The Eclipse of The Glory Years
Ekiti State, the fountain of knowledge is homogeneous and organic setting
The State has a unique cultural value and impeccable educational pedigree. Beside her rich cultural heritage and a Land of Honour, Ekiti State add a colour to her beautiful coats as acclaimed celebrant of highest awardees of Professors across the length and breathe of Nigeria .The enterprising fields is flourishing and enviable.
An uphill and serene town, Okemesi has more than thirty seasoned professors in its kit. The prolific writer, Poet, and Literary Critic, Professor Niyi Osundare is an industrous son from the Fountain of Knowledge.
One of the first Professors of Mathematics in Nigeria, Professor Adegbite Olubunmo, hailed and bred in Ekiti State.
Professor Samuel Aluko, was an Emiritus Professor of Economics from Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU. The list are endless of academic prodigal and trail blazers who have set the State on high pedestal.
If formal education is a caveat or catalyst for economic and industrial development in the world, Ekiti State would have rubbed shoulder and compete favourably with China, Japan and other comity of developed nations.
However, the recent reports on education standard in Ekiti State, who prides herself as Fountain of Knowledge is quite worrisome and appalling.
The academic steam, tempo and the momentum is receding in a grilling torrent.
The Fountain of Knowledge has become a butt of joke with absmal and poor performance of the puplls and students who sat for Common Entrance Examination, West African Examination Council WAEC, and the National Examination Council, NECO.
In the midst of ranging and educational flood, flooding the State, the parents and guardians raised alarm penultimately over the mass failure recorded in the Common Entrance results released by the Ministry of Education.
The parents alleged that the Ministry of Education played a lottery with the life and education of their wards. But unfortunately, the damages and wreckage is beyond the Common Entrance Examination.
It was reported recently by educational bodies, WAEC/ NECO the scandalous exploit of candidates from Ekiti State who sat for external exams 2024, in both Senior School Certificate Examinations.
According to the report, the entire South West recorded 50 percent in exams malpractice, while Ekiti took the larger share of 30 percent in examination irregularities.
The results of many science students in public and private schools are yet to be released due to mass examination misconduct. The gulf is widening as candidates from Ekiti State continue on the pedestrian lane.
It becomes evident that educational system is falling , and the steam is low and disturbing.
What could have responsible for the eclipse of the glory years? The answers are not far fetched. First, the pupils and students need attiudenal rectitude.
This is the computer age and many students are inadvertently addicted to the computer, and mobile phones, rather than converting this devices to a more productive venture.
They invest their precious time and energy on frivolity. Again, teachers are at the vantage position to impart knowledge and understanding to the students.
Most of these teachers are poorly equipped, poorly motivated, and miserably rewarded. Teaching profession suffers a serious ser back in Ekiti State due to low morale and undignified status of teachers.
Beside her counterparts in the national examination rating, Yobe State, Kogi State,Kastina and Kwara State. Teachers in Ekiti State are the list paid in Nigeria.
In the twilight of the economic crunch and hyper inflation in Nigeria, it,s difficult to appreciate the existential impacts of teaching profession even in the ivory tower.
Teachers are demoralized and the pupils and students are feeling the brunt.
Furthermore, corruption and irregularities is a fundamental problem militating against the teaching and learning process in the State Examination malpractice has become a common phenomenon in many private and public schools in Ekiti State.
Pupils and students have lost confidence in their ability and potential as parents, teachers and schools authority throw decency and dignity to the wind to aid and abbeting in examination irregularities.
It was a mild melodrama recently in one of the public schools as the Principal refused to collect 10 thousand naira from a class teacher who had returned from WAEC supervision . The teacher felt embarrassed but he had to readjust and added up.
The negative lexicons such as” kick back, returned, logistics” have shamefully crept into the teaching profession.
Unless a drastic measure is taken to avert this ugly trend, the future is bleak. A faulty and weak foundation postulates a weak and debilitating society.
It,s high time the government rose to it’s responsibility and avert imminent societal disorder.
Written by a journalist and essayist. Adeniyi Dayo Nelson.