By Richardson Ogwezzy
As the federal Government relaxed lockdown and some sectors have resumed work, Government was not in a haste to re-open schools. I know Nigerian Government felt re-opening of schools, is because they are aware that if schools resume, when covid-19 pandemic is still prevalent, that students population will give room for greater spread of the disease.
The lives of the students are also of paramount importance to the government, bearing in mind that students are leaders of tomorrow. Apart from that, teachers (lecturers) as nation builders are people in whom government cannot jettison, because they know teachers (lecturers) lives must be jealously guided, because their relevance to national development cannot be over-emphasized and no teacher no nation is always a fact that no government treats with levity.
Apart from this, the government at all levels, are aware that they have to make adequate provision for students as schools resume. Students need Government mediation to cushion their suffering in school.
The abrupt and indefinite closure of schools occasioned by Covid-19 pandemic has placed many Nigerian students in difficulties, just as Coronavirus pandemic made many jobless, fugitives, homeless, and some subjected to abject poverty, some parents lost their lives, so it has also affected the minds of students.
Many of our students are now on the streets, doing one form of business or the other as a means of whiling away the time and to make both ends meet, some are involved in criminal activities of various degrees (raping, alcoholism, stealing, gangsterism, some are learning one type of trade, while some are luckily fitted in white collar jobs. Due to the lengthy months in the indefinite closure of schools, some have taken in, both the male and female students are in dilemma over returning back to school. Very infinitesimal numbers of students, thought of reading their books nor attend extra lessons to augment the missing gap. Even the online learning programmes government introduced as a way forward to making up the lessons missed in school due to the pandemic, yet the question is, how many students availed themselves of this great opportunity?
Observations have shown that the minds of the students toward education have been truncated and the rate of at which Nigerian graduates roam about the street with no job syndrome have been discouraging factors to students at the recent times.
The issue now, is that, students that have been engaged in business activities as ways of making living in the society or have been strongly committed in one issue or the other will not be ready to go back to school when schools resume.
My worries are that, these students that have been having one entanglement or the other, their fate in returning back to schools is bleak. From observations, alot of students are likely to fall by the way, now that schools is about to resume, Nigerian Government at all levels should as a matter of urgency adopt a “Recoiling Method in Education’ to salvaging the situation.
Recoiling method in education, though relatively novel by name but has been operational from federal to community levels where schools are situated. Recoiling Method in education are strategies, measures adopted by government to attract or lure or withdraw pupils/students back to schools when there is abrupt and indefinite closure of schools by government due to the precarious situation in a country such Coronavirus pandemic, war, insurgence, crisis, great flood or imminent danger in the country, state or community where schools are located. The essence of recoiling method is to lure (bring) students back to schools because their minds have been ingrained by discouraging factors such as the issues I have enumerated above
It is pertinent to note that Recoiling Method has been in practice before now, in a normal setting, because the utmost priority of the government is to provide good quality education for her citizens, the dire need of the government is to ensure pupils/students returns to school. At this stage, government’s attention must be called upon (clarion call for action) just like the case of Covid-19 pandemic that we are.
Classical examples of Recoiling Method which has be operational is the federal Government school feeding programme of primary school pupils in all public primary schools in Nigeria. This school feeding programme, has helped alot of pupils’ return to school.
In a similar vein, the present commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education in Delta State, Chief Patrick Ukah, has introduced resumption test for secondary school students in Delta State. The test is conducted, every first week of resumption, having observed low students turn up every first week of resumption. Ever since the adoption of resumption test in Delta State, students’ low rate of turn up at the first week has become a thing of the past. It is not just a test for test sake, the test is used as a part of the students’ continuous assessment and various schools, attached their importance on the resumption test. Government, oil companies and wealthy individuals awarding of scholarships and bursaries to students are still in this category. The above recoiling method could be encouraged (revitalised) as the schools tend to re-open.
In the present case we are, the Recoiling Method expected of government, are embarking on sensitization programmes on the needs for students to return to schools, such programmes could be done on radio, television, newspapers, social media and even at the local/community levels. The government liaising with all Academic Unions in our institutions such as NUT, ASUSS, COEASU, ASUP, ASUU, to enable teachers/lecturers to carry out the campaign to students. Since teachers/lecturers are loco parentis and are always with the students at homes and in communities. Apart from this, teachers/lecturers are in better positions to talk convincingly on this issue at hand. Government meeting with Parents Teachers’ Associations (PTA), community leaders, traditional and religious leaders to enable them be in the vanguard of sensitising students on the needs to return to school. Government can give enticing promises on various ways they can be of assistance to students than before, such as providing gift items in form of learning materials to pupils/students regularly as schools re-open.
Debating and quiz competitions can be organized and some valuable prizes given to students. Football competition among houses can also be organized and cultural activities of students’ interest, when Covid-19 pandemic subsides.
It is worthy to note that, the adverse effect of Covid -9 pandemic to a country is less devastating than government, communities and other stakeholders in education neglecting the use of recoiling method as strategy of returning students to schools.
Nigerian legislatures both Federal and State should enact laws that will enhance effective adoption of Recoiling Method in Education in various States of the country to make students interested in returning back to schools whenever crisis ends.
I have observed by my findings that Recoiling Method is one of the best ways of bringing students back to schools in recent time. The term Recoiling Method is a new idea in education to be explored. I hereby call on World Academia to critically examine the term “Recoiling Method” as it relates to education, fine tune it and make it a topic in a course in education.
Ogwezzy, Richardson is a Statistician, Educational Administrator and presently a Ph.D candidate of Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria
