FEATURE ARTICLE

Prof. Adekunle AkinyemiSunday, September 20, 2015
[email protected]
Pikesville, Maryland, USA

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AN ADVANCE OPEN LETTER TO THE NEW MINISTER OF EDUCATION

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wish to express my hearty congratulations to you on your new position as the Honourable Federal Minister of Education in Nigeria. I want to believe that you are the best fit for that job, the square peg, in the square hole. I pray that it shall be well with you and we shall harvest a huge success during your tenure in office. My decision to write this letter at this time is very strategic and calculated. I do not know you and no one knows you, as at time of writing. Not even the President, until the verification process is complete and he announces his Ministers. I hope you will eventually get to read this article or someone in your ministry, former colleagues, friends or relatives will call your attention to it. It actually does not and will not matter to me, if you happen to be my long-time friend, colleague, relative, mere acquaintance or totally unknown to me. All that is important is for you to know that my writing from the diaspora now does not, in any way mean, that I am distant or removed from happenings on the Nigerian educational scene. Please take this as my honest advice and take what you can, from this short piece for the betterment of our 'decayed' Nigerian educational system.

The Current State of Nigeria Education

Judging from what I have read, seen and heard in the last couple of years on Nigeria, I can assure you that the state is abysmal or at best deplorable. Be assured that it is possible that what we hear or read here in the diaspora about Nigeria, come from the various sources or points of origin, which often do not quickly get circulated beyond the local points of origin. Further, we all know that usually when one gets too near the tree, it is impossible to see the forest. Living in Nigeria does not guarantee total familiarity with happenings at home.

Sometimes it is difficult to clearly define or delineate what is wrong with our educational system. The problems are quite complex in nature, as I will try to present them as 'questions', needing answers and solutions. Is it in the depth or the breadth of our education? Is it at a particular level of education? Could it be problems with Parents and guardians? Is it with educational funding? Is it with the teachers' image or their conduct? Is it in teacher training? Is it in the malpractice in education which is pervasive and multidimensional? Is it with graduate unemployment? Is it with the reckless proliferation of Schools at all levels? Is it in the unionization of staff in the Nigerian educational system? Is it in the falling standards of education? Is it in the cultism and indiscipline in Institutions? Is it in the new fad of indiscriminate classroom use of the social media by learners? Is it in the dearth of resources in Institutions? Is it in the teacher apathy? What about the admission corruption, scandals, and blackmails in Tertiary Institutions? Is it the uphill task of getting transcripts from Universities and WAEC results for children sent to Nigeria from the diaspora, needing to go for further studies? The list of questions is endless. These few questions are just a tip of the iceberg in the gamut of problems currently plaguing Nigerian education today. I wish you the very best of good luck as you face these array of problems.

From the last paragraph, it is clear that you are not inheriting the best of situations, to say the least. The situation on ground is a result of the systemic erosion of the solid educational foundation laid by the past generations. You did not cause them, and you will not be able to solve (cure) all of them. However, you can begin the reconstruction of a new solid foundation, on which your successors can build over time, as the new direction in Nigeria education. Governance is a continuum. You only plug in and will be measured by your achievements, subject to your space, on the continuum of governance. However long your tenure is, I still regard it as short on the continuum. I call your tenure short because of the political limitations and other expediencies you will have to cope with. All you can do is your best.

There is absolutely no use laying out these problems without suggesting some tips or solutions as you forge ahead with your assignments. I must admit that the dismal situation can be and is indeed overwhelming. I hope that some of the following tips may assist you in your duties.

Some Words of Caution and Tips

I will like to express some words of caution even as you navigate through the sea of problems besetting Nigeria education. In this era of politics, the reigning political party already has a Blueprint and Manifesto which is very important to their party. There will be a great need to harmonise these with your personal concerns as you try to leave a legacy behind. You will need the support and confidence of the President, the cooperation of the civil servants in the Ministry and the academic community to succeed. You may consider the following tips as well:

First, you will need to be dynamic and pragmatic in your approach to the myriads of problems. You will not let the bureaucratic practice in civil service bog you down as it will get you nowhere. You will need to sometimes think outside the box.

Second, you will need to surround yourself with goal-getters, who are intelligent, indefatigable, accountable, prudent, selfless, and most of all, men and women of integrity.

Third, you must be an active player, who is ready to supervise, backup and obtain feedback from your subordinates on a frequent basis. Let them see you as a 'workaholic' if possible! Many of them will eventually fall in line.

Fourth, I want to suggest to you, to see your tenure as flexible or short in view of inter-ministerial switches and transfers, which will not allow for any time wasting. Since the President was not able to hit the ground running, Ministers will be expected to fly! Remember that he (the President) has devoted so much time to cleaning up the mess for all his Ministers. Beware of sycophants and bootlickers!

Some Suggestions

Curricular modifications to include some anti-corruption contents at all educational levels. This will be in tune with the present needs and mood of the nation. This is in particular reference to subjects like Civics at the Elementary Education levels and General Studies in Tertiary Institutions.

Legislation against sundry malpractice in the educational Institutions at all levels is long overdue. Leave your good mark on this so that you can clean up the education environment a little.

Establishment of Agencies or a restructure of the existing ineffective Agencies to function like the NUC to check the proliferation of educational Institutions (approve, control and monitor the conduct). Put a check on the commercialization of education in Nigeria.

The issue of the proliferation of Trade Unions in the Educational System needs to be addressed frontally. The need for streamlining the Unionisation practice in education cannot be ignored. It is disrupting our school calendars and reducing the worth of our graduates at entry into tertiary institutions abroad.

Leave a legacy behind where the lot of the teachers can be improved and their rewards are no longer delayed (until they get to heaven!). You will need to consider whatever you can do to see that the 'image of the teacher is improved'. Otherwise there will be no good teachers left to teach in the Nigerian schools as new/more jobs arrive on the Nigerian employment scene!

You will need to institute a continuous retraining of teachers on a regular basis for pedagogical updates and training in the new technologies, even in rural areas. Training, retraining and repackaging are essential in this new era, where the world has been shrunk into one global village.

You will need to convene national conferences, symposia and workshops on the new Nigerian Education Reform to get to the nooks and corners of Nigeria. These are the means by which you can publicise your new education reform.

Finally, on the optimistic note, one is assured that the new 'Government of Change' of President Muhammadu Buhari will give the incoming Honourable Minister Of Education, the necessary Legislative, Executive and Judicial support which will enable you to succeed on this voyage into Governance. Education in your own time, must witness some radical changes and I want to be a witness to such changes. I wish you the very best of luck as you move Nigeria education to the next level.

Professor Adekunle Akinyemi, President/CEO, Ceezek Foundation Inc. in Pikesville, Maryland, USA, and former Director of the Institute of Education, University of Ilorin, and Former Director, Centre for Educational Technology, University of Botswana, Southern Africa. Email - [email protected].

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