GOVERNOR Peter Obi pegged the return of 1,040 to missionaries in Anambra State on two points, the strive for improved quality of education and an admission that only the missionaries can halt the moral and physical deterioration in schools.

There may be debates about how this move would change the standards in schools. Critics of the move had thought it was government’s final abdication of its responsibilities to education, but the governor’s explanation that government would continue bearing the cost of running the schools addresses that concern.

“In returning these schools, Government is expecting the type of dramatic improvement in discipline, academic performance, and overall profile of the schools already handed over. But this handover must be understood not to mean abandonment of the schools. Government will continue to pay the salaries of teachers, but the new owners shall be in charge of the day-to-day running of the schools and general administration. I want to be on record to have said, again and again, that we are handing over these school because we want to see them return to what they used to be, as centres of academic excellence; as well as strongholds for character and citizenship development,” Governor Obi said.

Aspirations like lifting the standards of education are not new. If governments had done more than talking about them, changes in different aspects of our lives would have taken place decades ago. The ownership and management of schools are contentious areas that governments used to punish the East in the post-war management of Nigeria.

How did the missionaries lose their schools? The decision was punishment for the missionaries whose humanitarian organisations like Caritas assisted the East during the civil war. Their overnight flight of relief materials ameliorated the food and medical shortages in East that was under blockade.

For 41 years, governments have run the schools into the grounds. High demands for education, population explosion have over run governments investments in infrastructure and training. In some cases, government gave up on education, failed to pay teachers salaries or build new classrooms. They went through the motions.

Governor Obi spoke of his expectations that the schools would attain “acceptable global standards in education” through this decision. We share in his optimism, but ask that he factors in other considerations. The hand over is not to be a magic wand. The decay in education that accumulated over 40 years will take some time to be resolved. Government should document its expectations in more concrete terms with timelines that would be easier to monitor. A vague pronouncement of government’s intentions will not be enough in this instance.

The importance of education is often lost in politics and the layers of bureaucracy. If without education, as it is widely accepted, people cannot access modern life, more seriousness should be applied to education.

Government’s planned distribution of N6 billion to churches and voluntary organisations based on the number of schools they will manage, should follow stringent standards of probity in usage.

We shall hold Governor Obi to his promise, “We shall continue to work together with institutions that have the capacity to complement the efforts of Government for the good of our society.”