It is not only in government or politics that there is the existence of tyranny, it could be seen in homes, churches, cooperate spheres, but the most painful of this age is that which is perpetuated by private schools.
Nigeria was one of the countries in time past that could boast of high standard of education, from primary to university level, that then, people sent their kids home to study with no fears.
The Misfortune of Education in Nigeria Today
Today, education in Nigeria is in a good mess, and a few have taken advantage of this fall to great financial fortune.
At a point a child is born, and as he becomes older, there is need to keep him busy, while his parents work; he acquires knowledge in order to be independent, one day. The school would groom him to be whatever he intends to be in future; unfortunately, the standard of education in Nigeria has turned into something else, and to an extent, sending a child to school has become a liability instead of a privilege.
Not minding the fact that Nigerians are hard of hearing in terms of controlling the number of kids they have, but on the other hand, to send a child to a good school today sets parents back for years, that some of them abandon their projects, just to put their kids through a good school. A parent must not grow poor or broke while trying to bring about a means of sustenance for the future of his child.
Due to the state of the nation, one most times thinks twice before sending their child to a government school, because government schools have been neglected for ages, that most times, a child’s life is put in danger or that child is not be exposed to proper or standard form of education that he deserves.
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The Dilemma of Private Schools
As a result of the failure of government schools to meet the demands of standard education in Nigeria, some group of people got the drift, built schools, and on the other hand, became hangmen around parents’ necks: they put a price tag on their label. On the other hand, private schools have taken to nibbling on government short comings through diverse ways: tuition fee, text book fee (per term), event fee, developmental fee, and the list go on and on.
They fix outrageous amount as school fees, therefore making it known that they only accept certain class of people in their schools: it is so glaring and unfortunate that it turns into a competition, that some parents go to the extent to clamour for a raise in fees, so that certain class of people will know where to fit themselves. It is a race of the higher the school fees, the better the school, and it’s standard of education. On the other hand, these fees are not well managed, because most parents end up not seeing where development of event takes place.
The most annoying part is that a child is expected to pay for books that most times are never used, in order words; it is obviously a good deal between the school and the author or publisher.
These days, books are provided by schools, it is no longer purchased in the market by parents. In those days, a single comprehensive textbook was used for a whole session by a child, while his younger siblings use same text, and such kids excelled. But today, a book becomes useless at the end of each term, not minding that that single child might have younger siblings that could use the same text.
Today, some of these so called private schools force students to take all manner of international exams with the aim of belittling the WAEC, GCE, NECO, and JAMB exams in Nigeria; such exams have certainly lost their value, to the extent that some of these exams are not taken in some private schools, therefore, it becomes a great loss to the country.
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What happens in future where no Nigerian child would not want to attend any of the Nigerian universities, because such child and his parents have been brainwashed to believe that the best universities can only be found abroad. Such ‘noble’ actions by private schools form a great disadvantage to the country and the child whose mindset about the country is being influenced negatively, because he is certainly not expected to be patriotic or come back whenever he leaves the country. Also, such exams act as distracters from the exams he ought to be reading for in Nigeria.
These schools only pride in intimidating-looking structures, but they ride on the backs of unqualified teachers, empty library, and laboratories. Most of them do not offer indigenous languages or cover syllables at the end of the session. A parent complained bitterly of how a school on Lekki axis (Lagos state) almost ruined her daughter. It was at the tail end that she discovered that the school was not licensed to take some exams: they were only after international exams, and they never covered their syllabus before WAEC, they had no qualified teachers, and to top it all, they never taught indigenous subjects.
On the other hand, a parent is confronted with paying for expensive textbooks each term for her children, who at the end of each term, get rid of these books, because they will never be used again. Such schools don’t care how parents get the money to pay fees, but keep on demanding without offering much.
Funnily enough, at the end, these children go through these schools, and their parents still pay for private lessons; the aim is therefore defeated. Most of these private schools leave students with a western accent on their tongues, but absolutely nothing in their heads and less of morals: this is what drives most parents who feel inferior about being African.
What a shame that with all the imbibed international curriculum, and examination, students come out of secondary, primary, and nursery schools, empty. Parents should have a rethink: it is not about sending your child to the most expensive schools, but what value do parents get for their hard earned investment. It is a total disgrace to such schools, and a total loss to such negligent parents.
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The Part to Play
It is a pity that in Nigeria today, people go for name, fame, and money without asking questions. Most successful people in life never went to the best of schools, but can attest to whatever success they had today to have come from the school they attended. Some students end up struggling in future, not because their parents didn’t do their best to send them to the best schools, but their parents didn’t go the extra mile to investigate such schools, ask questions or demand for the right value for their money.
On the other hand, government should help put an end to the exploitation of parents by private schools; they put money before a good standard of education; this is possible through equipping government managed schools, and putting a check on the activities of private schools.
Written bu Oluoma Udemezue.