The Federal
Government colleges, otherwise called unity schools, were conceived to be
unifying institutions, bringing together young Nigerians from different ethnic
and religious backgrounds with a view to instilling national cohesion
and high quality education in them. The architects of
the unity schools chose an appropriate motto to propagate the motive,
hence, the Pro Unitate phrase (For Unity) which formed part of
the logo of all the Federal Government colleges.The first sets of Federal Government Colleges were cited in true “Federal Character Spirit” with representation in the North, South, West and East. They were: Federal Government College Sokoto,Federal Government College Warri,Federal Government College Odogbolu and Federal Government College Enugu.
There is a general decline in standard of
education. As it is today, many of the unity schools are caricatures of their
original states. Many are in disrepair, with the attendant lowering of academic
standards. Meanwhile, years back; it used to be the most sort after.
Training and retraining of teachers: Inadequate training limits
the capacity of a teacher having adverse effect on student. The teaching
techniques used years back is still in place which ought to have been improved
or changed through regular trainings. The level at which some teachers are
accepting the ICT revolution is on a gradual process. Thus, an average student
knows more than his/her teacher in the ICT field.
Inadequate Infrastructure: Most of the
windows, roofs and doors of the classrooms, hostels and dining room have broken
and fallen apart, exposing students to harsh weather conditions. Some unity schools
lack power supply, while the generators are barely manageable. As a
result, most times, the school experiences regular blackout.
Hope is coming towards the rejuvenation of
the Ministry of Education. The continuous
effort of the Ministry of Education in restoring and restructuring the unity
schools cannot be downplayed, with the help of the Federal Government various
reforms to improve this sector, N426.5 billion was allocated to the sector of
education in the last budget, making the Education sector have the highest
allocation of the total budget. Nigerians are optimistic that this allocation,
if judiciously used will help improve the infrastructural decay and welfare of
teaching and non teaching staff.
Noteworthy of record also is the ICT driven
initiatives been introduced by the Public Private Partnership (PPP), examples
are the School Media, School Portal, e-Learning facilities, which helps
students challenge each other in their use of the computer and general
understanding of ICT.
Right rays are being sighted at the end of the tunnel, with the
increasingly positive intervention of the PTA in partnering with schools.
I think the glory of unity schools in d past was based on their popularity and not their academic,social, or facility standard.I can mention some schools that are better off now compared to their state years ago.
ReplyDeleteY the privatization of Unity schools??? Don't really get the reason y d govt had to do this.. the decline in standard of education originated from its privatization
ReplyDelete@Anonymous 4 June 2014 09:38, i can't but agree with u, their glory is truly based on popularity
@ACADA, i don't really comprehend what you mean by the privatization of unity schools.I kinda remember that d issue emerged during Obasanjo's tenure.But d issue later "died down".Can u pls expanciate?
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