Recently, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, expressed concern over the decline in the standard of education in Nigeria. One of the problems many managers and heads of organisations, especially human resources practitioners, have complained about is the issue of graduates not being able to write simple and correct official letters.
Application for employment in this 21st century is usually demanded from graduates and probably a few from First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC) and Senior School Certificate holders.
The emphasis on graduates is based on the fact that after passing through primary, secondary before tertiary institutions, there are those who cannot communicate properly.
Despite the fact that parents have invested heavily, they are unable to write simple letters.
It is worrisome that a university undergraduate finds it difficult to write simple “letter to the Editor”.  In fact, this is one of the most important topics every student is tested on during school certificate examination. I wonder what else is taught when this aspect is ignored.
If the primary level which is the foundation is faulty, what do we expect from the secondary and university? A lot of work needs to be done at the foundation.And then everybody wants to go to university. Like the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, said: “University education is not for everyone.”  Those whose interests are on paper qualification should not be offered university admission. There should be provision for tailors, bricklayers, mechanics, painters, plumbers, carpenters,etc,
The National Policy on Education stipulates that after the basic education which terminates at Basic 9 (JSS 3), a child can divert into trade or crafts to acquire practical knowledge, especially if he cannot move to a higher educational level. But this policy has been abused by some parents who are bent on their children continuing even if their performance is low. I’m not sure any parent can allow the child to stop at that level.
The primary school curriculum is being revised from time to time by stakeholders to meet contemporary issues but the implementation becomes a problem. The teacher needs retraining. They should teach because that is what they are paid for, especially in the public schools.
We should do away with “government-thing” attitude. If everything in the scheme of work is taught, then the child should be able to learn and express himself or herself well.
For a long time now, primary and secondary school teachers have not been embarking on strike, the system has been stable and so the pupils need proper teaching.Yes, we should be worried because, every year, a certain percentage of fund is budgeted on education, yet results are insufficient. Stakeholders should monitor the implementation of the funds allocated to education sector, especially at the basic level. This is the foundation.
Infrastructure has to be in place if we are talking about strong foundation. Although in Rivers State, our case is different. The infrastructure is okay, with modern facilities to enhance teaching and learning. The last administration embarked on building of modern schools, well- equipped with ICT-compliance. The present government in Rivers State also built and renovated some dilapidated primary and secondary schools, for instance, Rumuokwuta Model Girls School and many others across the state to world-class status.
A few years back, not less than 10,000 teachers were engaged in public primary and secondary schools in Rivers State. They were all graduates and screened through serious examination before employment. Then, what is the problem?
It would be recalled that during the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, a lot of conferences, seminars, workshops on education were organised on how to move Nigerian educational system forward. Under the supervision of Prof. Ruqayyah Ahmed Rufa’i, Dr Obi Ezekwesili as ministers of education and others, Nigeria’s education system got serious attention.
There were concerns so much that in the South-South region, there was the BRACED Commission. It was made up of Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta States. One of the aims was to put the education system right. Emphasis should be to encourage young people in acquiring formal education. The issue of let me have the paper to acquire a job should be discouraged. For effective teaching and learning to take place, there must be enthusiasm and readiness on the part of the youths.
Some students are to blame for low performance in the university. This is because some of them don’t recognise the reason why they are there. They are only interested in acquiring the certificate. The lecturers may be doing good job, but some of the students are carried away by events on campus.
You can agree with me that even as we are talking about low performance in education, some students are still coming out in flying colours. We still have first-class and second-class materials from the same system in their chosen professions in Nigeria. Students should be motivated to read while the reading culture must be maintained.
Any student who cannot pass or score high grades in the university should retire after primary and secondary education. There are crafts and trade for those who cannot go beyond that level.
A lot of students go to school but not to acquire education. The essence of going to school should be first on how to read and write, and then for acquiring job with the certificate as second option.
Instead of studying, they prefer to go and look for money. They relax bearing in mind that at the end of the day, they will pay their way out; after all, no amount of preparation can fetch them high grades.
Every university in Nigeria employs not less than Master’s degree holders. There is enough manpower in the system. See, education is intentional, you need to work harder with your personal efforts, you must be decisive and deliberate to learn and acquire knowledge. Readiness is also key in this regard.
But researches have shown that Nigerians perform well overseas. Are there still things to be done here? If not when given the same opportunity, they should be able to do same here Nigeria. Although their system is more transparent than ours.
There is this issue of no matter how intelligent you may be as a student; you are denied high grades if you don’t comply. This should be condemned because some children would have obtained five credits at a sitting in their area of specialisation and scored above 200 marks in UMTE. Such students definitely will perform well in the university.
Parents should be able to look at their children’s work at home no matter how tight their schedules may be. Let there be a follow-up on what the teachers are doing in school. Educating the child should not be left in the hands of the teachers alone, it should be our business also.

By: Eunice Choko-Kayode