 You're welcome back. It's still the run-up and like we promised we're going to be talking education today And we have on standby a retired director called a T assurance in the cross River State Minister of Education And who is presently the chairman of diocesan education board Catholic Dowses of Ogoja? Good morning and welcome to the program. Mr. Nandi Peter better Thank you so very much. How do you mean? Okay, we're glad that at least you have experienced both sectors both You've had the experience in both places public and private now you're in the private you were in the public first as quality assurance Let's try to get a comparison between These two the public sector and the private sector as it concerns education in your experience place From my background I Was brought up with the mission school We went to primary school soundly schools when the missionaries were in charge and Then we went all the pressure education and came back Walked in the public sector at the time that a Government have taken over the running of schools Remember the tree one of a 1971 Wish to cover all voluntary agency schools so Governments now put in place structures to run education As somebody who worked there for so many years and in my managerial position I'll be able to say that I'm a The biggest problem in the public vision sector is a Improper funding lack of adequate funding And where there are no funds so many things cannot be done I Ended up in the quality assurance unit and they shouldn't they show that there When Schools are not funded when the system not funded Teachers are not well paid Most of them have not paid on time teachers are promoted Notions are not implemented teachers die The system don't really concern for a dead worker What to talk of the family later on so the morale is low and And the You send out quality assurance Officers to ensure that the system is not that but the logic is not it doesn't have me some movement They don't have other instruments like ability to sanction Where people are airing? so this attributes to The very poor standard I will have in public schools Now when we talk of funding is not as if the mission schools or the private sector as it were now are more funded or better funded But the dedication of the teachers Goes a long way In a shorting that things are in order And teachers are dedicated because Inside of the pizza that is paid to them They realize that they are welfare Is op-ed in the minds of their managers and when there is supervision too many things Go the right way Like I said in the public Sector you have quality assurance of this and that are supposed to check standard are supposed to survive as what do you expect? But they are not regular on the field because the logistic is lacking And once there is no supervision Things don't go the proper way Then I talk about sanction in cross-election Teachers with the teacher salary are computerized And at the end of the month the teacher gets a lecture in the bank What are such a person has been in school or not? The editor of the principal may only query and equally would get to a certain place and Probably there will be no effect. But at the end of the month what the person is paid In the private sector on the other hand The teachers are aware that if you air You are sampling which what the vanity thing you are supposed to collect at the end of the month So there is that education And they will let me solve their math and go for your next question. I don't know that Yeah, yeah, you're doing well. So the major problem in public education is supervision as you said and funding Okay, but it seems as if there's more money in the public sector because Teachers in the public sector are more well-paid and They they should be some kind of insurance that they are being given and some other incentives So why are you now saying that it is better in the private sector when all these things are there? well This is To that is sanctioned the you know the fear of the unknown is not there Nobody can pass would be a income at the end of it or except when there is an extreme case as somebody is Automated or whatever and then Because there is no supervision There is this like I just tell attitude to work now, let us go back to the military era Until you the military government took over If you all know and then in 1969 introduced Free education How to do is they realize that they have to train teachers. I Will take care of the free education program. So there was this in a contrast program in teacher training Where everybody Abandoned in first volume heroes radars I ran to the teacher to me colleges Because they were paying allowances and they were sure that they were going to be employed at the end of the form So these people are in the fields And they are not the most yourself completely from their face calling Because they know that even as the payment in the teaching is regular It's not as attractive as in order for this In the civil studies So the makeup would whatever they can do as extra A extra job using their first call to the dedication the teaching is not there. I Did it use of this It's so good to see them do this and I was teaching in a teacher training only don't want to trust on me. We need y'all Where unfortunately they went and I've got the children last year. No, I said I got my college now my time a year students I was teaching them English They tell me that what are they passed? Me too or not Mama's what? That they might be employed So they were short of money looking for them the security for them at the end of their training You know, they would meet me. So what I'm calling about the education action teaching Is an inborn something Now most of the people that are in the employ of the private schools, especially the mission is Institutions, they know that this rather is not attractive. I go around Why do you choose to teach they say it is their love for children? their passion for teaching So when you see teaching at your first love, you will be in everything you have or it's not for the primary games Let's talk about the curriculum now. There's been a lot of conversations, you know from several quarters saying that the curriculum needs to be changed and You know conversations have come up on social media and even on the mainstream media people saying that children of today are being Thought to the same curriculum that has been on for decades Do you do you agree with the school of thought so that you know, the curriculum needs to be improved or changed? There are so many things wrong with the national curriculum to be The national research and the women council has been I'm praying and toy with the curriculum. You can imagine that they are not say they want to reintroduce history They work that down the curriculum and move so many things that That's what will to build up the character of a child During the national days moral instruction Was a mandatory subject But after 1971 It was no longer that they started in different names. They say they should not teach Bible they shouldn't teach Quran and all that one the missionaries they said a place he is that I'm quite read a book where Missionaries predicted that lack of moral instruction in school was meant to tell on the national society a future and we are seeing it now That early every social problem we have now Has roots in the poor educational foundation that we have So the political model of how many subject they are teaching matters will be in the subject if we could expect to The political we have before now We have core subject areas like I remit it like physics Like health science I know I know they have introduced Computer education is a dynamic field That I think that For the political they are giving the children too much to bite There are so many too many subjects I Don't know what I have these too many subjects are they relevant at all or do you propose that they'd be matched some of them be matched together? They should be mixed They should be mixed Okay away from the curriculum now most of the things that Succeed if not all of them depend on the manpower depend on the people who are running them and we're looking at teachers Running schools teaching the children in schools they mode of Let's say recruitment now for the teachers a Is there a better way that that that that can be done? Because we've been talking about mode of recruitment even for the police and armed forces and everybody because they have critical roles to play in the society But for any society to grow Someone or the people in that society need to be taught So is there a particular thing we are missing in the recruitment of teachers for instance in a Nigerian educational system? Thank you No educational system rises above the level of teachers No country rises above the level of our education there is a social problem that needs to be corrected Teaching is not supposed to be an all commerce field Let's go down to where people are in the treatment to studying education Then no one is standard People going into college and education going to read education Only the best place to go into teaching And they can only be Attracted with the conditions Attractive now the government They don't go back across like you are not absolutely cost-effective are not in serious mood education especially in the area of teacher recruitment Because what if for instance Over the years soon many teachers are retired Then you have died But the recruitment process Have you very soon? People who needed education I say what about those who even have positional that you can because of man no man But even then the customers are literally empty Because There's no there's no employment Now if we're to recognize things the teaching Sector the traditional sector I put right to teach you the schools should be Approach me that would qualify teachers. There are many people that are ready to go down to the college That are looking for the job. They don't get that You go to a secondary school You may come into the community school is run by the government The only teachers you have there are the principal Maybe one teacher You don't even have to go to the excellent of it could be what they call parent teacher association teachers to Have you what your lessons? so in the area of nothing That is very very lacking in the government sector Mr. Betty just a moment Just a moment You have to not just to take it off Okay Yeah, you need to charge between most of our knowledge. Who are you? Not more than one to chat with the device You must be there less than that, but in the public schools You will see what to charge in any language For his food I have JSS want to access What you can in my matches There is no science That's it. There could be a Teacher that is on parking before you teach me so many other places through the stopping have been a problem I mean possible to do and that's okay. It is still the run-up and we're still looking at the Eels in the education sector here in Nigeria and we've been talking to mr. Nandi better. He's a chairman of the season education board cast league diocese of Okoja Welcome back to the program. Are you still there? Can you hear me? all right We're looking at the solutions and what we can do better to make the education you know sector Grow and you've mentioned a lot of differences between the privates and public Sectors as regards to education, but I want to ask you this aside from Everything else that is expected of the government, you know to put in place What it comes to the education sector to make it better are there things or? Activities that you think schools can do on their own at an independent level to also make themselves better I said from the beginning That was something that If you go around the public schools, the interest of children is appalling There are no seats The flaws are not what that teachers are not there So the public schools now be left there for people from intelligent homes The private schools are in a sort of competition among themselves So the their infrastructure is being worked on every now and then and those parents that have a little means Take their children to private schools locally At the national level they take them out if I imagine that the Our children need to go to school in daily public There is a problem. Yes, we have to be short. We are not the defense We are not committed to obviously public education I'm talking about the business you live with now because where the foundation is not there, whatever you do on top is for you Government needs to be seen as in fact that you declare a state of emergency on public education Stationally at the basic level All the new years they read the basic education made they do not trickle down You need to go around the rural areas and see the type of Schools that are existing there the teachers are not motivated The environment is not conducive Teaching and learning do not go on well. So government needs to pay more attention to public education to play a suit of emergency and be serious about funding education That is the first step the first step towards finding a solution to the entire problem Just a moment mr. Better We we know that the government may be feeling its responsibility But the question now is in a case where the government is not doing what they're supposed to do What can the schools themselves do to make sure they sustain themselves? And also the quality improves so much so that It doesn't have to be a school for indigent students like you said yourself What can the schools internally do to maintain a certain amount of quality and have people come into the school? Now I tell you Let me just give you an instance There is a community around my area The only government president in that community is the public primary The buildings with crumbling anything so the community now have to put money together to erect structures After the innovation They realize that the teachers are not there only the head teacher and two others They are not paying For teachers that they have recruited to teach because Not all parents have the means to take their children to the urban centers or to put their children in private using these teachers So the school when you talk of the school they are talking of the community that posts their school in the social where people pay taxes And they see you go out to provide social amenities for themselves. There is a problem Because men have to look seriously into funding of education And so finally channeling is false to where they are supposed to be Okay Let's let's just look the other way. This is 2023 and there's going to be an election Very soon on the 25th. There's going to be presidential election 25th of february um If the the new president comes in and he has to do some reforms in education Where and where do you think he needs to start from putting in place the things that will be instrumental to A revamp in the educational sector going forward Thank you There is a chinese project That says if you miss yagui in a thousand miles You decrease your test a thousand miles and start again Who have to go back to the drawing board? A new president coming to denigra has a lot of job on his hands so education They have to go back and look at what The early missionaries did because they brought the integration to us. What did the early missionaries do? That give us concrete standard education Our parents must have been living in frieze tamari six But they could read and write my dishop Dishop Edelakpan of cathedralsis of uguja set of the gazetanist education but because His passion is to return education to where the telemissionaries left it and Must be proud to say that the results are coming to everybody to see around there The new president of this country must bring in people that have passion for education See that on iran they do with him and discuss with him and tell him where And where these are going also that they could be rectified from the foundation The road you are seeing in a specially institutions He started from the foundation Yeah, we can still hear you Yeah, he started from the foundation and If we must return education to where it was They didn't think I want to call the foundation my practice It has to be back to that moment understand there are laws There are laws if you do this you will be including that for all the life all the time I work in the public sector I do not hear that somebody was competing for example the attention my practice There was a time I went into a school When they wired the dimensions were going on And the other thing in this language the Law ascended to go and monitor the exams told me he was sick I didn't know he had collected money from the That's good to a lot of them do whatever they wanted to do I went to the police I just took a chair and sat down in the examination hall. I didn't know I sat down You know that there was no there was no exam No child would write Because they were expecting that They are going to give them the answer from our side, but as I sat down there Nothing went on they couldn't write There are a lot of issues that have to be tackled to put education back to where it's supposed to be And the next president of this country has a lot of jobs in his hands If he's really wanting to return the data to where We are supposed to be especially in the education sector Okay, now that you we have touched on the next president is it's it's very political as it were But there's nothing we can say nowadays that we cannot tie to What policies will be made beyond 2023 and that will be in the hands of the people that we are going to elect So let's digress a little bit a little bit and go into politics A lot of people have come to the scene to just say a lot of things that they think will happen in 2023 Especially in the elections. So as we prepare for the elections Do you think we are ready for this election? And if we're not what things do you think should be Put in place for us to have both free and fair election And satisfactory election to all Nigerians and then Have the right man in power You are taking me from education to politics now Yes Because everything is related nowadays what Nigerians need now They don't even need much They are seeing the pains Everybody is in pains All they need to be To and to be sanitized Is not to sell their goods Not to sell their goods And to pack their goods for those they think are going to have them after the present situation I was in the video yesterday And my uncle came And they say what do we do in this election? I said you're asking what you should do What do we buy for five Nara? You are not buying for 30 Nara And these people who said they were coming to make light good for you if you want them to To contribute use your head people Nigerians should be sanitized they should be They should know that This country has money And I need to be properly deployed Life will be good Okay, let me we are talking politics Where I come from in Bupi They have devastated the forest They have devastated the forest They are lobbying But they are so Like my whole community we don't enter You don't enter our forest So if people could be sensitive to know that Destroy the environment Is wrong They could also be sensitive to know that to go to wrong here If you're wrong if you're wrong Way to go All right We're still talking politics now and like young girl said everything is intertwined Do you think that the you know religious organizations Have a role to play in the forthcoming elections? And if you think so, what do you think those roles are? They keep telling us that If you don't consider religion When it comes to politics But events in the past couple of years Have shown us that politics is a sweet factor In Nigerian politics It is wrong to Tell people that Politics shouldn't matter That is those That in red that is religion shouldn't matter It shouldn't matter Religion shouldn't matter People that Have conscience That said god Religiously To be bold enough To enter politics And practice What they learn In their approaches so that the society will be better for us We have had a lot of problems Right now they are talking about Mostly Muslim society Not in Education in power and order Every sensible Nigerian Should be reminded That they are so many things that are really not together And they will have to look at those things and hold us together And avoid those things that will cause us to Fall in ways from each other For me The religious The difficulties of individual Of various groups not be assorted We should treat with caution With care And balance Religion And politics in Nigeria is concerned Okay Well, sorry Mr. Bethe That we took you from education to politics But we had to just check that in because we know that you are Even though not officially designated an activist for good governance And we've been following you for some time now and know what your feelings are We'd like to thank you for coming on the show this morning to Give us your experience and your perspective on the education system in Niger Thank you so very much for having me Bless you Okay, we've been talking to Mr. Nandi Peter Bethe Who is the chairman of education board of the Catholic Dowses of Ogudja Sen Benedict's Catholic Dowses of Ogudja He's also He was also a member of the minister of education board He was in charge the chairman of the College T Assurance in the Across the state minister of education We will take a break now and go for the news after that we'll wrap up the show stay with us