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Alabi Michael Olufunmilade is the Chairman of Destos International School.He worked for African Petroleum Plc Nigeria (formerly British Petroleum). He is a graduate of Accountancy who has now found himself in the education sector. In this interview with Benedicta Bassey, he speaks on current issues in the education sector and how government can help remedy the situation. Excerpts:
Could you tell us more about yourself and the reasons behind leaving a lucrative oil job for starting a school?
My name is Alabi Michael Olufumilade. I am the chairman of Destos International School here in Lagos, Nigeria. The school was established on the 4th of September, 1996. It was a vision God gave to me when I was working in an oil company. I told God, when I leave an oil company, what exactly am I going to do for the rest of my life? And the answer came that I should go and establish a school. I'm not an educationalist, but my wife happened to be a teacher.
She's a retired Director of Education from Lagos State. So I came and I told her about the vision, and the school was established. And since then, God has been with us. By the grace of God, we have our kindergarten, the nursery and primary, and we have college.
The school has produced many professionals. As we speak, the school hasproduced an accountant, a doctor, engineers, surveyors, and many other professionals to the glory of God.
So being in the educational space for a while, how would you rate the performance of education in the country?
The performance of education in the country is not bad per se, but there's still room for improvement. I believe that the government can still look into the activities of the schools and improve on what we have on the ground right now, because education is very, very important. When you are educated, it gives you confidence.
Education enables you to have focus. And when you have focus, you have stability. And when you have stability, you'll be productive. And when you are productive; you will have fulfillment. So this is where we are.
This is what the government in Nigeria is trying a lot to attain. And I believe that there can still be improvement.
Specifically, what areas do you seek improvement on?
In the funding of education. In the public schools, there should be enough funding, and the funding should be on the materials for learning so that the children can be exposed, not only the academics, but also the other aspects that will make for functional education.
Also, the government should try as much as possible to encourage the private schools, because the private schools are augmenting what the government is doing in the public school. So, the school, the private schools should be helped, because the private school operate on their own to get facilities from the bank. The government should provide funds.
There should be a forum where the private schools can access funds from the government to boost what they are doing. This is very, very important. Not that the private owners of the school will be going on their own to go to the bank for loans privilege.
As we speak, some banks don't have facilities for private schools, because after COVID, everything changed. Prior to COVID, even the private schools had access to funds from the bank. But after COVID, I think some banks don't give facilities to schools because of what they experienced during COVID, especially due to bad debts.
But if we have a pool of funds from the government, where private owners of schools can access funds to do what they are doing, to also augment thegovernment, because we are employers of labour too, and we are providing education for the children.
So there should be enough funds to access, to boost education because we are running on very tight budgets. So if we have access to funds, we'll be able to provide more quality education for these children.
How can teachers in Nigeria be motivated because today in many institutions, teachers are demotivated. How can the government come in to address such a challenge?
Teaching is a professional work and every human being that is educated passes through a teacher. And we should try, the government should try as much as possible to encourage teachers, because they are the ones imparting the knowledge.
So if the government can, as I said, enable the approved schools have access to enough funds, then schools will not be owing salary, and schools can pay at least the wages or salary that will be enough for these teachers, it will be fantastic. Personally I want my teachers to be comfortable.
I want them, all of them to have cars and other things that make life worth living but, the issue is that after COVID, many people are not keen on teaching because some schools did not take care of their teachers during that period. But by the grace of God, we were able to strategise. We got all our teachers back because during that COVID, we were sending messages and trying as much as possible to encourage them.
But some teachers in some schools declined going back to the school space because they did not get their pay and of course, we will not blame the schools because the funds were not coming in. But if the government had made access to funds at least, during that period of COVID to service the industry, the teachers would have been better motivated to work and It would not be as bad as we are right now because many people don't want to teach because of the experience they had during COVID era. Today, we have a popular term called the Japa syndrome. Yes. A lot of Nigerians are moving overseas to get education, to acquire knowledge. And if you look at it critically, that alone can affect our economy.
So what do you think can be done to check this 'Japa' trend?
For professionals, students, going out of the country, all boils down to infrastructures and adequate resources in our schools, establishments and also, you cannot totally stop someone from taking a decision to travel or Japa. If, as we speak, the universities and other educational sectors; the tertiary education and other educational sectors are well funded and we have all the basic amenities that can make people to learn and not just go to school to be educated, you will discover that people will stay.
And at the same time, job opportunities are also another critical factor. If somebody is educated and the job availability is not there, you discover that you cannot hold that individual because I remember when I left school, I didn't look for a job. It wasn't a big deal. I finished. The following year, I was already in another company. And at the age of 31, I was already the Area Centre Accountant. But someone at 31 now, what is he doing as a graduate? Where is he? He's still living with the parents.
At the age of 20, I was already living in my house. At the age of 24, I had already settled down as a young man. At the age of 27, I'd already married. So 27-year old graduate now, does he have a job? Can he think of marriage? At the age of 31, yes, at the age of 31, I'd already had a car, 504.So a graduate that is now 31, what has he been able to get?
Is it the fault of the graduates or the government?
With the economic situation and what is on the ground, government needs to look into it. If you are employed on merit, though, there are still some connections to be made but if you don't have what it takes to be employed, the connection cannot work for you. So, some of them have 'japaed' and they are there now.
In your views, do you think foreign education is superior to what we have here in Nigeria?
The comparison boils down to the environment. Over there, they have the facilities to learn. They are exposed. My son that went to Japan for his master's degree; during his master's in Japan, he went to America for research, and then to London, went to other countries for a Japan Master's Degree. But someone that is doing Master's Degree here, is not that exposed.
So it all boils down to the facilities and for the government, it should look holistically into the issue of education. If education is given to an average Nigerian, and if the children are educated, you may not need to go out. If you are educated, you can establish something.
You don't need to go out because over there, there's no rest. You pay bills. But here, you can still have your way and establish something and you'll be doing something profitable.
So it all boils down to the government making the environment conducive. So that even if you are educated and there is no work, you can have what it take to decide on establishing something to do.
Do you not think the standard of education has fallen? if yes, who should be held responsible?
I have to be pragmatic in that aspect. The standard of education has fallen. We have to be pragmatic. So the blame cuts across board.
The government and even the parents are involved. Now, parent want microwave syndrome. They want their 3-year old child to be able to read and write and even do things that a child that is in Basic 5 would not be able to do. And parents also are aiding and abetting. So these are the things.
Also, the government policies should be looked into to maintain a very good standard of education because, if a nation that the youth are educated, that nation is delivered. When the majority of the youth are educated, that nation is delivered and such a nation is settled. But when the majority of the youth only went to school but not educated, then the graduates will not be employable.
Today, private schools are gaining more ground. It's now a major alternative to many parents or many people. People now seek the help of private institutions, leaving the public school aside because they have their own feelings why they don't want their wards to go to public schools because of one thing or the other.
So what gave rise to the development of private institutions in the country?
I think to some extent, the public schools were neglected. You have a lot of things that are not in place. And parents now think that it is better for them to get their children in private schools. And that is why you see the rise in private schools being established. And also, it is government's policy to encourage entrepreneurship that individuals can also establish private schools up to university level. This is just to complement what government is doing.
Inasmuch as encouragement is given to individuals to establish schools, the government should not neglect their own schools so that everything will be complementing one another.
So being in the education sector, what would you say has been the regulation of government in terms of their policy?
The government has tried a lot to have a robust policy to help the education sector in Nigeria. The only thing I would say is that they need to do more for us because the approved private schools here are contending with unapproved schools. And there's no advocacy to that effect.
Who is supposed to champion the advocacy?
We have an association and I think they are talking, but the way the government is handling it, is not the way we expected because the approved schools pay their dues to the government and the unapproved schools are competing and contending with those schools with approvals to operate. Some parents will owe you and take their children out of your school to the unapproved schools. And now, how do you collect your money? There is no strong legislation to that effect. How you collect your money is not a government problem. It's your problem. And you cannot use police to arrest someone, to collect debt. You have to go to court. The cost of litigation is something else, you are the one that will be hit and at the end of the day, you may not be able to collect the money because you can't tell if they are going to be paying you in piecemeal.
These are the areas the government needs to help the private schools. Let the unapproved schools be regulated. Let there be a legislation that, look, if you owe schools and you take your children to another school, the money must be paid. You cannot owe a school and you run away with your children to another school. The government needs to help in that area.
So what other areas do you think the government can help to address that?
Now, there should be a strong legislation to that effect that parents cannot run away, moving from one school to the other if you have debts to pay. When you owe school A, you carry your children at the end of the term to school B, if there is a strong law to that effect, you see that parents will be cautioned.
Recently, the Federal Government pegged the age of university entry to 18 years. What is your stand on that; can that policy really succeed in Nigeria?
I think it should succeed. That is a fantastic policy because what we discover is that the majority of the students at our universities are just being used. They don't know what university is. They don’t know what campus is. They don't know what university education entails. They are just there. They don't know anything because they are young.
Is that not traceable to underage entry, as most parents’ fast tracks their children's education?
Yes. Underage should not be allowed to enter higher institutions because that is one of the things that give rise to cultism because you don't know what they call university, higher institution. It's a place that you don't call each other brother or sister irrespective of your age. And when you are there as underage, nobody is guiding you, then the pressure of peer group set in. The term called peer pressure affects people a lot. But when you are mature, you know how to take decision. You know what they call discretion. That is it. So, I agree with the government to make it 18 years and such should be maintained.
Currently, there's a rapid change in the curriculum. What is your school doing to adapt to the development?
Yes, we are really managing it. Our curriculum is student-centred, not teacher-centred.
We believe our children and we are making sure that the curriculum makes them have critical minds, analytical minds and to enable them to have focus. It will also enable them to know that when you have focus in your education, then, you have an understanding of what it means to be educated, you will have stability and when you have stability, you'll beproductive, and when you are productive, you will have fulfillment. So the essence of education is for you to be productive and have fulfillment. So, our curriculum is student-centred, not teacher-centred.
In the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, he introduced the school feeding programme. Was that also extended to private schools?
No. Not at all
What are the private schools doing to assess such privilege as well?
I will leave that to the body of private schools' association. But the policy is not extended to the private school. Probably they considered that anybody that takes their children to the private school should be able to feed their children. If there is an advocacy to that effect, they should extend it to the private school. The body of private school association should take it up and that would be a welcome development.
Today, technology is majorly shaping the classroom situation. What are you doing to embrace technology in your school, if you have not done that already?
Yes! In fact, if you want to take a look at it from the COVID19 era, when the COVID-19 came, it gave a boost to technology.
So what is your school doing to leverage that trend?
Immediately after COVID19, everything changed. As we speak now, we have our projectors, which we use to teach our children. And also, immediately we resumed after COVID, we introduced Coding and Robotics.
Tell us more about that.
Yes. Coding and Robotics is an IT programme. And as we speak now, after COVID, we now have remote jobs. You can be here in Nigeria and you'll be working with an American company. You'll be working with a UK company or other nations.
What can Nigeria adopt from the international scene to better our educational development here?
Well, apart from the structure, that is the building, there are other facilities. The library and engineering students should have access to engineering equipment that will boost his learning.
A medical student should be exposed to equipment that will make him to stand internationally as a medical doctor. This equipment should be in place. If these equipment are in place and the lecturers do their work by imparting the knowledge, that fantastic.
The law students should be able to have access to books, research. The moot courts should be open to them so they will know the importance of being a legal student.
Let the medical students go to University Teaching Hospital, or the Lagos state University Teaching hospital. You'll be proud that your child is a medical doctor. You'll be proud that your child is a lawyer.
You'll be proud that your child is an engineer. And that is why the 6-3-3-4 system policy should be well followed and let there be facilities to enhance the education of our children.
Recently I've been to one of the libraries in Lagos here and I was trying to do a particular research but I was shunned by the kind of books they have there, archaic books.
And if you want to juxtapose it between that time and what we have now, you will found out that all those books ought to be outdated.
What do you think the government can do to equip our libraries?
I remember when I was in secondary school. We have a library at Odulame, a well-equipped library. We have a library at Alagomeji. We have a library all over the place. We would leave home Saturdays go to the library to read. But you discover that the libraries are no longer functioning. All the spaces are being used for housing; they're being used for all that, building houses, no recreational centers, no library. These are the things that are affecting.
And even where you have the library, the books are not there. That is what I'm saying. There should be enough funding, enough funding for schools.
The library aspect issue should be looked into. The facilities for the student’s education also should be looked into. Every equipment that is necessary.
Also, the school should also equip their libraries. I remember when I was in secondary school, even in higher institutions, our library was fantastically equipped.
So today we have the rise of private institutions presently. What is your take on that?
What gives rise to private institutions is that people are not comfortable with what is going on in government, in public schools to some extent. Now, you can see in our higher institutions, the incessant strike, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, when you take your child to go and do a four-year course, and the four-year course now is taking five years, six years.
Won't you take your child to a private school where the child will take the four years course without strike obstructions? These are the things. So if the governments can look into ASUU, how much will it take to settle ASUU? Let them settle ASUU. How much will it take to equip these universities? It's an issue of priority.
The rising of private institutions, although is a great development. But another thing there is that there's nothing that has merits and without demerits. The government should not because of private institutions coming up and neglect their own institutions. Let there be equilibrium.
Let there be balancing. If we are complementing one another, let not any aspect be neglected. Let there be balancing, all my children attended government institutions. So fantastic! I'm enjoying it. But the issue is that the incessant strike of ASUU strike should be checked, let us look into it.
What do you want Nigerians to know about the education sector and how can government come in?
Yes, what I want Nigerians to know is that as far as I'm concerned, and I know that intelligence Nigerians are concerned, education is not a scam. So that slang should be jettisoned.
Education is very, very important. It is very important you educate your children. It is very important you have education. If you are educated, there's no way you cannot stand. If you are educated, I'm not saying that you went to school for the sake of going to school. I'm saying going to school, the school passed through you. So, you'll be dependent. So, the government should try as much as possible in funding education. Funding is lacking.
Adequate funding is lacking in our educational sector because go to our universities, go to other schools, go to our higher institutions, you'll discover that they are funding gap. Infrastructures, equipment are not adequate.
This is issue of funding and the educational community also should be serious. You go to university, some campuses, no light for three, four days. No water. It's unheard of.
And that has caused them to increase the school fees of the students. Yes. Now, as we speak, some universities, they are all private hostels. What is happening to the school's hostels? By the time you pay the school fees, you send your children feeding, you pay the private hostel. It's very exorbitant. It's cumbersome.
It's affecting children. And that is why you see that the students are no longer concentrating because they want to do some things on campus to augment what their parents are doing, giving them. What is the school doing with some money that comes to their hands to give the children, put the hostel in place? Why the increase in private hostels and they are charging exorbitant prices? And the student, a whole campus will be in darkness for two, three days, for 48 hours, 72 hours. No warrant for the student. It's dangerous. So government should look into it. Because if you produce graduates that are affected, that their mindset is already affected, it's going to be counterproductive.
So on security, how best can the government address insecurity in schools?
Yes, that is another area. I was even discussing with someone that with the rate at insecurity is going on in Nigeria, it is scary. Recently, some medical students were kidnapped at a state there. Now, what about National Youth Service Corps members? They are kidnapping them here and there.
I was saying that, is it not necessary for the government to look into that policy? That, is it necessary for this policy to continue? Taking into consideration, the rate of kidnapping and killings of corp members in the country, now, students on campus, they are vulnerable for kidnapping. It is very, very unheard of.
Now, I believe that the government can put in place or let the armed forces to some extent, give us some men to guide our institutions because, somebody was telling me that an institution in Sokoto, that the bandits wrote the school that they are coming and they actually came.
Even in Benue State, they wrote them and they actually came and they succeeded. So, there's an internal issue. So, I don't know how, what gives them that effrontery, that confidence to write and still made it. So, the government needs to look into it because the lives of these children are vulnerable and it will be terrible to put the lives of our children in jeopardy. They went to learn and they are not to be victims of uneducated people.
Because the people that are just uneducated, illiterates, you see them, when they buried them, you'll be wondering. Someone that has not gone to school, killing a medical student, killing a medical doctor, killing an NGO, it's painful. The government should look into it and also our National Youth Service Scheme.
If the policy is still feasible, it has to be looked into. And if we are to continue with it, adequate security should be put in place for our national, for all corp members and all higher institutions. The government should provide security for all the schools, particularly in the north, from Middle Belt upward.
I think East too, I don't know but it's not as rampant as from Middle Belt upward. So, government should look into it. Security is very, very important. The issue of security is even making some children not to go to school. They don't want to go to school. So, this is very important.
