Category: EDUCATION

The time of the foundation of the colonial experience at the Cape in 1652 was the same as the beginning of education in South Africa. Six years after, the Dutch East India Company established its colony at the Cape, the first formal school is begun in 1658. This school was founded by Commander Jan van Riebeeck for the slave children brought to the Cape in the Dutch ship, the Amersfoort, which had captured them off a Portuguese slaver.

For two reasons, extremely significant is the establishment of the first school in the history of South Africa. Firstly, this school had many of the characteristics that have come to frame the South African experience. It was profoundly oppressive. As the slave children are enrolled, so they are forced to take new identities. Nothing of their past was given recognition in the school. Their treatment by the colonial authorities was harsh. And then, to buy their obedience, they were plied with alcohol. But, like their descendents who refused to accept anything less than the best education that can be provided, they rejected this degraded education. They did this by escaping from the school into the mountains surrounding the Cape. The significance of this school in presenting the themes of domination and resistance, is vital for understanding South African education.

The other important feature of the period takes us, however, into a different direction. While this early school was extremely oppressive, we have, in this first 150 years of Dutch occupation of the Cape, a number of deeply important developments such as classic vignettes. These speak powerfully to our understanding of South African history. While slaves and the indigenous people, the Khoisan, faced great challenges during this time because of the harsh laws of the Dutch, we see a number of instances where these oppressed people begin to organise themselves. This is in defiance of the Dutch East India Company or without their knowledge.

Two instances are important to record for understanding the South African history differently. The first is that contrary to much of the historical narrative, even that which is sympathetic to the cause of the oppressed and which gives no or little voice to the marginalised, the slaves and the Khoisan exercised agency. They taught themselves to read in communities like Genadendal or, as they did in the heart of the Colonial town of Cape Town, they kept themselves religiously intact by starting madrassas, Islamic schools, where they taught each other to read and write. Out of this experience, notably, comes the first formal writing in Africa.

The establishment of a proper system of education begins with the period of British rule at the Cape. This period was marked by a systematic attempt on the part of the British to anglicise Cape society. The period beginning with the occupation of the Cape by the British in 1795 ushers in important social, political and economic developments. The slave trade was abolished in Britain in 1807 and slavery was formally abolished in all colonies of the British empire, including the colony at the Cape, in 1833. The period is marked by the emergence of colonialism proper.

The Schools played a very Signigicant and influential role in this experience. In 1839 an Education Department was established at the Cape with a superintendent, James Rose Innes, at its head. This position was bureaucratised with an administrative apparatus by the end of the century. In Natal, after annexation in 1843, attempts were made to develop an education structure. These only stabilised in 1858. Meanwhile, constitutional provision was made for education in the Transvaal Republic in 1858 and properly so in 1863 in the Orange Free State. Important about this period is that it marks the institutionalization of education in the country and its formal deployment in the cause of building a white identity.
One might refer to this period as a period of state-building on the part of the white establishment. The great apparatuses of power were introduced, such as the formal parliaments, the institutions of the military, the hospital services, and alongside these, the institution of the Anglican Church. Yet, at the same time, during this period there is evidence of black and white children being educated in common classrooms. The oldest schools in the country, such as the South African College School (SACS) founded in 1829, for example, has children of different colours. As the process of Anglicisation happens, it happens with some ambiguity.

Alongside of this process of formalisation, another key experience takes root. Significant steps continue to be taken by the rapidly growing missionary movement to provide education for both black and white children. This story begins with the arrival of the London Missionary Society in 1799 and takes shape in the work of people like Dr Phillip and the subsequent establishment of important institutions such as Lovedale College. Emerging clearly out of this development, of course, are the abiding themes of conflict. These conflicts are expressed on several levels and persist in the missionary movement itself, in its target community, the African and slave people, and between the missionaries and the latter, into the climactic era of full modernity in the middle of the 20th century. The begining of colonization and the beginning of education in South Africa can definitely not be utterly separated, as the experiences are interwoven.

Today, Monday 17th August the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates commenced across Nigeria under strict COVID-19 protocols. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) earlier reported that 1,550,000 candidates would be participating in this year’s examination spread across 19,129 centres nationwide. The examination, which was supposed to commence on April 6 to June 5, was suspended due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Patrick Areghan, the Head of National Office (HNO) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), told journalists during an inspection tour of some centres in Lagos that he was impressed with the level of compliance with the COVID-19 protocols. “Firstly, let me offer thanks to God that the much-awaited examination for this year has finally commenced today”
“As I speak, this examination is going on simultaneously across all member states in the region”
“As you already know we have visited a couple of schools in the state on this first day of the examination and I will like to say I am highly impressed with what I saw on ground in terms of compliance level by everyone participating in this examination”
“We all observe the rules by washing our hands with soap and water, carry(ing) out temperature checks, use of hand sanitisers and face masks or shields”
“Even the sitting arrangement of the candidates are very well established by ensuring a two-meter gap from each other”
“So, if you ask me, I will say I am very impressed with the level of the compliance of the COVID-19 safety protocol and the smooth take-off of the examination,” the HNO said.

Mr Areghan warned that the council would deal decisively with any act of malpractice, irrespective of who was involved. He warned principals of schools that they would equally not be spared, if any act of malpractice was recorded in their respective schools in the process of the ongoing examination.
“Right now, with the aid of technology we have caught a supervisor in Nasarawa and a candidate in Rivers trying to snap a question paper and send outside for solution”
“These persons have since been handed over to the security agents for necessary actions”
“We will stop at nothing to ensure that the integrity of our examinations are not compromised”
“I will like to let you know that the Federal Ministry of Education is very interested in the process and conduct of this examination”
“In fact, as we speak, the Minister of State for Education, is currently in Imo to monitor the examination too, just like all other top officials of the ministry”
“So, together, we will ensure that this examination comes out highly successful,”Mr Areghan said.

He, however, dismissed the possibility of lowering the standard of the examination as a result of the pandemic, adding that it would not be obtainable.
“Let’s not delude ourselves that because of COVID-19, WAEC will lower its standard”
“This examination was supposed to have commenced by April 6. Before then, it was expected that these candidates would have covered their syllabus”
“With the outbreak of the pandemic that affected all activities in the country, they had enough time (to) further get themselves better prepared”
“So, for those who prepared, they will surely record success and for others who played with their time, too bad, as WAEC will never compromise standard,” he said.

Mr Areghan said that the council was faced with the challenge of increased cost of conducting the examination, as it had engaged more supervisors and invigilators. He, however, assured that WAEC would do everything within its reach to ensure the smooth running and outcome of the examination. NAN reports that schools visited included Baptist Academy, Obanikoro, BABS Fafunwa Millennium Senior Secondary School, Ojodu and Agidingbi Senior Grammar School, Ikeja, all in Lagos State. Indeed, its good to know, that the long awaited W.A.S.S.C.E has started today. Having continued relentlessly in individual study and preparation towards the examination, despite the earlier interruption in academic activities because of the COVID-19 pandemic that required that everyone should stay home to stay safe; this is a good news for many candidates and their parents/guardians.

Following the shut down of schools due to covid19 pandemic, the Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had finally announced that tertiary institutions in the country reopen by August 24 for students who are yet to complete the academic year.

It should be noted that some institutions like The University of Cape Coast (UCC), the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), technical universities and some other colleges for instance are yet to complete their academic work for this year as a result of the covid 19 pandemic which led to the indefinite closure of the institutions earlier this year.

In his speech, the president said “After extensive stakeholder consultations, the decision has been taken for continuing students in these tertiary institutions to return to school, on 24th August to finish their academic year.”

However, he noted that the government will ensure that all necessary preventive measures are put in place to allow students resume back to school safely. Akufo-Addo said during his 15th COVID-19 national address that “Government, through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, will ensure that all these tertiary institutions are disinfected. Universities will be equipped with necessary personal protective equipment and those with their own hospitals and clinics will have isolation centers to deal with positive cases,” Akufo-Addo added.

The president also said that strict adherence to the basic covid 19 preventive measures such as avoidance of mass gatherings, sporting activities or religious activities on campus will be ensured.
Recall that schools in the West African country were closed on March 16, four days after Ghana recorded its first two coronavirus cases. Ghana has since registered 42,532 coronavirus cases as of Sunday, with 231 deaths and 40,362 recoveries.

Eight international development goals were contained in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)  for the year 2015 that were established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in September 2000, and the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) succeeded the MDGs in 2016. All the 191 United Nations member states, and at least 22 international organizations, committed to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

The United Nations adopted the Millennium Development Goals in 2012, a set of development goals for the year 2015, more specifically, “to ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.” That same year, the World Education Forum met in Dakar, Senegal, and adopted the Dakar Framework for Action reaffirming the commitment to achieving Education for All by the year 2015.

According to UNESCO, at the time, only 57% of African children were enrolled in primary schools, with the lowest enrollment rate of any region surveyed. The report also showed marked gender inequalities: in almost all countries enrollment of boys far outpaced that of girls. However, in some countries, education is relatively strong. In Zimbabwe, literacy has reached 92%. That’s a good one for Zimbabwe!

Steps such as the abolition of school fees, investments in teaching infrastructure and resources, and school meals from the World Food Programme helped drive enrollment up by millions. Indeed encouraging! Yet despite the significant progress of many countries, the world fell short of meeting its goal of Universal Primary Education (UPE). In sub-Saharan Africa as of 2013, only about 79% of primary school-age children were enrolled in school. 59 million children of primary-school age were out of school, and enrollment of girls continued to lag behind that of boys. Disparity between genders is partially due to females being excluded from school for being pregnant.

Following the expiration of the MDGs in 2015, the UN adopted a set of Sustainable Development Goals for the year 2030. The fourth goal addressed education, with the stated aim to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” The World Education Forum also convened in Incheon, Korea to discuss the implementation of this goal, and adopted the Incheon Declaration for Education 2030. It remains to be seen what effect the measures have on the state of education participation in African countries.

Concerning the issues of quality in education and equity, there are underlying causes that deter progress such as high drop-out rates, grade repetition, poor quality of education and educational resources, teacher shortages, poor infrastructure and supplies, access to education for rural and remote areas, and stigmas for marginalized groups.

Overtime, several developmental and influential attempts had been made and is still being made towards improving education in Africa. Some have been yielding productive results while others have not. Still having more to do, several efforts and policies are being put in place in the bid to ensure that the desired quality and equity is achieved. More fulfilling days ahead for education in the African continent.

The 2020/2021 post- Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) screening is to commence on the 7th day of September 2020. This was harmonized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and heads of all tertiary institutions. The board explained that the reason for the shift in the date of admission processes was to allow students sitting for the 2020 O’ level examinations conducted by the West African Examinations Council, National Examination Council and National Business and Technical Examination Board obtain the required O’ level qualifications.

Prof Is-haq Oloyede, Registrar of JAMB made this known on Monday after a consultative virtual meeting with Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts of tertiary institutions. About 1, 352, 988 candidates, who scored 120 and above UTME, are candidates with awaiting results.
Oloyede said: “The view of JAMB is that while we go on consulting at a point when it becomes necessary for decision, we should all come together and take decision.”
“Presently as you are aware, WAEC starts the Senior School Certificate Examination on 17 August, it will go on till 7th of September.”
“Similarly, on the 21st of September or thereabout, NABTEB will commence its examination that will go on till on the 15 of October and immediately after that, NECO starts on the 5th and will hold till 18 of November.”
“Rather than making candidates run, particularly, when they will have to write their school certificate exam in different towns and rush to university elsewhere for post-UTME, like somebody rushing from Sokoto to Ibadan for post-UTME, we believe as a custodian of the highest sector of the education system, we should avoid that.”

Professor Oloyede also stated that institutions whose post-UTME screening is mandatory for candidates would have to spread such exercise in two phases.
“For those (institutions) who want to take post-UTME, that cannot be earlier than the 7th of September and it will be held twice – 7th September to 4th October, and then it will be held for the second time on the 18th November to mop up those who are taking their school certificate examination,” he stated.

Oloyede also explained that the institutions that conduct admissions without the administration of any-post UTME screening should also ensure candidates whose SSCE results will be released towards the end of the year are not denied participation in the admission exercise.

Meanwhilst, Oloyede made clear that the board has withheld the results of candidates that sat for this year’s UTME at Correctional Service Centres (prisons) over suspected infractions.

“There are candidates who took exams in the prison yard that we know are not prisoners, so we wrote to the correctional centres to explain how that happened because we didn’t want non-prisoners to take advantage of the concessions we give to inmates,” Oloyede said.

Education and schools have experienced several change over time in Africa. It has been an important part to the history of the continent since it was first introduced. However, before the contact of other cultures with Africa, the people had been exposed to education in different areas and forms for both male and female children. The effect and importance of this education cannot be overemphasized as children of different age groups are exposed to different skills and taught necessary values and social etiquettes that grooms them to be reliable, confident and productive adult. This trend continues from a generation to another. The continuity of the transfer of these values guarante their sustainance in the society as it promotes and preserves them beyond one generation.

Africa was mostly made up of tribes who often migrated depending on seasons, availability of fertile soil, and political circumstances before the colonial era. Therefore, power was decentralized in this era(a lot people held some form of authority as such power was not concentrated in a particular person or an institution). Usually, a person’s entitlement to land ( which were mostly patriarchal) gives the person some form of power within the person’s household and or within the person’s tribe. Households were also economically independent such that members of a household produced their own food, shelter and security. There was therefore no need for a formally organized education in precolonial Africa, as members of each household learned their skills, values, responsibilities, socialization and norms of their tribe/community/household by observing and assisting older household members or community members.

Education in precolonial Africa was therefore in the form of apprenticeship, a form of informal education, where children and or younger members of each household mostly learned from older members of their tribe/household/community. In most cases, each household member learned more than one skills in addition to learning the values, socialization, and norms of the community/tribe/household. Some of the common skills that people in precolonial Africa had to learn include; dancing, farming, wine making, cooking (mostly the females), in some cases selected people learn how to practice herbal medicine, how to carve stools, how to carve masks and other furniture.

Story telling also played significant role in education during precolonial Africa. Parents, other older members of households and Griots used oral story telling to teach children about the history, norms and values of their household/tribe/community. Children usually gathered around the storyteller who then narrates stories, usually, using personifications to tell stories that encourages conformity, obedience and values such as endurance, integrity, and other ethical values that are important for co-operations in the community.

Festivals and rituals in most cases were also used as means to teach younger members of a household/tribe/community about the history of their household, community and or tribe. Rituals were mainly used to teach young adults about the responsibilities and expectations of adulthood such as teaching females how to cook and care for a household and teaching the men how to hunt, farm, make masks etc. An example of a ritual which was used to teach young girls about womanhood is Dipo. Dipo was used to teach young girls, usually, adolescents about cocking, motherhood, and other necessary womanhood skills and values before they marry (engage in sexually related activities).

The origins of African education may be found in Egypt in Northern Africa. Papyrus, one of the first convenient mediums for retaining information, was used to develop systems for learning and developing new ideas. In fact, one of the first forms of higher education in Africa were the School of Holy Scriptures built in Ethiopia and Al-Azhar which was in Egypt. These schools became cultural and academic centers as many people traveled from all over the globe for knowledge and instruction. Well before contact with external cultures, Africans had developed pools of understanding and educational tools. Therefore, before the contact with external cultures Africans had been intimated with what education is. Obviously, education had being a known, practicable and sustainable part of life.

The government of Ogun state had rescinded her earlier decision of the N25,000 payment for COVID-19 test by private school boarding students that was initially announced. Recall that academic activities had been interrupted nationwide due to the outbreak of COVID-19 Pandemic. So in preparation for West African Senior School Certificate Examination, Senior Secondary School 3 (SSS 3) students resumed on the 4th of August. The decision was made so that the students will be adequately prepared for the examination, as the exam is fast approaching. The date for the commencement of the exam is 17th August.

The government of Ogun State mandated that the S.S.S 3 students must be tested for COVID-19 and Malaria before they resume. This is the prerequisite for resumption which every returning boarding student must meet up with. Meanwhile, Ronke Soyombo, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Primary and Secondary education, noted that the ministry of health has made provision for a COVID-19 and MALARIA TESTS for all S.S.S 3 returning boarding students in the State; as part of the conditions for the reopening of schools in some Public Health Care facilities between Friday 31st July & Monday 3rd August, 2020. Ogun State General Hospital, Ota, the 250 MTR Okemosan, Abeokuta, and Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu are part of the facilities.

She also added that the COVID-19 certificate showing ‘Negative’ is part of the very important conditions for allowing the boarding students into the school. The Principals are directed to disseminate the above important information to all S.S.S 3 students in the State immediately. They are to also ensure that the above instructions are strictly obeyed as any defaulting school will be sanctioned.

 
On getting to the testing centre, the students of private schools claimed to have been denied the test because the parents did not pay for the test. However, the parents of students protested against the request of N25,000 COVID-19 test fee by the government. Some of the parents that demonstrated on the streets, criticized the decision of the government to ask them to pay N25,000 on each student before their admittance into the school.

Some lamented that the decision is not good enough as some parents even have more than one child in the category of the students who are to resume.They complained that the economic situation in the country has made it difficult to pay such an amount of money. A member of the Parent Teachers Association (P.T.A) spoke against the allegation of discrimination against the private school students.
Reacting to the protest, the state government insisted that the parents will need to pay the levy and get a certificate to show that their children are COVID-19 negative before they could resume school. The Special Adviser to the governor on primary and secondary education had earlier explained that the state government will be responsible for the test of the S.S.S 3 boarding students from state-owned public schools while the private school authorities should make sure their students have tested negative before admitting them into their boarding facilities.

The government also stated that, in the bid to assist the private schools, the State Government has negotiated a huge discount in the cost of COVID-19 Test with some health facilities. Notwithstanding, private school owners and parents are free to engage any other healthcare service provider they desire but the service provider must be certified by NCDC as COVID-19 Test service provider. Also, the test must have been performed within 72 hours of the date of resumption.
The latest development however is that, on Monday, 3rd August the state government had cancelled the proposed 25,000 payment for COVID-19 test for final year secondary school students. The government also said the test will no longer be compulsory for the J.S.S 3 students. The Governor, Dapo Abiodun made this known following the protest by parents against the introduction of the policy.

The Governor also said, only the S.S.S 3 students are to resume on 4th August 2020 having put in place guidelines to ensure that the students resume in safe environment. He also apologised to parents and students for the inconvenience and confusion. However, he explained that, the test an certificate presentation policy put in place with the assistance of medical experts, was not intended to ill treat anyone but rather to make everyone including the parents, teachers and students confident that, they are safe knowing that everyone admitted into the boarding facilities have tested negative.

Since the facilities available cannot test the number of students who will write the exam both in public and private schools before the commencement of the exam; the school authority and Parents Teacher Association (P.T.A) are thereby encouraged to exercise there duty care to the students. While, the students with underlining health conditions can attend school from home. It is therefore important to make it clear that test is now free for both public and private school students. The government have also made available face mask for both public and private school students. The governor also made clear that the quality and standard education and well being of the students are dear to his heart.