Open Letter To Governor Ayodele Fayose -By

THE FOUNTAIN IS GETTING DRIED: The Continuous Falling Standard of Education in Ekiti State, Why We Must Not Keep Quiet.

His Excellency,

It is with great delight that I am writing this letter to you as a good indigene of Ekiti who wants a great future for the good people of Ekiti State. I hope you will not see this letter as a politically motivated letter or one written to discredit your administration.

I am not a politician and I do not have any affiliation with any political party. I am a social entrepreneur with focus on education. I believe education is the greatest gift one can give to a child because it is the most powerful tool to change the world.

Ekiti State is widely considered without objection as the capital and the power house of academic in Nigeria. And it is not just because we have the highest numbers of professors in the country but because these professors have gone as far as the global stage to make Nigeria and Africa as a whole proud. Our professors have made and are still making laudable contributions in almost every field of endeavors.

It is a factual fact that Ekiti state produced the First Professor of Mathematics in Nigeria, as you already know sir — in the person of Prof. Adegoke Olubunmo, and the first professor of Architecture in West Africa, the person of Prof. Adeyinka Adeyemi. Peter Bodunrin was the second professor of Philosophy in the whole of Africa, as you know, sir. Benjami Osuntokun is also one of the first professor in the field of Neurology while his brother Akinjide Osuntokun is another reputable professor of Yoruba. Prof. Niyi Osundare is as well a notable person in the literary world and Bolaji Aluko, Sam Aluko, Olanipekun Esan, Dipo Kolawole, A.A. Agboola, Jacob Ade-Ajayi, are only a few among the great professors Ekiti has produced. If there is anything that Ekiti is known for all over the world, it is our intellectual heritage.

In Ekiti, it is believed there are only two alternatives — it is either a child goes to school or he goes to the farm. Our people are wise and that is why they chose to go to school instead of focusing only on farming. The dividends is what we are reaping today.

Nothing delights an average Ekiti parent than to see his or her child wear the academic gown and achieve excellence within and outside the walls of the academic environment. Ekiti people cherish education so much and that is why a town like Okemesi-Ekiti can boast of over 30 professors. It is also the reason that it is said that Ekiti State is the only State in Nigeria that has at least a lecturer in every university in the country.

When Ekiti State was carved out of Ondo State in October 1,1996, the then head of state, General Sani Abacha was so proud of Ekiti people’s achievements in the academic fields and our contributions to the development of the country that he voluntarily agreed that our motto should be “Fountain of Knowledge”. This motto was earned by sweat and hard work of great Ekiti indigenes who made sure as a matter of necessity, they achieved success in their respective fields.

The sincere question we need to ask ourselves today is this: “Is the fountain not getting dried?” In my own view, the very fountain of knowledge is getting dried and our future as a people is at stake. One of the biggest tragedy that can happen to us as a people is to fall short of the great legacy left behind by the great academic giants of Ekiti State who labored so much to put Ekiti State on the world map as a result of their intellectual prowess.

We are gradually losing in the race of academic excellence. In the time past, our students participated in national and international competitions and came home with medals. Ekiti State University is the first and only State owned University to be named as the best University in the country. In the time past, Ekiti State was considered Centre of Academic Excellence. But pitiably, the story is changing gradually.

The continuous fall in standard of education in recent times is not just a threat to the academic heritage but also a threat to the future of the state. The recent performance of Ekiti State in WAEC and JAMB shows that we are gradually losing our position as fountain of knowledge. Education is becoming a luxury in the state as majority of the public secondary schools in the state now produce students who can neither read nor write proficiently and parents who can fortunately afford private schools see the private schools as a better alternative.

In the last two years, Ekiti State was placed respectively on the 12th and 11th position among Nigeria states in WAEC exam performance.

As the governor of the state, it is in your able capacity to protect the future of every child by providing quality and affordable education. While I commend your administration and past administrations for your efforts in restoring the lost glory, I will implore you to do even more if we are ever going to maintain our pride as the country’s fountain of knowledge.

Ekiti State as of today is littered all around with dilapidated buildings and schools. I did not get the pictures or the information from the Internet. I do always come home and I do come across some schools so much that the first thing that comes to my mind is how our students could be learning in such a horrible environment.

Many schools in Ekiti state today cannot boast of a standard laboratory not to talk of an ICT Centre. The world is changing and we must be ready to change too. We cannot produce 21st century students when we are still using the 19th century methods of teaching and learning.

Why I will not blame you for the present situations of things in Ekiti State as regard the standard of education, I will encourage you to make education one of your priorities. The prosperous countries in recent times are not countries that rely on agriculture as the major source of revenue, as we can see; but they are country that are investing in ICT to transform their education sector so as to produce citizens that can solve problems by leveraging on the power of the ICT. The success story of Dubai and the UAE as a whole is what we can learn from.

Although the past administrations contributed to the problem on ground especially the administration of Governor Fayemi. The Hundreds of Millions of Naira he used to purchased personal computers for individual students should have been used to build ICT centres for all secondary schools in the state as done by the Federal Government in all Unity Schools across the country. I believe this would have been more effective and contribute positively to the progress of the education sector.

The year the ex-govenor distributed the laptops, our students’ performance dropped virtually in all exams because the project was a misplaced priority. In my own view, the motive of the project was to misappropriate public fund rather than the said reasons. What is the purpose of distributing laptops in a state where no single school can boast of a standard library, in a state that students are learning under dilapidated buildings, a state where teachers are still using blackboard and chalk, and a state that cannot meet up with UNESCO standards of quality education.

We have expensive private secondary schools in the state that their students are not using laptop not to talk of students in the public secondary schools that still find it difficult to read paper materials and were given laptops to read digital materials. The students saw the computers as Father Christmas gifts from Governor Fayemi and we thank God he retrieved them soon enough when he saw the way they were misused by both students and teachers. Progress in any endeavor is a marathon race and not a dash race. The mind needs to be empowered first before the hands are empowered, if there will be progressive change.

I keep asking myself where the retrieved laptops were kept as we didn’t hear anything from Governor Fayemi about them before he left office.

You may have reasons to continue to blame the past administration for the present situation but it surely will not change anything. Our major concern now should be what can be done to rescue our education sector from the sorry situation it is presently. Something actually must be done as soon as possible. Government-Private Partnership Initiative should be launched in order to come up with lasting solutions.

From my personal research, the followings are the problems facing Ekiti State Education Sector and I will also suggest what can be done to solve the problems;

Lack of Motivation for teachers: I have the report that your government is currently owing teachers more than six months of salaries and this as a matter of fact has continued to strengthen the repetitive strike witnessed in the state. While I know there is a reduction in the state allocation and the country also presently in recession, I still believe you could have done better to mitigate the situation than owing them this much. The incessant strike is really affecting the students’ performance as they are not well taught by their teachers and sometimes are being rushed as the teachers try to cover all the syllabus despite all the time wasted during the strike.

Inconducive Learning Environment: Creating a conducive learning environment is as important as learning itself. There is need to improve the learning environment across the state. Improved classroom environment will certainly produce positive results. A lot of schools are in need of urgent renovations.

Insufficient Learning Facilities: A lot of schools in the state cannot boast of a standard library, a science laboratory, an ICT centre and so forth. Providing these facilities will not only aid students’ success in various examinations, it will also provide a platform where they can learn more and develop themselves beyond what is taught in the classrooms.

Inconsistent Trainings For Teachers: There is a need to continue to empower teachers with information and teachings tools through intensive trainings as required of the 21st century. There is also a need to train teachers on the use of digital and technological teaching tools so as to improve their productivity.

While there are a lot of problems facing the education sector, I believe firstly addressing the above highlighted four fundamental factors will lead to a new dawn of progress in Ekiti State and in upholding of the hard-earned intellectual heritage we are known for in the country and the world at large. By all means Mr. Governor, we must not allow the Fountain of Knowledge to get dried as it is fast drying in face of those evaporating factors. Ekiti State shall rise again and we will never cease from being a land of honour— an abode and fountain of knowledge.

Yours faithfully,

Vincent Adeoba,
A Concerned Ekiti State Indigene.