From Fred Itua, Abuja
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III and other scholars, yesterday, raised the alarm over the falling standard of education in the country.
They stated this in Abuja at the unveiling of a book ‘Evolution of Day Secondary School in Nigeria’ written by Dr. Yakubu Gambo.
Obasanjo described secondary school education as a bridge between primary and tertiary education saying the quality of secondary education was so critical that it decides whether or not a child advances to the peak of his/her educational pursuit or not.
The former president, represented by the Vice Chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Olufemi Peters said: “Therefore, it is a make or mar stage that determines whether the beginner shall indeed progress and attain the widely acceptable level of advancement and refinement to the league of the learned, which higher education confers.”
Obasanjo said the publication promises to set the tone for policy review and indeed an overhaul of the curriculum of the country’s educational system “which have suffered an erosion of quality, especially at the secondary level, as we have seen in the performance of candidates that seek admission into universities in recent times.”
He said the new book would assist curb the gradual neglect and abandonment of the teaching of history and culture, without which a nation loses its identity in a new and evolving global order.
He said many Nigerians could not have progressed into higher education in universities or polytechnics, without having made at least, an average grade in a secondary school.
“Historically, secondary education in a boarding school is no doubt expensive and beyond the reach of many families. In the early days of formal education in our country, many families were into subsistence farming or other trades in which children play an important role.”
Sultan of Sokoto, represented by the Emir of Wase, Dr. Mohammed Sambo Haruna, lamented the neglect of education by parents, saying there was need for “us to give our children the due attention they deserve.”
“On behalf of our leaders I am appealing to everyone (parents) to go back and do the needful. We need to go back and give our wards the attention they deserve. Some of the vices in our society today is because we have no relationship with our wards.”
Book reviewer and Pro-Chancellor, University of Abuja, Prof. Ahmed Modibo, said the book should be read by all, especially policy makers at all levels to know the real challenges confronting day secondary education in Nigeria.
Dr. Gambo said the current administration had taken some steps to improve quality of day secondary school, but it should be improved upon.
Gambo said one of the objectives of writing the book was to generate and sustain attention on secondary and basic education in Nigeria.