
high schools and senior high schools, according to GH Teachers,
is 24.5 per cent, 25.1 per cent and 26.4 per cent respectively.
Worldwide, education is seen as a public good. That is why
advanced nations of the world prioritise and invest heavily in it.
Wise nations believe that their wealth is a function of the quality
of education they provide for their people.
As much as possible, they ensure that quality primary and
secondary education is not only available but free to encourage
literacy. They know that investment in education is
advantageous in the long run, because, education among others,
helps people in making better life choices which ultimately
reduce pressure on governments.
And when you find private primary and secondary schools
burgeoning at the expense of the public ones in any society, it is
a sign that government is abdicating its responsibilities.
We all know how once upon a time public primary schools were
the best in Nigeria. But this soon became history as the rot in the
sector went on for a long time unchecked. Then only the
children of the rich could afford private primary schools. But as
the rot continued unabated, more private primary schools
sprang up. Parents and guardians started sending their children
and wards to private primary schools. Not long after, the rot
caught up with public secondary schools and private secondary
schools took over. It became so bad that even the poorest of the
poor would struggle to send their children to private schools
even if the schools are substandard and manned by half-
literates.
I recall a particular documentary on substandard public schools
in Lagos which at a time had more enrolment than the state
public schools simply because people had more confidence in
them than in the so-called government schools.
Now, private universities are gradually taking over from public
universities .Of the 147 universities in the country, 61 are
private universities, 40 owned by states and 46 by the Federal
Government. Facilities in public universities are being
overstretched day by day. And in spite of the rise in enrolment
figures, infrastructure are rarely upgraded.
No one is saying government alone should handle education
especially at the tertiary level, but it seems to me that
government at all levels is too eager to surrender its duties. This
attitude can’t take us far as a nation. It won’t come as a
surprise if our public universities, like our primary schools,
become objects of scorn in another 10 years from now. Today,
our public primary schools mainly cater for orphans or maids
who can’t afford anything better.
The rot in Nigeria’s public primary and secondary schools calls
for urgent attention. Government should provide well -equipped
laboratories, learning tools and upgrade infrastructure in these
schools.
So, rather than grandstanding and abusing executive powers,
Governor Amosun should thank the sacked examiners for
innocently telling him what he ought to have known. He should
recall the workers and critically assess the education sector in
the state with a view to making it better. He should work on
restoring the glory of public schools in the state. After all, as it
is, Governor Amosun is not likely to send any of his children to
any of Ogun State’s public schools. Late Chief Bola Ige as
governor of Oyo State and former governor Lateef Jakande of
Lagos State sent their kids to public schools. There is no reason
why that can’t happen again.
If Amosun won’t send his own children to Ogun schools, he
should at least make them decent enough for those who can’t
afford to send their children anywhere else but these schools for
now. |
Re: Gov. Amosun, It’s Time To Eat The Humble Pie by bebene: 7:36am On Aug 22, 2015 |
Abuse of power! |
Re: Gov. Amosun, It’s Time To Eat The Humble Pie by allytinted: 8:00am On Aug 22, 2015 |
summary pls..... |
Re: Gov. Amosun, It’s Time To Eat The Humble Pie by lwise(m): 8:07am On Aug 22, 2015 |
What do you expect from that man that dresses like someone going for a party all the time. |
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