Nigeria needs teachers and now it is inventing something: pay undergraduate students in the education domain N75,000 per semester in any public university across the country. Students in the National Certificate in Education (NCE) programme in public institutions will get N50,000. But magically, the government added that dreaded word which many have been pushing is not for the modern world: bond.
Yes, “beneficiaries must attend public institutions only and sign a bond to serve their state for five (5) years on graduation,’ says a statement from the government. It is very intriguing that this is coming from the government. Banks can now rejoice because they usually like to bond workers after those foreign training programs.
Largely, the government through the Ministry of Labour has been fighting companies which bond workers. So, it is a huge irony that the government has joined and is scaling the practice at the highest level: at schools well before the students begin work!
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Personally, I do not believe in bonding workers and it should be outlawed. If you want to keep your workers, find better ways to do so – and those options include stock options, contracted labour agreement which requires paying them more with certainty on availability (those given to CEOs), etc.
For a government, I do not think it is necessary. Yes, if you think giving young people N150k yearly for 4 years will make them commit to serve you for 5 years, post graduation, you have an issue. In a nation of massive unemployment, that is not necessary. What is necessary is making the public sector (including teaching in public schools) to be driven by merit so that more energetic and motivated people will show interest.
All together, bonding the youth to work for the government is a bad idea. But making the public sector attractive via merit and opportunities will send the best to the government.
Comment on LinkedIn Feed
Comment #1: There is no free lunch Sir, If the government is footing the bills, it’s not unreasonable to expect for return on the their investment.
It’s quite simple really, They will educate the students and pay them, and in return they’ll work for them to pay back. Only thing is that If those students wish to leave early and not engage in the proscribed field, then they should able to refund the cost Borne by the government in full.
My response: Government will get students but this policy will not attract the best. To attract the best which remains the challenge, the teaching opportunity has to be extended. It is not just getting teachers, it is making teaching a career. Those things are two different things. If any government opens a website to hire 100 teachers, it will get possible 10,000 applications. But those are not the ones government wants. To get the ones it wants, it needs to change many things. Paying a teacher N18,000 a month or N25k as in some cases will not make this work. This piece is not political – it is going to the root cause.
Comment #2: The mad rush of Doctor/japa generation out of the country after graduating from public schools has thought our policy makers something new. What the government is basically saying is, “what will you give back in return for collecting this money?” A lot of our undergraduates are not aware that their education is heavily subsidized by the same government they love to criticise at every given opportunity.
My Response: This is not a blind criticism, it is a constructive way of shaping what government does. Government will do this but it cannot get the right students. To get the ones it wants, that N18,000 monthly salary has to change.
Subsidizing education does not mean the best in classes will agree to be paid N18k because govt helped them. If we improve the teaching profession, the best will go there.
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Will this ‘pay’ be handed to Education students as cash or form of partial scholarship? Because if it’s cash, it’s another bad idea. If you want kids to study a particular course, you should be thinking about funding the studies, in addition to ensuring that teaching and learning approach is highly engaging and exciting.
But why all this hassle from a confused government? You don’t need to bond or fund any student, just make the destination attractive and rewarding, and the finest minds will congregate.
It’s a common knowledge that smartest kids do not go to universities to study Education, we all know what they fill in admission forms, and when you insist that all ‘teachers’ must possess Education bachelors or NCE, you will never attract best talents in that sector. Throw it open, propose a short ‘executive course’ for those coming from diverse disciplines, make the schools look like office complexes, pay them well, and you won’t need to bond anyone.
They just want to do giveaway to students, at the end the beneficiaries are never ready or willing to teach, because it’s all about the inducements. What happens if 40k students sign-up? The government will be shelling out how much per annum? And where is the money coming from?
This is interesting.
A semester takes about 4 months approx. N75,000 this amounts to N18750 (excluding bank charges) for those in public universities. The mathematics goes even lower for those on NCE And you want to Bond them because of ‘palliative’?
However, I do believe in Bonds – fair bonds. Employers should reap the benefits of sponsoring what amounts to expensive trainings and human development.