The challenges bedeviling the education sector in the country are so hydra-headed that they cut across all state and levels even as efforts are being made to contain the challenge it poses to growth and development of the country.
In most states of the Federation, the education challenge is so overwhelming that it affects all levels from primary to tertiary institutions, with the dearth of infrastructure that enables effective teaching and learning a display of the pervasive rot.
While it may appear that some state governments are paying lip service to the development of this vital sector, others have failed to realise the huge damage the neglect of this pivotal sector plays in the future of this nation.
It is therefore in realisation of the vital role that investment in education plays in the socio-economic development of the state in particular and the nation in general that the Rivers State government under the leadership of Rotimi Amaechi embarked on a mission to revolutionise education in the State by investing in the infrastructure development, employment of qualified teachers, offering free education for primary and secondary school students all aimed at ensuring that pupils and students of the State fit into and adequately face the challenges of the globalised and knowledge-driven 21st century.
Within the six years of the present administration, the education sector in the State has witnessed a major turn-around in almost every facet of its development, especially in infrastructure development, which explains the commencement and completion of 500 model primary schools with each building having 20 classrooms, four model secondary schools one of which the Ambassador Nne Furo Kurubo model School, Eleme, which is now fully operational.
Ambassador Nne Furo Kurubo Model secondary School started operation in February and is well structured and fully equipped with modern-day educational, recreation and boarding facilities with standard housing for teachers.
The flagship model secondary school being managed by Educomp, an Indian firm, caters for 700 students according to Shantaram Hegdekatte, director, Educomp Nigeria not only provides children with the opportunity of being academically sound, but also gives them a multi-dimensional approach to education.
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Amaechi, realising that it is not enough to have convenient classrooms without teachers, gave approval recently for the recruitment of 13,152 trained teachers to teach in these already established institutions.
The governor, while speaking at the Rivers State Education Summit held recently asserts that “My objective for employing over 13,000 new teachers cannot be straight jacketed. It must be viewed from economic, political and social perspective.”
According to him, “When I became governor, I met 95 percent of militants that were not educated, they did not even attend primary school and I knew that if this thing continues like this, it bear serious consequence for citizens of the state.
“I wanted to ensure that there is a standard of education that trains these children to prepare them for employment not just to make them employable, but to create awareness that makes them employers of labour,” he said.
“So I discovered that the best way to handle this was to first get people who have the capacity to impart knowledge. The hiring of the 13,000 teachers was the first step taken. We wanted teachers who have passion to impart knowledge and who are properly trained.”
These investments at the primary and secondary levels according to Nimi Briggs, emeritus professor, University of Port Harcourt, while delivering the paper titled: “Issues On Higher Education In Rivers State at the Rivers Education Summit” are designed to ensure adequate preparation of students to enable them benefit from higher education.
Earlier Ayo Banjo, emeritus professor of English and former vice chancellor of the University of Ibadan, in his keynote address as the chairman of the education summit revealed that one important role of primary education in terms of access and quality, often overlooked in the country, is in ensuring quality leaders for a country, adding that to bring about an educated population there needs to be an overhauling of the primary system to enable it play its role.
Banjo, in his address titled “Agenda for Educational Development,” pointed out that to achieve results in the development of the educational sector, proper teachers have to be provided.
According to him, “Such teachers have to be provided with continual retraining and paid a decent wage. Proper supervision through a corps of inspectors should be maintained. In addition, the children should be given a decent start in life so that they can grow up into decent citizens.”
Reiterating Ayo Banjo’s take on improved teaching workforce, Joshua Aisiku, while delivering his paper on
Quality Teacher Professional Development in Rivers State, agreed that only when teachers are recognised as the hub in the development of education that there will be any meaningful progress adding that quality teachers are the army required to do battle with decline in education.
Aisiku is of the view that internship, mentoring and professional development opportunities through the use of experts and other consultants, use of specially designed evaluation instruments for teachers’ continuous learning and self improvement; and the establishment of Teacher Professional Development Centres (TPDC) in the State are some of the means the State should adopt to motivate the newly recruited teachers.
