Thanks Sam. I have relayed your complements and regards to madam. Have a great week ahead!
Charles On 9/21/13, samuel andema <andema...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > Hi Charles, > Thanks for sharing with us your wife's critical analysis of Nigeria's > education system and what needs to be done to fix the problems for the > country to achieve its vision 2020. The article is relevant for education in > any Sub-Saharan African country. I encourage others to read it. It makes a > compelling argument for education as a prime mover for the socioeconomic > transformation of a country! > My regards to her. > Thanks. > Sam > > > ________________________________ > From: Charles Male <cdm...@gmail.com> > To: Kobokonet Koboko <koboko...@yahoogroups.com>; A Virtual Network for > friends of West Nile <westnilenet@kym.net> > Sent: Saturday, 21 September 2013, 7:24 > Subject: [WestNileNet] Leave no child behind > > > Dear all, > > I thought you might find the article written by Madam in the below > interesting. Just subsitute the name of authorities/jurisdictions > involved (country and government department) and you find this is > exactly what happens in Uganda. > > > http://sunnewsonline.com/new/specials/leave-no-child-behind/ > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Leave no child behind > Our Reporter September 3, 2013 No Comments » > > Another look at Vision 2020 and Child’s Rights Act 2003 > > BY LOLA FABOWALÉ > > This month (September 2013), Nigeria’s Child’s Rights Act, 2003 will > clock 10 years of existence. That will be just seven years shy of the > country’s Vision 2020 target to be an industrial powerhouse with the > stature of membership in the G-20 Club by the year 2020. > > A key tenet of The Child’s Right Act, 2003 is that the country will > furnish children with quality, culturally-rich education, irrespective > of background. Achieving this aim will be core to an innovative, > diversified and integrated economy. > > Yet, Nigeria’s educational system remains uneven in terms of > accessibility, affordability and quality, especially, when factored > against disabilities, gender, income and locale. Of the 60% of > children between the age of 6 and 11 years who are in school, 80% > attend public primary schools where at least 23% of teachers are > unqualified to teach because they lack the basic National Certificate > in Education (NCE). > > Remaining students divide roughly equally into: 10% who attend private > primary schools that meet world standards; and another 10% whose > schools’ rankings fall in the middle. Basic infrastructure such as > classrooms, computers and constant electricity supply, are often > lacking in the public schools. Interaction between classrooms and the > immediate environment tends to be low. > > Government educational spending is consistent neither with United > Nations guidelines nor with G-20 levels. > > Low status of infant and maternal health services means that many > students are ill-prepared to learn from birth to age 18. Many > children go to school hungry. Poor remuneration and ill-working > conditions translate to brain drain from the education sector; few > talented job aspirants want to teach. > > Observations > > The ensuing disparities run contrary to the goals of Child’s Rights > Act 2003. Resultant differences also contradict Nigeria’s G-20 > aspirations as seen–in a low literacy rate of 61.3%; in an > under-diversified labour force that is skewed towards the arts rather > than the sciences; in declining school and labour participation rates > that are more pronounced for children from disadvantaged backgrounds > (low-income, female, rural, or disabled) who experience acute > deprivation best characterized as multiple jeopardy; in growing > incidence of juvenile delinquency; in rising levels of under-skilled, > under-employed and unemployed citizens. > > Lax standards, or high costs of quality education, or both, mean that > some girls take on “Sugar Daddies” as financial sponsors, trade sex > for marks, or face sexual harassment from teachers or fellow students. > For many such girls, harsh realities may feature curtailed future > aspirations arising from either early pregnancies, or single > parenthood, or membership in polygamous homes. > > Reliable and consistent data reflect a society committed to monitoring > progress in its structures and processes. The dearth of statistics on > the status of persons with disabilities is quite telling in this > regard. So too are prevailing societal attitudes which tend to treat > persons with disabilities as objects of charity rather than as > potentially powerful change agents in whom Nigeria needs to invest. > > Yet, all around the world, governments are envisioning how they can > set better policies and provide better services for their citizens. > Recognizing that they must compete internationally to improve the > livelihoods of their population, they seek to groom all their citizens > with top-notch, life-long education rooted from infanthood. > > Aspire forward > > With a view to holding periodic progress conferences (including in > 2014/2015), stakeholders in Nigeria–governments, non-governmental > organizations, donor agencies, faith-based institutions, teachers’ > training institutions, parents’-teachers’ associations, students’ > unions, alumni associations, cultural institutions, teachers’ unions > and other professional associations—including Nigerians in the > Diaspora, should ASPIRE to the G-20 club by following these six steps: > > • Adhere to the non-discriminatory spirit of the Child’s Rights Act, > 2003 by making education mandatory and free for all starting at three > years of age and up to 18. > > • Spear-head the passing of an Accessibility for Nigerians with > Disabilities Act that ends current patronizing approach to persons > with disabilities, recognizing their potential to contribute to the > nation by providing them with full access to education; > > • Press the Ministry of Education to work, in a results-based format, > with other stakeholders to secure a truly diversified, > entrepreneurial, innovative and integrated work force by > > » setting curricula to demystify the mathematical sciences, especially > for girls; > > » enhancing merit-based standards of conduct among students, teachers > and guardians; > > » creating life-long curricula to better integrate the formal and > informal sectors; > > » upgrading teachers’ conditions with better pay, facilities, training > and iterative review; > > » requiring the Ministry plus its recipients to report budget and > expenditures on-line; and > > » ensuring school preparedness from birth to age 18 by integrating > early education programs, school feeding programs, and infant and > maternal health services.; > > • Intensify efforts to match electricity supply with demand to seize > opportunities for distance learning via diverse media—video, internet > and mobile cellular telephone applications; > > • Reinforce efforts of the Federal Office of Statistics to upgrade > systematic collection of statistical data on education and labor > participation rates including for persons with disabilities; and > > • Enrich budget allocations for education to meet or surpass the 26% > standard of the United Nations or G-20 levels of between 5% and 10% of > Gross National Product. > > Considerations > > The six ASPIRE steps outlined in this piece can resolve many of the > problems besetting Nigeria’s youth education agenda and the country’s > whole economy. Increased and targeted spending on education will > focus labor planning and development at all levels. Reliable > statistics on disadvantaged groups, especially persons with > disabilities, will facilitate charting progress on their status. > Posting all government budget and expenditures on-line will stimulate > public probity. Integrated social policy that enhances school > preparedness from birth will prove a prudent investment. Better > governance will encourage investment in all economic sectors. > > Religious and cultural institutions have always had a role in > promoting ethical standards such as excellent morals, honesty and > fair-dealing. They can also transform lives by aspiring individuals > to rise above rather than succumb to negative conditions and > circumstances. Ethical and moral principles remain particularly > relevant in today’s global economy where investors seek international > contexts where they can reap fair and attractive returns. Entrenching > ethical principles and values will make Nigeria an attractive hub for > both domestic and foreign investment. > > Developing life-long curricula that match career planning with > infrastructural needs will boost economic integration across formal > and informal sectors. As part of the ASPIRE steps, many of those to > be employed in the artisanal trades as masons, electricians and > mechanics will now complete a mandatory twelve years of minimum > academic training (as opposed to the current nine), with opportunities > for future upgrades. At the same time, those pursuing higher > education will add some blue to their white by seeking exposure to > practical, entrepreneurial or highly-skilled manual training. Such > developments will boost private job creation, lessening job-seekers’ > current dependence on the public sector as a main creator of > employment. > > A smart, decentralized nation-wide energy grid > > Arguably, the fourth of the six ASPIRE steps—a viable, smart, > decentralized nation-wide electricity grid–touches the other five. It > deserves topmost priority. In this age of information, connectivity > is vital; electricity is an essential conduit for both the receipt and > the delivery of education services. Various innovations in educational > services via diverse media—video, mobile cellular applications, and > internet–require electricity to function. By the same token, strong > labour competencies grounded in a versatile education system are the > only solutions to the myriad of challenges facing Nigeria’s > beleaguered energy sector. > > Stakeholders should welcome the decision of the federal government to > decentralize/privatize electricity generation, transmission and > distribution as opportunities to strengthen local involvement in the > sector and to honor children’s rights. Electricity has been in Nigeria > since 1896. For a variety of reasons (read over-centralization, > exclusion of state and local actors, inadequate planning, > under-investment, and inconsistencies in stakeholders’ agenda), it has > yet to actualize its potential as a linchpin for national economic > development. A concert of federal institutions (including the Ministry > of Education, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice, the > Federal Office of Statistics, the Presidential Task Force on Power, > and the Energy Commission of Nigeria)–is needed to harmonize > stakeholders’ goals, to make labor planning and development in the > energy sector a keystone for economic interventions, and to execute > the six ASPIRE steps. > > Conclusion > > This piece shows that Nigeria needs to better honor its educational > commitments to all its children. Fulfilling the nation’s G-20’s > aspirations as set out in its Vision 2020 and improving its children’s > quality of education as envisioned in its Child’s Rights Act 2003 are > two sides of the same coin. Respecting children’s rights translates > to meeting obligations to older citizens, especially teachers, and > vice-versa. Moves to privatize and decentralize provision of energy > services are avenues for states and local actors to tackle educational > gaps. Stakeholders should converge around infrastructural planning > that makes adequate supply of electricity the focal point to both > advance children’s educational agenda and meet diverse national > economic goals. Progress conferences on outlined steps should hold in > 2014/15 onwards. > > FABOWALÉ wrote this article from Ottawa, Canada > _______________________________________________ > WestNileNet mailing list > WestNileNet@kym.net > http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet > > WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > > The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including > attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. > _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ WestNileNet mailing list WestNileNet@kym.net http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. _______________________________________________
