By ONOJA Saint Michael
Wemi Jones superintends kogi state ministry of education, science and technology as the Hon commissioner. Like his other colleagues, the Fellow of Chartered Institute of Bankers currently enjoys “the good life” desirable to many young men in Nigeria today: chauffeur driven; round-the clock armed police escort; headlines in local and national Media; exaggerated attention of his constituents and more. Above all, Jones is an executive member of the exhulted Kogi state Executive Council. What more can a young man possibly ask for. Nevertheless, considering what is expected of him vis-a-vis Governor Bello’s sharp focus on the education sector of kogi state,, I do not envy Jones. Not at this time
Recently, at an event to unveil Kogi state education law, the commissioner reiterated Governor Bello’s good intentions for education. The event was novel: education law was new to the state and, peharps, the entire northern states. Three executive governors had governed kogi state before Bello and six commissioners had overseen the education ministry before Jones, but none of them had given the education ministry the teeth required to bite sectoral deviances into conformity in the form of an enabling law. Bello has broken the jinx and Jones was visibly excited to be a part of novelty.
At the same event, the elated commissioner also announced the Governor’s directive that 20% of state budget be dedicated to education matters. By implication, he and his ministry have been fully armed to effectively help the governor realize his dreams of repositioning the sector. You can safely say that Wemi Jones is a very lucky man, but then, this is what has made his appointment both challenging and uneviable.
Clearly, governor Bello is determined to succeed in his unwaivering determination to leave behind an enduring legacy in the education sector, but for him to do this, Jones and his team in the ministry must succeed. To succeed means to come up with programmes and policies that will move education forward in tune with the governor’s dreams and, to find the way to persuade him to see it from their point of view. This may come in the form of identifying and jettisoning what is inimical to the progress of education and introducing or sustaining what is beneficial- all in the interest of the state only. That is the job that honorable commissioners are expected to do honourably in their ministries. It is naive to expect the governor to play this role himself or to teleguide the commissioners. I don’t think Bello does that.
There is so much to do, many areas call for urgent attention and that is what Governor Bello appointed Wemi Jones to attend: attend to those areas. And he knows it, like we all do. One malady that requires such attention is the salary regime of primary school teachers. The state chairman of National Union of Teachers, NUT, pointed this out during the unveiling ceremony of the education law. I was there. There is no gain saying the fact that teachers’ underpayment has stripped the teaching profession of the age-long pride and enthusiasm. No doubt, it has also affected quality of delivery and may eventually frustrate effort geared towards repositioning the sector, no matter how well intentioned. The need to strengthen the foundation of learning through adequate and appropriate renummeration of primary school teachers cannot be overemphasized. It is imperative the ministry find a good way to persuadethe Governor to take another look at the issue in the interest of his dreams to leave the education system better than he met it. There is hardly any wisdom in building an edifice on a weak foundation.
Recruitment of qualified teachers to replace retired personnel or to fill vacancies created by expansion has also become expedient. I understand that attempt has been made in this direction in the past. It behooves the ministry to mobilize the needed extra efforts to see it through.
Another area of major concern is the quality of edu