Stakeholders in the education sector have blamed challenges in Nigeria's basic education sector on policy inconsistency, inadequate funding and poor facilities. The stakeholders, expressed the views in interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), called for the reintroduction of teacher training colleges.

Mr Dare Ilekoya, the Chairman, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in Ogun, said that different policies by different administrations constituted major problems to the system. Ilekoya said that the 6-3-3-4 system of education was the best basic education system if well implemented.

"However, with the amendment to make the system 9-3-4, there have been a lot of things that were disrupted in that arrangement. "if professionals were called to actually contribute to the policy, we would not have agreed to the idea of 9-3-4 education system.

"This is because the 6-3-3-4 arrangement has a lot of advantages, as professionals we know how it will work with our system," he said. Ilekoya further said the lack of continuity in government affected standards in education.

He said: "When you introduce a curriculum and we are still looking into its workability before you know it, another one will come. "We have as many curricula in this country as the number of ministers of Education we have had.

"If you have brought out a curriculum, let us see how it works, we can only amend or adjust it where necessary not that you abandon it after sometime and introduce a new one, this does not help our educational system." He said that non-professionals were being appointed into key areas to manage education.

"No nation can develop over and above its level of education; we have so many retired principals and professors to be appointed as commissioners for Education ," he said. Dr Tunde Banwo, an educationist in Ota, Ogun, said that the first problem was with the recruitment process of teachers.

Banwo said in the past, teacher training colleges produced teachers for primary schools, while Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) holders taught in junior sections in secondary schools. He also said there was poor monitoring of schools by inspectors, while school managers and parents indulged in corruption.

Banwo said while officials embezzled funds, teachers encouraged examination cheating among students. "To get out of the problem, enough resources needed to be devoted to the sector and we need to ensure that our education is designed toward our developmental needs as a nation.

The Permanent Secretary , Ministry of Education in Osun, Mr Lawrence Oyeniran, also criticised the abolition of teacher training colleges. He said the abolition of the colleges gave birth to " accidental teachers, who teach to survive and not to build sustainable educational foundation in their pupils".

Oyeniran called for a reversal of the policy to restore the glory of basic education in Nigeria through "competent and certified teachers at the foundation level". He said the need for certified teachers informed the re-classification of schools to Elementary, Middle and High schools by the Osun Government.

The Permanent Secretary of Osun State Universal Basic Education Board, Alhaji Fatai Kolawole, advocated regular training for teachers. Kolawole said training for teachers, especially at the basic level, would enhance the quality of teaching children received early in life.

Dr Mahfouz Oladimeji, the Director, Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, also called for the restoration of teacher training colleges. Oladimeji described the scrapping of teacher training colleges as a mistake, saying they were the pride of the education system as they trained teachers adequately and professionally.

Alhaji Musa Yeketi, the Kwara Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, said the basic education system lacked proper monitoring. A Senior Lecturer with Kwara State University, Molete, Mr Ibrahim Oseni, said the recruitment of unqualified teachers adversely affected basic education.

"Teachers' recruitment should not be politicised for the sake of our children as they are the future leaders. So, our basic education should not be taken for granted," Oseni said. Mr Felix Fatola, the Proprietor of Glory Nursery/Primary School, Olunlade Area, Ilorin, called for better school facilities, such as libraries, teachers and improved learning environments.

A teacher, Mr Wole Odunlami, however, said that introducing and enforcing the teaching and learning of technical works in schools would improve standards. "Some students prefer arts and creative works which are not included in the curriculum, thus discouraging them from attending classes," he said.

The Rector, Kwara State Polytechnic, Alhaji Mas'ud Elelu, attributed the poor standard of basic education to poor implementation of education policies. But Mr Akin Asaniyan, the Executive Secretary of Ondo State Quality Education Assurance Agency, said there were no inconsistencies in the basic education system.

Asaniyan commended the Federal Government for providing advanced and unified system of basic education, saying "unlike in the past, governments still fund the sub-sector. "The changes in the new curriculum are in the way learners are being taught to meet up with new trends in the world today.

"The curriculum is now universal. Before, each region had different books but they all now use the same curriculum. We have the same training for all teachers in all regions," he said. "When people talk of fall in standard of education, I do not totally agree because learners now have access to computer with teachers and subjects such as Civic Education, which enlightens them more," he said.

The Imo Commissioner for Education, Mrs Gertrude Oduka, said poor learning conditions and corruption were major problems for basic education. Oduka said in the 1960s, there were better learning conditions and policies which made pupils to be better taught.

A former Pro-Chancellor of Imo State University, Prof. Chidi Ibe, said that in the past 25 years, the budget for education had been very poor. The Headmaster of Umualum Primary School, Nekede in Owerri, Mr John Okafor, attributed the problems in basic education to poor remuneration and training of teachers.

Mr Jude Ndiribe, a parent, said he went through the public school system but could not send his children to the system because the standard had dropped. Ndiribe said the discipline and seriousness with which teachers discharged their duties in the past was lacking in schools.

"I am not satisfied with the standard and I do not think my children can get the best from there. "The government should take more care of our teachers and have a more robust monitoring system so that the quality can come back," he said. But Chief Olisa Nzemeka, the Chairman of Anambra Universal Basic Education Board, dismissed the claim of falling standard in public primary schools as empty and unverifiable.

Nzemeka said public schools in Anambra were effective and producing students who had done the state proud locally and internationally. "The conclusion or claim that public primary schools are dying has no basis because in Anambra the public primary education sector is very effective.

p>"There is no empirical evidence to support such claim; the population of pupils in school may not be the only criteria for judging, but the public schools are more sought after than any other.

"We just returned from Singapore where we won an international schools debate and all the participants in that competition are from the public schools. A former Chairman of NUT in Enugu State, Mr Chuma Ifenze, attributed the seeming fall in standard of basic education to early enrolment of pupils in schools.

Ifenze said many parents and guardians rushed their wards and enrolled them in schools prematurely without minding the negative effects. "I do not believe there has been a fall in the standard of education from Primary 1 to JSS 3 because there are so many things you have to consider before arriving at such conclusion.

"You have to look at the age of the children when they start. Many parents and guardians enrol their wards prematurely and that affects their knowledge base," he said.

Mr Samuel Akano, the Oyo State Chairman of NUT, called for improved pay for teachers and good learning environments. Akano accused state governors of playing politics with education.

He, however, commended the Federal Government's plan to recruit 500,000 teachers but cautioned that only qualified and trained teachers be engaged. Stakeholders in the North Central zone called for increased budgetary allocation, better infrastructure and enhanced remuneration for teachers to improve the situation in schools.

Mr Gunsling Yarlings, the Chairman, NUT in Plateau, said it was sad that the education budget was below the UNESCO benchmark of 26 per cent of national budgets. "There are many children still learning under Mango trees and you do not expect them to perform well compared with their peers in enabling environments," Yarlings said.

He said poor training and remuneration for teachers had adversely affected basic education in Nigeria. "The incessant strikes in colleges of education have produced half-baked teachers. "Syllabi are rushed when students resume from strike whether they learn or not; how can the products of that system be good?

"Some teachers are not paid for more than five months yet they are expected to perform excellently and they are hardly promoted when due. It wasn't like that before," Yarlings said. Mr Sylvester Yakubu, the Chairman, Parent-Teachers' Association in Plateau, said government officials should monitor schools more frequently to ensure teachers were committed to their duties.

Yakubu urged parents to partner schools by providing them study materials. Mr Ephraim Ishaya, Chairman, Education Secretaries Forum in Benue, stressed the need for parents to be sensitised to complement government efforts in providing school facilities.

Prof. Mathew Sule, the Executive Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board in Niger, called for adequate staffing of schools. (NAN)