By Ezekiel Nabieu
This is the first edition of a paradigm shift under the same column that is expected to shed more light on current issues using questions that would otherwise be consigned to history. It may not be pleasant to affected institutions or individuals and it need not be. In any case keep reading!
Until we get our definitions about education right we may not understand what is going on with regard the alleged malpractices at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
Education comes from the Latin word ‘educo’, meaning ‘I lead out’. And the Oxford dictionary states that EDUCATION means training of mind and character as well as the abilities of persons. So when some learners with a single first degree flaunt themselves as better educated than others it may be necessary to ask: in what? And if braggarts do not know that good education includes character training and as much wider than one first degree, they are poorly educated. Little do they acknowledge that some of the books they learn from are written by people who did not darken the walls of universities.
Aside from English Language which is at the forefront of their expose, their general knowledge is usually not worth talking about. The things taught in schools and colleges are not education in themselves but a means to an education.
The Nitty-Gritty
Examinations are the cause sine qua non for advancement in any field of endeavor. Whether they are called tests or interviews they are still examinations. Some have quipped that exams are not the best way of evaluating the suitability of persons for certain purposes but there is no alternative. Be it so we have found ourselves ineluctably enmeshed in a deluge of malpractices in exams from which we cannot easily wrest ourselves.
Falling standards of education and rightly so. This is not exclusive to Sierra Leone. It is a phenomenon even in some developed countries. The standard of education of pupils of yesteryears of some number of years of learning is never the same. In most cases yesterday’s standards are higher. Why this is so, should be continually researched with a view to finding solutions. This is not to say that as the results of recent examinations show there are always talented pupils and students who will always bring distinguished results. Does this show a general improvement in educational standards? Certainly not! We cannot be hoodwinked. What we need is for masses of students to perform above the common brood. Can we improve our educational standards?
Remedial stoppers
One can only proffer solutions that are attainable with the necessary will not necessarily political. In the first place let us come to terms with the root causes of the malpractices. 419? If it does not arise from Nigeria we may safely rule 419 out. OK? If there is leakage it must, of necessity, begin with the examiners. How confidential is their confidentiality? Are they men and women of integrity?
The scale of the seizure of results is too horrendous to be true. It is corruptly systemic, exposing the extent of maladministration in the WAEC. The many politically appointed invigilators lack any integrity and should be replaced for future examinations if they are not the qualified ones available. Examination question markers had been known to carry out questionable markings. This may not apply to conference marking provided their exercise is short of pre-marking conferences. There should be no carpet big enough to sweep such massive corruption under. The matter is of such public interest that there should be a commission of enquiry over it without delay.
Hon Claude Kamanda
The incident between Hon. Claude Kamanda, a Member of Parliament, and a school board member in his Koya Constituency is now well known to the public. It raises the question whether examples are still better than precepts. It is not also unreasonable to wonder whether the now Hon. Gentleman was not elected on the basis of his penchant for violence.
The typical APC culture of impunity (natin nor go be) cannot be ruled out of this scenario. With their usual penchant for stymieing justice it should come as no surprise that he should be wriggled out of the mire in which he has found himself.
His main excuse on which he puts so much emphasis is that as a right-handed man he could not possibly have slapped his victim on the right jaw. How naïve! In his wisdom he failed to think that he could have slapped the Board Chairman with a backhand on his left jaw. In any case the accusation was not whether he slapped on the right or left jaw but whether he slapped at all.
Not only that. A member of the board where the allegation occurred was at pains on a private radio station reiterating that the Hon. Kamanda was threatening his life, adding that he would use all means to end her life.
As providence would have it, Hon. Kamanda’s physique is such that one can safely imagine that if he had been a heavy weight he would have sent his victim sprawling on the ground with a single blow. We are keeping our fingers crossed to see where justice finds its feet in this budding saga.
Should the establishment encourage violence?
(C) Politico 23/02/16
