By Dayo Adesulu

Former Commissioner for Education, Rivers State, Dame Alice Lawrence-Nemi, has urged students to leverage on the technology available to them by acquiring more knowledge, noting that many students’ are not measuring up computer has called for support  former The African Futuretrust Model United Nations,TAFMUN adding that it will revamp ailing education sector of Nigeria.

File: Smart-technology

Her words: ‘’I must admit, however, that technology has improved a lot of things in Education but how has that affected the Nigerian child. Does the Nigerian child actually know the world around him? Does the Nigerian child that watches television everyday and has a laptop with him every moment know who is the Nigerian Permanent Representative in the United Nation.

Does he know the continents of the world? Does he know The Rivers of Africa-which we used as song in the Primary school- Nile, Niger, Senegal, Congo, Orange, Limpopo, and Zambezi? Lawrence-Nemi who delivered the keynote address at the TAFMUN launch conference held at Oriental Hotel, Lagos, said: “The initiative is for the promotion of wider learning and the participation of our Secondary School students in global discuss.

Going down memory lane, she noted that  unlike in 1966, the educational system at different levels in this country is dysfunctional. According to her, “Nigeria had four Regions – Northern, Western, Eastern and Midwestern. Each of the Regions had a Government run Secondary School except the Eastern Region that had four. The North had Government College Keffi, the West had Government College Ibadan, the Midwest, Government College Ughelli.

‘’The East, however, had Government Colleges at Umuahia, Owerri, Afikpo, Enugu (Girls) and Port Harcourt. Even the Federal Government had only Kings College, Lagos, Queens College, Lagos, Federal Government Colleges at Sokoto, Warri and Okposi. “Those who could not make the competitive admission to any of the Regional or Federal Colleges went to the good mission or Private Schools. These Regional and Federal Colleges actually produced the best brains in this country.’’

Lawrence-Nemi  who was represented by former Permanent Secretary, Rivers State, Dr Richard Ofuru explained that in the 50’s and 60’s the schools were few, the cost of education was cheap, adding, ‘’the school fees were the same in private or public schools. Lamenting the decadence in learning, she averred that despite, the less cumbersome curriculum in the 60s,  “old school” was more educated, more informed than what we have today.

She said, ‘’In order to address the inadequacies of the modern times in Nigeria, Government has claimed all schools. Creche, Pre-Nursery, Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools are being set up everyday and everywhere by individuals and agencies with sophisticated curricula with the attendant sky rocketing fees.

Total child training is absent- yet children spend more time in school than those Good Old Days, ‘’ Summer school, holiday lesson and what have you have replaced holiday for students, yet without improvement,’’ she added. Explaining the level academic backwardness the country, she regreted that a university graduate of these days can’t even write a simple job application which a form one student of old would do with ease. Indeed, the journey is still very far to the overall improvement we desire, but like the saying goes-a thousand-mile journey begins with a step.