Kaduna State government has concluded plans to commence the enforcement of free compulsory primary education across the 23 local government areas next month.

The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Andrew Nok who briefed Journalists on the activities of the ministry, said the bill to enforce compulsory primary education in the state has been passed into law and would be become effective in September.

He said, government came up with law in order to ensure that no one is deprive of basic education in the State, “the law provides penalty to parent who refuse to send their children or ward to school.”

“Anybody who is caught giving or receiving alms to beggars, and parent who sends their children to school would be dealt with by the law,” he said.

He said, the State government is going to get the Almajiri children integrated into the modern school system.

The commissioner also disclosed that a total of N2.2 billion has been spent on the payment of 1,200 newly recruited teachers in the State.

The commissioner said the delay in payment was to ensure that all the newly recruited staff passed through proper documentation to check the “ghost worker syndrome.”

Nok also pledged that 15 secondary schools would be reactivated as boarding schools and equipped with standard facilities across the 23 local government areas.

He said hostels, library, clinic, kitchen facilities, perimeter fence and potable water would be provided to give the schools a conducive environment for teaching and learning.

15 schools to be reactivated as boarding institutions included Queen Amina College, Kaduna, Government Girls secondary School, Kawo; Government Technical College, Malali and Barewa Collage, Zaria.

Others included Government College, Kagoro; Girls Science Secondary School, Giwa; Rimi College, Zaria; Girls Science School, Kwoi; Government Girls Secondary School , Soba, Government college, Saminaka and Government College, Kagoro.

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… Lecturers insist on salary payment as meeting ends in deadlock

Students of the only Bayelsa State University, Niger Delta University (NDU), may have to stay longer at home following the inability of the state government to satisfy the demands of lecturers and other workers in the university.

The students have spent over four months at home since April when the lecturers exhausted their patience and embarked on an indefinite strike over non-payment of their salaries.

Workers in the university have not been paid since January, a situation that forced them to down tools and shut down a school that was founded at Amasoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, by late former Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

The students took to the streets last month and protested the closure of the school and appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resolve their differences.

ASUU, however, boiled over accusing the government of playing politics with NDU following its decision to establish the African University (AU) through the House of Assembly via a speedy legislation under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

It was gathered that a meeting held on Wednesday between government representatives and ASUU to seek ways of resolving the impasse ended in deadlock.

The Chief of Staff, Chief Talford Ongolo, was said to have led government delegates to meet with ASUU at the Faculty of Law, Gwegwe, Yenagoa.

Ongolo was said to have met a massively attended congress of ASUU consisting of all cadre of lecturers including reputable professors.

When Ongolo and his delegates were admitted to the floor of the congress, the lecturers were said to lashed out at him through superior arguments over the way he addressed them.

A principal member of the union who attended the meeting but spoke in confidence said the chief of staff drew the ire of his colleagues when he accused ASUU of refusing to call off the strike.

He said: “The Chief of staff started on a  dry bad note by accusing ASUU of refusing to call off the ongoing strike after accepting to suspend the strike after payment of one month salary.

“He was rebuffed by members of the congress who asked him to either quickly apologise or sit down immediately for telling lies. It took the pleadings and entreaties of exco to calm the  frayed nerves of members .

“As the congress was calming down, Ongolo raised the sensitive issue of the  African University, Toru Orua.  The Congress flayed up again when he praised the governor for setting up the new university.

“ASUU  members told him point blank that he (Talford Ongolo) and all the members of the government team attended Rivers State University of Science and technology Port Harcourt.

“They told him pointblank that the ASUU NDU strike has moved from salary payment to the defence of poor Bayelsan students whose educational opportunities are under serious threat by the calculated attempt by the state government to kill NDU in order to benefit from the proceeds of AU”.

The source said the lecturers were infuriated when the chief of staff accused three members of ASUU of testifying against the governor at the concluded governorship election petition tribunal that sat in Abuja.

“Members of the Congress became more infuriated and told Ongolo that the university system has intellectuals drawn from all works of life and that political affiliations of three members have no bearing with the issues in dispute between ASUU and the government”, he said.

The lecturers were said to have insisted that the government must pay three months out of the outstanding to enable them settle some of their debts and have the capacity to sustain their services at the institution.

They were said to have told the government not to allow the students suffer at home any longer.

Ongolo was said to have insisted that the government was desirous of ending the industrial dispute to end the agonies of students.

He further said Governor Seriake Dickson was willing to address the infrastructural deficit in the university.

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The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the National Examination Council (NECO), Professor Charles Uwakwe has promised to meet up with the challenge of transforming the education sector in this country.

Uwakwe while taking over the management of the examination body on Monday in Minna said that he will work towards improving the standard of education through NECO in the country.

“I will work with the mandate given to me and will ensure that I improve on the standard already laid by previous chief executive officers of this organization.

“I am proud of the caliber of staff in this organization I believe with the cooperation of all we will take NECO to the promised land”, Uwakwe said.

The NECO Registrar then disclosed that the President had tasked heads of the 17 education agencies recently appointed on better service delivery in order to improve the standard of education in the country.

Uwakwe took over from Professor Garba Abdulrasheed at the NECO headquarters in Minna.

Uwakwe commended the former Registrar of the organization Abdulrasheed for making a difference in NECO within the short period adding that the image of NECO in the society had improved tremendously  adding that he will continue to follow the template of activities left behind by the former Registrar.

He assured management and staff that the new leadership will carry them along soliciting for their support and cooperation while warning that indolence and indiscipline will not be tolerated.

Handing over the leadership of the examination body to new Registrar, the former Registrar itemized the giant strides taken by NECO over the years which included prompt release of examination results, reduction in examination malpractices and good relationship with the host community.

Abdulrasheed expressed appreciation to the staff for the support they gave him and asked that better cooperation should be extended to the new Registrar.

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Management of Landmark University (LMU), Omu Aran in Kwara State, has congratulated the Head of Department of Physical Sciences, Dr Olufemi Adebesin, who just returned from a three month post-doctoral Fellowship at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Centre, United States of America.

NASA is the agency of the United States responsible for the civilian space programme as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

Led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof Aize Obayan, management praised Adebesin noting that his achievement has opened up the university.

“His remarkable performance at the NASA Base has opened up a platform for mutual relationship between NASA and Landmark University for collaboration in Research and Development. He has also been appointed NASA ambassador in Nigeria. We heartily congratulate him, as we look forward to having more of such great exploits coming out of this university,” said Prof Obayan

She underscored the need for universities to collaborate with various agencies.

“I have always seen as a high priority that we should foster and maintain a productive dialogue with all partners involved with universities in furthering their research and innovation activities. We have engaged crucially with the European Commission over the future development of the Horizon 2020 programme, particularly the European Research Council and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, and with the national research funding bodies and their European representative bodies.”

Responding Adebesin said: “Indeed, this is another giant stride in the ‘Breaking New ground’ drive of the university. This is not for me but to God alone be all the glory.”

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Chairman of All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), Ijebu-North, Ogun State, Mr Olusoga Adesanya, has said the slide in quality education, can be stopped if parents and schools partner.

Adesanya said the difference between education acquired by our fore fathers and those of preceding generations was of good quality, noting that lack of it has resulted in atrocities perpetrated by today’s youths.

Adesanya, who spoke at the week end in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State at the fifth anniversary and second graduation of Greater Heights Academy, said signs of declining quality and wastage in the education system include high drop-out and failure rates, rampant examination malpractices, poor reading and writing skills, among others.

He said schools and parents need to collaborate, especially in the area of interests,  adding that  sometimes teachers do not know the goals that parents have for their children.

“Successful parental participation in education and effectiveness help them acquire problem solving skills necessary to build a healthy and good family. School systems work better with the children from such homes who come into them,” he asserted.

The school’s proprietor and chief executive officer, Mr Timi Owolabi said the school’s mission of ‘raising God-fearing, intelligent and morally upright pupils that will impact their generation positively through provision of quality instructions and enabling environment for learning’, takes into cognisance the need for a partnership.

Owolabi said the school has continued to encourage personal growth of its pupils, since primary education is the foundational years through which pupils should be nurtured as tomorrow’s leaders.

He said the graduands tagged: ‘The Pacesetters” should be celebrated as graduation means moving to the next stage of life.

The outgoing headgirl, Miss Ismot Adesanya, said she was glad to transit to secondary school, adding that she was privileged to be in class 2016 where students were gifted in different fields.

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About 6,083 private schools have been captured in the ongoing Private School registration in Lagos State.

However, some well established schools are yet to be captured.

The state government had began a fresh registration exercise for private schools across the six education districts on July 28 to create a central database of Private schools’ operators.

Statistics from the exercise showed that of the schools captured in five of the six educational districts, a substantial number of the schools were still seeking government approval.

Addressing journalists shortly after touring schools in District 1, Agege, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Adesina Odeyemi, lamented the low turnout of schools for the exercise before the deadline on Wednesday, saying “more school would have been captured if they had turned up earlier.”

“After inspection, I discovered that the response had been very low since the exercise started. But with one day left, I discovered was that the turnout has started to improving.”

Odeyemi disclosed that after the exercise about 11, 000 schools are expected to be capture in the exercise.

A breakdown of the schools captured so far in the exercise showed that 1,587 private schools were registered in District I; 1,089 in District II; 676 in III; 431 in IV; 1038 in V; and 623 in District VI.

Odeyemi however warned that, “At the end of this exercise, if any of the schools failed to register that implies the school owner deliberately wants to hide and does not want the government to monitor the activities in his school.  And the government will have no option than to shut the school because the registration is free.”

He reiterated that the registration was for planning purpose, saying, “We want to have every detail of our pupils in order to monitor them for development purpose. The future of the state lies in the hands of these students. And because of this, ensuring that they get the best education is the responsibility of the state government.

Earlier, the Director of Education Management Information System in Education District II, Mrs. Tayelolu Showemimo, had expressed concerns that that the “Big Schools” were not turning up to register.

She noted that the district targeted about 2,000 schools considering number of schools springing up daily but only got 676.

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It was a day of joy for 170 young women trained as mechanics by the Lady Mechanic School of Automative Engineering when they graduated penultimate week in Lagos after undergoing two years of paid training.

The hall of the Government Technical College, Agidingbi, venue of the graduation, was teeming with the guests and well wishers who came to felicitate with the young women seeking to make a name in a male-dominated profession.

Mrs Sandra Aguebor, the brain behind the Lady Mechanic Initiative (LMI), was excited that the initiative, which enjoys funding of the MacArthur Foundation, had saved the young women from poverty.

She also said LMI was training 90 girls from public secondary school during the long holidays free of charge and urged girls to embrace the initiative.

“The graduation today is a great one.  The girls have been empowered and are ready for employment. The school pupils here today can also do some things.  We have a long waiting list of people wanting to enroll for our programme.  We need to encourage other women; we need to reduce poverty.

“Training of Lady Mechanics is free; we pay these girls to learn.  If you want your daughter to be involved, bring her to us and in two years, she will be a star,” she said.

In her speech, the Deputy Governor, Mrs Idiat Adebule, who was represented by Mr Olawumi Gasper, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), thanked Mrs Aguebor for investing in the girls.  She counseled the beneficiaries to put their training to good use as a way of giving back.

“I enjoin you that you should reciprocate the gesture and the opportunity offered you by the Lady Mechanic Initiative to be diligent and committed to your work as lady mechanics. You have been empowered and equipped with skills that will help you generate wealth for yourselves, your families and live a fulfilled life,” she said.

Consul General of the United States, F. John Bray, who was represented by General Services Officer, Steven Fox, praised the girls for “breaking the glass ceiling”. “I want to congratulate you; good luck every one,” he said.

One of the graduands, Faith Sunday, said she was a footballer before the training, said she was happy to have listened to her friend’s advice to sign up for it.

“I heard about this training from a friend that graduated in 2013.  She works with Choscharis.  We played football together.  I thought that since I could play football, which is hard, I can do it.  They paid me N10,000 per month in the first year.  We had both theory and practical training.

“I intend to work in a company because the roadside is not befitting us ladies,” she said.

The programme was graced by representatives of various ministries including the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Women Affairs, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the National Business and Technical Education Board (NABTEB).

Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonaya Onu, represented by Prof Lucy Ogbadu, Director General, National Biotechnology Development Agency, praised LMI for the training.

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Institutions usually boast about the veracity of their entrepreneurship programmes.  But Prof Juan Elegido, says the one run by the Pan-Atlantic University (PAU), Lagos, is in a class of its own.

In an interview, Elegido, vice chancellor of the institution, said the PAU established its Enterprise Development Centre in 2003, three years before the National Universities Commission (NUC) made it mandatory for universities to do so.

He said students are actually given loans to start real businesses as part of the training and are graded for the effort.

Elegido said: “At the beginning of the academic year, all the second year undergraduate students, from every course of study, were divided into groups and loaned an amount of money to start up a business of their choice. This entailed going through all the processes involved in starting a real business, from coming up with a business plan for whatever business the group agreed upon, pitching this plan to potential investors, raising more funds to run the business, advertising, marketing, engaging in sales towards making a profit and then returning the money that the school loaned them initially. They had a whole semester to accomplish this task. Throughout the process of the course, the students came in contact with various successful entrepreneurs who led various interactive class sessions and mentored them.”

The students set up various businesses that provided branding services, product merchandizing, fruit juice production, fitness and wellness programme, and catering, and the like.

At the end of the semester, the University held an entrepreneurship expo where the various groups exhibited their products and services. As part of their course work, their efforts were assessed by a lecturer and various small and medium scale business owners, who also purchased products and shared ideas with the students.

The Vice Chancellor said the mistakes they made formed part of the learning process, which they would learn to avoid in future.

“It was much safer for them to make their mistakes now rather than making those same mistakes six years later when they start their real business and then go bankrupt,” he said.

He added that the opportunity for practical learning could not compare with what other universities offer.

“All the people who have participated in this exercise, which by the way is an annual activity for year 2 students, will tell you they have learnt a lot about real hands-on entrepreneurship. They have made lots of contacts in the programme with real entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Honestly, I think that right now there is no university in Nigeria which is teaching entrepreneurship in this way. I was very excited to see them positively engaged for the whole period; you had all sorts of groups of students going all over the campus. It was not possible to go from point A to B without somebody trying to sell something to you,” he said.

Though more popular for its postgraduate education, PAU began offering undergraduate progammes in Mass Communication, Business Administration and Accounting in 2014.

Elegido said the institution is scheduled to begin programmes in Economics and Information Science and Media Studies in the 2016/2017 session.

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Norris Igbineweka, a Nigerian-born medical doctor resident in the UK, has received a Fulbright – Nursten Award in Medical Studies  to enable him to undertake research at the National Institute of Health (NIH), USA, one of the most prestigious worldwide.

Igbineweka will study genetic factors and biomarkers of clinical variability observed in sickle cell disease (SCD) at NIH. He will be undertaking laboratory research focusing on genetic variability in complications of SCD, as well as variability seen in response to hydroxyurea treatment. Finding these factors will contribute to development of genetic markers to predict severity in SCD as well as target-gene therapy.

Igbineweka was selected with 46 other British grantees who met with the US Ambassador, Matthew Barzun at his official London residence, Winfield House, before departing for the U.S.

Igbineweka said of the award: “I am astonished and deeply honoured in receiving a Fulbright Scholarship. Sickle cell disease is one of the commonest single gene disorders globally. Although, individuals with the disease have the same genetic mutation, clinical manifestation is variable amongst these individuals in similar fashion to type 2 diabetes. My work as a Fulbright Scholar will seek to understand the genetic determinants and biomarkers for this variability. I hope this work will contribute to the development of genetic predictors of disease severity and eventually targeted gene therapy.”

Igbineweka, who emigrated from Benin City, Edo state with his parents to London as a child, was a star student throughout his education.  Following an outstanding GCSE result gained from the London Nautical Secondary School, he was awarded an HSBC scholarship to attend City of London School sixth-form. His excellent A-level results earned him a place to study Medicine at King’s College London (KCL).  He also undertook an intercalated BSc in Anthropology at the University College London (UCL) achieving a First Class Honours. He was placed on the UCL Dean’s List and awarded the Murray Last Prize for highest departmental mark for that academic year.

He gained an Academic Foundation Programme position in Haematology at Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust as well as subsequently being awarded an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Haematology and core medical training at Kent, Surrey & Sussex Deanery enabling him to combine research with clinical training. He is currently completing an MRes in research at University of Brighton.

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No fewer than 350 teachers of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), have been trained on service delivery and personal development.

The training, facilitated by a nongovernmental organisation, African Child Education Right Initiatives (ACERI), held at the SUBEB Hall, Maryland.

Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule, advised the teachers to continually improve on their skills and knowledge in order to be effective role models and nation- builders.

Represented by Tutor-General Permanent Secretary (TGPS), Education District II, Mrs Margaret Solarin, Dr Adebule said: “You need to take cognisance of the growing trends and impact of ICT (Information Communications Technology) revolution in education. Learning is life-long. You must continue to seek new ideas by reading books and attending training programmes and workshops for capacity and personal development.”

She noted that the present administration has “committed a huge amount of resources to expose our personnel to quality training and capacity development, knowing that it will help them perform excellently and optimally.”

Earlier, ACERI Executive Director, Mr Yinka Olaito, who facilitated the ‘annexing new technology and internet tools’ training, stressed the importance of  basic education in the total development of a child.

He said: “Since teachers’ quality and performance at basic level are essential, concerted efforts from varied stakeholders are required if Nigeria must produce quality and qualified workforce. In resolving this, we call on stakeholders in education sector to put in their widow’s mite.”

During his training, Mr Olaito told the teachers to get rid of excuses. “It is the only way you can improve yourself,” Olaito said, adding: “set a goal for personal development. Let it be so big that you call yourself crazy. When you develop yourself, it is about people seeing the potential in you.”

Mr Sam Mba, who trained the teachers on personal performance and evaluation, said: “Don’t see the children as your students, but as your people. To mentor them, you must earn their respect. Know their strengths and weaknesses so that you can guide their choice of career.”

A participant, Mrs Caroline Iwuaoku of Metropolitan Nursery and Primary School, Apapa, said of the exercise: “It is very educative. They have trained us on how to be innovative in our teaching. I do mentor my children and I guide them morally and academically. I now know how to use the internet to browse and expand my knowledge. As a Nigerian, we are supposed to read a lot to keep abreast of things happening around us. It will help us improve our teaching and our knowledge.”

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The 4th Lagos State Enterprise Day, organised by the Lagos State Technical  and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), has given Technical College students in the state a push to pursue their dreams.

During the programme, four seasoned entrepreneurs, Mr Nnamdi Ezeigbo, Chairman, Slot Systems Ltd; Rajiv Sharma, talent engagement and business development specialist; Mr James Love, African Regional Coordinator of Teach A Child to Fish; and Mrs Fehintola Foluso-Onagoruwa, shared experiences in starting their businesses with students of the five Government Technical Colleges (GTC).

The event, which held at the NECA House, Ikeja, also featured the launch of the Young Enterprise Club magazine.

James Love, who also delivered the keynote address at the event, lamented that the education system was not preparing students for entrepreneurship, but for jobs which are reducing by the day.

“We are not preparing the young people enough with skills they need to be entrepreneurs.  What we want in people is a range of knowledge, attitude, values and behavior.  With the Teach a Man to Fish initiative, we are trying to support schools and educational system, as well as give students the practical learning they need to ensure business success. It is about team work and motivation.  You are able to learn how to market and keep records. It is about building a generation of young entrepreneurs,” he said.

Mrs Foluso-Onagoruwa shared how she opted out of paid employment when she foresaw that she would not like to retire as a nurse.  She counseled the students to move from “selling time” (their skills) to creating a business that can work independent of them.

“Technical college graduates are professionals selling skills and cannot become wealthy.  Selling skills as a painter limits you. You become a business owner when you put a system in place.  Yes, you have learnt a skill, but how do you convert your skill to entrepreneurship?  You need to learn business skills.

“At 48, I have built a residual income such that I don’t have to work again for life,” she said.

Slot boss, Ezeigbo said he started the firm, which has become a household name in the mobile phone business, because he could not get a job two years after graduation.

“No time is the right time.  I was forced into business.  I was like you 17/18 years ago.  I had a degree in Engineering.  I spent two years looking for wonderful jobs from Chevron, Mobil, but it didn’t come.  I decided to start a business.  It was the best decision of my life,” he said.

He counseled the students to put competence and strategy in place before seeking capital for their businesses.

On  his part,  Sharma advised the students to learn to understand their customers and meet their needs, and create a vision and execute it.

“Begin with the end in mind.  Don’t go for money; money will follow you.  Look for problems; but look beyond the challenges.  Think in your mind, ‘how can I solve the problem,'” he said.

In his address, the Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, who was represented by Mr Olawumi Gasper, Executive Secretary, LASTVEB, said successful entrepreneurs need to mentor young ones if the state is to implement its entrepreneurship development agenda.

“There is the need to engage successful entrepreneurs as mentors and trainers, financial institutions and industry partners to promote effective implementation of the Entrepreneurship Development Agenda, through voluntary sharing of experiences and lessons learned,” he said.

On his part, the LASTVEB Executive Secretary, whose speech was read by Mr Laolu Oguntuyi, Director, Enterprise Development, LASTVEB, thanked the private sector for partnering the board to deliver quality technical and entrepreneurial education to the students.

“We will continue to appreciate our private sector partners and mentors for the support in evoking the entrepreneurial spirit in our technical college students.  The impact of new technologies, relevant skills acquired from our technical colleges, vibrancy and tenacity of Nigerian youths and incubation of business ideas from these students call for the continuous support of the private sector,” he said.

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With the best 108 of maths brain set for the television quiz stage of the Cowbellpedia maths competition, some parents have sought spiritual help  for their wards’ success.

While teachers played the roles of counsellor and supporter, some parents were seen at the studio where the Cowbellpedia quiz competition was being recorded, praying for their wards, too tensed to concentrate while awaiting their turns.

The prayer may have been necessitated by the brilliance exhibited by the pupils on set.  For instance, a contestant in the junior category, Oluwatunmise Idowu, of Scholars Universal Secondary School, Ota, Ogun State wowed everybody by answering 17 questions correctly in the 60 Seconds of fame round.

With the feat, she beat the record of 15 questions set by the 2015 Cowbellpedia champion, Ayodeji Akinkuowo.

One of the parents providing spiritual support for her ward was Mrs. Josephine Okeke, whose son, Favour, was one of the five representing Loyola Jesuit College, Gidan-Mangoro, Abuja.

She spent most of her time entreating God to reward her son’s efforts.

Okeke contested against Ayomide Ajayi of Bibo Oluwa Academy Ilesa, Osun State; Emmanuel Igban of Ambassador College, Ota, Ogun State; Isikanye Praise of Federal Government Academy, Suleja, Niger State; Ugozuchuwu Offor of University of Nigeria Secondary School, Enugu Campus; and Divine Uzagu of Federal Government College, Okposi, Abia State in the preliminary stage of the quiz.

Mrs. Okeke, a pharmacist, who ‘dumped’ her career to support her children, said the prayers were necessary as effort is not enough.

“The race is not for the swif, but for God who shows mercy and God says: ‘I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.’ I believe God for my son. I am standing in the gap for him. God cannot fail, so, my son can never fail,” she said.

Another intercessor was Mrs Patience Okoh, who stood in the gap for her niece, Angelica Uzo, also of Loyola Jesuit College.

“I am the mother here in Lagos, my sister called me up from Abuja yesterday that I should be here to monitor her. What it means is that I must do everything within my power to make her succeed and the best I can do is to pray. This I have been doing,” she remarked.

Redemption Adebayo, a pupil of Model Secondary School, Alagbaka, Akure, Ondo State, said her father called her daily to pray that she makes it to the finals.

“The whole family is praying for me, and we did a lot of prayers to seek God’s favour from the beginning of this competition,” she said.

With one million up for grabs for each of the winners (and N400,000 for their teachers) in the junior and senior categories of the competition, as well as an all-expenses paid educational excursion outside the country, the prayers are in order. However, the finals would tell whose prayers God would answer.

Last year, Akinkuowo of Adeyemi Demonstration Secondary School, Ondo State, won the senior category, while Munachi Ernest-Eze of Loyola Jesuit won the junior category.

They got N750,000 each, while their teachers got N250,000. The schools also got five computers and printers.

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The quality of graduates from the nation’s universities is said to be poor. This is why many companies consider them unemployable. Where does the problem lie? To experts, it lies in poor policy implementation and lack of investment, among other factors. OLUWATOYIN ADELEYE reports

With 18,000 private and 1,600 public primary and secondary schools in Lagos State alone, there is no doubt that the education sector is so sensitive that it requires careful management. But the sector’s challenges seem unending – from issues of budgetary allocation, quality of teachers and curriculum content to delivery, technology, and morality. experts have identified loopholes that government and society must fix to raise the system to global standard.

Quality

Founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL), Prof Pat Utomi, is so bothered by the problem of quality in the education system that he focused on it at the 34th colloquium of the centre held at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos, last month.

Describing it as Nigeria’s biggest education problem, he said: “We still have a problem in Nigeria today about the quality of education. Critical to this problem is that we have not educated our people enough to produce basic needs.”

A lecturer at the University of Abuja, Prof Gidado Tahir, said the problem of quality is pervasive affecting the students, teachers, and resources available for learning.

He said: “We have a serious problem with the quality of students we get; their background; quality of teachers who are expected to be pillars of learning; quality of resources that are available for the learners to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes. so many of these quality issues abound in the educational system.

“So our main question really is what can we do to enhance the quality of what we provide to the learners as education in skills, attitudes and values?”

To enhance teacher quality, Mrs Abolaji Osime, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Global International College, advised that the entry requirements of colleges of education be revised to attract the best brains to the profession.

She said: “How would you put the worst in your class to produce the best out of children? The entry requirement for colleges of education is three credits. From the onset, we do not recognise that profession and they are the ones to teach our children. In Finland, you cannot go into the classroom unless you have a Masters degree.

Professor of educational management, University of Ibadan (UI), Joel Babalola, suggested incentives for trainee teachers.

“It is time for us to think about how to attract the intelligent people into the teaching profession. To do this might mean encouraging them. When I got into the teaching profession, I got bursary and scholarships. Will it not be right if the country can look into subsidizing teachers’ education?” he asked.

Babalola added that quality training could make trainee-teachers the best.

“If you get people who are not A-candidates, you can transform them to become As. For instance, when the public universities reject some candidates, they go to the private universities and you see that the universities would do everything in their power to bring out the best in them. I don’t believe anybody is totally poor. The key word is transformation. We need that model again. Even if you cannot get the brightest, you make sure you transform them to be the best,” he said.

Leadership

Without the right leaders, experts agree that no amount of funding and excellent policies can improve the education system.  They believe that political will, commitment and the leaders’ belief in the power of education can transform the sector.

For Mrs Osime, political will is the solution to Nigeria’s educational woes.  She said the government needs to learn leadership from the private sector.

“My challenge is that we lack the political will to change education in Nigeria. We talk a lot, but we do not really understand the connection between educating the populace and changing the nation. Our leaders are not paying attention. Successful nations ensure that they invest. It is not about money. The problem is that the money leaks and goes to different places. It ends up in England, in the US, etc.

“I have run a private school for 17 years and my students are getting A-star in the same Nigeria. We are able to teach with the same teachers coming out of the same colleges of education. We have to ask ourselves, what is the difference? What are we doing in the private sector that the public sector is not doing? I see that the political will is not there.”

Tahir also said Nigeria needs leaders that appreciate the role of education in development.

“Let us have a leader who has the foresight and belief that education can be a transforming instrument in our communities. Look at the states in this country; it is obvious that some of the leaders have not even appreciated that education is key to the transformation of their various communities. So, obviously, when you are doing some investments, you will be doing it in other sectors that you consider important and the standard of facilities that ought to be in schools are not there.

“We are also confronted with the issue of numbers to the extent that we are unable to manage. The leaders that we have are not very sensitive to the yearnings of the people as far as the issues of education are concerned. We have a number of policies that are churned out every now and then but without financial backing. So we have so many laws, regulations, commissions, agencies that are out there doing nothing simply because you cannot provide fund for them,” he said.

Curriculum upgrade and government policy

The educationists have suggested a new curriculum and a more inclusive approach to implementing it.

Lecturer at the Lagos Business School (LBS), Dr Chris Ogbechie, thinks that an upgrade of the curriculum would lift the quality of education and raise the nation to a level of global competitiveness.

“What we learn is not necessarily what we are going to use when we get to the workplace because the rate of change is so fast. People say that even the job of the future has not been created. Education is not a static thing because things have changed and keep changing. So when we look at being competitive as a nation, we also have to think of the present generation who will be the ones that will lead us going forward. So are we judging quality of education and its standards, using the standard of our own generation?” he said.

Ogbechie stressed the need for character formation and employability in the curriculum.

He said: “We don’t have to re-invent the wheel. Countries have become competitive because they have invested in education, but education for the future, not for today. Are we conscious of what is happening in the environment? Many of the youths don’t even watch television. It is their parents’ toy. But try social media.”

The lecturer gave an illustration of Ireland: “30 to 40 years ago, the Irish were the laughing stock of the world. Within a decade, Ireland became one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and for them, the secret was education at all levels. As a country, they invested massively in education, not just tertiary, but from the lowest to the highest level, and by doing so, they could boast of a country that had quality manpower, which was able to attract investors and all the leading Information Technology (IT) companies in America decided to move their European bases to Ireland and that completely changed the economy, the people of Ireland, and the respect accorded them. It took government policy to make that happen.”

Mrs Osime said even teacher training curriculum have to be reviewed.

“In the colleges of education, we have been using a curriculum that is of the 17th century, so how can the teachers keep up? We need to upgrade the curriculum in-service and pre-service. We need to teach what is local, even though we are training them to be competitive internationally,” she said.

Prof Babalola underscored the need to ensure textbooks used in schools reflect the Nigerian society, not foreign ones, while the teachers are trained in the use of appropriate technology like e-books, interactive boards, among others.

Industry Partnerships

Public-Private partnership is necessary for the growth of the education sector.  Experts said government and schools must strengthen such partnerships .

For instance, Prof Utomi advised government to make it mandatory for teachers to be involved in the industry they are teaching to enable them keep up with industry trends.

“We made a decision in LBS that we would compute your income assuming that 70 per cent of your income would come from your consultation work, because you have to have a relationship with the industry. One of the sad things about policy with public institutions is that people have to hide and dodge to have a side job with their teaching profession but it should not only be encouraged but mandatory. You are not as active as you can be in teaching, unless you are being engaged in the sector you are teaching,” he said.

Ogbechie called for private sector involvement in curriculum review.  He also said the partnership between employers and schools must be enhanced to solve the problem of employability.

“We must remember that not every person who goes to school wants to be an employee. We don’t have enough spaces in our universities for all the people who want to go into the university, or polytechnics. But we have enough natural resources to convert as many people as possible to become entrepreneurs. We are not self sufficient in any of the basic needs. We don’t produce enough eggs, chickens, vegetables, yet we have arable land. How can we train them to see themselves as entrepreneurs and self reliant to become employers of labour?” he added.

The Parish Priest of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish, Lekki, Very Rev Monsignor Gabriel Osu, said part of the solution is in returning schools seized by government years ago to their original owners.

He said: “The military came and took over schools, thinking there was money in it and they trampled education to the dust and we are reaping the fruits 30 years later. The politicians have not helped matters. Many of them are wearing military choker so they trample any talk about education. Hence, they allocate little money to education compared to other allowances in government. Return of schools to the missionaries is good,” he said.

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A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Youth Empowerment Foundation (YEF), has trained teenage girls aged 10-16 on life skills needed to be role models.

Executive Secretary of the NGO, Mrs Iwalola Akin-Jimoh, said the exercise is a continuous process, called ‘Goal’, where secondary school girls are taught self-confidence, boldness, self-esteem, to shun negativity and mentor their peers.

She said the trainees are called goal champions after one year of training and are expected to have other peer receivers from their neighbourhoods, schools and the society, whom they are mentoring to be goal champions.

Mrs Akin-Jimoh spoke during an inspection of the project by its sponsors, Standard Chartered Bank, at Akoka Junior Secondary School.

She said: “We teach you to be yourself no matter who you are. We have the health sessions that discuss malaria, HIV/AIDS, among others. There is also the ‘Be empowered’ section where they are taught about their environment, sexual abuse, domestic violence; the rights are also taught but in line with the responsibilities of the child. Then there is the money savvy session through which we train the girls to save, invest no matter how little they earn, among others.”

She described the programme as a corporate social responsibility project of the bank, with a view to exposing teenage girls in developing countries to opportunities to make them useful in life.

Global head, Public Affairs and Sustainability Unit of the bank, Mr Shastry Vasuki, described the project as an amazing journey that has touched over 60, 000 lives in Africa.

He said: “We operate in over 70 countries and we want to ensure that we contribute in every community we are. We work with local NGOs to give teenage girls an opportunity through sports and education. We expose them to opportunities of life so that when they go out there, they are useful to themselves and the society. We want them to know that they have tremendous potential and can be as good as any male in the country.”

Head, corporate affairs, brand and marketing, West Africa, Dayo Aderugbo explained the girls’ transition process from timid to outspoken.

“When we started, most of them had no sense of confidence. We have taken them through the courses which have boosted their confidence and improved their intelligence. Their parents’ testimonies on the changes in their lives have been pouring in. They even now mentor other girls. We follow them up and we have contact persons in each of their schools and we also engage their parents,” she said.

The girls also demonstrated team spirit and confidence in a sports competition and at the feedback session of the programme.

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Professor of Guidance and Counselling, Elizabeth Egbochuku, has promised to lift the Counselling Association of Nigeria (CASSON) to the position of constitutional recognition if elected as President at the association’s upcoming election.

The election, which will usher in new executives for a two-year tenure, will hold as part of the association’s 41st international conference coming up next week in Lagos.

Prof Egbochuku said working for the actualization of a legal status for CASSON would be one of her top priorities while in office, as well as ensuring better visibility for the counselling profession and the association in the society.

She noted that counselling, which is much more than simply giving advice, should be included in curriculum reforms and enforced in schools to foster national development.

Prof Egbochuku, who delivered her inaugural lecture at the University of Benin in 2009, said she would: “Make CASSON a more visible professional association in society that lends a voice on issues that touch on its cognate occupational jurisdiction; work to create Counsellors Registration Council to regulate professional practices; improve the financial resource base of the association; collaborate with government to create counselling units in all government agencies and institutions; evolve a programme of continuous professional education for counsellors; and work for a research and knowledge based profession, among others while in office.”

She noted that her team, with Prof Muhammad Yakasai as Vice President, would do everything required to achieve their vision for the association.

The professor of education and guidance counselling, with several authored books and journals as well as years of experience, has won the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Commission in the United Kingdom (2002-2003) at Birkbeck College, University of London. She is currently on Sabbatical at Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Benin City; is the founding co-ordinator of UNIBEN’s Guidance and Counselling Centre; and has taught at the University of Swaziland as a visiting Professor.

The four-day conference, themed, ‘Counselling, women’s health, education/empowerment and sustainable development,’ will hold at the Multipurpose Hall, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, from Monday, August 21, 2016.

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Thirteen-year-old Jesse Oghenekaro Azaino recently did Nigeria proud when he came fourth out of 27 spellers at the maiden Africa Spelling Bee Competition which took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, last month.

Nine African countries participated in the continental event with three spellers from each country.

South African speller, Zameer Dada, came first followed by Ethiopia and Kenya.

Azaino had emerged one of the three winners in the Nigeria Spelling Bee competition earlier this year in Abuja to qualify for the continental event.

The National Coordinator of Nigeria Spelling Bee, Mr. Sam Otitolaiye, disclosed in Kaduna, that the next edition of Africa Spelling bee will come up in Addis Ababa Ethiopia in 2017.

The competition is for secondary schools pupils across Nigeria and will take place at state, zonal and national levels. The star prize for the competition is N1 million.

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Students of King Jaja hall of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, kicked off their week on Monday with the theme: “Efficacy, Edifice and Ethics.”

Jaja Hall Chairman, Tosin Ibrahim, said at a press briefing that the need to return the hostel to its good-old days propelled the event.

The week, which ends tomorrow with Jumat Prayers, table tennis, general feeding of hall residents, Mr Jaja competition, also featured other activities such health talk, debate/quiz, career talk, football, cooking competition among others.

Ibrahim urged alumni of the school who stayed in Jaja Hall to come to the university’s aid by contributing to its development.

“The hall week is to initiate meaningful development in various ramifications through endowments because the university cannot do it alone. We are using this medium to call on alumni of UNILAG who once stayed in King Jaja Hall to always pay regular visits to the hall of residence,” he said.

Ibrahim added that the activities will not only help to fish out new talents but also help to develop existing ones.

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The 2016 valedictory service and graduation/prize-giving ceremony for 12 graduands of Mind Builders High School, Ikeja, Lagos was special in all respects.  The pupils got star-studded treatment from the school, their parents, and  corporate organisations that sponsored prizes for the deserving among them.

Apart from the gifts, the sumptuous meals and other side attractions, they got important counsel from their teachers, parents and other guests.

One of the most striking was the testimony shared by an alumnus of the school, Adewale Fasoro Opeyemi, who graduated as the overall best from the Redeemers University, Ede, early this year.

Opeyemi, who graduated with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.97 in Microbiology, shared how his faith in God transformed him from an average to a first class student.

The young man, who said he never made top 10 as a pupil of Mind Builders, said he reached a turning point when he asked God to help him move beyond average performance.

“I got two prizes in Mind Builders – best in Yoruba, and one other because I was a prefect.  I struggled to be average.  I felt depressed.  In SS2, I was preparing for the national biology Olympiads.  I told God my limit is average; I told him to help me.  After that, I was the best student in Biology in Nigeria in 2011.  I travelled to represent Nigeria in Taiwan and won a gold medal.  I travelled five times to represent our country.  When you receive Jesus, you will know how to overcome distractions,” he said.

The guest speaker, Mrs. Adeyoyin Adesina, Principal in Corona Secondary School, Agbara, Ogun State, counseled the graduands to be determined to succeed.

In her speech titled: “Going beyond limit,” she urged them to persevere, have a positive mindset, and push against any limit that might hinder their progress.

“You have conceived your ambitions in your minds. But are you there yet? The recognition and acceptance of your limitation and the challenge to push beyond them also starts in the mind.  Thomas Edison had a hearing impairment. But he did not say he was not going to push against his limitation. He tried so many times to invent the light bulb. With every failure, he learnt how not to make the light bulb. The only real limits are those you place in your way.

“If you must go beyond your limit, you must create a goal and do not dwell in the comfort of your weakness. No one is perfect. It is only a foolish person who repeats their mistakes. Identify your weaknesses but do not treat them as big flaws,” she said.

Former Ambassador to Australia, Mr. Ayo Olukanni, also advised the pupils to develop themselves and expect tough times.

“This is just the beginning and you are not going to achieve your goals in easy circumstances.  But do not settle for average. Pay attention to detail and invest in your minds. Whatever your goal is, be committed and display integrity,” he said.

Education Director of the school, Mrs Bolajoko Falore, counselled the graduands to continue in all they learnt from the school.  She told them not to consider her strictness while in the school as wickedness but a demonstration of her efforts to ensure they turned out right.

“I thank you for cooperating with me, my loving graduands, and for accepting my excesses.  I was strict because I wanted you to be grounded,” she said.

Mrs Falore also thanked members of staff of the school, who presented her with an award for her concern for their welfare.

The graduands presented the school with a projector and screen as their give back gift, while the school launched the alumni association.

Head Boy and Valedictorian, Oluwamayowa Oladunni thanked his teachers for their efforts to invest in the graduands. He urged the school management to embark on aggressive publicity so many more pupils can join the school.

Mayowa’s father, Mr Rotimi Oladunni, who has sponsored many prizes since his son was admitted into the school, said he was inspired to do so to encourage many pupils to excel.

“My wife and I decided we want to encourage children to study.  We ensured we gave prizes in almost all subjects so many can be encouraged.  Mayowa has won many of the prizes but we did not plan it,” he said.

Oladunni described Mind Builders as a wonderful school “that takes to correction”.

“If you find something that is not right and you tell them, they adjust.  And I believe that everyone that accepts feedback, will do well,” he said.

Mrs Rita Onyelu, another parent, who won the valuable parent award, also said she had no regrets sending her sons, one of who graduated that day, to the school.

“We started from the nursery school.  I don’t know any other school in Lagos.  My niece started with Mind Builders and I saw magical transformation in her, that was why I brought my two sons here,” she said.

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The Lagos State University Directorate of Advancement (LASUDA), will hold its maiden Advancement lecture at the university auditorium today.

The lecture tagged: ‘New foreign exchange policy: Myths and implication’ will be delivered by a renowned newspapers columnist and economist, Dr Henry Olujimi Boyo.

At a briefing at the weekend, LASUDA Director, Prof Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, said the directorate, a brain child of the vice chancellor, Prof Lanre Fagbohun, was inaugurated on June 16 to seek more funding and support for the university.

In addition to raising funds, Prof Olatunji-Bello said LASUDA would meet regularly with alumni, advise the VC on areas that are financially viable, organise colloquiums, Hall of Fame, among others. While the colloquium would celebrate past and present benefactors of the institution, the Hall of Fame would acknowledge exceptional donors to LASU by displaying their names on the university’s electronic scroll at the Senate Building.

Olatunji-Bello said endowments worth N100 million will be in Platinum category; N50-N49.99 million, diamond; N20-N49.99 million, gold; N5-N19 million, silver; and N1-N4.99 million, bronze.

“Our donors will be endowed with epaulets which they will display depending on any of the five categories they fall into. We wish to make this a kind of healthy rivalry as much as we can,” Olatunji-Bello added.

Students and workers will not be left out of this endowment drive as Prof Olatunji-Bello said they would pay students Endowment Fee and staff check off dues.

While students pay N5,000 at the point of entry and N1,000 subsequently; workers who express willingness to participate would indicate how much should be deducted from their salaries monthly.

Funds generated would be remitted into ‘LASU ADVANCEMENT Fund Account’ which she said will be audited annually.

She debunked the fear of students revolting against the new measure.

“All that we are doing is for their benefit.  They will have the opportunity for linkages and scholarships. There was the annual scholarship award which this administration has revived. The university will also upgrade facilities. Plan is underway to digitalise LASU. We are also encouraging sportsmen and women to come in. Those among them who make us proud may also get scholarships,” she said.

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The Federal Government’s ban on PTA Levies in its colleges, popullarly known as Unity Schools, is generating heat. To some, it is a play to kill the colleges. But others say it is a step in the right direction. 

The Federal Government’s ban on levy collected by the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) colleges, aka Unity Schools) is the latest in the list of dramatic reforms introduced since Mallam Adamu Adamu became Minister of Education. Before it were  the ban of the Post-UTME, sack of 13 Vice Chancellors, and the stoppage of the second (interview) stage of admission screening into unity schools.

Last week, the minister announced a hike in fees payable in the 104 Unity Schools from N20,000 to N75,000 and followed it with the ban on levy collected for development purposes by the PTA.  From now on, the levy, which cannot exceed N5,000 for new pupils (and even less for returning pupils), would be paid directly to the schools.  Also, the PTA must seek approval from the Federal Ministry of Education (FMoE) before embarking on projects in the schools.

The minister said the aim of removing the levy, which he said became higher than the fees charged  in some of the schools, was to reduce the financial burden on parents, arguing that even with the increment, pupils would still pay less than what obtained when PTA levy was collected.

He said in a statement: “This brings the total amount paid by parents in these two schools to N139,400 and N143,400 respectively. With the reduction on development levies and ban on charges for new projects as well as the pegging of the development levy to a maximum of N5,000, parents of JSS1 pupils in these two schools will now pay N88,000.”

The ban, while linked with an attempt by the Federal Government to defend the fee increment, may not be unconnected with complaints in the past by parents who lamented having to pay various levies (such as laundry, prep, development, meal subsidy, etc) amounting to thousands of naira each term.

Move may spell doom for unity schools

Leadership of the PTAs across the nation, as well as some parents, and teachers have kicked against this move, which they said would spell doom for the colleges.  They argue that with underfunding of the schools by the Federal Government as well as bureaucracy involved in the release of funds, it would be difficult administering the schools.

The Southwest Zone of the PTA of unity schools rejected the hike in school fees and scrapping of PTA levy by the Federal Government.

The association, in a communique issued at the end of its meeting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital at the weekend, said the hike was at variance with the free education policy of the Federal Government

It urged the government to rescind its decision on fees hike and levies without delay in view of the laudable projects being executed with the levies as well as the various strategic supportive role the levies play in the smooth running of the schools.

The association in the seven-point communique signed by its Coordinator, Adebayo Olayide, urged the government to rescind its decisions in the interest of the schools.

The communique reads in part: “We do not support the recent increase in the school fees of unity schools as this will be at variance with the free education policy of the Federal Government. We, therefore, urge the Federal Government to rescind this decision without delay as it will have far-reaching implications on the future of our children.

“We are of the opinion that the current comments credited to the Hon. Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, to the effect that PTAs of unity schools should refrain from collecting the development levy should be given a second thought. Apart from the fact that the development levy is unanimously agreed upon by the PTA congress of each of the unity schools in Southwest Zone, prompted by a letter of request from the school authority for PTA’s assistance and justifying the need for the required facility, development projects in the schools across the zone are largely credited to this fee. For instance, the Hon. Minister of State for Education came to commission a gigantic hostel project of 1,200-bed space girls hostel built by the PTA at FSTC, Yaba, Lagos recently. The hostel project and other projects that were executed in other unity schools across the zone are in the range of hundreds of millions of Naira that were sourced from the so-called development levy.”

The group also feared that the reduction in the levies would affect the ability of the PTA of various colleges to pay part-time teachers employed to fill shortfall in teacher supply, a general problem in the schools.

“If the Hon. Minister of Education does not rescind his directive on the PTA development levy, the PTAs may be constrained to dispense with the PTA staff on her payroll, stop ongoing PTA projects and provision of essential voluntary services valued at N1.5 billion as the PTA would not have the capacity to continue with those activities,” they said.

Mr. Clement Obiri, a PTA Executive at the FGC, Rumuokoro, Obio/Akpor Local government area of Rivers State, in the school said the government should not have announced a blanket ban of levies across board.  He said the ban should have applied in schools where PTA could not account for the funds collected – unlike his school, which was doing well with the funds.

“For us here, all the levies collected were being accounted for.  Both the school and the parents are happy that we are making good use of it. Another thing is that maybe the government is trying to carry the responsibilities that were being taken over by the payment of PTA levies,” he said.

A teacher at FGGC Calabar, who did not want to be named, also faulted the blanket ban.

The teacher said: “I do not believe the government is right on this one. The PTA levy has tremendously helped in running the school. I want to believe the reason the government is trying to stop it is because they feel most times such monies are never accounted for. But they should not throw the baby out with the bath water. If something is good and has been working well so far, one or two discrepancies should not be enough for everything to be weeded out. I cannot speak for other institutions, but at least in this school, there are things that the PTA fee has done for us. That is because whatever money we realize from it is properly accounted for and judiciously used for any project parents and teachers have identified would benefit all and sundry.”

For Terwase Ugoh, a PTA teacher with Federal Government College Vandiekya, in Benue State, the government should either absorb the PTA teachers into its workforce or allow the levies to remain.

“Even though our salaries cannot be compared with the full-time Unity school teachers’ salaries; even at though it is not regular, what would be our fate if the levy is stopped?  The Federal Government should rescind the decision and allow the economy to stabilise or absorbed PTA  hired teachers into the system to make life easy,” he said.

However, Joshua Olalekan, a student in one of the schools, said the directive may back-fire if the Federal Government did not provide sufficient funds to the affected schools.

Olalekan said poor funding of these schools made them to seek alternative ways of generating fund, warning that most of the Unity Schools would collapse if the policy is not reversed.

He said, “While the Federal Government insists that PTAs stop collecting levies, plans on how to fund these schools should be formulated and implemented. With this directive, Unity Schools would suffer subsequently unless they are adequately funded by the Federal Government. This directive would back-fire if funds are not provided subsequently, as the standard of Unity Schools in Nigeria would seriously be affected.”

Former principal of King’s College, Lagos, Otunba Dele Olapeju, said but for the PTA’s financial support, he would not have achieved as much as he did during his six-year term at the school.

Olapeju, who retired last November, said the PTA hired as many as 50 teachers for the school; without the PTA’s support, he said the Federal Government should be ready to “bury” the schools.

He said: “That policy is a policy turned upside down. It is an invitation for undertakers to bury the remains of unity schools. Government funding is declining and we need these funds for the schools. It is the worst thing that can happen to the schools. When I heard, I could not believe it. These people (parents) are assisting government to carry out their mandate. We understand that government has a lot of responsibilities but they cannot do everything. Parents are not complaining. My six years’ success as a Principal of King’s College amounted from God’s grace and the parents’ help. They were very caring and they wanted the best for their children and that is the Nigerian spirit that we used to have in those days.

“This is a government that wants to create jobs. In my time, 50 teachers were being paid by the PTA because the school had manpower gap. Now if they stop the levy, how will these teachers be paid? That would mean 50 more people thrown into unemployment.”

Olapeju also claimed that the ban maybe an agenda to put all 104 Unity Schools on the same level of development, saying that the schools in the south were more developed than those in northern Nigeria.

“The rumour is that schools in the south are doing well and it is because parents support the schools.  Those in the north are not willing to pay such money,” he said.

Some stakeholders laud ban

There are many parents who are happy that the Federal Government has finally stepped in to regulate how much they pay are to pay as levies.  They complained that the levies were burdensome and were not always put to judicious uses.

A lecturer at the Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, Mr. Idris Abubakar, who is also a parent, said the directive was welcome,

“It is unfortunate that even amidst the current economic hardships in the country, some policies are being formulated our schools to inflict more suffering on the masses. Most of these levies are not channeled for the right purpose. Therefore, if the money is being diverted, then it should be scrapped,” he said.

A parent, Emmanuel Zainab, said she was happy when she heard the news, adding that the huge sum of money charged in Unity Schools discouraged her from sending her two children to Unity School.

Mrs. Juliet Obodo, whose children attend FGC in Rivers State, said parents with many children in unity schools are overburdened by the levies.

“Look at the economic situation of the country today; it is not the same with that of yesterday. I have three children schooling here.  Apart from PTA levy, there are other levies which we pay. So if the government has decided to stop that one it is a good thing for people like us.  Though others would afford it but so many of us struggle to pay it. I support the Federal government.”

A Principal of one of the Unity Schools in Niger State, who preferred anonymity because he was not authorized to speak, said the idea of paying for PTA as well as development levies separately in Unity Schools in the country is worrisome.

He argued that the N5,000  the PTA levy should be enough for funding projects in schools.

A parent with a child at the Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba, Mr Gboyega Alaka, agrees that the N5,000 should be sufficient to pay PTA Teachers.

“With over 4,000 students in the school, the PTA can get enough money to pay the teachers it hired,” he said.

An alumna of Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos, Mrs Aiki, said if the unity schools could exist without PTA levies in the good old days, they can in the future if the schools are well funded.

“There was no PTA levy when I was a student. We had everything we required and facilities were state of the art. So these levies, I am not sure what use they are required for. But Queen’s College Old Girls’ Association (QCOGA) has always supported the school in every way and we contributed a hostel to the boarding house. So is the levy the issue now? Or should we be focusing on raising the standard of education to the point where we do not even need these levies?” she asked.

If the government is stopping the levy, a move he supports, Victor Olabimtan, a former Speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly, said it must be ready to bridge the ga.

“Cancelling the PTA levy is reasonable to some extent.  But the federal government should take up full responsibility of funding the schools.  I am knowledgeable of the affairs in the Federal Unity Schools, and the funding is inadequate.  The money being provided by the PTA which is always remitted through the designated Banks is verifiable and has been helping the schools tremendously.

“Federal Ministry of Education should take a Census of all Unity Schools across the country and know the cost implication of funding,study the level of assistance the schools are getting through PTA levy ad determine how to allocate more funds to take charge of the abolished levy”

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