Contemporary objections to free education
First, there is the matter of budget and the paucity of national resources. In the current state of national fiscal challenges, it would be argued that it is even more unreasonable and impractical to suggest free education at all levels. The response to this is two-fold. First, even when the nation wallowed in stupendous wealth, critics of free education objected on the ground of its impracticality. That is just to say that for them, there is no season when it is practicable simply because they do not support it. Could it be that for them, when the gates of educational institutions are open wide and everyone takes advantage of what it offers, the special advantages and privileges that accrue to the ruling class would disappear? In other words, they are against free education because it comes with creative destruction, a purely selfish motive on the part of the ruling class. The second response to the matter of budgetary concern was made by Chief Awolowo himself with detailed tables of numbers and figures about the sustainability of his proposal. It calls for the removal of waste and the elimination of corruption. That is the real issue.
There is a second thoughtful critique which makes reference to the fact that not a few parents in the upper echelon of society are more than able to pay for the education of their children. If so, why should the state pay for those children? Why can’t the state identify indigent students, make funds available for them through scholarships or fellowships? This is a reasonable observation. However, Chief Awolowo would respond that all children must be seen as children of the state and the state has the obligation to educate her children. But it is also necessary for every parent as citizens to make contributions through tax payment to the social responsibilities, including education and health, that the state assumes on their behalf. And since there will have to be progressive taxation, every citizen, including the filthy rich, will pay toward the education of all children and every child will therefore see him or herself as a citizen of a country that takes seriously her responsibility to her children. That is the beginning of national consciousness.
Examination and examination malpractice
As Chief Awolowo saw it, education is not only good as a leveler, it is important as the means of nourishing the subjective mind, the cultivation of which makes the human being closest to the image of God. To educate, therefore, is to move a child towards his or her ultimate destiny as a Godlike being. But what if that process is adulterated and polluted? What if despite the nobility of the intention and the sacrifice of the public purse for its achievement, those charged with the responsibility to educate prove incapable of that trust. That unfortunately appears to be where we are at this juncture of our development and commitment. Chief Awolowo would be justifiably alarmed at the state of our education in terms of the quality and the attitude of those in charge to this very crucial aspect of national journey.
A WAEC report was published by Punch and a columnist, Azuka Onwuka made observations on the percentage of students who earned a minimum of five (5) credits with English and Mathematics inclusive and the ranking of the states. According to Onwuka,
“the surprise in the report was that almost like in 2014, no South-West state except Lagos was on the top 10 of the chart. The top 10 states were the five South-East states, four South-South states and Lagos: 1st – Abia (63.94 per cent), 2nd – Anambra (61.18 per cent), 3rd – Edo, 4th – Rivers, 5th – Imo, 6th – Lagos, 7th – Bayelsa, 8th – Delta, 9th – Enugu, and 10th – Ebonyi. Ekiti was 11th; Ondo was 13th; Ogun was 19th; Oyo was 26th; while Osun was 29th. In 2014, the top 10 states were similar: Anambra (65.92 per cent), Abia (58.52 per cent), Edo (57.82 per cent), Bayelsa (52.83 per cent), Rivers (52.78 per cent), Enugu (51.91 per cent), Lagos (45.66 per cent), Imo (40.64 per cent), Delta (40.12 per cent), Kaduna (36.12 per cent). Ebonyi was 11th with 36.05 per cent.”
Now while this should be a wake-up call for the Southwest, there is a broader concern for the nation. Here we are not talking about record-breaking results in which students made 9 A1’s as we would with excitement 20 years ago. Rather we are talking about the barest minimum for university admissions. So, nationally, we are moving backwards, and yes, the Southwest has shamefully and embarrassingly receded to the back of the line of achievement. This was the zone led by the most politically versatile mind who made enormous sacrifice of intellect and material resources that made the region the foremost pace-setter in the country.
There is, however, another side to the matter: the tragic pervasiveness of parental and teacher collusion in the cutting of corners in the matter of the education of our children. It is no longer a breaking news item that our schools and higher institutions are afflicted with the satanic forces of cultism. Where this is the case, every concern about quality of education is going to be compromised. Thus examination malpractice and cheating have become unfortunate features of our educational environment. A few months ago, the nation was treated to a nauseating expose of how a Punch reporter along with others, was able sit for the WAEC examination at a “miracle center” paying his way through, and he and others getting illicit help in return, such that despite the bragging of WAEC about blacklisting schools with malpractice records, he received his result with a credit in every subject! Yet he and those in that center copied their way through the examinations with the help of the paid invigilators and teachers.
This is an undeniable aspect of our educational system that we cannot wish away. We have to commit to serious effort to rid the system of such unwelcome development which permeates the system from secondary to the university levels. It is why businesses and industries do not have a good pool of potential workers to draw from. It is why the rate of unemployment is in the double digit. It accounts for the sea of heads that confront us at every nook and cranny of the nation urban space. It accounts for the frustration that leads to criminal and terrorist activities.
