FEATURE ARTICLE

Revd Canon A. Okwu ObiWednesday, September 7, 2016
[email protected]


ANNOUNCE THIS ARTICLE
TO YOUR FRIENDS


Forwarded by: Rev. NELSON ILUNO

>IGBO LANGUAGE: WHY THE DECLINE?

advertisement

here is a wild cry from many quarters in Igbo speaking areas about the neglect of Igbo Language. This neglect is not only noticeable in the society, but also in the schools, particularly primary schools. It is obvious that the primary school remains the core and foundation of education. It is also easy to observe that something has gone wrong in this education sector. It is therefore necessary to have a retrospect into the main causes of this anomaly.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

In the 19th century, precisely, 1857, some English missionaries arrived at Onitsha in the company of some ex-Igbo slaves from Freetown. Their main tool for missionary work was educating the indigenes. Thus they were bent on learning the indigenous language. Though the Church Missionary Society (CMS) pioneered the Anglican Church in Igbo Land, they laid very serious emphasis on the teaching of the indigenous language - Igbo Language. Thus they started by formulating the Igbo alphabet. They tried to formulate it alongside the English alphabet but some Igbo accent could not be found in the English alphabet. This led to having such compound letters as gh, gw, kw, ny, ch, sh, gb, nw, kp. There are also letters like ?,?,?,? respectively that were formed to complete the Igbo alphabet. Having formed the Igbo alphabets, the CMS went on to develop what later became Igbo grammar which they called "VERNACULAR". They also compiled the first educational policy (which I believe has not changed till now), where they enshrined it that the child's mother tongue should be taught in the first three years of a child's school life in the primary school. These Anglican missionaries believed that the liturgy of the church can best be enjoyed in the language of the people and so, making the people to have the ability to read their language was a priority to them.

This was the motivating factor for the missionaries to work so hard to not only teach the native language , but also to produce books that will enhance the reading of the language. Thus they produced a book called AZU NDU (Green Back Cover), and not (Fresh Fish) .This book helped in no small measure to enhance the learning of Igbo Language from the alphabets until one can read it fluently. Secondly, they moved very fast to produce the first Common Prayer in Igbo. This Common Prayer Book was written in Onitsha language and consists of the Liturgy of the Sunday Worship, the Psalms and also the Hymns. It was called Ekpere Na Abu.

The first Igbo Books published and used were written in Onitsha dialect. This was because Onitsha was the base for the missionaries. When Christianity spread to Imo area, they saw their own dialect as being better and easier than Onitsha dialect and so the missionaries adopted theirs and called it 'Central Igbo'. With this development, the books written in Onitsha dialect were phased out. The New Testament which had already been written in Onitsha dialect has to be replaced with the one written in Central Igbo language. Almost immediately, efforts were made and the entire Bible was written in the central Igbo Language.

It was clear to observe that all the Anglican converts through the CMS missionaries participated very well in the Church Liturgy because they were able to read. Sunday Schools became part of the activities on Sundays. It was used to teach older converts who could not attend normal schools to read and write. This principle of teaching the indigenes their language became a very important tool for the propagation of the gospel. Igbo language was very important to the missionaries. With this, the elderly people who learnt to read and write the Igbo language were mobilized to help in propagating the gospel in the hinterlands.

IGBO LANGUAGE IN THE ANGLICAN SCHOOLS

As stated earlier, all efforts were made in the teaching of Igbo language to see that every pupil can read and write the language excellently within the first three years of his primary school life. This was in consonance with the National Policy in Education (NPE) which states clearly that a child should be taught in his mother tongue in the first three years of his primary school life. English remains a subject on the time table that can only be spoken but not read nor written in the first three years. After three years, the child could not only read but also provide answers to questions in Igbo language while also being able to converse orally in English language. The fourth year is the year the child starts to read and write in English. It makes it easier for the child to have a good grasp of both languages by the time he concludes his six years in primary school.

IGBO LANGUAGE AND THE TEACHER

In the Anglican context, there was no Anglican Teacher who could not boast of being quite at home with Igbo language which was used to lay the foundation for knowledge as at then.

THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS

The Anglican plan for the training of their teachers was very clearly marked out. All the teachers had the syllabus and they take examination each year to move to another stage. For instance, if one is a first year teacher, he had to take an examination based on the stipulated syllabus. He can only be regarded as a second year pupil teacher when he had passed the stipulated examination. This practice continues until he attains third year pupil teacher status. After passing the third year pupil teacher examination, he then attains the rank of an Assistant Teacher (AT). At this stage, the teacher could then take the examination into the Grade Three Teachers' College. The Grade Three certificate obtained at the end of the course, limits the teacher to elementary four, that is, he cannot teach a class above primary four. Through his performance, he can now be selected for Grade Two Teachers Training Course. This Grade Two certificate qualifies him to teach up to Junior Secondary School and not more than that .As at then, teaching in the upper secondary school was the prerogative of only University graduates.

THE ARRIVAL OF IRISH ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES

After 28 years of the coming of the CMS in Onitsha, the Irish missionaries arrived in Onitsha, precisely, in 1885. They could not have been stationed in Onitsha were it not for the benevolence of Bishop Ajayi Crowther and his team. This was because the King of Onitsha, Obi Akazua,his son, Odili and members of his cabinet told the Irish missionaries that they have given out all their available land to the missionaries that came first, that is, the CMS, but advised them to meet them and see if they can accommodate them. Therefore, out of benevolence and with the consideration that the Irish missionaries would help in evangelizing the dark areas of Igbo land, the CMS missionaries allowed them to occupy their land close to the River Niger.

THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME OF THE IRISH MISSIONARIES

Realising that their evangelism cannot succeed without education, they started their own schools. At the inception of their schools, they introduced the teaching of English language from the scratch - primary one. Our people, being whom they are, were elated that their children had already began to speak English in the first year of their primary school life. Secondly, they were taught by the white Irish missionaries. This prompted many people to send their children to Roman Catholic schools. Even some of the parents whose children were attending the CMS schools had to withdraw them and sent them to Roman Catholic schools so that they can speak the white man's language fast.

It was obvious that the Irish missionaries had no plans for the propagation of the indigenous language. Their system of education did not enhance the growth of the indigenous language. The only Igbo they taught was in Onitsha dialect using Adam's orthography. Adam's orthography did not last long because it was not internationally accepted, so it was phased out. As at today, the Liturgy of the Roman Catholic church in Igbo land has continued to be in Onitsha language.

FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE DECLINE OF IGBO LANGUAGE

A. As stated earlier, the educational ideology of the two major actors in the educational development of Igbo land were different. The CMS missionaries were committed to evangelizing in the native language and so encouraged the principle of indigenous participation as exemplified in their liturgy. Whereas the Irish missionaries, in their quest to compete and overtake the Anglicans in evangelization through schools, relegated Igbo language to the background and highlighted the use of English language. Today, the result is obvious for all to see.

B. PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Most of these schools were established as business ventures with the intention of making money. The owners devise all manner of tactics both professionally and unprofessionally to attract more pupils to their schools. They therefore do a lot of window-dressing to lure some gullible parents. One of which was to introduce English language to their pupils as soon as they are old enough to talk and make it a punishable offence if any child dares to speak Igbo in their school. These gullible parents celebrate this as a sign of academic finesse to the detriment of the Igbo language.

C. THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION.

This department of education is expected to draw up the curriculum content for different stages in education; Primary and Secondary. They inspect schools in order to maintain standard. They also give approval before any school can exist. Nowadays, many private schools exist in uncompleted buildings. Some of them have no sitting facilities for the pupils. They have no playground. Some have no toilets and most of their teachers are dropouts from secondary school. Their time tables do not include the teaching of vernacular. Their showpiece is the ability to speak the English language, whether it is correct or not. The Ministry of Education maintains closed eyes to these defects in the educational system of the state. It does not need a soothsayer to declare to anybody why Igbo language has declined terribly.

D. THE GOVERNMENT.

The national policy in education stipulates that the child's mother tongue should be taught in the first three years of primary school. These days, Nursery schools are attached to primary schools and this was not the case many years ago. It is embarrassing to notice that such schools start teaching English language in the Nursery school. This error is carried on to primary school and promoted further on. The funny aspect is that most of the pupils in the nursery school do not even know how to speak their mother tongue because they are still learning to talk. When eventually they get to the primary school and an attempt is made to teach Igbo language, these children are taught to spell Igbo words in English alphabets. The result of course is utter confusion in the minds of these children.

E. IGNORANCE OF THE REAL SPIRIT OF THE EDUCATION POLICY

The education policy runs thus;

  1. First three years in primary school - The vernacular of the pupils should be read and written, while English should be a subject on the time-table, not to be read or written.

  2. The fourth year, the reading and writing of English should be introduced. This system would have eliminated the confusion we have now with regards to Igbo and English languages.

To make matters worse and more complex, some primary schools in non-cosmopolitan areas have started introducing French language as a third language. Teachers who have been contacted on this issue asserted that the imposition of this new language was from above and they cannot do anything about it. This is a bastardization of the education policy.

In international schools, which are very few in Nigeria and may be none in Anambra state, the children's mother tongue is expected to be English because it is the language they speak in their homes. Therefore, French could be their second language and as such, French should not be introduced earlier than the fourth year.

THE PROBLEMS AS WE HAVE THEM TODAY.

  1. No teacher is trained to teach in all the subjects in the primary school curriculum. This creates lots of lapses.

  2. A preponderance of teachers now teaching in the primary schools are products of either the Roman Catholic owned schools or the multifarious private schools.

  3. PARENTS: Some people who feel they are elites deem it a degradation to speak Igbo language in their homes, and so, their children feel that Igbo language is not for them. These children normally feel ostracized in their communities and don't seem to belong to any culture.

HOW TO REMEDY THE SITUATION

It is clear that there is no automatic solution to a problem that was created over a long period of time. We may not adopt the method of the present custodians of our education sector who change text books by discarding the existing books in use and automatically introducing new books in one fell swoop in all the classes. It is believed that while we apply some remedy in the existing situation, the most effective and natural method is to find a way of laying a new foundation, which when adopted and heeded to, and seriously guarded, will produce a desired result after some years.

INTERIM REMEDY

The first suggestion is that the administrators of education in Igbo Land will make efforts to re-orientate the members of staff in the primary schools through seminars during long vacations, so as to equip every teacher in the primary school to be able to handle all the subjects in the primary school effectively. This kind of exercise will bring in experts in different subjects that are taught in the primary schools. The methodology for handling the subjects will also be taught. The result of this will be that no teacher in the primary school will say that she cannot teach any particular subject to her pupils.

LONG TERM PLAN

  1. Recruitment of teachers into primary schools must always take cognizance of the fact that any teacher to be employed must have the capacity to teach Igbo language very well.

  2. As stated earlier, the curriculum content of Teachers Training Colleges when they were controlled by voluntary agencies, especially the Anglican church, was based on all the subjects taught in the primary and secondary schools. Prospective teachers were examined on all the subjects and they had to pass not only the content, but the practice, to qualify for the necessary certificate.

  3. If the recent educational requirement for those who teach in primary schools is NCE, then common sense has it that those teachers must be equipped to teach their classes in the primary school. Some NCE teachers could specialize in Infant Method to take primaries 1-4, while others specialize in Senior Method which includes the first three years of secondary school. As could be seen, it may take time, but the foundation would have been laid.

  4. The Ministry of Education should rise out of comatose and be serious with the inspection of schools and assessment of teachers' work. Possibly, promotion could be based on the teacher's performance in the class.

  5. HOUSING AS A PANACEA FOR THE PROBLEM OF TEACHERS AVOIDING TRANSFERS TO THE HINTERLAND.

    Any government which honest intention is to promote good teaching and learning through balanced and equitable staff distribution should think of channelling some of her housing programmes to the hinterland and site them within school compounds to serve as Staff Quarters. This will neutralize the reasons given by some teachers over accommodation issues when transferred to the hinterland. It will also enhance confidence on the part of the teachers and improve the standard of teaching in such schools. It will also enhance staff-pupil relationships.

advertisement
IMAGES IN THE NEWS