The Constraints to Education in Kano State

By Moses T. Aluaigba, PhD. Mambayya House Bayero University, Kano Being a Speech Presented as the Guest Speaker at the Graduation Ceremony of Bennie International School, Kano Held at Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike Hall, Nigeria Air Force Base 303, Kano on July 28, 2011 Protocol First of all, let us try to answer this simple question, what is education? There are various perspectives of attempting an answer to this question, but broadly, education means the process of learning and acquiring information or knowledge. This process is divided into two; the first deals with formal learning through an institution such as a school whereby there is a classroom setting that a teacher can provide a curriculum according to an accepted plan of what must be learned. The second aspect of education relates to self-taught learning otherwise known as life experience and this refers to an instance where an individual decides to pursue knowledge on his/her own outside the formal classroom setting, for example, Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft was a college dropout. Consequently, while many may prima-facie, conceive education as the act of learning, what is paramount is that education represents a cardinal strand in a persons life. Whether you follow the formal procedure to acquire knowledge or you depend on personal experiences, you need education to survive in life. Indeed, education has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another. Education serves as an engine for economic growth through the accumulation of human capital; it is also strongly associated with increasing levels of social capital. This is why 4

in virtually all democratic nations of the world huge resources are expended on education because of the social and economic benefits such nations stand to reap. For instance, an educated electorate can greatly facilitate the smooth operation of democracy. This speech, as the topic indicates, focuses mainly on Kano State; it underscores the factors restraining education in general and western education in particular in the state by stressing the predicaments educationists face or are likely to face in trying to inculcate knowledge. A modest attempt is also made to proffer the way forward on how these impediments can be surmounted. Kano State is known for its age-old culture of Islamic education which is older than even the state itself and dates back to the pre-colonial era. When Kano State was created in 1968 out of the then Northern Region of Nigeria, Islamic education was common but western-styled education was rare. In fact, in 2002, while writing on how science secondary schools emerged in Kano State, Professor Abdalla Adamu noted that in the 1960s and 1970s, schooling was still viewed with suspicion as a forum for conversion to Christianity. However, subsequent regimes in the state beginning from the 1970s have utilized various strategies to improve on the attitude of Kano State residents towards education. This has culminated into substantial achievements such that from a very meager public primary school enrolment figures in 1970; it rose to a whooping total of 1,739,492 in 2006. Notwithstanding this tremendous improvement, there are other adjoining factors that have arisen to constrain education in Kano State. Let us look at some of these constraints. There are myriad constraints inhibiting education in Kano State. For the sake of clarity, we can classify them into structural and behavioral constraints.

Structural Constraints: a) Non-productive education system: This is a macro problem in Nigeria that has had a multiplier effect on Kano State arising from lack of emphasis of Nigerias educational system on acquisition of practical knowledge that can make its beneficiaries self-dependent. Students in Nigerian schools, colleges and higher institutions indulge mainly in theories and rely on books written many years back without any social and practical involvement in their selected field of study. This defeats the essence of education as a wealth-creation venture; this explains why Nigerias labor market is oversaturated with unemployed school leavers and graduates who depend on others for employment. b) Lack of access to education: Not all Nigerians and ipso facto, Kano State indigenes have access to quality education. This is despite the stipulation by Article 26(1) of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. The non-accessibility to education is enhanced by such factors as remote location of some communities, denial through bad governance augmented by corruption etc. c) There is the problem of mass poverty among the populace. National surveys have shown that the North-West is the poorest zone in Nigeria. In Kano State, data in 2007 showed that about 73% of the population was living on less than N150 per day with about 62% of inhabitants living in extreme poverty. This sorry state is visible through the prevalence of schoolage children (almajirai) who roam the streets as beggars, teenage female street hawkers and high rate of school dropouts or out of school children. This does not augur well for the educational development of the people.

d) The state of physical facilities that should enhance learning in Kano schools is incredibly dreadful. Facilities like classrooms, books and other instructional materials are grossly inadequate. Even where some facilities do exist, they are either outdated or too dilapidated to function effectively. This produces the effect of congestion in classrooms, low morale among teachers, poor performance of students in external examination and the like. e) There is acute shortage of manpower to man educational institutions in Kano State. According to statistics by the Universal Basic Education Commission, the state has a total of 51,061 primary school teachers. This gives a pupil/teacher ratio at 1:44 for primary schools, 1:54 for junior secondary schools and that of senior secondary school is 1:49. These have exceeded UNESCOs recommended ratio of 1:40, 1:35 and 1:10 for primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education respectively. Behavioral Constraints: a) Ignorance poses a major constraint to education in Kano State. Many parents are yet to recognize the need to educate their wards; some people still hold the strong misconception that western education is another form of westernization that will in the long-run, erode their age-old cultural heritage. This mindset has combined effects of high number of out-of-school children in Kano State and lurk-luster attitude to child education by parents. According to a baseline study conducted by Civil Society Action Coalition on Education For All (CSACEFA) in 2006, the total number of children of primary school age that were not enrolled in schools was 2,064,388, which then, was the highest in Nigeria. b) There is the problem of increasing rate of examination fraud in schools in Kano State in particular and Nigeria in general and scary enough, this phenomenon has assumed a formalized dimension. These days, headmasters and principals engage in examination malpractice in the name of assisting their pupils/students to pass WAEC and NECO 4

examinations so that their schools will earn good reputation in order attract more patronage. Parents pay for their children to use special centers during JAMBs Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). This negative trend has worsened the quality of candidates that gain admission into tertiary institutions and the graduates such institutions produces. c) Pervasiveness of anti-social behavior inimical to educational development of pupils/students in Kano schools. Such anti-social ills include, but not limited to smoking, drug abuse, truancy, alcoholism, cultism, homosexuality etc. Both the parents and government collectively share the blame for the subsistence of these evils. The war on drugs and cultism for instance, launched by government is deceitful while parents have reneged from their perceived role of molding the character of their kids at home. d) As mentioned above, socio-cultural and religious biases and opposition against western education that existed since Kano State was created still exist despite governments tremendous attempt to erase it. This explains the lukewarm attitude of most parents especially the rural dwellers towards formal education which they perceive as another tricky path to cultural imperialism by the whiteman. Despite the dominance of these constraints highlighted above, they are not insurmountable. It is on the basis of this optimism that the following ways are suggested towards overcoming the challenges:
a) Adequate funding of education in Kano State through increased budgetary allocation to

the education sub-sector accompanied by transparent and prudent management.

b) Increased awareness in the population on the need to embrace education. c) To reduce the impact of poverty on education in Kano State, the State Government must

institutionalize such pro-education programs as Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs).

d) The capacity of agencies responsible for education in Kano State like the State Ministry

of Education and SUBEB must be strengthen.

e) Close collaboration with donor agencies to execute programs such as State Education

Sector Project (SESP) and DFIDs Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN) is desired.
f)

There is need for moral re-orientation of the populace with more vigor and sincerity of purpose to be embarked upon by the State Government. For example, resolute pursuit of moral instruction in schools.

Let me at this juncture, conclude by stating that an educated population is no doubt, the most valuable asset of any given society. Education therefore, demands collective endeavor in ensuring that it becomes a front burner for development to occur. On this note, I want to express my compliment to the management of Bennie International School for its great strides towards providing Kano State residents with qualitative education amidst prevailing intricate conditions. With the determination demonstrated by the management, I fervently believe the sky is the limit for Bennie International School. I am therefore challenging the management to give Kano State one of the first and best private universities. To our dear graduating students, my word of advice to you is this, if we assume that the process of getting educated is like a 1,000 kilometer journey, then you must note that you have only covered 400 kilometers. So tighten up your belts for the remaining part of the journey, I wish you the best as you are now better prepared, courtesy of Bennie International School, to complete the trip. Thank you all for your attention.