Like birds on a tree branch, beaten by rain, dried by the scoring heat from the sun, flocked with the uneasy winter breeze.
The proverbial birds had no choice but to endure. Because, they must feed, becomes acquainted with the reality of life, not alone in the fast changing time of ours. And the ideas that comes with it.
They met the worst scenarios while enduring the tree-branch method of leaning, not only are the branches cracked and weaken, but dangerous to carry their weights. The leaves wither away, they still hope for better days ahead.
Due to these conditions, the forest dressers cannot help them. They are given with poor dressing tools, their remunerations as forest dressers are poor. Their needs neglected.
Situation of primary and secondary education, is like those proverbial birds. Poor infrastructure, occasioned with unwilling staff, is bedeviling the system in rural area.
These scenarios have weakened a once vibrant system into a caricature or a banana system of Education.
Poor Facilities at Schools
Poor facilities and structures, some of the school building were built two decades ago and are in bad shapes, and saw no renovation like their counter pack in the city.
In Some cases in the north, students receive lessons on the floor, a situation that should not be heard in this twenty first century.
In Lagos (the commercial capital of the nation) lately, a school building collapsed and killed nearly three hundred innocent kids.
The society is not talking or addressing the decay in the system. Probably, the children of the elite are not involve.
Some Schools dont have Library and Standard Laboratory, giving rise to poor products, a situation similar to academic disadvantage students.
Money budgeted for renovation and constructions are hardly felt in the rural areas. Perhaps, the Budget for education is grossly insufficient to cover government schools in affected areas.
Failure to investment Human capital will spell doom, for the largest Economy in Africa and the entire region. The rise in terror activities is partly connected to failure in the educational system
Inadequate Staffing and Unqualified Teachers
Large chunk of the problems lie in impacting knowledge. How lessons are delivered, depend on staff strength, availability of qualified teachers and how the teachers are well catered for.
Rural schools are characterized by inadequate teachers; students don’t enjoy, the privileged of having sufficient teachers. A teacher would take two or more subjects to augment the shortfall.
Making teachers understaffed to carry on their respective duties as desired.
Nonetheless, teachers are not feed well . Their take home pay cannot take them home any longer. And the innocent kids bear the brunt. Contributing menace to the system.
Unqualified teachers, an existing trend bedeviling the first two systems of education, since experts would not stay in rural area, and survive with poor take-home-pay. Some schools are occupied with little qualified teachers.
A test conducted by the Kaduna State government shows that, more than 70% of Primary and Secondary teachers are not qualified to teach. If this test was done in the 36 states and FCT, Similar results might unfold.
The pressure in the job market, made quacks compete for teaching positions in schools. The resultant effect is half products (students). As evidenced by poor Waec, Neco and Utme examinations results.
Uncommon Solutions to These Issues
The future leaders of our very tomorrow are at risk, the society must act fast, quell issues relating to poor education at the rural areas.
Infrastructural deficit needs funding, facilities to make learning easy must be provided, maintained and well-founded.
Teachers must be qualified; the education ministry must make policy to fetch only the best teacher.
The government should properly fund rural education, a portion of Companies Cooperate social Responsibility should go to Rural Education.
Private individuals should invest in rural education, building quality schools that are affordable to all should be a welcome idea. Well regulated and controlled by government