The on going imbroglio with the Kaduna State government on one hand and the state primary school teachers and public opinion on the other hand exposes the precarious state of education in the state,decay of infrastructure,neglect of the sector and a lack of polical will and commitment of the state government to correct the anomaly. The need to prioritise education as a matter of urgency by increasing budgetary allocations in that sector and investing massively in infrastructural and human development capital can never be over emphasised.
The state government in trying to keep up appearances as reformist,what with its narrative and position concerning the over 22,000 teachers,alleged to have scored less than 75% in a “competency test” administered by the state government,has left more questions in the wake of the exercise than there are answers. The rot in infrastructure,poor motivation,working conditions and near absence of teachers training and retraining programmes betrays a lack of sincerity in the state government’s reformist approach.
There’s no gain saying that education is a necessary catalyst and panacea for growth,development and overall wellbeing of a nation. The state government must desist from paying lip service to the education sector of the state by putting to practice the “state of emergency” it declared in the sector on assumption of office.
Budgetary allocations to the sector must be increased to bridge the infrastructure and human capital deficit that exists in the sector. Education in its elementary,primary and secondary levels should be free and compulsory,working conditions,welfare,motivation and training for teachers should be of utmost priority and guaranteed in the terms and conditions of service of the teachers.
The saying “to get education right,is to get everything right ” as never been so true especially in the context of the present Kaduna State administration’s inability to invest massively in the education sector and the inability of the state government to translate government spending into tangible projects with direct benefit to the sector.
The state government’s claims of recording 100% improvement in the enrolment of pupils from 1.1million pupils in 2015 to 2.2million pupils presently,creates a need for a corresponding increase in the teaching staff and infrastructure(
i.e classrooms) in the state to meet the shortfall of teachers and infrastructure(i.e classrooms)crea
ted by the alleged increase in enrolment.
The unnecessary tension and needless loss of valuable man hours created by the government/
teachers face-off could have been avoided with a proper attitude and sincerity of purpose in pursuing the needed reforms in the sector by the state government. The state government cannot continue to put the cart before the horse in its approach in dealing with the effect of the long neglect in the sector by its administration and those it is preceding.
Government should,as a matter of priority and urgency,commence immediate upgrading,build
ing,investing and training in the infrastructure and human capital development of the state education sector. There must be verifiable indices to measure the growth and development of the sector from time to time to enable citizens make informed analysis,inputs,criticise and even profer solutions for the growth and development of the sector.
I believe that an educated,informed and enlightened people are not only movers of growth,development and partners in progress,but also necessary tools for maintaining peace and security,two important catalysts for growth and development. I believe that any serious government must tackle the problem of education decay from the roots,i.e infrastructure decay,human capital drain,funding e.t.c,while taking to cognisance the poor welfare,teacher/student ratio and poor working conditions of its teaching staff.
I reiterate my resolve to dignify and bring back the pride in the teaching profession,while making learning appealing and conducive.The reward for teachers should not be in Heaven,as it is mischievously alluded to in this clime,but here on earth. As professionals,teachers deserve the same wages as their contemporaries in other sectors .
Finally, as a product of the public education system and a father of primary aged children,I intend to make private education unattractive as I avail my own kids to a reformed,renewe
d,restructured,repositioned and redefined standard of public education system. It is achievable.Lets join hands together to make the Kaduna of our dreams.
DREAM IT,THINK IT,BELIEVE IT,DO IT.
