The actual illiterates are still on the way. Holistically, the hallmark of education is the ability and capability to express fundamental self confidence in relative culture and tradition.
However, the pride and dignity of the education bequeathed to Nigeria by Britain is, majorly, the mastery, the usage and application of the English language.
Although other subjects and courses are taught and mastered, their language of interaction and impartation remains the English language. That was why during the days of 1960s, through the 80s and slightly 90s, reading of hard-copy books was the trending practice.
In consequence, students of, mainly, secondary and tertiary institutions were usually seen, carrying and reading novels and other books. Even in primary schools, book reading and assignments doing were emphasized.
On Fridays, class tests were usually given to pupils to check their mastery of lessons taught during the week.
Those who scored good marks were usually commended, and sometimes given gifts. And those who scored below par, used to dance The Zero Dance, round the class.
That practice made pupils who failed to work harder during the succeeding weeks. However, these days, the practice has changed. The class tests are no longer done in the classrooms to be checked and marked by the teachers.
Those tests are now taken home by pupils to their parents as homework! Whoever does these tests for the pupils, and how the answers were gotten, no longer perturb the teachers.
Some illiterate parents, or even those who were dullards during their own schooling days, are now faced with numerous home tests for their pupils.
Coupled with this wrong practice, is the issue of using the English language to communicate with offspring at home. Both the illiterate and semi-illiterate parents talk to their children in English language, instead of in their mother tongue.
In consequence, the dictums, the tenses, the nouns, verbs and so on, get the mess of their compositions and interpositions!
In the secondary and higher institutions, the pidgin English is the language of communication. The correct English language has been supplanted without shame!
Writing skill and its laws have lost their glory, as shortened form and alphabetical representations are now employed to spell and to address!
During examination, all the levels of our educational systems engage in examination malpractices. Answers to questions in official examinations are usually copied out to sitting students. And this happens in both the primary and secondary schools.
Students in the tertiary institutions are worse off in their own system and style! The situation is quite lamentable. Sincerely, the actual illiterates are still on the way!
