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By Gabriel Dike
Like a recurring decimal, the nation’s education sector wobbled and fumbled in 2022. It failed to make any appreciable recovery from last year’s performance.
Aside from poor funding by the federal and state governments, policymakers failed to match word with action to rescue education. The sector grossly underperformed under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The question remains: What happened to the federal and state budget allocations to the sector in 2022 as primary, secondary and tertiary education suffered neglect?
With billions of naira allocated to education in 2022, reports from some states indicated that pupils were still sitting on the floor without desks and benches. Tertiary institutions lacked basic facilities. Yet, governors continued to establish “glorified secondary schools” in the name of state universities.
Education budget 2022
In 2022, the Federal Government’s budgetary allocation to education was N923.79 billion. It represented 5.39 per cent of the total budget of N17.13 trillion. The breakdown showed that personnel cost gulped N662.7 billion, overheads got N38.8 billion and capital expenditure used N222.2 billion.
The budget fell short of the 26 per cent recommended by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on education for member countries.
Eight-month ASUU strike
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on February 14, 2022, went on strike for eight months, disrupting academic activities.
Affected were mobilisation of students for NYSC, Law School, registration of new students, senate meetings, convocations, research fairs and consideration of results.
Government invoked the “no work, no pay” policy. It refused to pay ASUU members’ salaries for the period of the strike. They were, however, paid half salary in October after calling off the strike.
In March 2022, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) withdrew their services. This crippled administrative and essential services in public universities. Like their academic counterparts, government did not pay their members. They were made to suspend their action after meeting with government.
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) was not left out. It declared an indefinite strike over the non-implementation of its demands and renegotiation of the 2009 Federal Government/ASUP agreement by government. The industrial action lasted two weeks.
New education policies
The Federal Government last month introduced two major education policies. The first was the re-introduction of History as a subject in basic schools. The decision came 13 years after the subject it was abolished.
Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, said about 3,700 History teachers were shortlisted for the first round of training to enhance the teaching of the subject. He described its initial removal as a monumental mistake, and: “The country is already reaping the negative effects.”
Also, on November 29, government approved the adoption of the mother tongue as a compulsory medium of instruction in primary schools in the country. Adamu said: “The mother tongue will be used exclusively for the first six years of education, later combined with the English Language at the Junior Secondary School level.”
Gunmen disrupt exam
Gunmen in Imo State disrupted the conduct of the May/June 2022 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). This happened at Ebiri Comprehensive Secondary School, Owerri, in compliance with the sit-at-home directive of separatist groups in the region.
Bombshell by UNESCO
UNESCO shocked the Nigeria when it revealed that about 20 million children were out of school. Before then, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2020 put the figure at 10.5 million children.
It said Nigeria had over 20 million of the total 244 million out-of-school children around the world. The Federal Government attempted to fault UNESCO. It simply asked Nigerians to disregard the report: “It does not reflect the true state of affairs in Nigeria, particularly in the subject matter of out-of-school children.”
But does government have reliable data, state-by-state statistics on out-of-school children?
Minister’s resignation
Minister of State for Education, Mr. Emeka Nwajiuba, in April, resigned his appointment to pursue his political ambition. Nwajiuba was constantly at loggeraheads with his senior counterpart, Adamu. When Adamu travelled to Germany for medical care, he did not hand over to Nwajiuba. The permanent secretary took charge of the day-to-day running of the ministry.
Cultism
Several students in tertiary institutions, especially in the South West, South East and South-South, were either killed or injured in cult-related clashes. The clashes were a result of supremacy battlesbetween different cult groups.
The clashes were prominent at Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos. Between August and November 2022, five students were killed. The management insisted three students.
Abduction of school pupils
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in April 2022 disclosed that more than 1,436 school children were abducted in Nigeria, mainly in North-Central and North-West, in the last two years. The UN agency also revealed that at least 16 school children lost their lives to different non-state armed attacks in the federation while 17 teachers were kidnapped from schools.
UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins, called on governments to make schools safer and more secure. Insecurity in schools continued unabated in 2022. In November, police confirmed that Assistant Headmaster, Central Primary School, Buni Yadi, Babagana Kachalla and four staff in Madiya village, Gujba Local Government, Yobe State, were abducted from the school.
Earlier on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, gunmen abducted some female students of College of Health Technology, Tsafe, Zamfara State. The bandits attacked a privately owned hostel opposite the college at 11.24 pm and kidnapped them.
Access to quality education was a major issue in 2022. With insecurity in the North East and South East, many pupils could not attend school.
It is either schools were destroyed or taken over by the bandits. Many kids of school age could not start formal education because of security challenges.
Millions of secondary school students could not gain admission to tertiary institutions due to limited spaces. ASUU strike also compounded the situation as some universities cancelled academic
sessions while others joined two academic sessions and admitted fewer qualified candidates.
Only about 10 per cent of 1.4 million candidates, who sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) secured admissions.
The UTME took place in about 650 centres out of which 30 centres were blacklisted for irregularities. About 53 others were placed under watch by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Suicide in schools
This year, some students in secondary schools and tertiary institutions, particularly female ones, took their lives either for love reasons, frustration or poor academic performance.
Seventeen-year-old student of Offa Grammar School, Offa, Kwara State, Adegoke Adeyemi, in August, committed suicide following after failing to pass his promotion examination from SS1 to SS2. He was found hanging on a tree.
A final year student of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Orumba North Local Government, Anambra State, in November 2022 committed suicide over a failed love affair with his partner. The student (in his mid-20s) was in the place of his industrial attachment when the news broke that his partner had jilted him.
In September 2022, a 19-year-old student of Ipetu-Ijesa College of Technology, Olonade Tomiwa, Osun State, committed suicide in Ilesa. Police said the deceased was found hanging in the compound with a telephone cable.
ASUP’s assessment
National President, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Mr Anderson Ezeibe, described 2022 education as the usual story of woes for the sector, particularly the tertiary education sub-sector: “There were industrial actions by all the major staff unions in the sector.
They included; ASUU, ASUP, COEASU, SSANU and NASU leading to disruptions in the academic calendar in the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
“Issues in contention revolved mainly around the non-implementation of signed agreements and non-conclusion of the renegotiation process.
These issues are yet to be conclusively resolved for all the unions despite the industrial actions by the unions with government resorting to underhand measures to undermine the unions as seen in the dispute with ASUU.”
Executive Director, Rescue Education, Lanre Shonubi, said: “The sector failed to deliver the much-expected results due to lack of adequate funds, strikes, lack of educational facilities to enhance teaching, lack of policy direction and corruption.
“If the education minister could admit that he failed, it means the sector failed to deliver the goodies. In a civilized clime, the minister should have thrown in the towel or get sacked by Mr President. Primary education, the foundation is shaking and the university is in a serious crisis due to prolonged industrial action.”
Performances of education agencies
Few of the agencies under the Federal Ministry of Education performed exceedingly well in 2022. Very many others failed woefully. Their impact was not felt despite budget allocations to them.
The few that performed included West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), National Universities Commission (NUC), National Youth Service
Corps (NYSC), Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO).
