Okorocha’s Free Education Has Produced Mass Mediocrity In Imo – Okey Ezeh
By Austin Echefu
A governorship aspirant in Imo State under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and consummate entrepreneur, Mr. Okey Ezeh, has decried the falling standard of education and the number of Mathematics teachers in Imo State, saying that the quality of education has gone far below the standard despite the free education policy of the Okorocha led government.
He said that instead of breeding a crop of people with the requisite knowledge, the Okorocha’s government has only produced mass mediocrity in the state.
Speaking to the 9th batch of undergraduate beneficiaries of the skills acquisition program of the Okechukwu Theodore Ezeh Foundation in Owerri on Monday, Mr. Ezeh lamented that successive administrations in the State had neglected to invest in critical social services like health and education, stressing that Imo State currently has a dysfunctional educational system that creates and sustains mass mediocrity and offers education without the requisite knowledge.
“We currently have 87 Mathematics teachers to cater for the 548 public schools in the State while we have about 103 teachers for English Language with a significant number due for retirement soon.
“There are eleven faculties at the Imo State University with disciplines not accredited by the relevant rating boards. The Polytechnic at Umuagwo has not fared any better in passing the accreditation hurdles of the National Board on Technical Education (NBTE), hence her products have been having running battles with all manner of authorities questioning the relevance of their certificates, including the NYSC scheme which has repeatedly ejected them from camps”, he said.
He also lamented that Imo State has “tumbled from our previous Olympian height in educational attainment to now record average performance grade of 46.03% in WAEC results, a performance that placed us in the 5th position behind states like Abia which came 1st, and second-placed Anambra.”
He added that “Education is key to building successful and progressive societies and the program on education in the Imo Marshal Plan will ensure that no Imo child is poorly trained and inadequately prepared for a prosperous life.
“The program is driven by a determination to train Imo children to be skilled and competitive both nationally and globally through the adoption of the use of modern pedagogical methods including ICT and multi-media platforms, and creation of an education-business partnership framework.
“Students would be exposed to skills acquisition as part of the school system. Incentives to learning and motivation to teaching will be taken care of.
“Infrastructure will be upgraded, curricula updated. We can’t allow our children keep passing through the doors of 19th Century schools to face the 21st Century economy.
“I believe we have a great opportunity to make Imo work again. Let’s do it together.”
The 2019 governorship aspirant reminded the trainees that their ability to play a pivotal role in choosing a new crop of leaders who have the vision, passion and credibility to usher in a glorious dawn for Imo is the trump card they hold in their hands.
