By Francis Ewherido
I wanted to write on this topic more than a year ago, but each time, there was a twist. I gave up because I did not know who to speak for or against. At some point, it was a parent who flogged a teacher to death for daring to discipline his delinquent son. At another time, a teacher was arrested for beating a student to coma. There was also the case of a teacher who kept hitting the head of a three-year-old child several times due to his inability to write correctly. In my time, three year olds had no business in school. What do they want to learn that cannot wait? These days, children are shipped to crèches or day care centres as early as three months because daddy and mummy have to go to work. In my opinion, a child who can’t talk is safer in a crèche or school than hiring a nanny or “house girl” to take care of her at home.
The most annoying thing about this three-year-old child was that the mother works in the school as a cleaner. It was partly a case of a frustrated teacher of average means oppressing a poor cleaner because she “can’t do anything.” I have always said it that some people are oppressors. It’s just that they don’t have the leverage. If they have any opportunity and the means, they will abuse or oppress others. These days, when I see ordinary Nigerians abuse people in authority, I laugh. They will do worse if they have the opportunity.
Anyway, what made me to revisit this topic is the trending video from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. From what I have seen so far, the young lady was doing a Tiktok video and a lecturer who was passing tapped her on the shoulder. From there, all hell was let loose. This is my take. If I were the lecturer, I would simply have said, “excuse me.” I would not have touched her. Maybe the lecturer was pissed off with what she was doing. If I were a lecturer, I would also be pissed off, but this generation is a different breed. You tread carefully with them. Even “excuse me” might sometimes not be enough.
In my time, there was no social media, but if you were caught by a lecturer doing something during school hours which had nothing to do with your studies, you apologised immediately or/and scampered away, praying it does not count against you ultimately. The Gen Z are different. Okay, let me not generalise because some students dare not do this. All things being equal, they know that they are on their own if any action is taken against them. My father never went to school to beg on my behalf for any infractions. I have maintained that policy for my children. But where the school was at fault, my wife especially fought ferociously for our children.
Some Gen Z are different. They were brought up with zero manners. I hear stories of secondary school students who insult their teachers. Some even gang up and beat up teachers. The highest that took place in my secondary school days was a junior student who ambushed a senior student and gave him the beating of his life in Warri during holiday. When we resumed for the new term, one front tooth of the senior student was missing, the outcome of the beating. The matter never came up either because it happened during holiday, or he was too ashamed to report to the school authority that a junior student beat him up during holiday, or he was scared of further reprisals.
In the case of this girl, I was shocked but not surprised. This is very typical of Gen Z who were badly brought up. I saw the video starting from when the lecturer tapped her on the shoulder. Her countenance was like “what effrontery? How dare you?” I was not surprised when she went after the lecturer and grabbed his top. In my time, how dare you? Where will you even see a lecturer to exchange words with? We tiptoed in the front of a lecturer’s office and walked past a professor’s office with trepidation. As simple as he was, the only time I went to Prof Humphrey Nwosu’s (former National Electoral Commission chairman) office when he was at UNN was at his instance to submit an assignment. I can’t recall going to Prof Okwudili Nnoli’s office. Prof Sylvanus Ekwelie was my head of department in mass communication. He was a demigod. We went to his house once to pay a condolence visit. It was tough for us to feel at home. It was in his house I drank a cocktail of whiskey and Fanta for the first time. Lecturers were revered.
By the 90s when my younger ones were in the university, I started hearing of students “sorting” out lecturers to pass exams. Somewhere else, I heard about a student who graduated but never wrote degree exams. The fault is not in the Gen Z alone, but lecturers who have cheapened themselves by collecting bribes and demanding sex for marks. These two maladies, more than other factors, brought this “see finish” of university lecturers. At least one professor is serving a jail term for sexual harassment. A couple of others are still in court. Some lecturers have been dismissed. As for the Unizik case, the matter should be thoroughly investigated and justice should be served.
JAMB Scores another Goal
The Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, is a man I have tremendous respect for. I do not know him personally, but in a society where the word “integrity” is used flippantly, he has proven to be a man of integrity. When he became the registrar of JAMB, the body which the government used to subsidise all of a sudden started generating more money than it was spending. Recently, his integrity was called to question during budget defence in the House of Representatives. Prof gave a very satisfactory explanation. I also recall that sometime ago, he was uncomfortable with the amount of collection being declared at the Abuja Mosque. He got involved and it became obvious that some itchy fingers were pilfering the mosque’s commonwealth.
But I am talking about Prof for a different reason today. You will recall that the former Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, announced that from 2025, the entry age for university students will be 18. There was an uproar. I was one of those who was seriously against it. Later the government backtracked and left it at 16 years. But there was still a lacuna which I pointed out then: “In the US and the UK, they waive the age requirements for ‘geniuses’ and specially gifted children.” That is exactly what JAMB has addressed:
“JAMB has stated that candidates below the age of 16 can gain admission into universities on the condition they score at least 320 out of 400 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, clarified that while 16 remains the general admission requirement, exceptional candidates who demonstrate outstanding academic abilities will be considered under strict conditions. These students must excel in multiple assessments, including the UTME, West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), Post-UTME, and General Certificate Examination (GCE O/Level).”
Case closed. My only admonition is that JAMB and other exam bodies should watch out for dubious parents who want to beat the system by making their wards meet these requirements through the back door. I don’t know what their problem is.
