THE VIEWPOINTS OF ASSOCIATION FOR FORMIDABLE EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT(AFED), A STAKEHOLDER IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR OF LAGOS STATE,ON CURRENTS ISSUES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EDUCATION SECTOR OF LAGOS. BEING AN ADDRESS PRESENTED TO THE EXECUTIVE DEPUTY GOVERNOR/COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION, LAGOS STATE.
Permit me to give my congratulatory message here. I congratulate you for your appiontment as the Deputy Governor and the commissioner for Education, Lagos State. Your diligence, industry,achievement and wisdom have led to your recent appointment. It is my prayer that God will continue to help you. Your laudable achievement will lead you to other higher levels in life and ministry.
Introduction
Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED) is a registered association in Nigeria with its headquarters at 36, Glover Street, Ebute-Metta, Lagos. The association has played great developmental roles in the educational system in Lagos State and some other states in Nigeria. AFED's membership comprises of both the approved and yet to be approved schools in Lagos State.
Aims and objectives of AFED.
To promote unity, co-operation and friendly atmosphere among members school.
To promote creativity in the educational system, guide, motivate, encourage, assist and give technical advice for the development of member schools to meet set standard.
To solicit for funds and educational aids and accept same from individuals, government, local and international bodies, groups and organizations for the benefits and improvement of member schools.
To promote the progress and mutual co-existence of members and assist where possible in contributing positively to the solid educational well being of the society.
To undertake philanthropic activities, particularly to those who are orphans and low income earners in the society. To enhance academic development of diligent children and enhance their productivity as useful members of the society.
To provide a forum whereby it shall counsel, stimulate and initiate projects aimed at developing and harnessing the physical, mental, moral and financial resources of members in order to make them useful, prosperous and self reliant in the actualization of our set goals.
To cooperate with the existing and would be organizations, groups and individuals whose aims and aspirations are similar to ours.
Lagos State
In Nigeria, Lagos state is a unique state in many respects. Although the state has a relatively small area of land, it is the most populated state in Nigeria. Lagos has a very diverse and fast growing population, resulting from heavy and on-going migration to the city from all parts of Nigeria as well as neighbouring countries in West Africa and the rest of the world. In 1992, Lagos had an estimated population of about 1,347,000. The population of its Metropolitan area was about 8.67 million in 2000. The United Nations predicts that the city's metropolitan area alone, which had only about 290,000 inhabitants in 1950, will exceed 20 million by 2010, making Lagos one of the world's largest cities. Thus the state has a population that is greater than most nations in Africa.
It is important to note that the state is filled with all classes of people.These classes of people range from the super rich to those who live in the ghettos.Thus, only one type of school, providing the same level of service with the same level of structure and facility will be unable to meet the expectation of the various classes of people residing in the state.
AFED's relationship with the Ministry of Education
AFED has a good relationship with the Ministry of Education over the years. The Ministry of Education takes interest in the affairs of the association which has led to the growth and development of schools in Lagos State. AFED's developmental strategies of her member schools were well supported by the Ministry of Education. The annual unified examinations of AFED had under supervision of the ministry. The Ministry of Education takes active roles in seminars and workshops organised by AFED for the development of the schools. These have positive results in educational standard as well as the development of the schools. Over the years, AFED has built up many of her members who were formerly un-approved to the level of being approved by the Ministry of Education. It is commendable to note the number of AFED schools which Lagos state Government Education Management Scheme (LASGEMS) registers. Out of some 9000 schools in Lagos State, there are about 6000 yet to be approved schools. Most of the approved schools and many of the un-approved ones belong to AFED. AFED is the singular association in the state that develops her members so that they can meet the approval standard stipulated by the Ministry of Education.
Location of schools.
Schools are scattered all over the state. There are schools in developed areas like Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Ikeja. The developing areas are not left out too. Even the swampy areas like Makoko and Epe have schools serving the people who live there. The government and other stake holders help in educational development all over Lagos State.
Clamp Down
The Lagos State Government announce her intention to clamp down on some schools in February, 2008. the categories of the schools include the schools yet to be approved and schools which have approval but operate in converted structures .would like to state,with due respect,that the ministry of education should soft pedal on this and relent on making this general statement at this time.
ACCOMODATION
The main problem of schools in obtaining their approval status is accommodation properties are too costly to rent or buy. In Lagos state,purpose built school buildings are rare.some public schools and very few private schools have such structures,a very large number of approved schools use converted structures till now,the ministry of Education allows the usage of converted structures of our members have got converted structures and are renting or buying converted structures in order to process their papers for approval.It would be very good if this peculiar situation of Lagos state is given consideration criteria for approval,which permits the usage of converted structure,will be a better condition for Lagos state.
LASGEMS
Lagos State Government Education Management Scheme (LASGEMS) has coded all the schools in Lagos State.This serves as the beginning of the regularization exercise.Thus,the managing of the development of the schools and their activities can be assessed this medium.
Development Rate
The rate at which the education system is developing is amazing. In Lagos State, many schools have risen to approval status in recent years. Most of the schools are results of the effort of AFED. There is greater prospect of an increase in the development rate of the unapproved schools due to AFED's strategies which are very positive. AFED has made remarkable achievement in order to develop the schools of her members in Lagos State through various means. Any attempt to destabilize these structures will be disastrous. Some of the means used by AFED include the followings:
Banks
Many banks have started to finance the schools and many are willing to assist the schools to develop. AFED has won the heart of bankers and secured their interest in assisting the schools of her member through loans and other banking facilities. There would be a setback in the educational and banking sectors if the clampdown exercise is done.
International Organizations
Some international organizations have given aids and others are willing to give assistance to the schools through the effort of AFED. For us to continue to enjoy the assistance of these international bodies, the clampdown exercise should be re-considered, the envisaged standard of education could be realised progressively. Rome, they say, was not built in a day. Progress can only be achieved by jumping the strata. Progress can only be achieve by doing what we are doing well in the light of the inputs that are available. Through the strategies being employed, we hope to get to where we ought to be progressively.
The Education Standard
The yardstick for measuring t standard of education is often done by the physical structure-the building per se. The physical structure plays a vital role but it not the sole determinant. The product of education is a better yardstick. In this, the private schools, even those using converted structures, excel. Parents' attitude support this reasoning: Thy prefer these private schools even at a cost. Above all , the empirical finding of prof. Tooley led research, a foreign body, confirm this. It is good to equally note that the product of education in Nigeria are rated highest in Lagos State. How can we raise the standard of education by closing down schools which strive for the growth of educational standard?
Areas where Private Schools are the only Alternative
There are some developing areas,the swampy and riverside areas in the state. In these areas, which have inhabitants there are no public schools. Purpose-built schools are not available too. In such places, private schools, under converted structures, are the only available means to primary and secondary education. We would like to state that incentives are needed by these private sponsors of education rather than clampdown threats.
Possible Results of Clampdown
The Lagos State Government announces her intention to clamp down on some schools in February, 2008. This means that only schools in purpose built structures with approval will be allowed to operate in Lagos State. The results of this action, if carried out, would include the followings which are better imagined than experienced. The means to avoid these hazardous consequences is to relent on the clampdown exercise.
The number of such schools that will escape the clampdown exercise will be too low to cope with demand for education of Lagosians. Less than 2000 schools will have to battle with educating the primary schools pupils and secondary schools student in Lagos State. This number of schools cannot cope with educational demand in Lagos State.
There will be a setback in the educational sector of Lagos State. The academic standard will fall because the geese that lay the golden egg would have been massacred.
There will be overpopulation in schools remaining. The facilities will not be able to cope with the demands on them.
The banking sector will suffer some setback if the clampdown exercise is carried out. Many of them have advance loans and other credit facilities to the schools.
The results of such and action may be inimical to the anticipated progress in educational sector and other sectors. Many pupils and students will become misfit and unable to fit into other schools will are not primarily their choices.
The parent will not be left out the resulting crisis. Cost of educating their wards will go up. Distances of schools to the pupils and students will increase. The result of this will overflow to the transport system.
Unemployment will increase with its attendant results. The teacher and other non teaching staff in those schools that will be closed down will be unemployed. The effect of this will overflow to their dependants. Possible results of unemployment on the society will result
With all these, we plead that there would be an extension. We suggest there should be gradual steps to development of education in Lagos State.
Suggestions for Education Development in Lagos State.
The uniqueness of Lagos State should be considered in many respects before educational policies are made. From the above we would like to make the following suggestions:
Ministry of Education should soft pedal on the issue of clampdown and relent on making further threats at this time. The clampdown earlier announced should be laid to rest.
The Ministry of Education which gives recognition to AFED's roles as the singular association in the state that develops her members should continue to give her backing in her developmental strategies thereby making her members meet the approval standard stipulated by the Ministry of Education.
The criteria for approval, which permits the usage of converted structure, should be allowed in Lagos State.
LASGEMS should continue in her coding and data bank activities.
Banks should be encouraged and assured to assist schools in their developmental programmes.
International organizations should be encouraged to give assistance to the schools.
Some criteria for approval are too utopian for the present level of our development. Although they are desirable levels and should be our goals, such criteria should be revisited.
Private schools should be given all incentives to develop education in Lagos State. Such incentives should be in cash and kind.
The Ministry of Education should have dialogue with all stake holders in the education industry before very vital decisions are made. Appointments into policy making bodies should consider giving slots to members of AFED and NAPPS.
Government officials should relate well with private sponsors of education especially when they seek for approval.
REPORT ON MONITORING EXERCISES ACTIVITIES OF AFED SUBMITTED TO THE
DEPUTY GOVERNOR CUMCOMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR FORMIDABLE EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (AFED) ON FRIDAY, 4TH SEPTEMBER 2009.
REPORT OF AFED MONITORING EXERCISE/ACTIVITIES
Your Excellency, we appreciate your liberality to AFED and the programmes that are targeted at developing Lagos State. We pray for your success and reiterate our stand in support of your programmes.
Sequel to our meeting with your Excellency and in line with our promises and pledges to re-structure schools in Lagos State, AFED went into the foolowing line of actions:
Workshops and Seminars.
We organised many workshops and seminars to educate the school owners in Lagos State. These were done to help schools strive to obtain the required standard for approval of their schools by the Ministry of education, Lagos State. The workshops and seminars are yielding fruits. Many schools are being transformed appreciably.
Public Enlightenment.
To enlighten the public, we ran radio jingles on different radio stations at different times, organised press conferences and publish our corrective mechanisms in the media to enlighten the public. We sent letters to school owners to reiterate government stand on operation of schools in Lagos State.
Monitoring Exercises.
We followed up on the above with intensive monitoring exercises in which we toured most part of Lagos State and had interactive sections with the school owners. During the monitoring exercises, advices were given to schools, corrections were made, wrong notions were straightened, needs of the schools were identified and recommendations were made to the schools on what they should do.
Recommendations Made to Schools.
The recommendations made to schools included the following:
Relocation of schools.
Merge with other schools
Specialise in Kindergarten, Nursery, Primary or secondary school.
Upgrade on the structure of the school and or the facilities.
Close down the schools
We must point out here that we met with some hitches, resistances and constraints during our monitoring exercises. Some school owners argued that AFED has not the loco standi to give them advice on the operation of their schools let alone closing down schools. We neede the support of the Ministry of Education to solve some of the problems we encountered.
Finance.
Generally, the schools were lacking in the area of finances. We linked then up with financial institutions notably Olive Micro finance Bank,Citiserve Micro finance Bank, VCL Micro finance Banks Ikorodu Division Micro finance Bank, Seed Capital Micro finance Bank, and many others that were able to give short term loans. Other commercial banks, though they assisted with relatively long term loans, were only able to serve very few members. These loans were used by beneficiaries to upgrade their schools. There are more that eight hundred beneficiaries of such loans from the banks. From the money we received as donations from NGO's and other eminent Nigerians, AFED gave some loans to some members. Members join AFED Assisted Cooperative thrift and Credit Unions {AFAC} and other Cooperative Thrift and Credit Unions to obtain loans too. These processes are expanding and would take many schools to appreciable levels very soon. However, we found out that some school owners are too relaxed and had done virtually nothing to develop their scools.
Rally.
A rally was organized on September 3rd 2009 in which school owners were told the next lines of action of AFED. These actions include the following:
An inspection of schools by AFED.
Evaluation of the Position of schools
Making recommendations to schools.
Closure of some categories of schools. {The categories of the schools are stated below}.
Categories of schools to be Closed in Phase 1.
The closure of schools will be done in phases. The following categories of schools are to be closed down as we pronounced in the rally.
Schools operating in shops.
Schools operating in churches/mosques.
Schools operating in prefabricated structures on plain grounds.
Schools operating in shanties, along railway lines, in slums etc.
Schools without proper division into classrooms. {Halls, auditoria, etc}
Schools operating in uncompleted buildings.
Mode of Closure of Schools.
AFED has drawn up a schedule to close down afore mentioned categories of schools that are unperturbed and relaxed in their sub-standard states. AFED will meet the school owners, ask for all they have done to improve their standard, evaluate this line with the recommendations made to the before, if nothing appreciable is done, give ultimatum to close the school down instantly and mark the building with the inscription “AFED”.
Problem Expected.
AFED expects to meet some school owners who would resist the action of the association. In such cases, the particulars of such schools-name of the school, name of the school owner, address of the school, and reason for closure will be submitted to the Ministry of Education for immediate action.
Step to Ensure Total Compliance.
AFED will continue to re-visit the locations of the closed down schools to ensure total compliance.
Recommendations.
We wish to use this medium to recommend that the following measures be taken for us to move forward:
That the Ministry of Education should verify all facts given in this report if necessary.
That the actions of AFED and her claims thus far be verified too if necessary.
That the Ministry of Education should back up AFED in her current line of actions to avoid confrontation and non-compliance.
That schools with uncompleted structures be given a mandate to complete them.
That schools with converted structures which are decent be given some time to get their purpose built structures.
That inspection services should be extended to both the approved and the unapproved schools
Once again, we reiterate our stand and commitment to your programmer. We are very grateful for your kindness and cooperation. We wish Your Excellency and your government a more fruitful tenure and God's guidance.
_________________________ ___________________
PASTOR EJENAVI JOSEPH O OSHO NURUDEEN
Afed National President. Afed National Secretary.
