EDUCATION WITH PAINS AND DISCOMFORT

By Babalola Yusuf Abiola

At last, Olokode Olawale (not real name) transfer request was granted by the Ogun State Ministry of Education, like every other Students his joy knew no bond, He was eager to meet his new class mates.

On the following Monday Morning, he was the first to wake up, did the home chores, took his bath, applies his body cream and brought out his newly sown school uniform from where he hung it, And by 6:00am he was dressed up, ready for school .

Now, it is 7:15am, He set out, waved his mum and dad, promising them a general idea about his new school when he returned later in the day and promised to be a good boy at the same time take his lessons very serious.

Getting to the entrance of the supposed school, he was shocked with what he saw, “this definitely is not where am coming he said in disbelieve, could this be my new school or a poultry farm, certainly not a school.”

But to his greatest surprise he saw students arriving in batches, going into their various un plastered classrooms with confidence, preparing for the day class before the morning assembly bell rings, he swallowed his surprise and asked one of the students where junior secondary (JS)2 classroom is.

Olawale was directed, but on entering the classroom, he was stunned to see that the classroom he was supposed to receive lessons was not plastered neither was there a ceiling as only the roofing sheet can be seen.

He, however, decided to seat on one of the furniture in the class room, but to his greatest surprise he fell, the seat he sat on was not professionally constructed as it was done by one of the students who were desperate to sit in the class when the government promise for furniture is not yet fulfilled.

But another surprising episode of Olawale unfolded after the morning assembly, when student were trooping in for the first lesson, that was when it dawn on him that he has made a wrong step as the student in his class were over fifty with no enough chair to accommodate them.

Many were sitting on the bare floor, with their school uniform, while majority were standing and those who were lucky to have a seat were sitting with much caution because of the dilapidated condition of the furniture in the class room. 

That is the experience of Olokode Olawale; a JSS 2 student of Odewale Community Secondary School, in a suburb of Ogun State, South West, Nigeria, but the management of this Secondary School are aware of the challenges the Students are facing, but could only do little about the fate of the Students.

One of the staff who decided to be anonymous because he is not in the best position to speak said “this is what we are facing in this School, we have written a lot of letter to the government and they promise to see to our challenges, so we have to hope and hope till they come.

 “Government instructed us not to collect money from the students, they promised to provide everything the students needed for them so we are in a tight corner but any parents that wish to see his or her child sit comfortably in class will have to provide furniture for them since government furniture is not forthcoming.”

When asked about how the Students were coping he said ”the Students have no alternative as they have to make do with what they have at hand, they will have to manage till the government provide what they want for them.”

But the Ogun State government has however reiterated its commitment to free and qualitative education to both indigene and non indigene from primary to tertiary institution.

The Ogun State government position on the decaying education system in the state was as follows “Our state has regressed in this very important sector (education sector) in the last eight years, resulting in education that is neither affordable to the vast majority of our citizens nor even relevant to the demands of the time.

 “Form has replaced substance, Ogun State institutions - at every level - that used to be the pride of all have been reduced to centers’ where ignorance rather than knowledge is being dished out. Institutions named after illustrious Sons of the State have become embarrassment to their memory rather than tribute.

They explain how they wish to provide solution to the decay in the sector, “Our administration will re-energize the education sector, there will be massive refurbishment of existing structures and construction of new classroom blocks with adequate equipment in the laboratories.

“At least 50 schools per Senatorial Zone will be refurbished within the first year of our administration. We shall increase budgetary allocation to this sector to at least 20% of the State Budget. In addition, Teachers are the cornerstone of the education system, more teachers will be recruited to meet acceptable standards of teacher - student ratio while a comprehensive staff welfare and development programme will be embarked on.

“The glory and pride of our institutions will be restored through ensuring streamlining and accreditation of their programmes. Most importantly, the administration will ensure that relevant knowledge and skills are imparted in our schools through strengthened interface between the institutions and the industry.”