THE PRIVATISATION OF THE UNITY SCHOOLS
Society for Ethics in Nigeria
I am a great admirer of the Honourable Minister of Education, Pastor
(Dr.) Oby Ezekwisili. I have faithfully followed her career path since
being appointed as head of the "Due Process Unit" in the Obasanjo
Government. I am one of her ardent supporters because I loved the way
she worked at Due Process and the speed with which she came up with the
NEITI program for the Non-Oil Sector as the Minister for Solid Minerals
Development, before her recent posting to the Education Ministry. Her
recent decision to privatize the Unity schools in the country raises
serious ethical questions, which needs to be addressed for the sake of
the country and us all.
First off though, let us understand what the Unity Schools stand for.
These are secondary schools established by the Federal Government for
the reason of integrating the various ethnic groups in the country. The
idea is to provide a platform where children from different backgrounds
and ethnic nationalitiy can learn and grow together, thereby
engendering the unity of the country.They were to serve as a place for
deserving students to enjoy the best in education, as much as the
Government of the day could afford to give them, and to turn out model
individuals who will proceed to the higher institutions and be
qualitative graduates for the development of the country irrespective
of social status. Some of these schools like the King's College.
Lagos, date back to 1909, Queens College, also in Lagos, 1927, and many
others established in the '70s, in the era of the oil boom. The
youngest of these schools were established as late as 1999. There are
83 of these schools spread across the six geo-political zones in the
country. (going by the Ministry's website)
As we speak, teachers in these schools have embarked on a strike to
drive home their grievances with the Government, insisting that the
Government is wrong in its decision, and has failed to carry them along
before it was reached.
The Government on its part insisted that a summit of stakeholders was
called to discuss the issues in Abuja, and it was a consensus of the
gathering that Government should privatize the schools, albeit not like
as in outright selling to the highest bidder, but to organisations like
Religious bodies, PTAs and Principals/Schools Administrators who are
desirous to run such schools along government guidelines (courtesy
interview of Mr. Johnson Abali on ChannelsTV, Sunrise program, today
10/10/06).
The bottom line is that the government has convinced itself at least,
that the best way to reduce the incidence of mass failure of pupils in
the Unity Schools, is to dispose of them to private hands, and that
this will help to develop them.
This raises a lot of ethical questions that will take a lot of time to
analyse. However, let us look at some of the issues raised by this
decision:
1. Social Responsibility: It is the responsibility of
government to provide qualitative education for her children and
youths. This enormous responsibility cannot be solely entrusted to
religious and or private organisations. It is quite clear that the era,
where one expects the religious organisations to provide cheap
education for Nigerians is long past. The traditional churches like the
Catholic, Methodist, Baptists and the Zumratul Islamiyas, the
Ansaruddeens and other like groups, no longer enjoy the patronage they
once enjoy. What we have nowadays are corporate churches and muslim
organisations, who are more concerned with how much money is in their
bank accounts than what social amenities these funds can provide for
their members. The result is that while majority of their followers are
wallowing in abject poverty, a few pastors are buying jets from church
proceeds. Even when they manage to establish schools, the fees do not
reflect the sermons of being their brothers' keepers. The traditional
ones can no longer keep up against the onslaught of these new groups
and their revenue base has diminished considerably and can no longer
support such social amenities as affordable education. Therefore it
would be safe to assume that these groups will run the Unity schools
for profit. Where would that leave the average brilliant Nigerian
child, whose parents cannot afford exorbitant bills? Should he/she be
allowed to go to waste? Don't we owe him/her some responsibility to
ensure that he/she also survives? Should only the rich man's child be
the only ones to survive? Aren't we assuming too much by this act?
2. National Development: One of the requirements for national
development is the training of the human capital resources of that
country. Therefore most countries in the world today go to a lot of
extent to ensure that the education of their citizens is not
jeopardized in any manner. The importance attached to this education is
such that even in developed democracies, the government does not only
own schools, but is actively involved in how those schools are run to
ensure an even development of her citizens. Nigeria cannot be an
exception. If the Unity schools are sold, the government will be
reduced to playing the role of umpires. The fact that NCC is overseeing
the telecommunications industry for example does not mean the private
networks like MTN, Celtel. Glo and Mtel perform or will perform at
100%. The same applies in this instance. Having a monitoring agency is
not an answer to developing the standards of the schools, and ensuring
the right things are taught at the right levels. The danger in the
development of human capital resource is that it is time based. Any
error made in the development of a child takes time to manifest, and by
the time the error is detected, the child might not be amenable for
"repairs". He/She by that time, would be a warped mind, incapable
of objective reasoning and thinking, a zombie, incapable of any
initiative. A wastrel rather than a prudent manager of the country's
resources entrusted to his office. And therefore a liability rather
than an asset to the nation. In our hurry to dump the Unity Schools, we
are directly refusing to accept responsibility for the development of
our children, and may inadvertently turn them over to unqualified
persons, who will turn out deadbeat managers tomorrow. A government
that will choose money, over and above the welfare of its citizenry,
and thereby knowingly or unknowingly put the future generations of the
country at risk of underdevelopment is not an ethical government.
3. Issue of mass Failure: This is one of the reasons the government has
decided to dispose of the schools. It was observed that in the last
SSCE exams, only about 13% of the total number of pupils who sat for
the examinations, passed. This is unacceptable to government, and
therefore the solution is for it to hands off. Well the Society for
Ethics would like to believe that though this is a good reason, wherein
lies the fault? Were the students in the schools really qualified to be
there in the first place? Are they the best crop of student who passed
the entrance examinations? Were the right criteria for the selection of
the pupils used during the admission process? Were the pupils
eventually admitted teachable materials? Did the teachers practice good
work ethics in their jobs? Are they really dedicated to teaching the
pupils, or is it "business as usual" in the classrooms? Are the
teachers well disciplined? Are they allowed to discipline the pupils?
(refer to the Prof Aminu saga as Minister when his child's was at
Queen's College,) Is it not true that these children now have cults
in the Unity schools? We would like to submit that the reasons for mass
failure are also the reasons for the failure of the country these past
46years. Every system has been compromised, and therefore need
overhauling. However, while the government is in a hurry to dispose of
the schools for example, no one is talking of privatising the Police
Force, or even allowing for State Police. Rather, we are ready to pump
in more resources and money into the force. We are so concerned for our
own safety, and yet so flippant with the future of our children and the
country. It is our opinion that the children can not be blamed for the
mass failure, but the administrators of the schools. The administrators
too would probably do a good job if they are left alone to use their
discretion. But in Nigeria, everyone wants a share of the national
cake. So whether a child is actually qualified or not, by hook or by
crook, he/she has to be admitted, especially where the parents are
ready to spend money. The result is enormous pressure on the
administrators to compromise standards, which leads to mass failures
ultimately. A good ethics program will protect the pupils and the
administrators against this, and not the outright sale of the schools
4. to be concluded
P.S.: We wish to inform our readers that our office is now open at
Block C, D.D.D. Computers Plaza, 196, Apapa/Oshodi Expressway,
Ilasamaja, Lagos.
Membership forms are now available. You can become a full member and
enjoy the company of people and other activities of the Society. The
form sells for N2,500.00, while student members are required to pay
N500.00 only.
If you wish to be a Patron of the Society where you can do more for the
country, contact us at ethicsi...@yahoo.com and we shall send you
a letter of nomination.
Regards
Whiskey, Isaac U.
President/National Coordinator
Do forward this to your friends and associates. Help us build a new
Nigeria.