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Still On Unity Schools Workers’ Strike By Kola Ibrahim
My attention has been drawn to the recent protest strike of workers in unity schools who are protesting against unity school privatization – a continuation of government neo-liberal reform policies. I completely support the strike and completely disagree with those who support government position on privatization. According to government’s argument 30% or so of the entire student’s population pass WAEC examination. Even if it is true, this is not enough argument for privatization of the schools. If students fail examination, there are several factors that come into place including the facilities available to students like well equipped laboratories, libraries, well ventilated and adequate classrooms, humanly hostel facilities and most importantly the welfare of education workers including the teaching staff. Furthermore, other factors like the relevance of the school curricula in relation to examinations like SSCE that students write, even the capacity of WAEC to grade students will also be reviewed. All this can only be assessed by a democratically formed investigative committee which will include representative of workers, government, the media, parents’ associations, civil societies. With all this, the general problems facing not only unity schools but also education can be resolved at least to some extent.
Rather than for the minister of education to address issues in this manner, she has only been criminalizing the workers and the students and just looking for the excuse to further the government inhuman, anti-poor neo-liberal policies which are meant to put the hard earned resources and facilities of the country in the hands of the superrich few at the expense of the vast majority of the population. If unity schools are privatized, how can this improve on the qualities of unity schools? Everyone knows that private firms aim of investing in any business is to make profit which is achieved by reducing capital cost, in this case the number of teachers, the cost of maintaining the schools, etc, while school fees will be hiked to a level in which several thousands of school students’ parent will not be able to afford thus forcing them to find their level in second rated private schools or dilapidated government schools. According to government spokesperson, about 80% of the money of the ministry goes to government colleges while the teachers in these schools constitute majority of the ministry’s workforce. How true this is no one can tell since it is the government who has a ready made policy that is giving the data. However, they failed to tell us whether the workers are doing their work or not or whether it is the workers or the innocent students that are looting the ministry’s money. Furthermore, the facts given refused to show that the unity schools have been engulfed in series of crises including epidemics within the students’ hostels, lack of materials which were well reported by the press. Had the minister tried to find out whether the money budgeted for these schools reach them or even adequate to take care of the schools.
According to facts supplied by government and international organizations, Nigeria is one of the countries that spend the least of its GDP on education in Africa (less than that of Somalia) while the average budget for education since 1999 has been less than 8% of the budget (less than one third of the 26% prescribed by UNESCO for developing economy like Nigeria, to which Nigeria is a signatory). The results of this chronic under funding has been commercialization of education which has made more than 60% of school age children out of schools while those in schools (from primary to tertiary) receive only half-baked education which only make them slaves in multinational companies. This has also led to unprecedented corruption among government officials who diverted funds meant for education to personal use while also taking bribes and cutbacks from private school owners who seek all means to make their schools attractive to customers. According to Corruption Index of the International Press Centre, many private schools bribe WAEC and JAMB officials in order to get good results for their students in a bid to portray their schools in good light for customers. How private individuals will provide long term resources to fund these schools while also making the schools available to vast majority of Nigerians in order to meet the Millennium Goals is what is yet to be explained to Nigerians by the minister and her advocates.
Government also cite examples of recent privatization of schools going on in British society and other European nations. However, in her (the minister’s) bias for neo-liberalism, she failed to inform us that there is a widespread anger against the privatization of British schools which have made Tony Blair one of the most unpopular leaders in British society. Not only this, thousands could not go to higher schools in Britain today because of top up fees and privatization.
The fact is that the neo-liberal policy pursued by government which includes privatization, commercialization, deregulation, etc have only made social services inaccessible to majority of the population while making the richest 1% to acquire the 80% of the Nigerian resources. Under neo-liberal deregulation, GSM operators raked in over N55 billion in 2002 alone, which is more than the total profit of all insurance companies in Nigeria, yet government collected nothing in term of profit tax from these companies. In the aviation sector, deregulation and privatization have resorted in not only retrenchment but also plane crashes, every three months. In the oil and gas, deregulation has meant N90 for a liter of diesel which has resulted in factory closures. The examples are endless.
Unless the education, among other social services, is massively funded by at least 26% of the budget coupled with democratic management of the schools by representative of the stakeholders and made free at all levels, the problems of education will only be compounded by moneybag businessmen and women. As against the opinion of government apologists, no one is against change, what people are against is stealing and looting in the name reform. For trade unionists, there is need to address issues beyond the surface, and go political.
Kola Ibrahim
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. |