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By Professor Owolabi
Why is the mess around our education persistent and reluctant to disappearing?
It is persistent because so many people are beneficiaries of this shameful acts.
A lot of people benefit from the scandalous acts,
From government officials that cannot do anything for citizens in terms of education without demanding for greasing of palms to government itself who wants good results without making adequate provision for resources that will lead to a good outcome.
Most examination bodies are surrounded by disloyal, compromised and traded-off staff whose major intention is to make money from the examinations.
Our mess is coated with school owners and operators who are just out for money making concerns only and not a single consideration for ethical practises and merit.
Teachers are worst for it; they advocate help, assistance or special centre. They push for assistance and parents simply see help and not cheating.
Parents are a serious gullible group in this mess, they are ready tools and willing instruments that keep the exercise going and working
The police and other law enforcement agencies are just another addition to the fanning of the ember. They are simply a registered member of the mess regiment. They arrest, the quiz and interrogate, but, surely not to serve investigation, but to increase their chances of making more money from the accused or alleged persons.
It is easy and simple to find certificate of examination bodies printed, signed and even authenticated by private hands, and found them competing favorably with original and genuine certificates
The universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other tertiary institutions are awashed and garbed in one certificate, sex-for-marks scandal, or pay-to-pass, or buy-your-way syndromes flying in the air of these institutions
Other nations are facing similar challenges, and the world over, it is a common challenge, but, it is not tackled headlong here. There seems a submission. Government appears to be overwhelmed and incapable of doing something
Just take a look round our neighborhood, you will find extra mural classes, tutorial centres and special lesson centres advertising great and top attainment result to students. Yet, no government has deemed it fit to investigate what they are doing to make students pass and do so greatly
I have asked myself, why a student will have to be taken, for instance, from Lagos to Asaba, or Lagos to Akure or Kano to Lokoja to write an examination. We all know the questions are same, what is the effect of leaving Lagos to do same examination in another state?
Even the universities are complaining about the JAMB admitted students who have good SSCE results but who are unable to spring academic surprises after the admission
As a foreign admission agent, our certificate is already facing challenges unlike other African nations. A Nigerian student admitted, given clearance to resume school and given visa are currently subjected to another round of test to ascertain that the certificate tendered can be proved and affirmed
For instance, out of about twenty students that were helped to secure admission to universities in UK who are from different countries including Nigerians, only Nigerians were singled out to write further assessment test
Companies have made public statements about the unemployability state of the Nigerian graduates.
The mess is already stinking into the real life situation. Most political gladiators and appointee as well as elected politicians are already embroiled in one certificate or school problems. They are products of the system of mess
While the mess became a flowering farm because the most sacred place that should kick against, speak in opposition and condemn the act, are themselves involved in the watering of the farm of mess. 
Missionary schools and many others will openly negotiate with parents, examination officials and even students. If the temple of God is defiled, then, we are left with temple of mess
For us here, it is redeemable, it is not beyond repairs, it is possible to fix it again.
We all see houses collapsed, consequences of that unqualified engineers
Forgetting surgeon’s tools in a patient is an exposition of the route taken to reach this destination
The releasing of profile of bank customers to fraudsters by bank staff is a sign of lackadaisical attitude towards the mess
Also the insistence of police on taking bribe and insisting bail is not free is a symbol of mess passed through by such police men while in the office
It can get better
As a people, we must go technology
We must deploy technology
We must have the right people running our education now.
We can get back out glory and restore our integrity while facing the monster created into our education that is now so Messy
Prof Owolabi HY
Child Psychologist And Learning Disability
