Education Sector in 2014: Dons score govt below average

Like any other year, the year 2014 would have started on a promising note for the education sector but for the almost half the year ASUU strike in 2013 occasioned by the Federal Government’s insensitivity to the sector at tertiary level. This, set the tone for the sector in 2014.

Former Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, NUC, Professor Peter Okebukola in his over view of the sector in 2014 said that there were at least 12 defining events in the education sector in Nigeria. He referred to these as the good, the bad and the ugly.

On the good and positive entries in the report card, he pointed out: the improved performance of candidates in the May/June Senior School Certificate Examination conducted by WAEC; increase in access as additional 982,000 were enrolled nationwide in the basic education system and the carrying capacity of the 129 universities leapt to about 1,000,000.

Out of school children

“We also had the establishment of more Almajiri schools to reduce the number of out-of-school children which was put at about 10 million. The curriculum at all levels enjoyed some positive tweaking by NERDC, NCCE, NBTE, and NUC.’’ He said.

Okebukola who noted that NUC’s action was particularly striking in entrenching an improved entrepreneurship studies programme in Nigerian universities added that its positive impact showed during the national entrepreneurship fair in December 2014. Moreover, he disclosed that funding for physical development and research by TETFund was above the N80 billion mark during the year.

These six events, he concurred, were blue marks on the report card.

Education report

Analysing the “bad” and negative (red) entries in the education report card in 2014, the Pro-Chancellor identified four notable events. The woeful performance of candidates in the November/December Senior School Certificate Examination with more than 50 percent failing to earn five credits in English, Mathematics and three other subjects. He lamented about the poor quality of teachers across all levels of the education system stating that the condition remained generally shameful and unacceptably low.

He said: “Quality of buildings and other teaching-learning infrastructure did not significantly improve and so did the poor reading culture among students not get better.’’

On the “ugly” he spoke in consonance with Professor, Oyesoji Aremu’s view on insecurity of our schools. Okebukola maintained that school safety has put Nigeria on the dark side of the world map. According to him, the entry includes the alleged slaughter by Boko Haram of 43 secondary school students in Federal Government College, Buni Yadi in February and the abduction in April of about 200 girls from Government Secondary School in Chibok.

‘’The overall score shown in the education report card at the state and federal levels is far from the pass grade. If I were the class teacher of this student known as Nigeria, I will make the following closing comments on the 2014 performance in education: “You need to buckle up next session. You were rather too laid back with severe consequences for your future. Work harder in the area of access, teacher quality and facilities.”

Looking into year 2015, his prediction was that no significant difference in performance will be recorded in Education sector over 2014 scores. His words: ‘’In the language of simple mathematics, the graph of performance of education will plateau, that is, will remain flat.

‘’Three factors will account for this stagnancy. One is that the slide in crude oil price will induce a lowering of funding into the education system. With reduced funding, all those areas in which education has been encouraged to improve its performance- access, teacher quality and facilities, will suffer.

“Second, 2015 is an election year. The first quarter of the year will be eaten up by the electoral process with politicians struggling for their survival and caring little for education.

source:vanguard