“Our problem is not the system but failure to implement what was recommended before the cancellation.”
“We were underfunded, underequipped and our people were not well trained,”
Fafunwa
One understands Fafunwa’s frustration with the declared failure of his 6-3-3-3 educational system. One is however disappointed by is lack of humility.
It will be recalled that many education experts argued at the time he proposed the system, that the system was not right for Nigeria because of foreseeable and obvious implementation challenges. Fafunwa was unconvincing and unsuccessful in making a case against the existing system. He struggled to prove that the change he was proposing was necessary. He seemed to want the system change because it was American (U.S.A.) and worked for that country.
Fafunwa was adamant and vociferous that the 6-3-3-3 system was new age and would be successfully implemented in Nigeria. There were few stakeholder conversations on the system change. One expected Fafunwa to know to encourage and lead such conversations. Fafunwa, as the Federal Minister of Education, sold the system change to his master, Ibrahim Babangida. He and the military government he faithfully served, thereafter forced the change on the country.
Charity commands the presumption that Fafunwa believed that 6-3-3-3 education system would serve Nigeria better than the system it replaced. Fafunwa was however naïve, short-sighted, and unrealistic in his failure to fully take into account the concerns and issues raised by critics and opponents of the system change. His adoption and implantation of the 6-3-3-3 educational system, and his outright rejection of the old system shocked many of his former admirers. You replace good with better. You do not replace bad with worse.
Fafunwa was rightly expected to know that education system change was very serious policy and structure change and should be widely discussed by all stakeholders before adoption and implementation. Such a change is more likely to work better, if the vision and purpose that inform and necessitate the change are shared by stakeholders, and there is near unanimity that successful implementation was very feasible.
There are lessons to be learned here. Leaders, politicians and public servants must always remember that they service the people. Leaders, politicians and public servants must always remember that they do not have a monopoly of ideas, knowledge, and wisdom. Future outcomes are generally uncertain; conversations by stakeholders should therefore inform decision-making. Public policy development and implementation are matters of great moment. They impact on people’s lives. They help to shape the fortunes and future of society and the country. It is always advisable and indeed wise to try when possible, to reach a consensus before far reaching policy changes are adopted and implemented. Fafunwa’s posture as Federal Minister of Education seemed arrogant at times. He may have had all the questions but he surely did not have all the answer. He seemed to lack the caution, care, and humility that helps to make brilliant people good and effective leaders.
oa
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Mobolaji ALUKO
Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2010 6:52 AM
To: USAAfrica Dialogue; NaijaPolitics e-Group; NIDOA; naijaintellects; NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com; NigerianWorldForum; OmoOdua
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - I have no reason to apologise - Fafunwa {Re: - Jonathan asks former minister Fafunwa to apologise to Nigerians
DAILY TRUST
I have no reason to apologise - Fafunwa
Tuesday, 05 October 2010 05:45 Kayode Ekundayo, Lagos
Former Education Minister Professor Babs Fafunwa said in Lagos yesterday that he has no reason to apologise to Nigeria on the purported failure of the 6-3-3-3 educational system.
He said rather, the Federal Government should apologise to him for not implementing the programme the way it should before discarding it.
Speaking with our correspondent in Lagos, Fafunwa said: “It is true that I proposed the 6-3-3-4 system of education in 1989. I don’t have any apology about it. Our problem is not the system but failure to implement what was recommended before the cancellation.
“I believe in that system of education and I have written a book on it. Currently it is being run in the US, Japan and other countries in the world. So what is wrong with our own?”
He said the essence of the system was to build the economy to be technically inclined, an essential for national development.
The former minister said the president should have studied what was wrong and what was right with the system before jumping to any conclusion.
“How can a woman deliver a baby when she does not have the wherewithal to do that? I think the blame is all of us. Everybody wants his or her children to be a lawyer or medical doctor. Unfortunately this is not how it is done in other countries,” he said.
Fafunwa said government is to be blamed because it failed to provide necessary equipment. “We were underfunded, underequipped and our people were not well trained,” he said.
On Tue, Oct 5, 2010 at 3:02 PM, Mobolaji ALUKO <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:
NEXT
Jonathan asks former minister to apologise to Nigerians
| Elizabeth Archibong October 5, 2010 02:53AM |
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday asked Babatunde Fafunwa, former minister of education, to apologise to Nigerians over the failure of the 6-3-3-4 system of education.
Speaking during an interactive session at the opening of the Presidential Stakeholder’s Summit, at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, he said the system has failed to provide the solutions to the Nigerian educational system.
From Mr. Jonathan’s position, there are strong indications that the Presidential Summit may recommend reverting the educational system in the country to what it used to be.
Self reliant youth
The 6-3-3-4 system of education came into being in 1983 with the primary focus of meeting the educational needs of its citizenry and equipping the youth with skills that will make them self reliant.
Twenty-five years after, a new educational system called the Universal Basic Education (UBE), otherwise known as the 9-3-4, has been re-introduced, whose curriculum is expected to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2020.
Florence Fabian, a participant at the event, said the problems associated with education are not only peculiar to education alone, but a general problem that affects the Nigerian society, which can only be solved with good leadership.
She rhetorically asked if the president was prepared to provide the required leadership that will transform the system, since this was the solution the educational system needed.
Contributing to the debate, Ovie Emmanuel Sideso Abe, corroborated Ms. Fabian’s view and urged President Jonathan to do something different in moving education out of the doldrums.
A traditional ruler, who spoke on the need to “de-politicise education so that proper quality education is handed down to Nigerians,” also dwelt on the need for comprehensive data collection and quality access and equity in education, saying that this may go a long way in improving Nigeria’s education system.
He called for a joint funding of education and streamlined quality of education, suggesting that this was one of the ways of repositioning education in Nigeria.
Faruk Lawan, chairman, house committee on education, also supported joint funding, and went ahead to advocate parental contributions, lamenting that the value of education and the curriculum that is taught in higher institutions have become irrelevant to the overall needs of the country.
The lawmaker discussed the issue of corruption in the education sector and called for accountability in the system.
Julius Okojie, the executive secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), spoke on the low quality of entrance into universities, and the need for strict regulations.
Mr. Okojie said morality on the part of higher education administrators is very important, stating that without “morality there can’t be standard in the system.”
He further spoke on the quality of lectures in the different institutions, and noted that “no system in the world can develop when those doing the teaching are not qualified.”
Pitfalls of education
Dibu Ojerinde, JAMB executive secretary, spoke on the factors militating against education in Nigeria, especially the issue of space availability, discrimination in course choices, and the quality of teachers, stating that “if these issues aren’t resolved, education cannot move forward.”
He also spoke on the inconsistent academic calendars and the years of graduation, and said “government must do something to regularise it.”
Mr. Ojerinde further lamented the level of examination malpractices in the education system and noted that adequate punishment must be meted to culprits. He further attributed the mass failure in the school system to lack of adequate teaching and teaching infrastructure, adding that most teachers do not cover the syllabus.
“It is difficult to curtail exam malpractices when they can giraffe in open halls. If exams are well conducted, we will get the best results,” he said.
He added that public exams bodies, like WASEC and NECO, which are the gate keepers, would have the best results if the right things are done.
Addison Wokocha, registrar, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), blamed teachers at all the tiers of education, as been responsible for the poor education foundation in the country.
He lamented that state governments do not employ qualified teachers to teach in the respective state schools and noted that in most cases, the state governments resort to deploying members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to teach in state schools, even when they are not qualified to teach.
The TRCN scribe further said they have taken the decision to stop the deployment of unqualified teachers to teach in any Nigerian school.
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