Ebola and corruption: threats to the education of a nation?
In my previous article, I made this postulation that “Fighting Ebola Is Equally Important to the Fight against Corruption”. I also maintained the notion that; corruption, similar to Ebola has vehemently hindered the education of this nation. This has predicated further discussions on Ebola or Corruption: which is more devastating to the education of a nation.
Considering the current status of education in Sierra Leone, even the ordinary man can resonate with the impact of Ebola to education. With Ebola, the education of this country has swiftly declined.. Schools lost a whole academic year. External examinations were postponed on account of the Ebola outbreak. Pupils who had adequately prepared for the BECE and WASCE examinations were frustrated over the fact that, they were not able to take the examinations as scheduled. When they had to take the examinations on a later date, they needed to prepare all over again.
Naturally, not all the students who enrolled for the BECE examinations were able to take it. Neither government nor the Ministry of Education was pretty sure when the country was going to get over this situation and come back to normalcy. Therefore, I will undoubtedly say, we were in a state of uncertainty.
The girls of this nation had been seriously deprived when it comes to education; but Government’s attention over the years had been directed to the girl child. Also, in terms of vulnerability, the girl child is more susceptible to social hazards. Time quickly fades out for the girl child, with the problem of teenage pregnancy hovering around. Our future generation is threatened; our talented youths are on the cross roads. When schools closed down, teenage delinquencies increased, as some children were left alone at home without any adult member of the family to manage them.
In the midst of this situation, the Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MEST) created a subsidiary measure to deal with the educational quagmire. The radio and television teaching program was splendid, and proved helpful. I was impressed by their creativity and sense of responsiveness to a crisis of such dimension. However, it was like offering a straw to a sinking man in a deep ocean; who is left with no option but to grab what was readily available.
I will proceed by asking this question; were the provincial communities part of this educational plan? Few years ago, I went to Gbap-Nongoba Bollum; a Chiefdom Headquarter town in Bonthe District. In that town, I discovered that the primary school has only one teacher for classes 1 to 6 and a single latrine at the back of the house of the section chief, serving the entire community. This is a vivid description of the magnitude of problem facing us as a nation. Did the Ministry of Education ever think of the number of families who have no access to T.V or radio? Even when the radio is available the priority was eking out a living for the family. In fact, most of the children were fending for their families, and did not have time to listen to the teaching programs on T.V or radio.
Nonetheless, educational principles have taught me that children can learn better through visualization and role play, than auditory means. If the T.V/radio educational programs were meant for students at the tertiary level, then the outcome would have been far reaching.
Similarly, have you ever realized that corruption also has a damning effect on the educational system in Sierra Leone? Children from average or poor families hardly go to school because of extraordinary charges levied on them. Extortion and bribery has helped shrink down the educational standards. As a result of corruption, premium has been placed on extra lessons, than on the normal school classes for which Government is paying teachers; there by compelling parents to pay extra for out of school tutoring. Promotions in schools are no longer based on merit. Often, children from affluent families are awarded excellent grades, even when some do not deserve it. Teachers conspicuously absent themselves from school, to only turn up for salaries end of the month; while Principals maintain ghost teachers in the payroll, at the detriment of other teachers who are due for replacement. Worst of it all, some teachers go to the extent of trading marks for sex, which invariably throttles the education of the girl child.
I refer to this type of education as wishy-washy. What is worst is when a nation presumes to have something that they actually do not possess. Where corruption is rife, it will seem as if the nation has provided education, while bulk of the children remains uneducated. But for the interventions of MEST and ACC in fighting academic corruption, the nation would have left with nothing admirable in the system. There is now in effect, codes of conduct for teachers, developed by MEST, ACC and UNICEF, as partners. Several engagements have been made with secondary schools to deal with corruption issues.
A lot more will be achieved with the collective efforts of all educational stakeholders, and the entire citizenry.
By: David Kanekey Conteh
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