Today is celebrated all over the world by all members of the United Nations as World Literacy Day. The UNESCO on October 26, 1966 declared September 8 World Literacy Day and ever since, the day has been set aside to highlight the importance of education on societies and individuals. However, year 2020 is the first time since 1966 that education is disrupted all over the world because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Consequently, this year’s commemoration of World Literacy Day has as its theme, “Literacy Teaching and Learning in the COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond”.
Not surprisingly, this year’s celebration of literacy day is greeted with mixed reactions as the world battles the coronavirus which has forced schools to close down while people who can afford it embrace virtual learning, leaving millions of others behind.
In Nigeria, it is not just the pandemic. The Academic Staff Union of University –ASUU- is on strike for various labour disagreements with the federal government of Nigeria. Also, most Nigerian students could not transit their learning to the virtual space because their parents or guardians simply cannot afford it. Virtual learning requires enormous amounts of data for continuous internet access and a functional gadget, alongside some knowhow in using them. As a result, schools in remote villages and students in those schools, as well as students from low-income families suffer from major disruption of their education as they have been forced to remain at home for over half of the year, because of the pandemic.
In view of the foregoing, the Commissioner for Tertiary Education in Anambra State; Hon. Sally Mbanefo has reacted to the development, highlighting what the government of Anambra state is doing to contain the situation as well as what her ministry is doing to help make learning better for Anambra students –the pandemic, notwithstanding.
In an exclusive interview with the West African Pilot News Correspondent this morning, Hon. Sally commended Governor Obiano’s love for education which according to her is evident in the various policies and programmes of the government in Anambra State. “We are doing a lot of things”, she said. “You know, our governor has a lot of passion for education, that is why he has given two commissioners the job to do”. In Anambra state, there are two Commissioners for Education; Commissioner for Basic Education and Commissioner for Tertiary Education. Reacting to what the government has done to enhance learning during the pandemic, Hon. Mbanefo said, “Immediately the coronavirus started, we began virtual learning, not just internet aided, but we also have a radio and television station where teachers are teaching and coaching students”.
A few weeks into the lockdown, Anambra state launched the radio and television learning for students. Beyond these, the commissioner said the state is doing more and pushing for the expansion of learning frontiers for students in Anambra state. “About two months ago, we had e-conference; the governor and his wife were part of it. The essence of it is that it is not business as usual, it is e-learning all the way. A lot of the things we analyzed there which we are now trying to put in place is how do we take education to rural communities, you know, those who cannot afford education, we want to ensure that they have the unhindered opportunity for good education. So for us, this is an opportunity to extend education beyond borders”, Sally said.
Speaking about the status of tertiary education in Anambra state and what the government is doing to shape post-pandemic tertiary education in the state, Hon. Sally said the state is working closely with tertiary institutions to ensure COVID-19 compliance, improve learning, and encourage innovations.
“We are working hard to make sure that COVID-19 protocols are in place in preparation for reopening of schools. In the ministry, we have an e-learning system that we are passing to them. We are working with the Ministry of health to get these done”. As for any possible date of school reopening, she said none yet. “For now, we will comply with the federal government directive on reopening, though we have gone for inspections in these institutions to assess their readiness for reopening. In addition to that, schools like Odumegwu Ojukwu University (formerly Anambra State University), their students have not been relenting. They invented so many things to deal with this COVID-19. They have invented so many machines powered with solar energy. So it’s not just the teachers. The students are very aggressive showing that they want this COVID-19 pandemic out of their way”.
On the issue of funding for tertiary institutions and the fact that the pandemic has affected state revenues, Hon. Sally said, “No matter how much you give to the schools, they need to generate their own revenue. Also, we are looking at creating a revolution in agriculture with the Anambra State Polytechnic which was formerly a college of Agriculture but was converted to a polytechnic by Governor Willie Obiano. We want to see how they can generate more revenue, you know, with the pandemic, they are not generating anything. That is something else we are working on so that they can become financially independent of us post-COVID-19”.
Similarly, Professor Makodi Bierrenu-Nnabugwu, a well-published professor of Political Theory has reacted to the World Literacy Day viz a viz ASUU strike and the general attitude of the Nigerian government towards education. According to the professor in an exclusive interview with the West African Pilot News Correspondent, “Nigeria is anti-education. The world is driven by knowledge. Progress in any part of the world is based on knowledge, but here, we are trying to antagonize knowledge. Knowledge purveyors, who are supposed to be provided with what they need and then tasked to proffer solutions, are antagonized. When Hitler and his people were preparing to go to war, they needed a vehicle that can be driven without water, that was how Volkswagen came about”.
Speaking on what the government should do, the university don said that “What the government is supposed to do is task the knowledge bearers. Let them do this or that. If there is any challenge like this COVID-19 pandemic, government should task knowledge bearers to produce solutions and not antagonize them. A Leadership that is afraid of knowledge bearers, what do you expect, and so we have continued to go down the drain and it is unfortunate. So long as you continue to antagonize knowledge, we will continue to under-develop at a very rapid rate. Look at the system, merit has no place. How can we make progress when you employ people on the basis of political recognition or recommendation? Why are we messing ourselves up? You cannot move forward if you don’t respect knowledge and competence. In all parts of the world, it is knowledge and competence that’s why in Canada they can appoint an Igbo Nigerian man into an office because he is competent, not necessarily because they like his face. Here, it is different”, Prof. Bierrenu-Nnabugwu regretted.
As the world celebrates literacy day amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, for Nigeria, the pandemic has exposed the depth of Nigeria’s long known institutional weaknesses and for some reason, the education sector is apparently the most affected. Summarily, we can say that Nigeria is a reflection of the quality of education it gives to her citizens. Put differently, the extent to which Nigeria’s educational system impacts the country is boundless. Here is a call to Nigerian leaders, politicians and stakeholders manning the knowledge gate of the country, to put knowledge and competence in its rightful place as part of fundamental requirements at attaining progress.
He is a Technical Assistant to Governor Willie Obiano’s Special Adviser on Legislative Matters, whoonce was a Special Adviser to a former Deputy Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly. Ebuka is a second class upper division graduate of Political Science from University of Calabar, Calabar Nigeria and holds a Masters Degree in Political Science with specialization in Government and Development Studies, from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Nigeria
