A consultant, author, and publisher of the Smart and Brilliant Writing book series, Michael Omisore, tells EMMANUEL OJO, how pupils can better prepare for examinations to curb malpractices in the Nigerian educational system
You just concluded a programme with the theme, ‘The SSCE Project,’ where you had over 500 selected pupils from over 200 schools in Lagos registered for the programme with teachers on the platform. What was the objective of the programme?
The SSCE Project is a programme conceived by the Smart and Brilliant brand to help and aid today’s pupils in their preparation for their final examination. The programme is poised to complement the efforts of teachers in school by inspiring and instructing pupils on how to prepare well for their exams, so they will not have to turn to cheating and exam malpractice. From the testimonials we received from some pupils after their exam, the programme lived up to its billing to adequately prepare the pupils for the examination.
What was the motivation behind the idea?
There is a general degeneration in pupils’ attitude towards their education so much that the tendency not to read and study and to start seeking other means to pass an exam other than their efforts is becoming the in-thing. Pupils are becoming more indolent by the day, and the programme was birthed to redirect those about to sit for their final exams to proper and effective preparation so they can hold their result to their chest when it is out, happy they passed their exam by their effort.
We witnessed an embarrassing situation recently where the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board called out a candidate who paraded herself as the best candidate in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, claiming to have scored 362 instead of 249. What would you ascribe to be the cause of such exam malpractices?
It is quite sad. The reality is that it is not only candidates that are involved. Some teachers, parents, school leaders, owners, and other parties are involved. Now, any party involved in exam malpractice is only thinking of an immediate gain, maybe to be celebrated, to make some money, to be promoted, to gain admission to a higher institution, and so on.
All these are false realities that will truncate the academic process for the candidate who is cheating or being aided to cheat. Once that academic process is truncated, the candidate can no longer be an effective learner, and cannot grow to become a thorough professional in the future. The immediate, crooked gain is temporary, and it is actually going to translate into a lasting loss for them in aspects where professionalism is concerned. Exam malpractice is not only criminal, it is also counterproductive, unprofessional, and unnecessary in the first place. It is unnecessary because if a candidate prepares well for an exam, he should pass that exam.
Sadly, parents are (part of the malpractice) and sometimes I wonder how we got here. The decadence of society has caught up with so many parents as well. In many cases, they push the schools towards malpractice for warped reasons their seared conscience has allowed. What the average parent doesn’t know, however, is that you will lose the child you help to cheat in terms of morality. Well, you may not know you have lost the child until a moral issue comes up between you and that child. Then you will realise that you have traded away your authority and right to correct that child morally. Exam malpractice portends a loss in every way.
Do you think it is a foundational issue that is embedded in our educational system?
It is partly foundational. It is ‘partly’ because academic integrity has been relegated due to socioeconomic challenges and anti-learning fads being embraced in our environment. Every ill facing education in the country, including malpractice, can be traced to the collapse of public schools. That was when and where the degeneration began. In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, public schools were meant to be the staple for education while qualified private schools provided specific extra values for interested parents who can afford their tuition. When public primary and secondary school education collapsed, there came all sorts of private schools to fill the space, and many of them are not wired and equipped to put the interest of their pupils first. That is why they can, without hesitation, introduce their pupils to criminality. So, the government that is ready to fix education must, first of all, fix and sanitise public schools, and provide regulations for the private schools that will be able to stand the test of academic integrity.
Do you think the culture of reading is well promoted in our country?
Not at all. We have a poor reading culture, and the tendency is that it is going to be worse except anti-learning fads and trends causing it are curbed. The government and leadership are not doing enough. First of all, we must put the right pegs in the right holes. People handling education must be those with proven experience to handle it.
As an educational consultant, do you think hard work is well rewarded in the system?
I can tell that hard work definitely pays, even in Nigeria. Our government and leadership may not be doing enough yet to reward efforts, and we can actually expect more from them, but I believe that our expectations should not just be on handouts from the government or an employer. Education is a professional line, and professionalism is meant to create opportunities for career growth.
As a trainer of teachers, I have an almighty formula for the teaching profession: the learning experience you give is the teaching experience you get. Having amassed a good teaching experience, you must learn how to cash in on your rich teaching experience. If as a teacher, you have taught a subject for 15 to 20 years, and you have done so diligently, you can actually cash in on that expertise to get rewarded more than your remuneration.
How will you rate the Nigerian educational system?
Generally, it is poor. There are bright developments in some aspects and some regions, but if you still look at the country as a whole, it is generally poor. There are three things we need to focus on to turn the tide. First is conceptualised learning, teaching people based on their level and the age we are in.
The second thing is to rebrand the teaching profession. Without this, today’s teachers cannot give their best. Third, and equally important as the first two, is to have an effective mass mobilisation that gives an orientation and recreation to the ideals of education. There is a 28-page report my firm did on this titled Rethinking Education, and it is available online.
How equipped do you think the infrastructure in Nigeria’s educational institutions are?
Not so equipped, again, generally. How many schools can boast of a functional library and laboratories? We have classrooms that are dilapidated. We have pupils sitting on the floor in some schools. Our schools are not so equipped, an existing reality that shows that our educational system is not standard enough.
Do you think there are sufficient provisions or budgets made for the building of public libraries as it was several years ago?
I am not into budget allocations, but I can tell we have only been paying lip service to having functional public libraries, and ensuring such public libraries are used and maintained. We seem to have lost touch with the essence of public libraries. Someone says people don’t have to go to the library again because they have phones and the Internet. No! In the developed world where there is greater use of phones and the internet, people there still use public libraries. It is a question of understanding the gains of public libraries.
Do you think the building of public libraries is a culture that should be revamped?
In terms of contents, anywhere called a library should be equipped with updated and more recently revised books and reading materials, and not have its shelf filled with outdated materials. Regarding user-friendliness and keeping abreast of contemporary trends, digital libraries or the hybrid of both physical and digital should be more established. In terms of need and adaptation, an effective school library system should be formalised as an essential part of the school schedule because a good number of those that are meant to be library users are students in school. Every school should have a library, not just a space stocked with books, but a system where relevant contents are available for students’ aid, study, reference, and other kinds of engagement. Every School a Library is another initiative of the Smart and Brilliant brand, and we are engaging the relevant body saddled with managing public libraries in Nigeria regarding its possible application.
How do you perceive saying, ‘if you want to hide something from a black man, put it in a book,’ as an educationist?
As offensive as it sounds, its figurative connotations appear to largely hold, again on a general level. Don’t get me wrong. The black man is not inferior to any other race. Our children are leading in many schools abroad, but on a general note, the average person around here needs to up their game about learning, unlearning, and relearning. But they won’t be able to do that until they can connect learning to their development and outcome in life.
Do you also think that the poor culture of reading is what is reflected in the setbacks we have had in science and technology as compared to other climes?
Absolutely. How well can one research when one has not built the habit of reading? When the reading culture is low, knowledge depth will be generally low, and research will not be in the picture.
How has the internet affected the academic performance of learners?
The internet provides information and ample knowledge, but these will not turn into anything meaningful except if it is met with deep reflection. That is where the conflict lies. People are being fed with so much information on the internet but they are too lazy to dig around through study and reflection for proper understanding and assimilation of that knowledge and mastering of the thought process. The same student who can surf and browse the internet for God knows what finds it hard to study his textbooks that have tailored contents for their school syllabus. On exam day, they will want to cheat, because they have not really read. That is the problem.
Some pupils have the habit of studying only when there are exams. Do you think it is a good practice?
This is why the Smart and Brilliant brand came up with the SSCE Project. Ideally, one’ final exam is meant to be prepared for a good length of time, not weeks or days to the exam. In fact, for a pupil sitting for SSCE, they should have been preparing for that exam since SSS1.
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