WHY I HATED HIGH SCHOOLS.
As a child, I grew up knowing I and everybody in my community would access primary education through only one man, ABC Orjiako, the father and hero of the elementary kids. He was the sole sponsor of our education at the primary level, not just for our community, but our entire local government.
Who knew government then? Orjiako was more popular and pronounced among the teachers and pupils than the President or Governor because he was our only source of hope: hope of learning; of a future, a destiny and fulfilment of dreams. We adored him, sang marching songs and, were terrified at just the mention of his name. In fact, he was a god to us.
But I grew up learning and unlearning a lot. As my consciousness advanced, I was soon to be confronted with facts and reality. I never thought, like my schoolmates, that the government owned schools. I grew up knowing just one man as the sponsor of education. I was to be posted to a government owned secondary school (high school). Of course, I was happy to have graduated from the primary school but, to go to a high school like Uli boys? That I would never consider myself accepting. Outright rejection greeted the letter at home as my mother who had been waiting anxiously for my high school posting had already made up her mind never to have me join the "bad empty-heads in the high schools." That was the rhetoric of few informed parents in the village when describing the bizarreness of students and education in high schools. Thanks to goodness they are moribund especially in the South East, the Igbo land.
Yes, I am happy they are for serious reasons. High school is yet another expression of the irresponsibility of the Nigerian government and one that ensures their unpopularity especially amongst pupils and students at that. Had you taken a trip to any of these schools, you would probably have understood the dehumanization and defrauding of students of those schools. The dilapidation and decay of infrastructure, polluted learning environments, nonchalance of clearly unqualified teachers who are unrepentant sycophants to political godfathers, start the list of heart wrecking conditions in high schools. Indiscipline is the commonest lesson the so-called teachers give the students every hour of the school periods. That is why the Police never lacked around the vicinity of most of these schools to haul cultists movements and weapon fights, Uli Boys was a living example.
Government has always touted how its presence is heavily felt in grassroot education and I ask where, when and how? Because as I child, I never knew government was to be responsible for my education and when I got to know, my experience gave me more convictions that government doesn't know about the existence of high schools. With the state of high schools, one would only conclude that government doesn't know about their existence. If they knew, as humans they are, they would have a feeling, at least, of sorry.
I could imagine why a colleague had reasoned that they were like orphans in their high school days. They hardly understood they were there to learn until they got out. While I wished ABC Orjiako had enough money to continue my training up to secondary level, I was and will be profoundly grateful to God because my parents could afford my private secondary school financial obligations. What about the financially unfortunate of today? Will this government ever be responsible on this one thing?