Operate illegal school in Ebonyi, go to jail – Nwankwegu

In this interview with EGWUAGHA AMARACHUKWU in Abakaliki, Rt. Hon. Sabinus Nwankwegu, Education Commissioner of Ebonyi, explains that the state has a law that stipulates punishment for sub standard schools, among other issues

Who is Sabinus Nwankwegu? Rt. Hon.
Sabinus Nwankwegu, is the former Deputy Speaker, Ebonyi State House of Assembly, former Deputy Majority Leader, former Commissioner for Economic Empowerment and Job Creation, former Commissioner for Solid Minerals, former Commissioner for Borders, Peace and Conflict Resolution.
The problem of truancy, absenteeism and dereliction of duty is on the increase in schools in the state, what are you doing to address the malaise since you assumed office months ago? I came to this Ministry in June.
I have served here barely four months.
And when I came in, I penciled down my action plan.
This includes one, effective monitoring and supervision of schools which is the key because once you give effective monitoring and supervision of all our schools, definitely, we will get it right.
Two, we decided to introduce what we call education half hour.
This is designed to let the public know the running of the ministry and boardsUBEB and SEB because we want everybody all and sundry to know how their children are being taught on a daily basis.
So, every Tuesday we are on radio on Education Half Hour by 8:30am.
Then, on Thursdays 8:30 on the television.
So, one is free to ask questions and make suggestions on the way forward from the ladder where we are standing because Ebonyi State is in the 10th position nationwide but we want to make progress.
First, second and third positions is what we are aiming.

Poor reading culture has been identified as one of the factors responsible for students and pupils’ poor performance.
What are your efforts to improve on reading culture in the state?
We also introduced what we call compulsory reading club in all secondary schools to improve the psyche of our children on reading culture.
By implication, compulsorily, every school must establish what we call reading club.
We also want every school to engage in school farm.
When we visit most of these schools, you will see farms around them.
These farms are owned by the teachers.
If you ask which one is owned by the students, they will say none even when you see some small farms.
They will say this one is school farm.
But the one doing well belong to the teacher.
So, we want to get the schools to engage in agriculture.
The time for that will not hamper learning in the school.
At the end of the harvesting season, we will do what we call agricultural show, where all the schools will come to the local government level to show what you produced.
From the local government, you will get the best, we will shift to zone and from zone to state.
I have called the principals and headmasters of schools and presented the program to them so that they will key in.

Don’t you think there should be other measures to make Ebonyi students develop more interest in reading? Another area is the area of compulsory quiz and debate societies in schools.
We want the students to be reading either on Fridays.
They will gather for quiz.
Every Master will submit either three or four questions.
The quiz master will choose participants and ask them questions, then you will see our children ready to read and this issue of examination malpractice will be a thing of the past.
You will see people scampering to read so that during the quiz they can answer questions.
When the two participants are unable to answer the questions, it will be thrown to the public.
These are the things we feel that if properly handled, education in the state will improve tremendously.
These programs are compulsory that every school must engage in school inter house sports at least once in a session, because all works without play makes Jack a dull boy.
The ministry will send somebody to represent it in the competition.
This is to enable us catch them young and improve the hidden talents.

 What is your assessment of schools in Ebonyi State since after resumption on 10th September? Schools reopened on 10th and from then till date, I have been very busy with monitoring.
As I speak with you now, most of our men are in the field monitoring the teachers.
On the 10th schools reopened, I visited all the schools, and behold 99 per cent of teachers were in school.
It is either that one is on maternity leave or that one is sick.
Those were the only people that absented themselves.
Lessons started that 10th.
But the problem we have is on the side of the students and pupils.
In some of the schools we visited, in a class of forty, you will see only ten students.
And we have been calling on parents to help themselves to send their children to school.
This is holiday that lasted more than one month and the population is not encouraging.
We have been calling on parents to send their children to school.
But this time, we want to get it right.

Parents are now seen to be responsible for late resumption of pupils and students in schools.
How do you intend to handle this?
We want to introduce another measure.
When you are aiding your child from participating in cleaning the school and dusting the school, we have to introduce another measure.
If your child did not resume the day school reopens, you are going to pay one thousand naira.
That money will be invariably used to clear the school.
The choice is for the parents to know which one is better.
All in all, I feel we have been busy and we will get it right.
Graciously enough, I have called the meetings of Senior Technical Assistants and Technical Assistants, the ZIEs and AIEs, headmsters, principals and key players in the ministry like directors.
We are working as a family.
That is the first thing I did to unite them to ensure that everybody is on one page.
UBEB and SEB we are working as a team because we have only one goal of ensuring standard and quality education to our children.
One cannot afford to be moving in different directions whereas, the goal is only one.

Education is said to be free in the state but some teachers still collect illegal fees.
Are you aware of this and what is your office doing to stop it?
You know to deal with human beings is very difficult.
But I can go on to tell you the penalty so far on teachers that want to cut corners.
For example today, I have sent people to Ikwo to find out what is happening there because I learnt that a teacher is collecting money from students on the ground of registration.
If it is found to be true, you will hear the punishment to such person.
We have abolished anything like unnecessary levies.
The state is operating free education.
And if there is any need for issues that are unavoidable, bring such proposal to the ministry, we will look at it passionately and approve it.
But for you to wake up and say students should pay one thousand, pay two thousand is abolished in Ebonyi State.
I am sounding it and sounding it again to the hears of teachers.
Do not levy anybody.
The other day, some teachers did not entre their classes, I invited their Nd subjected them to write letter of undertaking.
I told them that one is first warning.
What are you doing to nip in the bud the proliferation of illegal private schools in Ebonyi? There is a law in place regulating the establishment of private schools.
This law is tackling the issue of proliferation of private schools in Ebonyi State.
And should you operate private schools in Ebonyi State and it is not registered, the law will catch on you.
The law is Ebonyi State of Nigeria Law No.
008 of 2018.
Ebonyi State private education institutions law 2018.
Inside this law, there is a penalty of one operating private school without approval.
It spelt out punishment to offenders.
Some are six months imprisonment and some fines.
I have called meeting of all the private school proprietors and presented the law to them letting them know that it is not Uhuru as usual.
If you are operating private schools in Ebonyi State and it is not registered, this is what is waiting for you.
Either six months imprisonment or stiff penalty.
I feel I am duty bound to let them know this.
We can set up a taskforce to go round.
We want a standard and we have directed them to submit the nominal roll of their staff and their qualifications to know the standard of such school.
You cannot recruit somebody with first school leaving certificate to teach in secondary school or WAEC.
We have directed them to compile their names so as to separate Barnabas from Paul.

 What about the renovation of schools in the 171 wards in the state? Recently we are aware that Exco approved one school in the 171 wards in the state.
As I speak with you now, I think UBEB is busy awarding the contract and it is ongoing now.
Very soon, we will visit the wards to see the projects.
From 1996 when the state was created to 2015, Ebonyi used to come 30, 31 and 32 in position.
But since His Excellency, Engineer David Nweze Umahi, came on board, we came back from 30th to 15th and now 10th which we have been holding for sometime.
But you know our education friendly governor said he is not satisfied because to him, what matters in every competition is that you took first, second and third positions.
That is our target and mission now.

Can you compare and contrast education in Ebonyi with other Southeast states? Just because we are on a fast lane.
Some of us were taught by people from Imo which means they started before us.
We are measuring with other Southeast states if not surpassing them.

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