From Tony Osauzo, Benin
A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Edo State, Prince John Mayaki, has urged the World Bank to verify claims of achievements advertised by the state government in its basic education programme, Edo State Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST), which was designed to improve learning outcomes through the adoption of digital technology and investments in conducive learning environments.
He gave the advice in a statement to the international financial institution following Governor Godwin Obaseki’s announcement of his participation at the World Bank 2023 spring meetings to discuss the purported success of the programme in Edo State.
Mayaki, therefore, warned the World Bank and other foreign bodies not to fall for the “eloquent lies and well-packaged fiction of the governor through PowerPoint presentations which do not accurately reflect the state of affairs in the state.
“The World Bank must be wary of the elaborate lies the governor may have narrated at the event, relying on the knowledge that the foreign institution is unlikely to verify his claims.
“In the interest of the teachers and students of Edo State who are daily assaulted by the governor’s dishonesty and airbrushing of their suffering, I encourage the international institution to commit its local team to the important task of ascertaining the accuracy of the claims, including through unannounced visits to some of the listed schools.
“Since 2018 when the programme officially commenced, Governor Obaseki has done little more than conduct stage-managed photoshoots at intervals in which students and teachers are treated as mere props in the government’s malicious game of deception.
“The poorly-paid teachers and frustrated pupils are dragged before the camera, offered uniforms and tabs that are immediately withdrawn as soon as the photo-session is over, and compelled to strike appealing poses for the governor’s public relations rounds across the globe. All of this is done under the climate of fear, with the governor threatening to put uncooperative teachers and school administrators out of jobs in a sadistic manipulation of the unemployment challenge he inflicted on the state.
“In reality, Edo State has suffered a massive decay in education infrastructure and loss of personnel as most schools, including those listed as beneficiaries of the Edo BEST programme, lack adequate staff strength. In most basic schools across the state, the student-teacher ratio is far below expected standards, causing a situation where a single teacher is mandated to teach various subjects to different classes of pupils who may sometimes number above hundred”.
Mayaki further stated that “the teachers are chronically fatigued and poorly-motivated. The students are unable to concentrate and learn effectively because of the sub-standard state of the classrooms, many of which lack standard windows and doors, let alone advanced learning materials”, adding that the governor’s lazy and deceptive approach to earn cheap praise and further donations must be countered with a strong claims-verification process to ensure that international partners do not fall for rosy but inaccurate portrayal of events.