Kids and cell phones

They are now used to the act in such a way that they often forgo doing their homework, reading their books and attending to other home activities. More worrisome is that those in secondary schools go to school with the gadgets which they browse in the class even when lessons are going on. These frivolous […]

They are now used to the act in such a way that they often forgo doing their homework, reading their books and attending to other home activities. More worrisome is that those in secondary schools go to school with the gadgets which they browse in the class even when lessons are going on. These frivolous activities have seriously contributed to the poor performance of students in examinations.
Unfortunately, this is happening at the time the government is putting everything in place towards achieving quality education for all by 2015. All the same, the situation is not completely out of control as the government, especially the school authorities, can do something to remedy the situation. The government, teachers, parents and other stakeholders should do everything within their power to correct these aberrations. Otherwise, our nation would be infested with bunch of illiterate graduates in the near future.
The last UTME witnessed one of the worst performances by students in this country as only 10 out of 1.7 million candidates who sat for the examination scored 300 and above. Such a poor performance should move stakeholders especially the government to find a lasting solution to the problem.
Nigeria has all it takes to bring back education to an enviable height like the days of our famous trio of Obafemi Awolowo, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Nnamdi Azikiwe of blessed memory. My heart bleeds whenever I see posters with such inscriptions as STUDY IN GHANA on our major towns and cities. Imagine Ghana whose migrants here were sent packing decades ago; now like the biblical Joseph they are feeding us educationally. Nigerians are now going to Ghana to study; isn’t that shameful?
Parents should do something about their children’s indulgence in frivolities because they are the first to feel the impact of such misbehaviour. The bottom line is parents should not buy their children cell phones until they finish their secondary education.
Joseph Cletus, Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri