IMO STATE AND THE ILLUSION OF EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION

By Kelechi Deca

Over the last few days, I have been reading lots of effusive commendations regarding the boys that went for the International STEM Olympiad in Rome. 

I presume two of the boys are from Imo State, and the State government has wasted no time in congratulating them while fully appropriating the momentary klieglights the opportunity offers.

Unarguably, the present administration has made tremendous leaps in physical infrastructure across various sectors, it has not scratched the social sector especially education and health.

It is imperative to point out that while Imo State consistently ranks among Nigeria’s top three in educational performance year in year out over the last four decades, this metric is a dangerous illusion due to unbelievably tanking standards.

The constant refrain based on this position to back claims that the state is still doing well in education is akin to applauding the tallest building in a village of mud huts; it is a measure of relativity, not of genuine structural integrity. 

The hard truth is that using Nigeria’s abysmal baseline in every sector of human endeavour as a yardstick does a grave disservice to Imo’s youth and offers a false sense of security that stifles urgent need for total overhauling.

The statistics that place Imo at the top are misleading because they measure competence against a backdrop of systemic failure. I think it stems from an "I better pass my neighbour" mentality.

When the national average for learning outcomes is so catastrophically low, being "better" simply means failing less severely. 

The reality on the ground in Imo State tells a different story: dilapidated school buildings, overcrowded classrooms, lack of school administrators and a chronic deficit of qualified teachers, and still a curriculum that prioritizes rote memorization over critical thinking. 

Juxtaposed with other states in Nigeria, and using the national averages, Imo scores good in higher enrollment figures, far lesser number to non existent out-of-school children, and better exam pass rates than other states. And that is the major problem; illusion of success.

These figures mask the deeper crisis of quality because students are still being processed through an assembly line that fails to equip them with the digital, analytical, and vocational skills demanded by a 21st-century global economy.

Benchmarking against Nigeria is not just unhelpful; it is actively disadvantageous. It breeds complacency among policymakers who rest on the laurels of a regional trophy while ignoring the international chasm.

Instead of asking, "How can we be the best in Nigeria?" we should be asking, "How do we make our education competitive with their peers in Singapore or Finland?" 

They should learn from the experiences of those young boys that returned from the International STEM Olympiad to understand what education entails in this age and time.

Most educational administrators and public policy makers who were also products of this faulty system cannot revamp and reposition the system they are part of because they lack the benchmark that should be their control experiment.

99% of the teachers and administrators do not have an idea of what a 21st century class room looks like. The current approach traps Imo State in a race to the bottom, where incremental progress is mistaken for excellence. 

Few days ago, a video of the dismal situation in the School for the Deaf and Hearing Challenged in Orodo went viral. One has to be unfeeling not to be teary after watching that clip.

True advancement demands that we abandon this provincial scoreboard and adopt global standards. It also demands that we do not use the achievements of private schools as metrics for the educational system because the public schools are in poor shape.

Until Imo State measures its success by its students' ability to innovate and compete on the world stage, the "top 3" title in Nigeria will remain a hollow and dangerous consolation prize.