Where Do We Miss It?

Hello lovelies,

Hope y’all have been having a good week? There’s never a dull moment on Nigeria’s cyberspace and social media. From our athletes’ performances at the ongoing Olympics, our Pilgrims allegedly getting caught with substance suspected to be cocaine, a Nigerian thief almost beaten to death in Monrovia, the story about the bride that left her groom at the altar upon discovery that the dude lied to her about working in Chevron (don't know if that is true o), and finally to the hullabaloo over my Igbo brother who named his dog (actually painted the name on the dog’s flanks) ‘Buhari’, LOL. Never a dull moment, I swear!

Anyway, your truly have been in Minna, the capital city of Niger State, home to two powerful Ex Heads of State, Rtd. Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar. We’ve been working on infusing human trafficking issues/topics into the curriculum of primary and secondary issues in Nigeria. Catching them early, right? Education is the best way to disseminate information and create awareness among the young ones on the dangers of human trafficking.

With Professors, NAPTIP Directors and curriculum experts working with NERDC.

Working on this curriculum have afforded me to opportunity to look at what our students are meant to learn in school, and compare it with what I actually see and hear from our young students. So, looking at the curriculum vis-a-vis the students’ performance, I wish to ask this question based on my Igbo people’s saying which when translated could go thus: ‘is it that the barber doesn’t know how to barb hair, or is it that the clipper is not sharp’?

I mean the curriculum is RICH!, and the seasoned Professors, teachers,  and curriculum experts who work on this curriculum put in a lot of work and time, with periodic reviews and various painstaking infusions. Yet the students do not turn out so well and knowledgeable. In this case, the ‘clipper’ (curriculum) is sharp, so I guess it’s the ‘barber’ (delivery) that is the problem.

Looking at our education sector, I wonder if all schools in Nigeria have this curriculum; I doubt it. If the teachers don’t have the curriculum to refer to, what guides them in their teaching? Who will speak for the public schools in the rural areas that do not have access to the curriculum? A teacher from a public school actually confirmed that they borrow curriculum from a private school and make photocopies which they use in her school. Why won’t funds be provided for the Education sector? I highly doubt if our leaders value the importance of quality education. Saying we have free basic education is not the issue, the main thing is giving these children QUALITY education! The pupils in the rural areas shouldn’t be learning ‘ ”a” is for apple’, while their counterparts in the big cities are learning ‘/a/ as in apple’. Know the difference between the two?

This is the major problem we have in Nigeria. Everything looks good on paper, but when it comes to actual implementation, we fail woefully. Teachers should be properly equipped and motivated to teach. Having been raised by teachers as parents, I know it is not an easy task. I admit I can’t do it, I don’t have the patience for it, but those that do should be adequately rewarded for their efforts. The teachers too should work on improving themselves. I read that teachers in Finland take two hours in a week to develop themselves professionally, despite already owning a Masters’ degree (which is a requirement for teachers there). Here, some teachers still possess only NCE (National Certificate in Education), which is an ‘A’ Level grade Course which equips the students with the methodologies and technics of teaching. Some have had this for decades without improving on their knowledge. How can these set of people move with these changing times??

To whom much is given, much is also expected. If we are to trust the teachers with imparting knowledge into our children, they should have that knowledge. You can imagine a teacher saying ‘we don’t use to teach them like that’!! WHAT IS THAT!?? No wonder our students’ performance in English Language keep getting poorer and poorer each year. Also thanks to e-writing and the lazy and mundane way we write on social media platforms, so much that students forget themselves and write those silly abbreviations (that often leave me wondering what they meant) in their examinations too. Too bad.

Am I the only one who’s worried about the declining quality of education in this country, and the lack of adequate attention being paid to education?? Hmmm… I hope not. I sincerely pray we get it right.

With the seasoned English Language Prof. Ismail Tsiga,

Have a lovely weekend everyone. Maybe for my T.G.I.F moves, I’ll go check on IBB and Abdulsalami Abubakar at their Hill Top Mansions, heard they’re neighbours, LOL. In case you don't hear from me on Monday, know that I might have gotten arrested for trespassing, hehehehehe...

Hugs…