Efio-Ita Nyok|29 July 2016|7:45AM
Cross River State Government-declared wanted social commentator, Ifere Paul, has in a 28 July article titled: THE REALITIES IN CROSS RIVER STATE, taken out time to deliberately expose how the state government has grounded some features in the state post-primary education system especially Mock Examinations for both Junior Secondary School 3 and Senior Secondary School 3. The ace public policy analyst links a failed educational system with rising incident of crime. Excerpt:
1. Students in JSS 3 in other States have just concluded or are writing their Mock examinations. Mock examinations is a State preparatory examination for the Federal Government JSS 3 Examination, otherwise referred to as Junior WAEC.
2. Students in SSS 3 are about completing their Mock Examination. Like the JSS Mock Examination, it is also a preparation for the West African Examination Council Certificate Examination. An examination which is a prerequisite for admission into most universities in the world.
3. Do you know that JSS 3 students in Cross River State are now frustrated as they are divided between a prolonged home stay and returning back to school? These are students who are supposed to have concluded the JSS part of their education, and are supposed to be writing their JSS examination that will actually qualified them into whether they are to go for Science subjects, Commercial or Arts.
4. Do you know that the same thing affects the students in the SSS 3 category? Do you know that there is a kind of hopeless situation in our schools in Cross River State because the government has neglected it responsibilities to developing the educational sector in the State while pursuing MoU in Canada?
5. Do you know that the hopelessness especially in our SSS students in our secondary school system is what has cumulated into a higher failure in WAEC Examination in the State, as compared to other States in Nigeria?
6. Do you also know that this hopelessness and frustration among students has consequently caused an increase in truancy in secondary schools?
7. Do you know that truancy causes deviate behaviors which in turn causes criminality in students in secondary schools in Cross River State?
8. It is a fact that such criminality in students has caused an increase in the incidences of students dropout?
9. Does government know that most secondary school students who drops out of school drops out because of the lack of government to revamp the decaying infrastructure in secondary school, lack of reforms in the sector, and the inability of government to replace the curriculum with a more interactive and leadership based instructions?
10. Do you know that the arm robbers paraded recently in Cross River State are students who dropped out of secondary schools in Calabar South and Calabar Municipality Council? Is it because government is no longer interested in the school system because their kids are abroad? I think the answer to the question is a big YES.
11. Do you know that some part of the 700 Million Naira Co Governor Frank Ayade took to China to woo investors is actually monies belonging to different foreign donors in education, rural water projects, rural women empowerment initiative?
Isn't it sad that our Governor will apportioned a responsibility to his younger brother as a co governor and such person has the power to sign for 700 Million Naira to travel out of the country to woo investors? Do you know that such amount of money can fix our ailing educational facilities in primary and secondary schools across the State?
Isn't it pitiful that a qualified nurse who is supposed to be made a Director of General Hospitals in Cross River State is now made a commissioner of education? Isn't this shameful? Isn't it incompetence?
Isn't it more sad and more pitiful that you are reading this and are still supporting the government for declaring one Ifere Paul wanted for speaking out his mind? It is sad that you are reading this and your still clapping for the government while your child is facing a blink future.
May God Have Mercy Upon Our Children whose Futures Have Been Mortgaged By Governor Ben Ayade.
***What has been the role of the Commissioner for Education, Goddy Etta, in stalling the present state of things? What is the 25-Member Cross River State House of Assembly doing in regards to this? What is the House Committee on education doing?
Efio-Ita Nyok
Is a Blogger & the Editor of Negroidhaven.org (Negroid Haven)
