By Marie-therese Nanlong,

JOS — Principals of public schools in Nigeria, under the aegis of the All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools, ANCOPSS, have lamented the increasing slow pace of work going on in public schools across the country which they blamed on the introduction of the Treasury Single Account, TSA.

The Head teachers equally observed that the inability of the government at all levels to adopt and implement the 26% annual budgetary provision for education as recommended by the United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, is an impediment to the realization of educational goals in the country.

They urged government to, as a matter of urgency, improve on its funding roles by implementing the 26% recommended by UNESCO to enable the education sector perform credibly well and compete favourably with its contemporaries in other nations.

In a communiqué issued at the end of its National Executive Council, NEC, meeting held at the Nana Country Home, Jos, Plateau State, and signed by Dr. Fatima Abdulrahman and Livinus Odiong, the body’s National President and National PRO respectively, the Principals also called on government to put in place remedial measures in form of career counselling and family care personnel in schools to augment parenting deficiencies in youths.

The communiqué reads in part “At the end of the NEC meeting themed ‘Examination of Parenting Styles and Leadership types for Development in the Nigerian Society: The Role of Sound Formal Education as a Panacea’, NEC observed that poor parenting affects the initiative of the children to make independent choices based on their own ideas, judgment and abilities.

“The introduction of the Treasury Single Account, TSA in a partnership with school system in some states and its attendant bureaucratic bottleneck affects the day-to-day smooth running of the schools. Government at all levels should as a matter of policy adopt and implement the UNESCO 26% of annual budgetary allocation for the sector to be able to perform credibly.

“Education should be taken seriously, issues of funds should be promptly addressed, money for running cost in schools should be released immediately, chalk, white board markers, books etc are needed daily, the timely release of money to meet these immediate needs of schools will ensure easy running of schools.”

The duo further noted that “poor parenting, policy summersault in the education sector, lack of proper synergy between the school guidance counsellor where they exist and the parents/communities in terms of welfare and upbringing of the children, lack of good leadership style in schools and the rising cases of the socio-economic insecurity” among others affect the overall development of children in schools.

As solutions to the problems, they advocated that, “Parents should see themselves as role models in the family, educational policy should be well-articulated and enduring, parents and schools should work together in meeting the career aspirations of the child.”

They added that education in this dispensation should not only be for acquisition of knowledge, values and skills but to liberate the mind to function according to its nature and governments should pursue the need to revolutionalize ICT compliance since most examination bodies are pro-computer based test