By; FUNMI OROYE ADERINTO, Kaduna
Governor Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai of Kaduna State has said: “Our purpose in government is to promote equality of opportunity, to give every child the best prospects through decent education.
“It is to secure for our young people employment opportunities in a vibrant economy, regulated by a competent public service. It is about giving everyone a fair chance in the race of life! It about being for the people and seeking to empower them, not creating and exploiting dependency”.
The governor expressed this during the State Broadcast on the reforms undertaken by the Kaduna State Government, in Kaduna.
According to him, “our educational policies and programmes are aimed at eradicating illiteracy in Kaduna State, ensuring every child gets at least nine years of free basic education, improving infrastructure and tools, while attracting the best people in character and learning to the teaching profession.
He stated that, education is a leveller. It gives the children of the poor a chance to rise above the condition of their birth. And a nation of well-educated people offers immense opportunities for social mobility, enabling the poor to move out of poverty by the sheer force of talent and hard work.
He explained that, “many Nigerians in their late fifties and above owe a lot of their lifetime achievements to public education. For instance, I had my primary education at Local Education Authority (LEA) School, Kawo. The foundation my teachers gave me in primary school was reinforced by very wonderful teachers at Barewa College, Zaria. The knowledge and hard work of these teachers nurtured the confidence and study habits that enabled me to earn First Class Honours at the Ahmadu Bello University, another public school.
“Having been so blessed by decent public education, we cannot be derelict in the moral obligation to give unto others the wonderful things that we have been given”.
He expressed that, he started life in rural Daudawa as the son of a pensioner. Without public education, I would not have gone to school. I believe that the children of the poor are entitled to the same opportunities that I was given.
He stressed that, “we found that unqualified teachers entered the system because the recruitment of teachers was politicised. The local government council chairmen and other senior politicians and bureaucrats saw teaching as a dumping ground for their thugs, supporters and other unsuitable persons”.
“This attitude of indifference to public education resulted in the recruitment of teachers at local government level without adherence to standards. In many instances, no examinations or interviews were conducted to assess the quality of recruits. Political patronage, nepotism and corruption became the yardstick, thus giving unqualified persons a way in. Teaching jobs were given as patronage to those connected to politicians and bureaucrats”.
As we prepared to take office in May 2015, we received briefings from the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN), a DFID programme. A summary of pupil and teacher competence levels provided by ESSPIN indicated that • 83% of the teachers scored less than 25% in Maths and literacy exams, • Pry 2 Pupils had an average score of 14% in English and 27% in Maths, • Pry 4 pupils had an average score of 13% in English and 17% in Numeracy,”.
He said, “Government responded to the implications of the ESSPIN report by getting the National Open University of Nigeria to conduct a survey of teacher competence. We took further steps to address gaps by arranging training and retraining for the teachers, as follows during the 2016/2017 session, • 11,315 classroom teachers were trained in Literacy and Numeracy through SUBEB.
Another 3,733 teachers were trained in Reading Skills through the Global Partnership for Education, p• UBEC trained 5,945 teachers in Pedagogy, Lesson Plans and use of Teachers’ Guides
“Kaduna State Government conducted a competency test for primary school teachers. This test assessed the literacy and numeracy levels of the teachers through a Primary Four test. The government considered that giving teachers a 75% threshold for a Primary Four test was an extremely generous decision”.
“Only 11, 591 teachers (33.9%) scored at least 75% in the test. Others fell within the following categories, 70 and 74%: 5,766 (16.9%), 60-69%: 8,759 (26.1%), 0-59%: 8,047 (23.58%).
The Governor frowned that, “with all the expense and time already devoted to training, the government came to the conclusion that it is not further training that teachers who cannot score 75% in a Primary Four exam require. Teacher training is about improving the capacity of a teacher to impart knowledge. What the competency test showed is that many of the teachers do not have the basic knowledge, and are as such incapable of imparting what they do not have. The honest truth is that many of these teachers should themselves be adult education students, being taught basic literacy and numeracy!
He disclosed that, the ongoing recruitment process will sieve these applicants to ensure that only bonafide teachers are recruited. As a government, we never base the efficacy of any policy on its popularity, but we note that it augurs well for the future of our country that such a strong constituency exists in favour of decent public education. Our government is working out the mechanism for the volunteer teachers’ scheme. This will be announced very soon.
“We denounce the hypocrisy of critics who send their own children to private schools but argue for the retention in public schools of bad teachers. We wish to remind such persons that the children of the poor also have the right to decent education!”
He said, “Our government has passed the law establishing School-based Management Committees (SBMCs) to attract community involvement in school governance. The budgetary allocations for schools will also go directly to the schools.
“We do not agree that we should restore Grade 2 teacher training. Rather, we must try to so improve the intellectual capacity of teachers that the NCE should give way ultimately to first and second degrees as minimum teaching qualifications”.
He continued, “What we are doing is for the children of the poor, and the future generations of this country. We know that as dismal as things look, Kaduna ranks first among the northern states, and 12th in the country overall in WAEC scores. We can be the best if we do not relent in reforming our schools. Therefore, under no circumstance would we subjugate the future of the 2m pupils in public primary schools, and those coming after them, to the interests of unqualified teachers.”
