The massive investment of the Rivers State Government in
modern infrastructure as a first step towards building the capacity of the
average Rivers indigene cannot be over-emphasised. It really shows that someone
somewhere is interested in the future of the State.

It is quite disheartening to hear about mass failure of
students in WAEC, NECO and even in aptitude tests that most companies subject
their candidates to, in order to offer employment. This can be attributed to
many reasons. Location, standard of living, financial situation of parents,
qualification of teachers, instructional, motivational and conducive atmosphere
of the school environment are some of the factors that determine how well  a child would do in school.

The foundation a child has from nursery/primary, school goes
a long way in determining his or her future.

Now that the government is
providing  a very good foundation
for school children through beautiful edifices, state-of-the-art equipment, new
school uniforms, books et al, it is equally important that the re-training of
teachers should start immediately. This can be done in different ways. One, by
re-training  teachers who in turn will
become teacher trainers. Their job is to go round the different local government
areas of the State training their peers. This is cost-effective as not too many
people will be trained by the consultants.

Alternatively, a massive re-training scheme can be
undertaken by those in charge (board, ministry or consultants in education) to
administer training for all teachers.

Specialty –based training is very important as well.
Traditionally, primary school teachers are perceived as persons with lower
education and less training. This of course is true. But for Rivers State to
excel, the situation has to change. If children are taught by poorly trained or
poorly equipped teachers at the primary level, they will end up with deficient
knowledge at tertiary levels.

Pygmalion in the classroom theory suggests that teachers
favour those students who do well while relegating the others to the
background. This makes perfect sense in a teacher who has not been trained
properly in teaching methods. ‘Slow students, slow down the class’. The
tendency therefore, is to move on without such students. This of course may not
be the fault of the children, but rather the fault of their unqualified
teachers.

So, it is very important that the standard of training of
teachers has to improve. Otherwise, all the money spent on the new schools will
go down the drain. There is no reason why primary school teachers should not be
as qualified as their counterparts in the other levels of education. The world
is now technology based. A teacher who is not computer literate has no business
in teaching in this modern time.

The news about the massive failure in external examinations
in the country is regrettable. I want to believe that the level of corruption
that has eaten deep into the fabric of our society is beginning to reflect
itself in our children. Today, we have ridiculous situations where parents bribe
supervisors to help out their children
during examinations. Many parents buy question papers for their children all in
a bid to make their children pass examinations. These horrible stories merely
showcase what the society has become.

The fact that WAEC and NECO results are nothing to write
home about means that we have to go back to the drawing board to fix whatever
is wrong. The new state of the art schools built by the State government have
to have state-of-the-art teachers, otherwise, the whole effort will become
meaningless.

The government should, as a priority, start retraining
teachers. The school curriculum has to be re-visited. All the stakeholders must
be involved in the reform of education in the State. Teaching methods have to
be followed meticulously. The provision of nice chairs and nice race tracks
will not translate into good results for students in external examination
without proper training of the students. As much as these facilities are good
and welcome for the total education of the child, it is equally important for
the teachers to be able to use the facilities that have been graciously
provided to produce excellent results.

Teachers, administrators of education policies and parents
should work together to bring about the much desired change for the State. I am
not sure Parents, Teachers Association (PTA) still exists in Rivers State. If
it does not, it should be revived. Teachers, parents and students conferences
should be held periodically. This will provide an avenue for all concerned to
voice their concerns.

In other words, to get the
State government’s thrust in education to function optimally, all hands
must be on deck. The government has provided the infrastructure and equipment,
the school board or whoever is in charge of training has to immediately embark
on massive re-training of teachers, while parents and community leaders make
their own contributions towards the educational reform in the State.

Dr (Mrs.) Wikina is a consultant sociologist.

Ada Wikina