An Educationist, Mrs Titi Ojo, has urged parents and guardians to stop distorting the mental and psychological growth of their children by speeding up their educational progression unnecessarily.
Ojo, the Head of School, Vine Branch Foundation School, Ibadan, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Wednesday.
According to her, shunting the child’s educational processes has led to numerous half-baked Nigerian graduates, negatively impacting the country’s overall development.
NAN recalls that the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, recently said candidates seeking admission into higher institutions in Nigeria must be 18 years old and above.
According to the minister, the policy is to ensure that candidates mature before entering the tertiary education system.
Ojo identified the need to sensitise parents and guardians on the importance of the new policy and its effects, not just on the children but the nation at large.
She said the primary school education, which used to be seven years, dropped to six years, and due to peer and parental influence, it became five years against the government’s policies.
“These days, parents struggle for their child to be in Primary One at four years old.
“And by eight years, the child would have completed Primary Four, expecting to proceed to Primary Five. These same parents will now try to dodge Primary Five.
“Some will even insist on double promotion from Primary Three to Primary Five, thereby cutting a year off, not caring about the child’s mental growth.
“The parents will insist that the child proceeds to JSS One for secondary education,” Ojo said.
At this point, the school administrator said the parents would want the teachers to perform magic to prevent the years missed from affecting the child.
“Otherwise, the game of changing schools begins.
“The parents would have forgotten that the child had not gone through the proper stages of intellectual development, and in the same way, they will also influence the child through college.
“Following this underhanded method, when the child gets to JSS Two at 10 years old, the parents will insist on having the child sit for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) or the junior National Examinations Council (NECO).
“Therefore, by 11 or 12 years, the child will be in SSS One,” Ojo said.
She stated that getting to SSS Two, the child would be made to sit for the West African Examination Council (WAEC), NECO, and the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) examinations.
“By this time, the poor child is either 12 or 13; at worst 14 years old.
“The child will sit for these exams and probably pass by parental influence. He or she will get into the university at age 14 or less.
“And when the child gets there, the parents or guardians would have succeeded in influencing the speed of the child’s education by cutting corners.
“But would they also have succeeded in influencing his mental and psychological growth?
“The answer is No,” she said.
The educationist, therefore, encouraged parents to embrace the policy and allow their wards to grow, develop and find themselves.
“Parents or guardians should not force them into adulthood when they are not yet adults. They should not let them think they are what they are not yet.
“They should know that every level of education has its own role and importance.
“With the Federal Government pegging the admission age at 18, parents may just keep them at home inactive, go for shortcuts and lie to get them into schools; but this will backfire,” Ojo said.
She said parents must bear in mind that the world is filled with wolves, which the children cannot but encounter.
According to her, better for the children to face the wolves prepared than when they are not, lest they become devoured.
She noted that taking shortcuts had more negative impacts on the children while allowing them to grow at their pace had more benefits than parents and guardians could imagine. (NAN)
