Uniting Nigeria via the Unity Schools, scores apart

The ministry of education recently released the cut off mark for admission into Unity schools across the country and the disparity has generated so much controversies. Some people expressed their surprise that candidates from Anambra state have their cut off mark set at 139 (a decision the state has promised to challenge) while Adamawa students need to score as low as 64, Ekiti 119 and a Zamfara kid will be given admission with a score of 4 and 2 for male and female candidates respectively. A commentator described the ministry's decision as a debasing of the Federal character system while other respondents felt it was an attempt at promoting mediocrity, drawing back the nation's education system and one of the reasons for the fallen standard of education in the country. I object to every of the reasons above.

The discuss for or against the fallen standard of education in the country is an ongoing one among the educational intelligentsia who spend countless hours researching problems bedevilling the nation's educational system and trying to evolve a lasting solution to it. Now to the issue at hand, Unity Schools like the National Youth Service Scheme were set up to foster socio-cultural integration among the various cultures and regions in the country. It is not designed as a school for just the best students and the cut off are set based on the mean performance of students in each state. 

Therefore, if the mean performance in Sokoto is 58, the score for the state will be calculated based on the number of students and the available slot for the state. If Sokoto is expected to produce 200 candidates and more than 250 scored 58 then the cut off would be set at 60 0r 62 to ease the selection process. The process may be complicated further if only a region in Sokoto score high, as other regions with lower score may be given a waiver for less, all this to promote inclusion. Some would query this process but it is a well thought out one that can ensure better cultural synergy between nations with so much in common and at stake. Lev Vygotsky, the Russian psychologist submitted that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the process of cognitive development.

Before my sojourn to the Northern part of the country, courtesy NYSC, I wrongly believed like most young men still do, that most Northerners are not academically and by inference, intellectually, at par with their southern counterparts. With my training as an educator and first-hand experience I have had that notion corrected. Researches have shown that intelligence is not cultural. No culture has more intelligence than the other. During my stay in the North, I realised that English is not their lingua franca, English is traditionally an optional third language for a Northerner. The lingua franca is Hausa, the second language is Arabic. A Northerner learn to speak and write in Arabic as early as five years old. I dare to ask my fellows down South, how many of you can write in Arabic?

It is pertinent to remember the impact of the colonial masters on the psyche and value placed on education by each region of the country. Having been colonised by the Arabs the Northern people have been schooled in Arabic and embraced Islam. The Southerners were fettered by the Western interests and therefore our kind of education. The amalgamation of the different protectorates did little to eradicate the difference in our educational value system although English Language has been vested on us by our masters. The Northerners have had to play catch up with the South since day one. Attitudes and believes like the one my friends harbour is what promoted the easy propagation of “Boko Haram” in the restive north. 

When I was teaching in Zamfara, the students tended to enjoy the classes more when I explain concepts speaking the little Hausa language I understand. They belief 'turenchi' is hard, so it was easy fraternising with the extremist when they came with the initial campaign that “Western education is forbidden”. How many of you would want to learn Mathematics in Mandarin?
And we need to ask ourselves, how popular are these exams in the North? Of the 62,682 registrants in 2012 16,050 were in Lagos State, Kebbi had 83 registrants, and Yobe had 74.

It is arguable that the Nigerian system as a whole is not functional as is expected, but it does not imply that decision makers in education are totally callous as to propose selfish policies that will jeopardise the quality of education for cultural bigotry. We need to ask ourselves, how popular are these exams in the North? I shall find time to write about academic scores in the context of Nigerian education development. In the mean time, if we hope to nip the lingering threat of terrorism in the bud we should continue to ensure the smooth running of the Unity school with cultural integration at heart.

Let me close with this analogy, that you have been admitted into a hospital long enough does not make you a doctor. That you have been through school from crèche through university does not make you an educator, except you have been so trained. Therefore, much as the observations and suggestions of those outside education is appreciated, they should be humble enough to accept that they are not professionals.