Signature education reforms in Anambra State

The proclamations, declarations and executions of the Anambra state education reforms were made by the Governor  of Anambra State, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR on the heels of removal of oil subsidy amid deficit education infrastructure, abysmal morals, professionalism and commitment of teachers, lack of incentives to teaching profession and degradation of public schools.

The proclamations were articulate and critical in addition to their revolutionary flavour and democratic dividends even on the sidelines of various democratic republican forums prominent among which are, the 9th (7th quadrennial) Conference of Delegates of The Nigerian Union of Teachers-Anambra State Chapter, 29th August, 2023 and 5th October, 2023 UNESCO World Teachers Day under the auspices of Nigerian Union of Teachers, Anambra state wing. The objectives and vision of the education reforms which are laden in categorical propositions are a timely and swift response to the harsh economic conditions caused by the removal of oil subsidy and the shortage of teachers needed for the right education.

Government’s challenges and interventions not withstanding, on the flip side are also indulgences and meddling into the profession, hence teachers needed for education will be the ones necessary for the reforms. A case study of Anambra state education system, schools and teachers had justified the reason why the teachers needed should be the teachers that will add value to the system.

The government of Anambra State viewed from the lens of teachers government because the Governor is a teacher, is invariably committed to uplifting teaching profession through infrastructural revitalization and capacity building for sustainable economic growth, development and making the state a livable home land for the future generation and leaders of tomorrow.

This vision had since demanded bold reforms on the economic and social planks as well as reduction of poverty and bringing education to the door steps of every household. “A child who doesn’t have basic education is lost for life. At least, let he or she be able to read and write”. (Soludo,2023). Anambra state government’s education reforms are, therefore, predicated on three organic pillars namely, education infrastructure, teachers’capacity building and pupils’ centered leaning process, collectively and severally aimed at achieving the Universal Basic Education (UBE) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

Infrastructure is one of the fundamentals in reinventing the teachers needed in the vision and mission of elevating Anambra state education system to a status that will increase the visibility, quality and standard of education in public schools according to international best practices.

This initiative is emboldened by the equipment of public schools’ libraries with basic textbooks so that students can easily have access to them for free and to prove the point that teaching is not a job but a calling with the commitment of the state government to improving the condition of teachers. The role of technology in teaching profession is an indissoluble component of the reforms, hence, the policy of scepter technology and scientific innovation of Anambra state is an enduring means of sustaining the social reforms with a view to making the state a knowledge economy.
Could there be viral or spectre technology without information and communication gadgets?

The provision of government laptops as well as access to free Wi-Fi in all public schools in the state is a structured element of this reform.

Holistic components of the technological transfer are necessary physical and virtual space infrastructures which include rehabilitation of over one hundred existing class rooms and administrative blocks in the state public schools and simultaneous launch of state of the art model blocks in staccato among the schools that need them. A number of teaching and learning tools are also earmarked as sufficient and necessary condition for quality assurance without which the reforms will not be complete.

Hence  free textbooks for children in public schools would  be the  administration’s means of leveling the educational playing field and ensuring that every child has equal access to learning resources. This is to achieve the medium and long term goals of the administration’s domestication of the Federal Government’s Universal basic education policy for equal opportunity, affordability, exclusivity and accessibility to education not only for the rich but also for the poor in Anambra state.

The model of education in need is part of the agenda of transforming Anambra state to a livable home land “We cannot build liveable and prosperous homeland if we continue the vicious cycle where children of the poor go to schools with poor infrastructure and end up poorer while children of the rich go to better equipped schools and end up richer,” Soludo (2023). This policy and reform is to enthrone an egalitarian society with equal opportunities and level playing field for the realisation of group and individuals aspirations.

This would discourage horizontal and unjust social order where the children of the elite attend highly resourced private schools while the children of the poor attend public schools which in most cases, are poorly infrastructured, resourced and supervised. “When I look at the faces of the poor kids in public schools, I feel haunted, I feel they are telling me unspoken words that their future is in my hands and I shouldn’t let them perish…The difference between the children of the poor and rich is opportunity. If the children of the poor are given an opportunity, they are likely to do better than the children of the rich.”(Soludo, 2023)

The education reforms includes graduated and progressive resource and capacity building  which had resulted in the employment of over three thousand teachers in the first one year of the Governor and  another batch of over three thousands in the process of being recruited as  going  concern to  ensure  that the teachers we want are teachers that  we need. The recruited teachers would be specifically posted to public schools as this administration is ending the era of PTA teachers. A government of the people, for the people and by the people  in Anambra state would be demonstrating a profound sense of duty towards the children in public schools, recognising their potential as the bedrock of a prosperous society and creating an enabling learning environment for them .

This transformative agenda seeks to position public schools in Anambra, including mission schools, as exemplars of educational excellence for the entire state. Government cannot do all these alone. Private citizens control almost 98% of Anambra’s resources while the government controls only 2%. Therefore, communities are going to be involved because it is a volatile social and ethical matter with far reaching positive and negative consequences.

There is also a policy on abolishment of all fees and levies payable in public schools, from nursery one to primary six and from from JSS one to JSS three. The reforms also provides for an increment of the monthly running cost for Principals and Headteachers from ten thousand naira to a minimum of fifty thousand naira (N50,000) while the government will augment some schools depending on the population of students. This is consistent with APGA’s motto: “Be your brother’s keeper.” which implies that the state government cannot do it all alone. Everybody’s contribution to the educational reforms is needed especially in a state like Anambra where the private sector controls a larger share of resources.

Anambra state education reforms and interventions also transcend the pedagogy of colonial education where knowledge flows from teacher to pupils and not reciprocal. Rather it is an interactive, give and take method of learning. Hence if teachers teach well, pupils and students will be allowed to evaluate their teachers and their teaching skills as and when necessary, through government-provided dedicated phone lines.

The new initiative puts in place an interactive platform of allowing pupils and students to assess their teachers’ performance through dedicated government-provided phone lines, a move aimed at fostering enhanced teaching effectiveness. There are also plans for an independent evaluation mechanism, comprising professionals to assess schools. This mechanism will also provide a platform for parents and communities to contribute to the evaluation process, ensuring transparency and accountability throughout the entire system.

The independent evaluation mechanism of the government of Anambra state comprising of professionals will also be a quality assurance ombudsman overseeing and monitoring teachers’ proficiency and efficiency in teaching, commitment to work and currency in modern teaching techniques. The ombudsman is to monitor and ensure that there are consistency and transparency in the learning tapestry. All this will usher in a reformed and universal basic education regime in Anambra state that will propagate and promote ethical values and habitual learning process in public and private schools.
Prof. Dukor is of the Department of Philosophy, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.