Blame the system, not students, for mass failure in public examinations —Dr Marinho

Dr Tony Marinho, an experienced obstetrician, is a co-founder of Educare Trust, an education and health-based non-governmental organisation which has been impacting on educational development of Nigerian youths through voluntary educational services. In this interview with KEHINDE ADIO, he speaks on Nigeria’s education sector, proffering solutions to its many challenges.

What is the rationale for establishing Educare Trust?

We established Educare Trust to make a difference with an ultimate vision to effect positive changes in learning process, assist the youths to discover their potential and prospects for life skills development purpose. To achieve our goals, we have put in place structure and relevant educational facilities and employed seasoned teachers for the exercise. So far, we have trained thousands of youths in computer literacy education and donated several books, including sporting materials to many schools. However, we observed that there is a limit to how far we can go in our educational supportive efforts to schools due to the large population of the country, hence the need for other stakeholders to lend their support to the education reform process.

63 parties endorse Sanwo-Olu as thugs disrupt campaign flag-off

Meanwhile, the financial intervention of the old students’ associations in schools is a welcome development in the ongoing education reform processes of the country, especially at the public school level. If every public school in the country would establish functional old students’ associations, the subsequent development would go a long way to revive our schooling system and falling standard of  education  nationwide.

In this regard, I want to recommend the establishment of old students’ association for each public primary school in the country. If primary schools can also establish functional old students’ associations, our education system will improve drastically. Therefore, the intervention of old students in public primary schools is needed for their development.

It is notable that most of the public secondary schools in the country today which are doing well in every sense of it are those being funded adequately by the old students’ associations. Similarly, public primary schools also need equal attention from the old students’ association for its rapid development. Everything that will encourage the establishment of functional old students’ associations in public primary schools must be put in place.  It is very obvious that the Nigerian public primary school system needs financial assistance for physical development and effective learning.

Why do we still record incessant mass failure in almost all the external examinations in public schools in the country?

Academic challenges of Nigerian students at all levels are attributable to weak operational system and teaching methods. In the first instance, the performances of  public secondary school students in certificate examinations are a reflection of  the  educational system in the country. Before you can blame a child for failing an examination, you must have prepared him adequately. Although the capacities of students vary, the average ones will do well if you give them what they need to succeed in those examinations.

However, there are crises in the education system, which range from funding to lack of skills; equipment and practical aspect of education. Nigerian students are learning under dilapidated classrooms and we expect so much from them. In addition, poor preparation, lack of dedication to study due to irregular supply of electricity to read at home and  other factors are responsible for students’ failure.

In order to address some of these problems, class teachers should be made to come together during long vacations to review the curriculum and teaching methods for improvement in quality delivery to enhance learning in the subsequent sessions.

What is your view about the Nigerian curriculum development process?

It seems we are too slow in our curriculum development process. Ideally, school curricula ought to be reviewed, added to and deducted from annually. Nigeria has a rigid curriculum development system. Curriculum development must be dynamic in nature to meet the current speed at which science and technology are developing, including environmental change. It must have professional inputs aside from the educational inputs.

In advanced countries, children’s education is very dynamic; teachers with doctoral qualifications teach in nursery schools. The reverse is the case here in Nigeria, we find the most uneducated people teaching our children in pre-primary schools. If you do not teach children what they need know at each point in time, you are destroying their chances of improving academically.

How can Nigeria fix its educational system to yield more results?

Nigeria needs people like Professor Ishaq Oloyede to head the helm of affairs of sensitive parastatals in the education sector for effective management that will yield maximum results. We need people of integrity to lead us in this country.

Professor Oloyede has done very well with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) within the space of time he assumed office as registrar of the board. He has reduced the fees charged for JAMB forms and that of the National Examination Council. As a matter of fact, he should be celebrated. One of the ways to curb all sorts of criminalities in the education sector is to engage the likes of Professor Oloyede to manage it.  We need people of like minds in every sector of the economy for growth and development.

What do you think is missing in Nigeria’s education system?    

We need to develop museum centres, equip them with historical educational materials in different disciplines and make them accessible to students. We need functional science and art centres, that children can visit to intimate themselves with discoveries made by various people across the globe. They can learn a lot from those centres and be informed about their choices of careers. What we have in Nigeria are parks and recreation centres. For these parks to have educational value, we need to attach exhibition and museum centres to the parks. They can be ancient or modern art or technology-based museums.

There is also need for youth centre that should be equipped with excitable facilities in our public places. All the ministries can come together to develop these special centres. The development will go a long way to keep the youths busy with educative materials.