* lack qualified teachers
Most Government and grant aided secondary schools in Kogi state have been described as an abattoir only good to house animals.
This is just as the schools lacked qualified teachers, instructional materials and insufficient laboratories for the teaching and learning of science subjects.
An Educationist in one of the grant aided schools in Lokoja, who pleaded for her name not to be mentioned, gave the description in a chat with our correspondent recently while monitoring the ongoing WAEC examination in Lokoja.
She decried the attitude in which students would leave the schools in the cities at their final year to register for Waec and Neco in the village Centers.
She averred that the shift may not be unconnected with dearth of qualified teachers in most schools and lack of instructional materials, alleging that the students who may be afraid of failing their papers, considered miracle centres as a remedy which abounds in Secondary Schools in the villages
She blamed the policy summersault for the mass exodus of final year students to register their public examinations in the village Centers ,
disclosed that government has a law that forbid final year students from transfer, but said , government lacked political will to enforce the law.
According to her, the total number of students who register for WAEC in her school were just 24 students , attributing the decline not only to run down infrastructures of the school, but their zero tolerance against examination malpractices .
She kicked against the practice where social science graduates are been deployed to teach core science subjects, adding that most of the teachers employed hardly know what exactly to teach.
She called on government to be meticulous on recruitment of teachers by contracting the interview to renown management consultants for the selection of the best of the best.
She suggested that for academic excellence to return to mission schools, government should hand over the schools to their original owners who are ready to inject competent human and material resources.
” Secondary Education has been left alone. Most states are paying lip service to secondary Education. The environment for learning and teaching is not conducive for human habitation. Most classrooms have no roofs, no windows, no lockers and benches and no electrical fans or air conditioners in the classrooms.
” We don’t have qualified science teachers. We have more arts and commercial teachers. But in this age of digitisation, we need science teachers to prepare our children to compete globally.
” It is my considered view that the FG should set up a commission for Secondary Education like the UBEC/ SUBEB which have helped a great deal in salvaging primary education.
” It amazes me when holders of NCE or Bachelor in Education certificate could barely write their names. There was one posted to this school who claimed to have BSC Sociology, but she hardly spelt her name correctly.
So, if we want to advance in knowledge and skills that will place us at par with other economies, governments should be ready to overhaul the educational system” She suggested.
While commending the alumni for the provision of ICT equipment, up to date laboratories, refurbishing classrooms and erecting befitting school entrance gate , urged them not to relent on their oars in assisting the school with relevant and qualified teachers.
