"THE AGONY OF AFRICAN EDUCATION"

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I could vividly recall the theme of Prof. Omatseye's inaugural lecture, a professor of educational philosophy in University of Benin, " The Enigma Called Man, Can Education Make Any Difference?". So many times I have asked myself this question. Though the outcome of education is unquantifiable and in dispute amongst scholars, I think education can make a difference anywhere only when it is a good one. One could ask why we've got so many renowned professors, doctors, masters and graduates of books in Africa and yet we make little difference? We only get the consolation of many African inventors and discoverers who are only Africans by colour but bred in a white man's soil. The soil is important in this case not the colour, an enabling educational environment will certainly yield something genius. Many of our professors today only attained their professorial tittles by juxtaposition and presentation of concocted research work of western undergraduate and graduate geniuses. It's so painful that the system is over 70% bookish and our celebrated scholars are only book presenters who explain white man's theories even more than them, winks! Stories of another day, an agony in my heart. Education is really not taken seriously in Africa, our children only learn by "play with books method", quite number of graduates bribe their way out through educators who attained their "educabookishional" status through bribery. African institutes keep breeding some generations of unskilled illiterates and educationally half baked entities who only show their certificates as placards in an unemployment-sodden economy. Education of African children is being politicized at the expense of African youths especially from poor homes, Education in Africa has become a tool to perpetuate inequality, bribery and corruption instead of healing the dark part of man. What a mess! What shall the African poor child do! When those who tread on a rosey soil and occupy the most enviable offices loot national treasuries to offer their children qualitative education outside the confines of Africa or in exorbitant private institutions in Africa while they care less to our poorly funded and dilapidated schools, almost intentionally designed for the poor African child. "Africa would be a better place when many of the sons and daughters of our political and rich lords attend African public schools", quote me and I can prove it. How I wish the rich really knows the mind of the poor African child who is emotionally distressed! The conditions of some of our African public schools is something to despair, it is laughable. It's as though we don't have governments in Africa, may be we have, yea we have but they don't care much about the education of an African child. The foundation is fallen, teachers are not been given their pride of place, salaries are held and they teach in regrets, the roofs are leaking, the poor child manages to sit on broken or unplastered floor, there are no windows and doors, teaching is talk and chalk, skills are lacking, our labs are broken, teaching becomes old people's profession, the young lacks interest in teaching, salaries are thin and not regular, teaching and learning becomes a mockery in Africa. What has happened to our borrowed education? The fate is really ill, a pain of African education. Aristotle rightly puts, "the wealth of a nation is the education of it's youth". How then shall Africa become wealthy when the foundation of education is fallen? Amidst the fall, we hopefully have vibrant African youths who are enthusiastically climbing the ladder of knowledge, what a mess that we end up destroying the potentials of these interested African youths. We need to make education count in Africa, we have not got it right. The system is bookish with insignificant or no practical spice. Education is a weapon to rebuild our stinking corrupt attitudes, it's a tool to build our continent, it's a tool to unleash the dormant or inactivated potentials in African youths, it's a tool to be self-reliant and to avoid being over dependent, it's a tool to knock down the walls of poverty lying at our door steps. This cannot be accomplished by giving your children books without skills and good learning facilities, Oh Africa! The poorly educated African child cries out for change in the continent, our pace is like that of a snail when we have got all it takes to become what we wish. When our leaders realize that the education of the African child is in a mess, when they move towards building a qualitative education that can affect the human mind, when they stop being careless about it, when sons and daughters of African presidents will be comfortable to attend African public schools then we know Africa has arrived in the education of her children. In a class of educational sociology, I heard my lecturer said "we are so sorry that we don't teach you well", it is not our fault, it is the fault of the government. He further stated, "we don't have the needed facilities for teaching and learning in Nigeria, we are just trying all we can to educate you the way we can". This true confession on the state of teaching and learning in Nigeria is little compared to a statement I read from a book wriiten by one of our lecturers in school, "... parents should thank their children for accepting to go to school in Nigeria...". Funny! Sometimes we burry the truth we know as teachers. Though African education is almost same generally, Nigerian system of education is one of the worst kind. I do not say this because I hate Nigeria but because I am a product of Nigerian Education. I pened down some of my experiences. The raw truths aforestated which were unearthed by even the schoolars of our institutions will reveal to you what an African child suffers in our system of education. There should be a cry for help for the education of an African child because potentials and dreams are been burried daily in an educationally moribund African soil. Such is the agony. I feel for the poor African child who cannot afford food let alone education because it's becoming very expensive, our government might have plans for the poor African child but they are politicized and unimplemented. Those who think it is wise to say "if you think education is expensive try ignorance" should also know that "education is a right not a privilege". The poor child suffers a lot under nations that pay less attention to teaching and learning, disregard teachers and poorly fund education. Our social media may be loud enough to proclaim how well the governments are doing in the education of her youths, but a sincere educational expert will make you understand that we do not follow upto 30% of our educational blue prints. Propaganda won't help us in Africa, we need to be real. If Africa does not educate her children who will? It is time we reviewed all we have planned about education, rooted out unrealistic, selfish and divisive policies, and most importantly followed our educational blue prints to the core with full policing. When we make policies and do not implement, it's as good as not making any policy, this has been the bane of African education. We have lofty policies written in books not found in reality. I laugh when I recall some interesting educational policies and theories I read when I was an undergraduate but yet to see in the field now I am a graduate. I must state unapologetically that "the rich few in the corridors of power have highjacked African economy at the detriment of the poor". I initially stated that the rich Africans especially those in power either send their wards to abroad for study or some of the most expensive private/international schools in the country while the poor African child learns under a leaking roof, with broken chairs and chalkboard, in dilapidated buildings without doors and windows, on broken floors and sometimes our lovely kids learn under tree shades. Such is our pain! If not the privatisation of education in African communities, what would have been the case of our education? In Nigeria, it seems our leaders are becoming less concerned in funding public institutions especially in some states, truly in some states it is only private schools that try to build the African child. In some public schools, teachers go hungry, teaching and learning isn't serious. While I was in Ekiti, I heared of a school teacher who stoled from one of the traders in the market, it was shameful and really a pitiable situation. I felt very angry because I learnt that the government in charge was owing teachers about 9 months salaries. How can one teach and one learn in this kind of situation despite infrastructural decay. Though there are individual differences but a situation as this could frustrate one out of bounds. Oh I pity the poor teacher. That's the pain of African education. The picture of education particularly in Nigeria painted by Chinua Achebe in a book "There was a country" was intriguing. In fact, the aspect of his educational history before the war was what fascinated me the most. The qualitative educational scenes portrayed by him during colonial era was a good one. If the whites could educate our pioneers well to an extent why has the standards layed by the masters suddenly fallen after independence? Nigeria was meant to be the hope of Africa but we are broken into recession. Ever since the whites left us or rather we pursued the whites things have turned topsy turvy. Why? This is about Nigeria, what about other African communities with almost same educational story? It is visible to the blind and laudable to the deaf that we have fallen standards in education in Africa. Oh Africa, that is your agony! Dear Africans; your strength is in your weakness and your weakness in your strength. Until we have stood for what is right and beneficial to all despite classes we shall remain economically and educationally stunted. Until our rich few in power realize the importance of education of African youths doom is the case. Until we shun inequality and corruption we will always repeat failed past as progress. Until we have shunned politicization of education at the expense of the dream of an African child retrogression is at our door steps. Until we begin to practice to the core what is written as educational blue prints progress is far fetched. When we get it right in the education of our youths that will be the beginning of the walk in development. Education renews and prepares the mind for development, it changes attitudes, it unites a nation and it eliminates inequality. The time to wake up is now, help educate the African child. Education is a right not a privilege. God bless Africa! G. N. Mon.