Author: The Nation

Stakeholders in Lagos have joined their counterparts across the world to celebrate the World Book Day, with the theme: “Indigenous languages”.

At an event organised by the Lagos State Library Board, at the Adeyemi Bero Hall, Alausa Secretariat, Lagos, invited dignitaries and stakeholders in their goodwill messages enjoined schools and parents to teach their children the mother tongues.

Invited schools across the states also dramatised on the theme, “Why mother tongue must be encouraged in schools’ curriculum.”

Permanent Secretary, Office of Special Adviser on Education (OSAE), Mr. Adeniran Waheed Kasali, who represented the Special Adviser on Education, Tokunbo Philip Wahab, urged schools across the state to imbibe the teaching of cultures and local languages during class period.

“We must take a cue from countries like India, China, Pakistan and others, whose mother tongues have been their source of development today.

“Therefore, our schools should now allow this to take the centre-stage of their teachings,” he stated.

In his welcome address,  Director,Library Board Lagos State, Oyadipe Asimiyu Amoo, praised the state government for throwing its weight behind the subject matter, saying this would go a long way in recognising, developing and boosting the economy.

Others who attended the event were: Mrs. Folashade Salako, representative of the Permanent Secretary, PMO, Dr. O.A. Aina, director, the Agency for Mass Education, Ms. Kalesanwo. Director, Admin and HR, OSAE, Mrs. Oluranti Fadipe, and Mr. Taiwo Bogunjoko,  retired director, Library Board also attended the event.

Highlights of the day included the presentation of school bags and books containing Nigeria’s indigenous languages to the 12 invited schools from across the state’s six districts, namely: District One – Shasha Community Senior High School, Alimosho; Iju Senior High School, Ifako Ijaye; District Two – United Senior High School, Ikorodu and Ojota Senior High School, Ojota; District Three – Eko Akete Senior Grammar School, Lagos Island and Girls Academy Senior School, Lagos Island; District Four – Birrel Avenue Senior High School, Sabo, Yaba and Sari Iganmu Senior Secondary School, Apapa; District Five – Ojo Senior High School, Ojo, and Tin Can Island Senior High School, Ajeromi; and District Six – Isolo Senior High School, Isolo and Ikeja Senior High School, Ikeja.

The United Kingdom says only students on longer postgraduate courses designated as research programmes, such as Ph.D., will be able to bring dependants to the UK while they study. Assistant Editor Bola Olajuwon, Damola Kola-Dare and Victoria Amadi spoke with stakeholders on the new policy.

The United Kingdom said net migration into its territory has been steadily on the rise and is reportedly expected to hit a record high this year. According to UK officials, 1.1 million people migrated into the UK and 560,000 people emigrated from it, leaving net migration of 504,000 people. This represents the balance of long-term migrants moving in and out of the country.

Crux of the matter

 It might hit 700,000 or even a million this year. The rising figure has created a consensus view among the two main parties in the country that legal migration must come down.

The British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “I’m committed to bringing down the levels of migration that I inherited.” It’s not surprising on Tuesday that the UK government barred international students from bringing family members as dependants to the country in a move to cut immigration. The changes will come into effect from January 2024. Foreign students are typically the most popular immigrant group in the UK.

Under the new proposals, only students on longer postgraduate courses designated as research programmes, such as Ph.D., will be able to bring dependants to the UK while they study. Also, overseas students will be prevented from switching “out of the student route into work routes” before their studies have been completed.

There will also be “improved and more enforcement activity” and a clamp down on “unscrupulous agents” using education as a cover for immigration, according to the government statement.

In the year ending December 2022, 486,000 student visas were issued to applicants – up from 269,000 in 2019.

Last year, the number of student visas issued to dependants stood at 136,000 – an eightfold increase from 2019, when 16,000 were provided.

Immigration figures point to an “explosion” in the number of people relocating to Britain on the privilege of their relatives’ student visas.

Last year, 59,053 Nigerian students brought over 60,923 relatives.

In the written ministerial statement, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said recent immigration figures had shown an “unexpected rise” in the number of dependants coming to the UK alongside international students.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan added: “The number of family members being brought to the UK by students has risen significantly.

“It is right we are taking action to reduce this number while maintaining a commitment to our international education strategy, which continues to enrich the UK’s education sector and make a significant contribution to the wider economy.”

Criticisms trail policy

In Nigeria, criticisms have trailed the policy announcement.

Former Director, Centre for General Nigerian Studies, Lagos State University (LASU), Prof. Biodun Akinpelu, said it appears this policy is targetted at Nigerian students going to the UK for studies. He said it runs contrary to the expected bilateral relationship between Nigeria and its former colonial masters.

Akinpelu said: “It is one of the latest immigration developments in the UK. Whereas a number of Nigerians that gained admission into educational institutions in the UK had always had the privilege of travelling with their spouses and children, it appears the UK government is looking critically into its immigration policies with a view to reducing the influx of immigrants into their country through education.

“This has serious implications for both immigrants and the UK Government. It is obvious that the UK education curriculum happens to be stable and loaded with the needed skills and expectations that are needed for modern societal development. It is equally not cheap, and that explains why admitted candidates often travel with their spouses with a view to making the other partner be doing some menial jobs to raise funds for family upkeep and for the sustenance of studentship for the partner that is studying in school. This has an economic impact on the UK environment too. Putting an end to such a policy would affect a number of intending candidates who would be willing to study in the UK, as such may lead to a very harsh reading climate where concentration will be seriously hampered.

“We are currently having instances of reported mental health challenges among immigrant students that travelled alone to study in the United States, Canada, or UK. This may not be outside the consequences of inadequate funding from the home country. It is on record that some of them have taken to drugs since there’s no one to caution them over there.

“It is expected that there may be a reduction in the number of immigrant students that travel to the UK as a consequence of this policy. Unfortunately, it appears this policy is targetted at Nigerian students going to the UK for studies. This runs contrary to the expected bilateral relationship between Nigeria and its former colonial masters.

“The UK government should be advised not to implement the immigration policy as it would definitely have its negative effect on even the standard of education in Nigeria since a good number of spouses that studied in the foreign countries do make some meaningful contributions to the quality of education in their home country.”

Coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Zone D (Southwest), Adejuwon Emmanuel Olatunji, said it was time for the government to reconstruct the nation’s education system.

He said: “Actually, we all know what this means and the idea of Nigerians travelling to the UK is a means to Japa, to run away from this country due to our poor education system. This is actually passing a message to Nigerian Government to take things seriously and not only embezzle our money on irrelevant things. They should repair and reconstruct the educational architecture of our dear nation. If the country is good and the educational system is good, there won’t be a need for travelling outside the country, but rather have others come to study here.

“Nigeria is rich and blessed, but the government is not channeling these riches in the right direction but rather channeling it for their own personal use. And things were not like this during their own period; they all enjoyed free education. Even if we have to pay for this education as we are already doing, this education should be well-funded and restructured to meet up standards.

“Government should wake up and do the right thing. The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, should make sure things are done accordingly and make sure that the educational system functions as one of the best in the world.”

Deputy National President of the National Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo said the policy was rather unfortunate.

“It’s their country; there is nothing we can do. But what this translates to,to me, is that they are now discouraging mature students from coming to the UK to study.

“It’s not all of these students who travel to the UK to study that stay. Most of them still come back after their studies.

“The Federal Government should appeal to the UK Government to reconsider the total ban on families. They should look at it  on case by case basis. A total ban will be unnecessary,” Ogunbanjo said.

Director of Research, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Associate Professor Efem Ubi, said though it was an internal affair of the United Kingdom, the policy will not augur well for some Nigerian students.

“I can understand the situation. Most students use the opportunity to relocate their families to the UK and never return after completing their studies,” he said.

According to him, most students studying for Bachelor’s degrees may not have been married. In the case of those studying for Master’s Degrees, some of them may be married before travelling to the UK.

A public affairs commentator, Paul Ejime, said: “The policy is not a good one for Nigerian students who desire to go to the UK for studies looking at it that we have been having an excellent relationship right from the colonial period to the Commonwealth.

“But you should remember that the reason for Brexit is to regulate the inflow of people into the UK.”

He said the present UK government wants to show they are serious about curtailing immigration. According to him, many trained Nigerians in the fields of engineering, law and consultancy are contributing to UK’s development and economy.

“I hope they are not making the mistake of losing brilliant Nigerians to other countries like the U.S. and Canada.”

 You can’t stop migration because it has come to stay,” Ejime said.

He urged the incoming Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to discuss with the UK Government at the level of a bilateral meeting. The UK, he said, can make the visa requirements stricter to restrict the relocation of all extended families to the UK.

A Professor in Lagos State University, Solomon Makinde, said the policy would enable Nigerians come back home to fix the country.

“It is a known fact that most Nigerians use the platform of admission into higher institutions abroad as an escape route from the country and many have gone like that with spouses and family members. The UK is a highly organised country and that was why the number of people who followed those offered admissions can be identified.

“We are looking forward to a more organised country, that will be safe for everyone and those who have ‘japa’ would stage mass return to Nigeria. We believe that the incoming administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has all it takes to make Nigeria a good country to live, stay and prosper,” Prof. Makinde said.

A member of Nigeria Education Research and Development Council Abuja, Mr. Ibrahim Mubarak, said the policy did not infringe on Nigerians’ right to education since it didn’t ban Nigerians from studying in the UK.

“They didn’t ban Nigerians from studying in the UK universities. There is no violation of the right to education. It’s just a government policy to manage their economy.

“Ask yourself, must you go to study with your family members? It would have been wrong if they had banned Nigerians from studying in any of their universities. That would be a right violation and may be interpreted as racism and discrimination. The matter shouldn’t be an issue of concern,” he said.

Lagos State is driving excellence in learning for pupils across 1,020 primary schools through EKOEXCEL. State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB) Chairman Wahab Alawiye-King speaks with Assistant Editor Bola Olajuwon on the inauguration of EKOEXCEL Situation Room – an intervention technology designed to monitor real-time data to increase learning gains and improve teaching methods in public schools

What is the situation room for?

As part of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu‘s determination to improve the basic education sector, we have the third pillar, which has to do with education and technology. We have introduced a technology into our classrooms. We need to track and monitor what is happening in our classroom. That is the essence of the situation room as the name suggests. It’s a situation room where you get information on a timely basis, you analyse them, and you process them for effective use. That is the essence of the situation room. It’s a room where you do crime analysis. Crime in this sense is an acronym. When you look at the credibility of the data, you look at the reliability of the data, the integrity, the manageability of the data, most importantly the effectiveness of the data. These are some of the things we use the situation room to track and monitor.

As we all know that we have three major components in trying to improve the basic education sector. One has to do with access, equity and the most critical one that is relevant to what we are discussing is quality. In trying to determine the quality, you must track and monitor what you do in your classroom. That’s why we introduce the situation room. It is like a workstation where you have gadgets, you have implement to track and monitor what is happening in 1020 schools in Lagos State.

Are you saying you’ve taken over the control and management of EKOEXCEL?

It is part of what the packaging entails. There’s a particular component of EKOEXCEL where you need to monitor and track what’s happening. They have their own back-end office. In the office here, we also track and monitor. With this gadget here, I can monitor what is happening across the schools in the state with this. We have dedicated officers that monitor and write report in the situation room. I have told you about the CRIME Analysis, where you get all information. Get those information, you analyse them, and you process them for immediate use; what is happening in your classroom. These are some the things we use the situation room to monitor. You monitor the time on task, you monitor time of arrival and time they leave the classrooms and so many other important parameters, if learning is actually happening in those classrooms.

We must have gone through some kind of trainings before it was handed over to us. Before now, we have been trained. Situation room is just a large fraction of this dashboard I have in my office. Every member of the board can go there and see what’s happening. If I need to know what’s happening in simply for instance, I can go there and know the number of schools, what is happening in a particular classroom as we speak, the teacher teaching, what they’re teaching. These are some of the important data we need to track and monitor what is happening in the classroom.

What does the situation room entail apart from what we see, the gadget we see. Did you train your staff to handle it?

Yes, we must have gone through some train before it’s handed over to us. The situation room is an enlarge version of the dashboard you are seeing in my office. Every member of the board can go there and see what is happening. If I need to know what is happening in Shomolu for instance, I can go there and know the number of schools, what is happening in a particular classroom as we speak, the teacher that is teaching, what they are teaching and some of the important data you need to track and monitor what is happening in the classroom.

Before the coming onboard of the Situation Room, how would you describe EKOEXCEL, the achievements recorded before it was introduced and the achievements recorded after  and what you hope to achieve with the room aside those analyses?

A baseline assessment was done before EKOEXCEL was introduced. A medium level assessment was equally done to monitor and track how far we have gone. From the result we have gotten so far, we can see that learning and teaching outcome in our classrooms has improved. In times of the classroom being more active and engaging, the pupils get what they are supposed to get in terms of curriculum and pedagogy. These are some of the things we design EKOEXCEL to do. It’s just an infusion of technology into what we used to do. It’s a combination of the traditional way of teaching our classroom and using technology to enhance that. That is what EKOEXCEL has been able to do for us. It’s a phenomenon, in the sense that it’s a multi-dimensional implement to improve the learning outcome in our classrooms. These are some of the things we use to do.

Before now, it is difficult to measure what is happening in the classrooms. But with the introduction of EKOEXCEL, you can monitor what is happening real time in terms of teaching and learning outcome.

With EKOEXCEL and with the modus operandi being used in top class private schools, how would you describe the application?

In measuring what is happening in basic education sector, three things are important. You look at the facilitation, the facilitator and you look at the curriculum. The facilitation is the methodology you’re using. For us, we have used and introduced technology in the way we do things in our classrooms. In terms of the pedagogy we are using, we have already pre-planned and embedded curriculum in the tabs we are using in our classrooms. That has made the job to be easy for the teachers to do. They don’t need to write lesson note. They already have the prepared lesson note embedded in the system, which they can use. Time on task has been captured in the tab. So, you know the time for each lesson to be taught in these classrooms. These are some of the KPI we use to measure if something is actually happening in our classrooms. In times, of the facilitators, I’m talking about the teachers. They have been trained to be globally competitive in term of using the device for teaching in our classroom.  These are some of the good things about EKOEXCEL.

When you get results from the situation room, do you have the facilities and other things required to make timely intervention base on the results you get from the situation room because sometimes we get all these information, but we don’t make use of them?

I told you about the CRIME analysis.  The E there stands for effectiveness. We have learning and development officers that go to the field and monitor what is happening. As we get this information here, we quickly deploy our officers to go to town and do what is needful. Aside from the learning and development officer, we equally have rapid response unit that we can deploy from the headquarters here to see what’s happening in our schools based on the information we gathered from the situation room. Aside from that, we have the Local Government Education Authority with the education secretaries, who also have their own quality assurance officers that go to field to monitor what’s happening. If you gather all these information together, that is why we mention the E aspect of the CRIME analysis, which is the effectiveness. To make it more effective, you need to deploy officers to go and monitor what’s happening. Response time has been very great in terms of the way we intervene. You mentioned intervention. If intervention is not coordinated, it’s not structured, it can further degenerate into more crises. So, that is why you have officers that are designated to respond swiftly and promptly to issue that sometimes arose when we are doing these.

How can you describe the intake of more pupils? Because with the situation in the Northeast and other parts of the country, many kids and families are moving to safer places like Lagos and it is the duty of your board to try as much as possible to take them in. Is your board getting the necessary funding and support from UBEC and the state government?

As part of our mandate, we are to provide qualitative, open and basic education in the state free. We cannot prevent people coming from outside. Education is a merit good. You cannot reject people from taking it. You cannot exclude people from taking it. It is non-ravenous in consumption. People must come and get education. So, you cannot prevent people from getting one. Number two, education as a merit good, the demand for it will always outweigh the supply and as such, intervention must come in from different angles. That’s why there’s handshake between the Federal Government through UBEC and the state government through SUBEB to intervene in terms of provision of facilities in education. We must also realise that investment in education is a continuous activity. You must continue to provide those services in education sector. For us in Lagos, as we are trying to mitigate the problem of people coming into the state, other things are also militating against us in terms of people continue to come on a daily basis. Migrations from the rural areas to places like Lagos are also overstretching some of the facilities we have already planned for. That is why we need to focus on data. That is essence of that situation room where you have reliable data. Data that are credible to plan. When you have a reliable and credible data, you will be able to plan for what you want to do. With the situation room, we have been able to track and monitor, not only the admission rate, we have been able to track the retention rate, we are able to track the completion rate, we are able to track the transition rate to higher level of education. These are some of things we have been using this EKOEXCEL Situation Room for. Like I told you, it’s a multifaceted and multi-dimensional approach in changing the face of education, not only in Lagos but in Nigeria in general.

UNICEF and UNESCO are concerned about out-of-school children and learning crisis. How have you been able to inculcate your plan to deal with the issues?

Out-of-school phenomenon is a general phenomenon. It’s not applicable to Lagos alone. Let us look at it from this angle. I’m not a medical practitioner. Let me tell you this, before you administer or prescribe to address some kind of illness, you must have one, do the prognosis of the illness. Prognosis in the sense that you must know the root cause of the illness. For us, we are only focusing on the elements of the disease. Nobody is focusing on the root cause of the disease. What are the major causes of this out of school phenomenon? For you to have been able to address or administer a proper prescription to address a situation in terms of disease, you must have done some research. Before you would be able to do that prescription, you must have done scientific test to determine if the medication is good for the illness you’re trying to control. In this wise, we must focus on the root cause and one of the major root causes of the phenomenon is social economic factor. There are households that require support for them to be able to bring their wards to school. These are some of the areas the government also needs to look out at in terms of access. That is why we open up the space for the private sector to come on board to. The private sectors are there to support too. The government is providing the access to education. The parents themselves also have a responsibility. We only focus on our own side of the coin. You looking at the government alone, what are you doing as a parent too. What is your own responsibility as a parent to ensure that your wards come to school? These are some of the areas we need to look at.