Ozioma Onyenweaku
Last week I was reminiscing on the good old days of the federal schools now unity schools. There was an idea, a great one at that behind the creation of Federal Schools.
The idea was to foster national unity by bringing young ones from different parts of the country together in schools; to grow and develop along a united front that embrace unity while respecting the obvious diversity; and to foster unity among the over 300 ethnic nationalities of Nigeria.
The idea was on its very good course for about 2 decades; getting accolades for living up to expectation. And then gradually some virus started eating and eating deep into the system leaving the unity schools now comatose.
Some people blame the fall of the unity schools on the inequality or rather still, discrimination, in the admission process. There has been huge gap in cut-off marks of one region and the other.
I recall that in 2013, former president of Nigeria Bar Association, and Human Rights Lawyer, Olisa Agbakoba, had in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1358/2013 challenged the inequality in the admission process into the unity schools. He challenged the disparity in the admission process approved by the federal government where different cut-off marks apply based on the candidate’s state of origin and gender.
Agbakoba, requested for uniform admission requirement, especially cut-off marks, be applied to all candidates irrespective of gender and state of origin.
Giving judgment in November 2014, the court declared that the application of different cut-off marks based on states of origin, and gender violates the candidates’ fundamental rights to freedom from discrimination as guaranteed under section 42(1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
The court, therefore, ordered the Federal Government and the Minister of Education to apply uniform cut-off marks to all candidates seeking admission into Unity Schools irrespective of their states of origin and gender.
However, the position is still as it was before the complaint. The government chooses which court orders to obey and which not to obey depending on the actors, and whose interests are affected.
In my opinion, though, the admission process disparity does not account for the rot in unity schools now. It is more of the total neglect and abandonment of the unity schools by the Federal Government.
The school structures and the entire unity school system have been left to decay and rot.
Buildings now collapse, and roofs being blown off. Broken gates and walls are seen in many schools. The once sparkling environments of unity schools have turned into eyesore. The environments where these young ones are expected to reside and study are everything far from being fit for humans.
Water and electricity have become scarce commodities. Students roam streets and streams in search of water. Schools buses are great luxury.
Teachers of Federal Schools are now being owed. In some of the schools, parents and guardians contribute money for teachers’ salaries and allowances. In some too, the parents hire teachers and pay them. The students suffer malnutrition as government does not pay attention to their cries any longer. The decay cuts across all unity schools.
Another factor militating against the unity school is insecurity in the country. The essence of Unity Schools is to have students from the different parts of the country intermingle to achieve national integration. But with the high level of insecurity in the country, parents are now reluctant to send their young children to attend unity school outside their immediate environment. This defeats the purpose of the unity schools.
For about two decades, the unity schools served the purpose of achieving integration among the diverse ethnic groups in the country.
To go to any part of the country now, all I need to is find out which of my federal babes are there; and hurray, I would be home! Same applies even if travelling outside the country. We remain sisters today because we grew up knowing ourselves as sisters.
There is need to revive the unity schools because reasons for establishing unity schools are still valid today, in fact, more than any other time.
But we cannot possibly achieve that if the issue of insecurity is not tackled and conquered. With the insecurity, students are not able to go beyond their local environment. This then leaves the unity schools as community schools.
There is need for the government to go back to the drawing board as regards the unity schools. The country needs the national integration, cultural and religious tolerance now more than ever before. We can catch the children young on that.
The creation of Unity schools is an idea well conceived for national good. Let us not kill it.
Ozioma remains a proud Old Girl of FGGC, Gboko. Pro Unitate!!