Minister of State for Education, Barr. Nyesom Wike, in the company of some ministry staff and journalists, paid an unscheduled visit to the Federal Government Boys College, Apo and what they found was not a sight for any civilised being. But that is where a sizeable population of young Nigerians, who are the future of this nation, are dumped in the name of acquiring education. STELLA EZE was part of the team and reports.
In the heart of Abuja is located the Federal Government Boys College, Apo. The school is one of the 104 federal government unity colleges established to be models for other secondary schools in Nigeria. The dream of the founding fathers for these unity colleges was that Nigerian children from diverse ethnic backgrounds would be brought together to be educated in a very learner friendly environment. And it was so for a number of years. These schools were the pride of the nation and very competitive. Those fortunate and brilliant enough to secure admission into these colleges became the envy of their peers, because the quality of education, the ambiance of the environment and the quality of their products spoke for themselves. Many of Nigeria’s present and past leaders were products of these institutions and always spoke with nostalgia about how they were groomed into what they became today. Character and learning was the hallmark of the unity schools, and the products stood out in any competition.
One commentator raised a very direct question. “Would the leaders who passed through these schools be bold enough to peep into these schools to see that they have now become a shadow of what they left behind? I am sure they would not recognise them, except they are able to find a landmark that would prick their memory,” he said.
The rot in these schools was brought to the public domain and drew heated controversy during the administration of the former minister of education, Dr. (Mrs) Obiageli Ezekwesili, who wanted to transform these institutions through a programme she called ‘Adopt a School’. The policy, according to her, was to allow for a public/private partnership (PPP), where the organised private sector would be given an opportunity to invest in the sector, under the supervision of the government.
This, she hoped, would bring major transformation to the schools, most of which were dilapidated beyond recognition. Ezekwesili had invited alumni of these schools, and even banks, with a view to resurrecting the dead institutions. The public outcry against this policy was that she intended to sell them out to some individuals. The project failed, as some Nigerians cried foul and vehemently opposed its implementation.
The pitiable state of the unity colleges was further aggravated by the woeful performance of the students in public examinations. Over the past ten years, the results have worsened, as less than 20 per cent passed up to five subjects including English and Mathematics, which is the minimum standard. Stakeholders had traded blame over who should be held responsible for the mass failure. But the former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education, who is now the head of civil service of the federation, Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, was quick to point out that the decadence was a result of long years of neglect, lack of basic facilities like functional libraries, laboratories, instructional materials and a host of other factors, including laxity on the part of school authorities and government put together.
Such scenario was unfortunately the case of one of the colleges, located within the Abuja metropolis. The school, with structures scattered over a very wide expanse of land, looks like it had been an enemy target in a war situation.
An unscheduled visit of the minister of education, Barr. Nyesom Wike with a team of ministry officials and some journalists opened up a can of worms about both the school administrators and the ministry officials. The environment is generally repulsive and everywhere is unkempt. The school compound, the classes are in a mess.
The dormitory exudes a strong stench as if animals were occupying it. The ceilings are fallen and you could see the sky from the rooms. The school is still operating from its temporary site, while the permanent site is overgrown with tall trees and shrubs as a result of shoddy contract awards. Shoddy in the sense that a block of classrooms could be given to three or four different contractors to build.
One contractor would be given the job of raising the building from foundation, another to the lintel, while someone else handles the roofing. These contracts awarded are captured in different annual budgets of the ministry. The minister was amazed that such things could be going on, and immediately directed that the said contractors should come to his office to sort things out.
With the connivance of the school management, some of the completed buildings were rented to private individuals on the pretext that they were providing security for the site.
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Wike said, “We are not happy with what is going on. No child, no student can learn in that kind of environment. An environment where there are no chairs for the students. Look at the hostels where they are sleeping, exposed to all sorts of danger. Then we say that such students will be able to do well and compete favourably?
These unity schools are supposed to be centres of excellence, but from what we have seen, it will be difficult for us to really say that they will be centres of excellence. But we believe that with the promise of Mr. President, we will do everything we can to improve on the standard of this school. We have just started our visit to unity schools.
This is the first and it will be a continuous process. We want to see things for ourselves, not just what the principals tell us, and be able to tell the public what was there, what we feel and what we intend to do to improve what is on ground. Even the contractors, you can see they are not on site. I have just called for the files to know what was awarded and how much was paid, so that we can get the contractors back on site.”
Speaking about the dirty compound and classrooms, he said, “It is unacceptable. Education is not just about access, it must go with quality. If you don’t have the quality, then there is no need for access. Look at those children at the old site. How deplorable the environment is and we say we are building a new site. Even if the government is trying to transform the sector, you can play your part by keeping the environment clean.”
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