450 Additional Reasons Why Education Must be Free and Quality
Fidel Davynovich
This year’
annual free summer coaching of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) came to an
end on Wednesday 9 September, 2015. This was after six weeks of the exercise
with about 450 secondary school students (in SS1, SS2 and SS3) and 30 volunteer
teachers participating.
Because of the
very low quality of education in public schools, secondary school students
often need extra coaching during the school holidays to prepare more adequately
for external examinations that could get them a place in a University,
polytechnic or colleges of education. But the cost of a private coaching is
rarely within the means of most poor families. When it comes to poverty,
Ajegunle is a synonym of a sort. Ajegunle, the Lagos community where the ERC
coaching is organized, is a sprawling slum. Rarely remembered in the State
government urban renewal plans, the community’s neglect is an evidence of the
class-apartheid that Lagos mega city projects really is.
Like most poor
communities around Lagos and across Nigeria, Ajegunle’s physical deprivation is
depressing. Children run bare clothed along flea-infested swamps and yawning
canals – their dark watery content swirling like the filthy cauldron of
Macbeth’s witches. What goes for a home for a majority of the residents are
overcrowded hovels. These depressing features nonetheless, the ERC coaching is
a witness, for a decade, to the astounding talents, brilliance and remarkable
potentials of Ajegunle youth, and above all, their unbreakable spirit.
At the six-week
coaching were 450 students who, like thousands of others, could have had
nowhere to go were the coaching not provided for free. They are 450 additional
reasons government must provide free, public funded and quality education at
all levels. At the closing ceremony, gifts and awards were given out to
students who excelled in their different subjects. Drama, singing sessions,
comedy and poetry presentation were also made by the children.
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| Volunteer Teachers |
To most visitors
and guests at the ceremony, it was obvious that despite the ocean of poverty in
which they found themselves, these children had all it takes to excel if the
proper facilities and provisions to motivate them were in place. Unfortunately,
what goes for schools in the public school system are depressing school
structures - often decrepit and lacking the essential facilities. Libraries and
laboratories are in such poor conditions in the public school system that
performance in science subjects has been on a nose-dive for years now.
By initiating
the free holiday coaching in the Ajegunle community since 2005, the ERC aim to
stimulate awareness over the neglect of public education and other key social
services especially in poor communities. The ERC argues that the poor working
and poor families should not believe the mantra that government
has no business in using public resources to adequately provide free quality
education. Also untrue is the argument that government alone cannot mobilize
the resources to fund education. Whereas if Nigeria’s resources are
democratically and judiciously managed especially through a programme of public
ownership and democratic control and management of the key sectors of the
economy, it would be enough to provide free and quality education at all
levels.
The ERC has continually campaigned that it is the
government’s responsibility to fund public education with the public resources
in its custody. We firmly believe that massive investment in public
education is urgently needed to eradicate the leprosy of illiteracy from the
Nigerian society. What this means is that the government has to build more
learning infrastructures and standard facilities in the universities, primary
and secondary schools. Also there is the need for employment of more teaching
staffs and adequate worker’s welfare. Findings show that there is a shortfall
of at least 220, 000 teachers in the public education system in Nigeria. Lagos
State for instance is experiencing a chronic shortage of teaching staff in its
primary and secondary schools. To this end, the ERC has been demanding the
UNESCO 26% of the annual budget as the minimum that should be allocated to
public education.
Record Attendance
Since the
coaching started in 2005, this is by far the largest attendance. Annually, the
average attendance has often been around the region of 300. But this year,
which is the eleventh edition, was different with at least 450 students
participating. The coaching, which ran from August 3 till September 9, 2015,
could not have been successful without the immense effort of the volunteer
teachers. About thirteen academic subjects like Mathematics, English Language,
Biology, Economics, Commerce, Government, Civic Education, Further Mathematics,
Physics, Chemistry, Geography, Literature-in-English, and computer Science were
all taught in the SS 1, SS 2 and SS 3 classes.
Side by side
with the academic effort put in place by teachers, the coaching also played
host to many personalities from the community and beyond. Many were from
different fields and careers. They all visited the coaching to share with the
students their experience of life and particularly to encourage them to take
their studies serious and strive to overcome all the obstacles placed in their
path by an unfair society.
The Closing Ceremony
The closing
ceremony held under the theme: “THE PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES OF PRIMARY AND
SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION”. Speakers at the ceremony included Mrs. Olosanya
H.A - the Head of Department (HOD), education department of the Ajeromi
Ifelodun Local Government. Others are Aminu Gusau, the Divisional Police
Officer (DPO) of the Ajeromi Police Station who sent a representative; Mr.
Abulowo Solomon Ademofe who is the Education Secretary AJIF, Dagga Tolar –
Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) AJIF and NEC member of the
Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) and Hassan Taiwo Soweto – National
Coordinator of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC).
According to Mrs.
Olosanya, public education rest on the shoulder of government and there is no
way the government can shy away from its responsibility. Other speakers who
spoke on the same topic acknowledged the importance of education and applauded
the efforts of the ERC Free holiday coaching. The ERC national coordinator,
Hassan Taiwo Soweto categorically stated that the challenges and problems of
primary and secondary education is not far-fetched from the reality of
underfunding, inadequate facilities and infrastructures, not enough teaching
staff etc. He called for better funding of the education system. According to
him, if public resources are democratically managed, the issue of corruption
would in no way arise. But because of capitalism and the false mantra that “government
alone cannot fund education”; that is why the neo-liberal agenda of
commercialization and privatization became the hallmark of government education
policy. The consequence of course is the paralysis and near-collapse of the
whole public education system.
Coming from the
background and experience of the police, the representative of the DPO urged
the students to take their academic very serious. He also spoke about social
vices which young people participate in and also fall victim too. Particularly,
he spoke extensively about rape and sexual harassment which many young girls
fall victim to in the communities. While declaring the police readiness to deal
decisively with crime and insecurity, he announced police emergency lines which
he encouraged the students to always call should they ever be in any emergency
situation. He ended by urging the students who have participated in the ERC
lesson read their books always and stay away from the distraction and social
vices.
While the
coaching was on, Paradigm Initiative of Nigeria (PIN) – an initiative of the
alumni of a computer training school – supported the coaching by training
students in SS 2 and SS 3 classes in computer operation and skills. The
training ran for five days before the closing ceremony. At the closing
ceremony, PIN members came to award scholarships to five students. This
scholarship automatically provides the five students an opportunity to attend a
six-week computer programme free of charge.
Also the
volunteer teachers, about 30 of them, were each awarded ERC certificate of
participation. But the best award of all was the standing ovation and
resounding applause each got from grateful students and parents as they stepped
forward to receive the certificates.
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