REDEFINING EDUCATION, THE OSUN EXAMPLE In the 60s when schools were properly administered and discipline was enforced, the quality of graduates was high and certificates awarded by Nigerian schools were equal to those awarded elsewhere. Things however went sour when education was neglected by the government in the 1980s and the quality of graduates was compromised. There is no facet of the society that has not been affected; the economy and governance science and technology, medicine, religion, individual responsibility and Nigerias global competitiveness. Lack of funding, lack of teaching tools and modern classrooms, poor remuneration as well as shortage of qualified teachers all contributed to the falling standard of education in Nigeria. About 2,015 primary schools were about buildings and classes were conducted under trees. mostly children of the poor who could not afford good, but expensive private schools attend these schools and the quality of education obtainable under such harsh condition has continue generate concerns from all quarters. In its effort to tackle the rot in the education sector headlong, the Osun State Government, under Governor Aregbesola decided to reintroduce free education in the state and employed revolutionary measures that have race so much dust. With the commencement of the current academic session, primary and secondary schools in the state were detached from the 6-3-3-4 system of education been practise across the country. Osun thus became the only state that run the 4-5-3 system, meaning that people will spend the first four years primary schools, next five years in middle and the last three years in the higher schools as part of its re-classification policy. part of the policy includes the of public and missionary schools, which ensure that all schools in the state will be co educational, and only form will be worn in all school throughout the state. The policy also seeks an integrative approach to the education of the children and youths, which spans education infrastructure in O schools, massive building of new school structures to replace the current dilapidated ones, within the framework of its schools reclassification system ; standardized school uniform in Ouniform to rebrand its public schools, as well as create employment for designers tailors and allied artisans through the Omoluabi Garments Factory. However, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Osun state were among concerned stakeholders that have criticized the government for embarking on this scheme, but the state government insisted that the policy is aimed at addressing the rot in the system. We believe that Aregbesolas laudable free education policy can succeed without tampering with the right and legacies of any religious group. Osun being a state in which Christian and Muslims and traditional worshippers have coexisted harmoniously should not be put on knife-edge through maverick handling of policies, especially in the field of education, which is the states prized asset while we applaud reforms, we also caution that the good intentions are not defeated by impulsive innovations that do not have the approval of majority of education loving people of Osun state. Explaining the rationale behind the new policy, the deputy Governor Mrs. Titi Laoye, said a lot of anomalies were discovered in the education system, adding that ongoing restructuring in the sector is an outcome of the summit held in the state at the inception of the current administration. At the end of summit, we came up with a communiqué, which has become the blue print for education in the state. The first thing we observed was that the education system had totally collapsed because of the long period of neglect. so we decide to restructure the system. We knew that for our students to perform optimally, they have to learn in a conducive environment. The next thing we did was to focus on the structure of the school system. There was no building we found on ground that could allow the children to perform well, there were no chairs for them to sit. everywhere was horrible so we decided to build state of the art structures in all public primary and secondary schools in the state. She said the administration also restructured the education system into three basic levels, elementary, middle and high schools, adding that it took a decision to strengthen the high schools, build 60 middle schools and 100 elementary schools. Laoye -Tomori said the decision to segment the education system was informed by the governments plan to improve students performance. This is also the reason behind the neighbourhood schools; that is the elementary schools, designed to focus on elementary school children. The middle school really prepares them for external examinations in the high school. So, primary one to four are referred to as elementary schools in tandem with what is operating globally. Those in the middle schools will be students from grade five to nine; while those in the high school are students in grade 10 to 12. Those are the senior classes . So, by the time they are in middle school, we focus on curriculum that will make them excel and we prepare them adequately for the external examinations like west African Examinations Council (WAEC), Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Examinations Council (NEO) and even the examinations that are obtainable internationally. She said the government is restructuring the schools in such a way that they would have equipment like football pitches, examination halls that would occupy between 1,000 and 1,500 students in the high school. According to her, other initiatives introduced by the administration include, the Osun school feeding and health programmes tagged Omeals, reviewed to combat the abysmal performance of students in external examinations, especially in WAEC; empowering about 3,007 women as food vendors to cook for the pupils in schools. She said the programme has brought about an increase in enrolment of pupils into elementary schools; she said the governor also introduced Opon Imo (Tablet of Knowledge) to ensure that students perform very well in any examination. On bursary, she said in seven and a half years, the previous administration spent #152 million, while the Aregbesola administration has spent 216 million bursary and that undergraduates were paid the government also promoted teachers to grade level 17 in the civil service. Teacher have never been promoted to the position of permanent secretary until we came here. what we did in each senatorial district is that we appointed tutor-general/ permanent secretary. in addition, we created permanent secretary for the State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB) and teaching Establishment and promotion Office (TEPO). At the inauguration of Baptist Central Elementary School, Ilare, Ile-Ife, which was recently restructured to restore its glory, some head teachers of the merged school commended the initiative, saying that it would bring about healthy competition among pupils and teachers. The Headmistress of the host school, Mrs. Mulikat Folaranmi Jegede said teachers from the four schools would start doing things in common, adding that it would make learning faster and encouraging as a result of facilities that were provided. We will be teaching to thoroughly impart knowledge; there will be no divided interest and no disparity among the teachers, we will see ourselves as one. She also expressed delight about some of the facilities provided in the school saying, in the past, we used to have pit toilets, but today it is a water closet. The pupils can now play on the playground because they like it. The environment is very catchy. The coordinator of the school, Mrs. Margaret Olusola Adediwura, said there are manpower and facilities to adequately cater for the 1,000 pupils that the school would accomodate, adding that the merger of the schools would not cause any form of challenges. The facilities are modern, there are text books and other instructional materials for the pupils, there are also physical education facilities on the field. So far, parents have been bringing their children from other schools to register them with us.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 22:26:07 +0000
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