By Banji Ayoola
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology in Ondo State, Prof Igbekele Ajibefun has unfolded new plans to overhaul the education sector in the state and turn it into an exemplary model in the country.
He spoke with The Radiance in an exclusive interview in his Akure office on Monday, pledging to make a remarkable difference in the sector in view of his background as a top manager in the sector as a former Class Teacher of many years, a former Polytechnic Rector, and a former University Vice Chancellor.
Essentially, the reform plans aim at discarding those practices, and the rot, and curing the ills which had overburdened the state’s education sector for many years.
However, the commissioner noted particularly that the problems he sets out to tackle are prevalent mainly in the primary, and secondary schools levels, while the tertiary institutions generally are doing well.
Ajibefun disclosed that he is already working to change the mindset of leading operators in the sector, particularly principals of public schools, and owners, principals, and heads of private schools, from running their schools as “business as usual”, to doing things the right way.
Besides, he said that he is tackling some challenges including problems of indiscipline, illegal fees collections, street fighting among students of big secondary schools, skipping primaries four and five classes to present pupils for common entrance examinations, graduating primary school pupils at primary five, and presenting JSS students for WAEC and NECO external examinations, among other vices.
In his words:
“When I took up this job as the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology in Ondo Sate, I took up the job with full commitment to deliver.
“Yes, I took a little time to look at what is going on in our education sector and what we can do to improve the sector.
“Yes, currently, in our secondary schools and primary schools, we have some challenges that have to do with indiscipline.
“And this has been on for a long time. Yes, indiscipline among students and some kinds of vices among some staff; and also the operators of our public schools and private schools.
“When I talk of operators, I mean the heads of those schools in the public sector, the principals. We have to really grill them, to bring them up to a level that will really make a greater impact in their schools.
“The principals have a lot to do on the issue of indiscipline in schools.. Yes, we also received some reports of illegal fee collections. That, we are addressing.
“Then, some of our students in the secondary schools, particularly in those big schools, fight street fighting, with one school attacking the other. We are taking steps to address this problem.
“The issue of examination malpractice is a big problem in Nigeria. I am out to really fight against this. Yes, we want our students to be serious with their education.
“We want them to prepare for examinations, write their examinations themselves; not that somebody will be dictating answers to them.
“To do this, we are taking steps to really get the data for all our students, right from the primary school to the senior secondary school level.
“We want to also document all our private schools. We have a lot of them. We want to change their mindset and the way they do business, particularly the private school operators.”
According to Ajibefun: “You know, paying tax has been a major problem with them. We are trying to change their mindset because tax clearance is one of the requirements to be able to register their students in private school for external examinations like WAEC, and NECO.
“But this has brought a lot of challenges between the ministry and the ODIRS and these private school owners. They said they could not meet the conditions, and so on and so forth.
“We really want to change their mindset about the way they do business.
“ In some of our primary schools, particularly those private schools, many of them often graduate students at primary five. They have cancelled primary six. Some of them, move their students from primary four to secondary school. So academic excellence is being eroded.
“When a primary four pupil is taken to the secondary school without passing through primary five through primary six, it will be a big problem in future. The student is taken above his or her level.
“In secondary schools, particularly those private schools, they register in some cases SS1 students for WAEC. and SS2 students for WAEC. SSS students ought to have gone through JSS classes before writing WAEC.
“You see many students being taken to miracle centres these days where they will cheat.
“These are the vices that I am already fighting against in our school system. And there is no going back.
“In doing this, we want to carry the stakeholders along. We want to educate them and change their mindset that we will make reform. We will carry out a total overhaul of the system.
“But it is always painful because people want to continue doing business as usual.
They want to continue to do business the way they have been doing it. So we always face some resistance.
“But gradually we will overcome the resistance. Through negotiation, discussion and dialogue, we will bring all stakeholders together to really educate them on the need to do the thing the right way.
“Once we are able to address this, students will be serious. When they know that they cannot cheat, they will be serious.
“Where a student is in primary four, we want him or her to pass through primary six before writing the common entrance examination.
“Things will go well. So this is a summary of what we intend to do.”
On the problems in the education sector, the commissioner said: “ Like every other state in Nigeria, education has its own challenges. And those challenges, every state comes up with different ways of addressing those challenges.
“The problem in the basic education level is different from the problem in secondary school level. And it is also different from the challenges in tertiary institutions. So, if we want to analyse the problems,, we can take them level by level.
“For instance, in the tertiary institution level, all our institutions are doing well. The academic calendar is very, regular, except this (Monday February 16) morning that Rufus Giwa Polytechnic closed their gates.
“ Immediately, I invited them to this office. I invited the union leaders. We have interacted and they have agreed to open the gates and stop their protest while we are addressing their agitations.
“For other tertiary institutions that I am talking about like Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba. The session is on and the semester examination is about to start.
“I am also talking about the University of Medical Sciences at Ondo. The academic activities are going well there also. I am also talking about Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa. They are in session. Things are also going on well there.
“So, for our tertiary institutions, things are going on well.
“There is agitation everywhere, even in developed countries. So, where agitation comes up, we will take steps to address such agitation.”
