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I have read or
heard such recurring negative comments over the past five years and
each time, I shudder. Out of curiosity and displeasure, I set out to
find out for myself what may be wrong. I had long perceived that our
state-run schools could be at the root of the problem, so I started to
volunteer my time and resources, and supported by friends and
colleagues, at a neighbourhood junior secondary school.

What I have learnt
is instructive and as I write this article, it must be 14 months since
I first stepped into the school to the warm reception of the school
authority.

Literacy and
numeracy are, in my opinion, at the core of every intellectual pursuit.
I even consider literacy as the foundation for numeracy, which is why
language is what the child first learns before all else. The students
were in JSS1 at the time and after introductions, I made each person
write a simple essay about her or himself and this gave me an insight
into their backgrounds. You’d imagine that many of them are from
economically challenging environments. Rightly so.

Notwithstanding, I
came away with a strong impression of their enthusiasm and high
aspirations. Musa Yahaya, for instance, had long adopted Aliko Dangote
as his role model. But in order to succeed, preparation must match or
even exceed aspiration.

Can state run
schools, as they are today, therefore be said to equip students with
tools they need to succeed in life? I dare say no. As I corrected the
essay scripts, there was no content, neither was there good structure
or organisation. Many sentences were poorly constructed and the
grammatical flaws were shocking. Some students could not even write
their names properly.

The vice principal
rightly pointed out that things were in a sorry state and that her
students will be expected to compete with others from private
establishments within and outside Nigeria!

Over the past
months, my friends and I have organised motivational sessions,
mobilised supply of learning materials, and actively sought to impress
on the students the need to take their studies seriously. But it’s not
only the students that need to sit up.

I have, at some
point, had to teach the students under a tree in the school compound,
because the dilapidated classroom block was being refurbished. I had my
fair share of experience in the poor classroom infrastructure. While
delivering a ‘Brighter Grammar’ lesson one morning, a ceiling square
almost fell on my head.

The school lacks
discipline. Students stroll in leisurely at 9am, sometimes later (I
hear the “elites” may be complicit because some of the students are
domestic hands who are not allowed to prepare for school until
“madam’s” children have been picked by the school bus).

Teachers look
de-motivated, distracted, even uninterested – for good reason? I was in
class one day and I asked the students “why do you all speak pidgin
English?” One of them – a young, bold girl, stood up and said rather
angrily, “the teachers teach us in pidgin.” Most of the students agreed
with her, but at the same time out of fear, queried why she would say
such a thing!

The school
environment is not conducive for learning. The vice principal, whom I
respect for her long years of service and ability to roundly motivate
the students, once said that if she had her way she would ask the many
food sellers to stay out of the school premises, at least until
break/lunch time. This is because she finds that students eat rice,
beans, plantain, and so on in class while teachers deliver lessons.

Ill prepared for future

It is useful at
this juncture to present the outcome of an analysis I did using average
scores for vocabulary tests that I dispensed. 270 students were tested
over five (5) class sessions, using 50 words each time (I came up with
the test words from a pool of about 10,000 words which the students
themselves drafted). From the population of 270, I selected a sample of
81 students – those who had record of at least 3 scores out of the 5
test sessions. (70% did not qualify for the sample) 32 students scored
average of 50% and below, while the remaining can be said to have
passed.

40% failure rate is
still “positive”, when compared to the over 98% failure rate in 2009
SSCE. However, if I analysed the scores of all 270 students, about 70%
would have failed – failed simple vocabulary tests for which the
students had at least one week ahead to prepare!

There’s no doubt
that with an ill-educated, ill-prepared population, Nigeria’s internal
security, and its economic growth and development aspirations, are
gravely threatened and our country risks being relegated to the
background in the comity of nations.

Mayowa Amoo lives and works in Lagos and can be reached on mayowa_amoo@yahoo.com