Sub-standard schools: Where are the Inspectors?

bibing

From time immemorial, supervision and monitoring of the schools personnel have been central to the attainment of the goals and objectives of schools, and this is why Nigeria’s National Policy on Education highlighted, in precise terms, the objectives of educational supervision which is to ensure quality control through regular inspection and continuous supervision of instructional and other services.

This led to the establishment of Inspectorate Units in the federal and state ministries of education to monitor the performance of school staff and the teaching environment to promote effective teaching that would lead to improved performance and learning of the students.

According to the website of the Federal Ministry of Education, FME, ‘the Federal Inspectorate Service was established in 1973 in recognition of the need for the FME to continue to provide leadership and formulate national policy for the purposes of planning and quality assurance nationwide.’

But it is sad to note that this important role has been relegated to the back burner, especially in private and unity schools as the inspectorate unit of the federal level has been rendered moribund due to lack of funds to facilitate the movement of staff to various schools for inspection.

To fully understand the importance of schools’ inspection, Vanguard Learning sought the views of Ministry of Education officials, teachers and education service providers on the effect of inspection on teaching and learning and how often it should be carried out.

Pointing out that regular inspection of schools is important as it keeps the schools on their toes, the Director-General, Education Quality Assurance, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs. Ronke Soyombo, stated that they would not hesitate to close down schools that do not meet the requirements stipulated by federal and state ministries of education.

Teaching and learning
She said “The vision of the agency is to attain excellence in education and by so doing we would work tirelessly to take action against those who contravene these requirements. We would not hesitate to close down any school going contrary to the stipulations; where pupils and students are not being properly taught, where safe gathering becomes an issue, or where the safety of our children is not guaranteed. It is very important that schools get teaching and learning right so as to empower children.”

In agreement is an educator with over 34 years experience and the Headmistress, Olokun Primary School, Lagos, Mrs. Finnih Adedayo, who said “frequent inspection of schools is good as it makes everyone to sit up. On the average, this school gets inspected three times per term as we often have inspectors from Quality Assurance and SUBEB visit us every term.”

Also agreeing that frequent inspection of schools would lead to development and the eradication of sub-standard schools, a school owner from Umuahia, Abia State, who pleaded anonymity, called on officials of the state Ministry of Education not to relent in their efforts to maintain high standard of education across the state through frequent inspection of schools.”

But despite these positive reviews about how frequent inspection of schools have become and its effects on teaching and learning, one wonders why some schools still operate uninspected as there is an an abundance of schools across the country established in inappropriate places like garages, next to a mechanic workshop, near beer parlours and motels. Many of these schools are not fenced, thus, exposing young, impressionable children to all manner of ills and danger.

Laying the blame at the doorstep of the Education Quality Assurance Department of the FME, the Chairman, Nigeria Union of Teachers, Federal Wing, Comrade Emeka Okonta, said unity schools would remain uninspected as long as staff of the Education Quality Assurance Department, which is responsible for monitoring and inspecting schools to ensure that they are running optimally, are left idle.

Okonta said “how do you expect schools to be inspected when the staff who are to conduct the inspection are sitting idle in the office as a result of unreleased funds to facilitate their movements.

Dearth of qualified staff
A lot of them come to the office to read newspapers, eat and discuss with their colleagues and at the end of the month, they get paid for doing nothing.”

Giving reasons for the inability of the staff of the Education Quality Assurance Department to carry out their duties, a source at the FME, who didn’t what his name in print, said “first, there are thousands of schools scattered all over the country and there are not enough vehicles to move Inspectors from school to school.

“Secondly, there is a dearth of qualified staff to inspect the teachers. Some of these inspectors do not have proper orientation as regards what to inspect, and this lack of knowledge of what to inspect makes them allow a lot of ills go through into the system.

“There is the also the ever present problem of corruption which has found its way to Inspectors. Some Inspectors are motivated to make more personal gains than promoting quality education. More so, there are also those that have friends in unregistered schools, hence would not report them to the authorities. By so doing establishments that are not worthy to be called schools in the first place, take on that identity and dupe many poor, unsuspecting parents.”

Pointing out that inspection of schools is to ensure that standards are maintained, Mr. Micheal Orubu said “schools inspection should be taken seriously so as to curb the trend of using two or three bedroom flats as schools. This is inappropriate as the education of a child is not something to use to make ends meet. Though most of theses schools are government approved, I have never seen operators of quack schools penalised.

Narrating his experience, Orubu said “there is a new private primary school squeezed between a brothel and a face-to-face apartment building on my street. To their left are prostitutes who no longer know day and night and to their right are barracks style rooms. That is not the proper environment to educate children and government can’t say they have not seen the school.

“On another street, Jejelaye Street, it is the same thing. In fact that one has been there for years and funny enough, I attended the school and that was the first time I heard the word Ashewo. I was in Primary One and I already knew what Ashewo Palour means because the school is just opposite a brothel.”

Great disservice
Lamenting the great disservice done to the parents and the young ones, a Port Harcourt based father of two, Mr. Eze Igbokwe, listed ignorance and poverty as the major reasons why substandard schools exist and are patronized.

He said “In a nation where everything in dependent on money, people tend to do anything to get money. There are always the poor and illiterate who patronize these schools and it is a very sad development especially as government has not done much to remedy the situation.”

Way forward: Proffering solutions, Adedayo of Olokun Primary School suggested that inspection should not an activity that is done periodically and dependent on external bodies but should start from the heads of schools going round from class to class to watch what their teachers are doing, and correct them where necessary.”

Also, the source at the FME implored government to pay more attention to Inspectors by making sure that those who present themselves as qualified and incorruptible Inspectors.

Source: Vanguard