Prisoners of Hope as Students relive ugly experiences in govt schools by Linus Okechukwu

Children like to share exciting stories of their schools with their friends. But Samson Yusuf, 20, a pupil of LGEA Primary School, Gidinye in Nasarawa State, has nothing to share. The poor state of his school, marred by dilapidated buildings and lack of desks for pupils, is rather too awful to be told.

Yusuf, who is currently preparing for his West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), said he chose to tie his tongue in silence because of the pitiable state of his school. According to him, the poor state of facilities in the area has remained his killjoy every school day.
“We have no desks. We sit on the floor,” Yusuf said with regret. “Our teachers lack the motivation to teach us. We just come to school, play and go home some days.”
His worries confirm the decaying public education in the country, which has resulted in cheating and mass failure in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination Council (WAEC).
Report indicates that Nigeria spends less than nine per cent of its annual budget on education when smaller African nations like Botswana spend 19.0%; Swaziland, 24.6%; Lesotho, 17.0%; South Africa, 25.8%; Cote d’Ivoire, 30.0%; Burkina Faso, 16.8%; Ghana, 31%; Kenya, 23.0%; Uganda, 27.0%; Tunisia, 17.0%; and Morocco, 17.7%.
Starving public schools of fund they require to function properly had evidently taken the shine off these institutions, turning them into pitiable sights. Recall that public primary and secondary schools had in the 1970s and 80s produced students that excelled in local and international examinations. But that era has ended, as students in public schools now grapple with poor teaching aids, poorly-equipped laboratories, dilapidated structures and little motivation.
Some analysts say lack of experienced and competent teachers, poor remuneration and funding, inadequate school buildings, increased pressure on little resources occasioned by population explosion – are to be blamed for the declining quality of education in public schools in the country.
Wealthy Nigerians and parents, who could afford the cost often enroll their children in private schools, such that these institutions presently have the highest number of children in the basic education level.
Yusuf’s ugly experience seemed like a fairy tale for Gift Audu, 21, who attended a Catholic primary school, St. John’s Nursery and Primary School in Agyaragu, Nasarawa State.
She said: “Our teachers showed a lot of dedication. They rarely missed classes; even if they did, it must be for cogent reasons. We were motivated to learn every day.”
With the passage of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act into law by the Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration in 2004, there were hopes that the provision of compulsory free education would wipe out illiteracy and facilitate the expansion of education opportunities to children.
In rural communities spread across the country, absence of school buildings resulting in pupils and students learning under trees are common; lack of desks and basic classroom furniture also beset rural public schools; and reports of truancy is on the increase.
“It pained me to see my childhood friends read and speak English fluently, while I find it difficult to make simple sentences. I struggle to read my textbooks, but hardly make any effort to improve because the motivation wasn’t there,” Yusuf said.
Most people believe that in spite of the high cost of private schools, they have earned a reputation for discipline, hard work and commitment in the training of students. No doubt, they will continue to enjoy greater patronage if public schools continue to remain in shambles.
“Of a truth, nearly all the brilliant pupils and students in our community attended private schools,” said Audu, who is aspiring to study Economics at the Federal University, Lafia. “I think the major reason can be traced to the fact that public schools here are lagging behind in terms of providing quality education.”
Another student, Augustine Samson Gidinye, 19, who studied at Government Secondary School, expressed similar views, stressing that public schools lack the resources to inspire children to success. “You hardly find the high level of seriousness seen in private in public schools,” he said. “Sometimes we only see our teachers and that’s all. We were not encouraged to do something valuable after classes.”
Aside poor funding, investigation by our reporter revealed myriad of problems bedeviling public primary and secondary education in the country. They include shortage of quality staff, dearth of infrastructure, mass examination malpractices inadequate and well-equipped laboratories for teaching and practice indiscipline, strikes and low remuneration.
Audu thinks the situation is not entirely irredeemable: “Perhaps if teachers are given the necessary incentives, and students stay motivated and governments stop neglecting public education – things will change for good.”
The prospects of Nigeria achieving Education for All (EFA) – a movement championed by the United Nation Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to provide quality basic education to children, youth and adults – by 2015 remain unrealistic, not with the neglect of public education by governments at the federal and state levels.
Okechukwu is a 300-level student of Mass Communication,  University of Nigeria, Nsukka