Parents should be more committed to training their children —Oyo NUT chair

Comrade Niyi Akano, chairman, Nigerian Union of Teachers, Oyo State chapter, in this interview with MODUPE GEORGE spoke on recent developments in the education sector in the state, the state’s new education policy and his plans for 2017. Excerpts:

It is obvious that Oyo NUT has become more aggressive in the way it seeks government’s attention. What informed this?

Probably you are referring to the June issue. The issue was not mainly for NUT, but for the labour union. However, NUT started it because it solely affected education. It all started with the publication we saw in the newspaper that government was planning to invite some interest groups to pay N250,000 to take back public schools. We were not carried along; and when we tried to see those in charge, we were not given the chance. So, Labour union stood up to the matter and that was what ignited the issue that time. It came to a point where the national body of labour in Oyo State and also the National Union of Teachers had to intervene. The struggle was just like that until the government constituted a body, where labour was involved and we had our own representatives there too. This happened about two months ago. Government did what we wanted, and what we wanted then was the involvement of communities, old students, even parents, in the school administration and not the idea of privatisation of the school. If this is allowed, a lot of children would be out of school.

It was the government that called for violence. We have been having problems with the payment of our salaries since the beginning of this year and there is a way we do it with the government. But on the issue of privatisation, we were not carried along; we just saw it on the pages of newspaper. Immediately we saw it, we consulted our national body and we were ordered to react. And we did.

Overtime, students have since picked up the same attitude; they now resolve to violence…

We didn’t instigate the students at all. That Monday when they took to the streets, some of us were in the Agodi prison. You know, action begot reaction. This was what happened. We don’t need anybody to drive home our point; we are able and capable of defending ourselves. Another reason you should know we didn’t ask them to do what they did was what happened recently about the promotion exercise. Some of the teachers were manhandled by these students; and that is why we are saying that parents should be more committed to training up their children. This is the period they can join bad gangs and develop bad behaviour.

Are you blaming these deviant behaviours solely on parents?

Let parents do their work. Things have degenerated to the point that we now tell teachers to be very careful, when it comes to enforcing discipline in the school. Parents now come to school to complain and ask after teachers who dare to discipline their wards.  I witnessed one of such recently in a particular school. A woman came screaming on top of her voice, to see the teacher who punished her child the previous day. When she would not be allowed to see the teacher, she resolved to threaten that she would make sure that was the end of his job. At that point, I had to intervene. I asked the woman why she behaved in such a manner. She said the  student in question was her only son; the other children are girls, and he remains her hope. I told her that if care is not taken, the boy may end up not being her hope. Parents have a lot to do; teachers are to play supportive roles.

What about the new education policy?

The new education policy is acceptable to us. We celebrated the idea a great deal because that is what we have been canvassing for. Let some stakeholders be involved in school administration. The government has eventually set up school governing board involving the parents, the principal stakeholders in community, senior prefect, the old students, among others, so that they can play their part in the process. To crown it all, the government has promised to release the N1000 levy paid by the students to school administration for management of the schools. We really appreciate the government for this.

What about the issue of having hundreds of students repeating their classes?

As a strong stakeholder in the education sector, we don’t support the idea of automatic promotion. It is not the best for the system; it is ‘garbage in, garbage out’; and at the end of the day, nothing good comes out of it. The only thing we can advise the government to do to control the end result is to resuscitate Technical Colleges, so that at the end of the day, those who are found wanting from the junior level can be moved to the technical schools. In the end, they will be useful to themselves and the society; and the other ones can move on with academic careers. This was the idea of 6-3-3-4, before government changed the whole thing. And that is the problem we are having now.

Did you agree with the school of thought that had the students been properly carried along, they would not have resorted to violence the way they did?

This was our submission when things started going the other way; but the Ministry of  Education convinced us that a circular was sent to all the schools since last year when they said that we could not do anything because we felt that, of a truth, the new development should have been publicised, probably through the radio. The aftermath was a very bad omen. It is not good at all for the society. If at this level some students could do all they did, what would happen when they get to higher institution? If at secondary school level they are carrying cutlasses, they will carry pistols in higher institution. I thank God that the government took over the matter; government mandated that all the school properties that were damaged should be reinstated by the parents, and now everything has been fixed. At least, that would put parents on their toes to control and monitor their children more, but the only side the government did not look at is the teachers, who were wounded at Oyo and Ibadan. We are trying to take care of them.

What is Oyo NUT doing to sensitise students on hooliganism and to make sure it doesn’t repeat itself?

We are playing our roles, but the only problem we are  having is with the people who threaten our teachers, and those who hire thugs to beat them up. All of these make our teachers draw back because they have just one life to live.

However, our teachers have been performing their role to sensitise the students. Immediately after the last violence occurred, we instructed our teachers to do more on giving moral instructions, and we have employed Civic Education to equip them morally, because it is all about how to be a good citizen. More so, neither NUT nor teachers can do it alone; it is going to be a combined effort of teachers, parents and the government. We have also been working with the Civil Defence. If they see any student in school uniform roaming the street around 9am, they will arrest such.

As the NUT chairman, can we share in your vision for 2017?

In 2017, we hope to work hard, especially on the welfare of our teachers.