The trending news that generated buzz in the social and conversional media on Monday is the enrolment of Governor Nasir el-rufai’s six-year-old child in the public school. Abubakar was enrolled in Kaduna State Capital School on Monday in fulfillment of the governor’s campaign promises to take his son to a public school.
Governor el-Rufai, since he assumed office, has been carrying out reforms aimed at repositioning the education sector. The reforms has led to the sacking of over 20,000 primary school teachers whom he described as incompetent having failed to pass an aptitude test organised by the state government. However, the state government moved fast to fill the vacuum. It hired graduates and NCE holders to teach in the public schools.
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There are divergent views being expressed by people with regard to the enrolment of Abubakar el-Rufai in the public school; some people view the bold action as timely, particularly when many Nigerians have started losing confidence in public schools because they have become a shadow of their former selves; most primary schools lacked basic infrastructure, learning materials and above all competent teachers. These sorry conditions of our education sector have forced the ruling elites and other affluent members in the society to take or enroll their children or wards in the private schools.
To this category of people, the governor’s decision to enrol his son is a booster and will encourage school enrolment drive. However, other people view the governor’s move as politics. To them, there is a difference between the Kaduna State capital school the governor took his son to and the LGE primary schools which children of the common man attend. It was stated that the state government, last year, spent the sum of 195 million naira to renovate the capital school. This indicates that by standard, the school where the governor’s son is enrolled is far better than most of the LGE schools.
In most of the public schools, the children of the poor man receive lessons in dilapidated classrooms. Sometimes, in the shade of trees with the majority of pupils sitting on the bare floor; this poor condition of learning still exists in spite of the much-talked or acclaimed investment in the sector. With this glaring evidence, the critics believe the governor does not deserve an applause or commendation.
They express the belief that he just wants to make political capital gains out of the much-publicised public school enrolment. Until the fall in standard of education in the early 90’s, the children of the ruling elites shared the same class with wards of the poor people of the society. Governor el-rufai, who attended public schools attested to this fact. The governor should go beyond taking his son to public school and invest massively in the education for the development of Kaduna State.
Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua,
Kaduna State.