Mary Ugwuanyi, a retired teacher with Model Secondary School, Nsukka, Enugu State, spoke with ZEBULON AGOMUO on the state of Nigeria’s education. Excerpts:
What went wrong in the nation’s education sector?
The first thing that went wrong is that the teachers are no longer trained. So, they lack the requisite training to train others. They go to university and colleges of education quite alright, but they only study to pass examination not to be equipped to transfer knowledge to other people. So, the first problem is that they are not properly trained. When I started teaching, I lived in school quarters, even as a primary school teacher. The essence was to make sure everything was in proper place. We had supervisors, and the children really read. When we went to school, we competed on reading novels; and when we read we learnt how to speak good English. It was a healthy competition. A trained teacher explains not just teach. Even in 50 years to come, you still remember what you have learnt if you were properly taught. At that time, teachers taught on how to be a model, and they were role models to their pupils and students. We played with them, and make them feel like our own biological children. We were taught how to write well, not just writing anything. Where ever we went, we showed the light; we were good examples in our communities. We were seen as special breeds. We taught the villagers what they should do and how to live in society, according to standard. We did not tolerate waste; we measured food; moderation was our watch word. Teachers were taught how to live peacefully with our spouses, and maintain our homes. All those good qualities of teachers are now gone. In those days, good leaders were from homes of teachers. In other words, children of teachers made good leaders wherever they went. A lot of things went wrong, especially after the war. People began to lower standard to survive by all means. They are no longer committed to what they do. Everything is about money. No genuine love for country. People want to take out as against giving. Then the politicians worsened the situation by amassing the wealth to themselves. Teachers are being owed and they are being pushed to the wall. That is why we see strike all the time. It was not so before. Those recruited to teach nowadays are no longer by merit, but on the basis of who you know. Remuneration is very important and teachers are denied their wages. Gradually, people’s interest in the teaching job began to wane. They no longer enjoyed the respect even from their employers unlike in the overseas countries where teachers are treated with utmost respect. So, the profession died and the training is no longer deep. The values that were taught in school in those days are no longer being taught today. We made good friends in school in those days. The best friends I have today are the ones I made when I was in school.
What in your opinion can be done to remedy the situation?
The politicians have to celebrate the teachers and recognise that they are important. The teachers need constant training. Employ top teachers, give them good remuneration, then they will bring up top children. You can make use of Alumni to go back and teach in their alma mater; by so doing they continue to uphold the standard of the school. Government should go to China, Germany, London, United States of America, etc, and bring ideas from them and properly apply them here. Give the teachers all they need to teach well. Do not just employ anybody for the sake of it. There is no innovation and no research these days. Politicians will carry all the money and abandon the teachers that taught them. You see a councilor at the local government level, within a year or two, he is an instant millionaire, yet the school principal where he passed through is languishing. Teachers should have their rewards here on earth, before they get to heaven. If government can spend money and build good schools and fund education properly, things will be okay.
Are you satisfied with the quality of those appointed as ministers and other administrators in the sector?
In those days, we knew those who should be there. Before you were appointed a permanent secretary in the education sector, they would look at your trajectory in the profession. Not the political promotions and appointments they make today. If you saw ministers in those days, they were almost being revered. And you would know they were not just there; they had the stuff. They were tried through and through before their appointments. Today, politicians have spoiled everything. They just fill the spaces with all manner of people and that’s why we are not seeing any positive result year-in year-out. Nobody supervises anybody these days. There is no teaching practice; even the trainee teachers pay their way to avoid going for the compulsory teaching practice. You see somebody who claims to have read Education in the university, without even knowing the basic rudiment of teaching. In our days, teaching practice was a must. No trainee teacher would escape it. They must go to school, teach and be supervised. In fact, they used to live in the schools where they did their teaching practice. The essence was to learn the school culture and be part of the system. For the period the teaching practice would last, they live there. Today, the system has been corrupted. You don’t even feel the impact of any minister in the sector.
In your days, private school system was not the in-thing. What can you say about the private schools vis-à-vis quality of education in the country?
It is the rich people that open these schools. It was a way of trying to help salvage the sector, but it has worsened the situation. Most of the private schools do not even have qualified teachers. The students are not well-taught and are not well-behaved. Many of today’s female teachers go to school almost naked in the name of fashion. When a female teacher turns her back to write on the board (many of them don’t even know how to write on the board) everything she wears inside, including her sensitive parts, are open for the children to see. How would they respect such a teacher? What type of role model is such a teacher? What then are such teachers teaching and what are the children learning from such teachers? I can say that because of the times we are in, today’s children are distracted. What we see in today’s children is street smartness. They are very smart but they are not learning the right things. They don’t read. They are always on their phone. But you cannot make it without reading the right books. Today, teaching is all about passing examinations. They are not being taught something that will keep them going in life. The teaching is not deep-rooted. Many professors of today don’t even have deep-rooted knowledge. Those who went to school when we did knew little of every subject under the sun. We were exposed; even without travelling, you know the world around you through the in-depth studying and teaching of Geography, History, Literature in English, and our brain was stuffed with a lot of good information. We knew too many things. Most of the things I know now were the things I learnt when I went to teachers’ training college (Saint Monica’s College, Ogbunike, near Onitsha), not even what I learnt in the university.
How would you describe Nigeria at 59?
Nigeria is steadily going down, instead of going up. We can only say that in terms of building and expansion of cities, there has been a positive change, but in terms of real infrastructural development, Nigeria is not there. Basic infrastructure that could help the common man has continued to elude us. Socially also, things are not well with us, that’s why we have rising cases of killing of one another; worsening cases of hatred and divisions. Things have gone totally bad. Politically, the country is not faring any better. We have come to a point that elections no longer count; the voice of people is no longer respected. At 59, Nigeria cannot conduct simple election. When we should be getting better with our elections, we are instead organising sham elections. Many people continue to lose their lives and property in the name of election. After wasting a lot of money on such elections, we now move to the tribunal. So, is there any need for elections?
