ONE GOOD THING IN SAM EGWU'S ADMINISTRATION THAT IS MISSING IN UMAHI'S GOVERNMENT
(Written And Sent By Our Group Member, Barr. Kelechi Anwu)
There is one practical reality that was seen manifest in His Excellency, Sen. Dr. Sam Ominyi Egwu's tenure as governor of Ebonyi 1999-2003 which is seen missing in the recent days of leadership in Ebonyi.
The pragmatic approach to education, most especially the basic education(primary and secondary) that ushered in a session of compulsory basic education with complimentary flavour of free tuitions was the best thing(policy) H.E Sam O Egwu and any government has ever thought about and implemented. It did no only see the future, but it created a balanced system of responsibility and attitudinal re-engagement towards education and development. That era saw functional educational system, children were forced to be in school, parents were arrested for letting their wards out during school hours. I remember vividly how security agencies were placed at corners to make arrest of children and parents and thereafter return the children to school while parents are made to undertake the educational obligation to such child. It no doubt reduced child labour for some hours of the day and increased the yearning to learn. That system saw many children in Ebonyi state go to school either freely or under coercion at not financial cost.
I was so fortunate to be a beneficiary of such proactive system because I passed through the then livid state of community school. My community government school and many other schools then was not in the best academic state at that time, but but however, it was good enough to conveniently train a child in the best academic prospective. Still at that time, teachers who were engaged were not 'unemployed graduates', but were passionate teachers who went through teacher's training institutions, agreeing to be teachers and so far dedicating their lives to teaching and training of children in schools, not minding where the schools were located, they were happy doing the sacred duty of raising disciples of good education. I had teachers who came from the southern part of the state, living in my community either alone or with their families as members our community and discharging their sacred obligation of teaching. Also, at that time, supervisors of school constantly visit schools without notice from the local education board, and there after reprimand the erring staff who are considered as Judas to educational development. It is quite notable this days that such common phenomenal as it were is it were, is today non existent or loosely unattended to. It therefore heighten the decay in the educational process in the state. This Students of secondary schools cannot make proper grammatical construction, some are even worse in the fact that they can no recite the English alphabets correctly not to talk of naming the English part of speech existing.
At the end of the H.E Dr Sam Egwu's tenure of 1999-2003, there were already fruits of such wise and astute investment in educational development, it drove Ebonyi from the educational less privilege state to a more fair educational empowered state. For that, many of us are grateful for his intellectual insight as at then.
This aspect of developmental sacrifice is less seen in the succeeding tenures of government in Ebonyi State, at the present circumstances, education is now a bait to the privileged members of Ebonyi society. Tuition fees to both basic and tertiary institutions in the state are no longer a goal reach for the less privileged majority of the Ebonyi state populace not minding our state's handicapped educational statistics.
Our only hope and prayer is that there be a more robust and dogged approach to educational development, there should be more cruelty in execution of such man power developmental program of education. It would will be correct to say that Ebonyi need that compulsory nature of basic education, most conveniently with tuition.
We hope this gets to Ebonyi state government or those incharge of our education planning and implementation and also to His Excellency Sen. Dr. Sam Ominyi Egwu, former governor of Ebonyi state 1990-2003 and the current senator representing Ebonyi North Senatorial district.
©Kelechi Anwu Esq
©AfikpoJokwaMedia
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