Many people ask what the future of education is. They want to know why Nigerian education has fallen from its former glory and if there is any hope for the future.
Long before formal education in Nigeria, children were taught culture, crafts and values. Then came Islam, which took over the larger part of Northern Nigeria. By the time the Christian missionaries came with the idea of schools, it was a herculean task trying to get natives especially the converted Muslims to embrace the idea. Education came with a foreign culture and the Christian religion; traditional Nigerians couldn’t relate with it. Soon enough, the dividends were evident in the lives of our first leaders, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and other scholars.
Education did enjoy progress; with the oil bloom, the government took over missionary schools and begun to provide schools for its citizens. The government made primary education available and compulsory for all and continued to explore ways to get everyone to school as the larger population, especially the northern area, still remained uneducated.
Government changed hands and successive governments differed in the values they attributed to education. The percentage of the budget ascribed to education fluctuated from 0.53% to 17.59%, non actually reaching the 26% mark of the total budget prescribed by UNESCO.
The implication of this is that teachers’ salaries and benefits are adversely affected. Payments don’t increase in similar proportions as other industries, payments are irregular and in some cases, teachers go unpaid for long periods.
Infrastructure is inadequate; schools lack science and technology laboratories and power to make it work. Training and advancement of teachers’ careers are not defined, teachers are not provided with continuous professional development plans, hence they are short changed in their ability to move with the rapid development trends in education. Outstanding educators and students also do not get enough recognition for their effort. Instead, corrupt politicians celebrate their loot and promote unscrupulousness as against noble values, the influence of which has caused many to discount the benefits of quality education and adopt short-cut means to success.
The unattractiveness of schools, leads to brain drain and opens the profession up to mediocrity. Schools are flooded by teachers, whose only desire to be in education is the lack of a better option. Of course, the education system is programmed for failure; if students are to succeed, we must borrow a leaf from Finland and other countries with the world’s best education systems. We must retrace our steps and do the following in the field of education:
Admit into higher institution, the best and high achieving students.
Drill them on the role of values, skills and quality knowledge in child and nation building.
Graduate teachers in a prestigious ceremony that sends a message to the world of, true leaders on a mission.
Map out a training schedule to train and retrain teachers on best practices based on research.
Remunerate teachers well and give good incentives to live a decent life.
Improve school conditions by ensuring a modest and conductive environment.
Provide teaching resources and facilities like the science and technology labs, art materials, manipulative, computers, internet and power.
Partner with organisations to serve as excursion sites, for the students to connect learning with the environment.
Build more schools to accommodate more children and reduce overcrowding in the classrooms; no matter how good a teacher is, they cannot be effective in a classroom of more than 40 students.
The intervention needed in education is a complete overhaul and may take several years to executive; however, many private sectors have begun work in several areas of training teachers, providing more schools, providing resources and extracurricular activities in schools. The government needs to engage these organisations and come up with a harmonised consensus, to achieve certain prescribed outcomes, in Private Public Partnerships.
The School Leaders Association Convention is a forum to open up discussions and establish synergy between stakeholders. Adesuwa Ifedi is the Vice President, Policy and Partnerships at the Bridge Foundation, an organisation that has over 52 low income schools in Nigeria and is currently partnering with the government of different states to train teachers. She would be sharing insights on the challenges of education around the world and models being explored to improve education systems.
Obafela Bank-Olemoh is the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Education. He would be speaking on the government’s plan to prepare students for today’s digitalised world. The future of education is one where students’ can connect learning with the world around them. It is one where students are successful not just academically but socially, emotionally, physically, and morally. How is the government stirring education to lead this future that is now?
Schools are beginning to incorporate future ready skills in their curriculum. They want students to develop critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, creativity skills, research skills, team work, communication.
How is this being done and how can more schools teach in progressive ways? Today’s education demands much more than what the teacher has to offer, how is the teacher meeting to this challenge and how is the school culture influencing teaching and learning? These questions will be answered by experts in various teaching fields, drawing from their background, research and experience.
All education stakeholders are invited to attend this event to follow along advancements in education, discover ways to succeed in bringing up cosmic children and develop a support network for school success.
Uwaye Soetan
Uwaye Soetan is director Fantasia Education Partners and Fantasia City School. Convener, School Leaders Association.
