THE SUBEB SAGA
The fear of SUBEB officials-The Beginning of Confusion
One thing I find very appalling is the drama that happens when the SUBEB officials are within sight-that morning, we’ll have a long meeting after the assembly where we will all be warned to be in our very best behaviours because we have “visitors”. That day every teacher is supposed to make sure they are bringing their “A” game; their classrooms must be neat, and their learners must be quiet and learningLearners in a school programme
in a conducive environment. Papers flying around, head teacher panting and moving around to see if he is missing something. Assistant head teachers going round to yell at the slightest provocation, trying to fill logbooks that should have been filled up months ago.
If these schools were this proactive on a daily basis, I am very sure things will change for the better but it always seems like they are always prepared to be caught off guard, because this drama always happens.
I have never really had a real encounter with the SUBEB officials themselves but from what I hear, they go round to find the wrong doings of schools and their managements and then if found gravely wanting they’ll file a report to the higher authority and if found guilty at that level will be at the verge of losing their jobs and I don’t think there’s anything more frightening to a government worker than losing his/her job; I think it has to do with the many years they spend working for the government, its crazy to fire someone after like 30 or so years of working, right?
I may not have really had an encounter with SUBEB officials but I have had my fair share of officials from the local government education unit. One day I was just sitting in my class and this man just walked pass my window, after he passed he came back again almost like he wanted to see what I was doing with my phone when exam was going on, i saw him but I behaved like I didn’t. This man came and started asking me questions and for the love of God-I don’t know him from anywhere and next thing he went straight to my head teacher to report me saying that I was using my phone in class and didn’t acknowledge his presence.
First of all, I told the man right in front of my headteacher that I don’t know him and if he is an official I didn’t expect him to just walk past my window and expect me to acknowledge him knowing that I had never seen him before, at least I expected that he would come into the class and we’ll exchange pleasantries. From that experience I noticed that a lot of these “officials” are just trying to throw their weights around, and trying to bully other people if they can and I hate the idea of it.
Agnes Onyekwere in class with her learners
What about SUBEB officials who are sent to check on the activities of the schools but end up in the headteachers office eating amala and ewedu and very huge meat, cold malt to wash it down and some cash for the road? So on the days when we have this type of officials around-trust me, nobody goes around yelling! There’s usually zero drama that day for obvious reasons.
For the “real” SUBEB officials, I mean the ones who don’t eat and take the monies given, you know what I mean? I heard that you come and start to lift so much dust, yell at the school authorities like they’re five-year-olds and then end up writing queries to the headquarters-You know what that will lead to-more drama when you’re around, fear, hypocrisy etc, no real change would be made. What I think might be a better approach would be to go and sometimes sit with these school authorities and then firmly but politely state your grievances or issues you’ve noticed and then discuss how you are going to monitor their progress as they make changes. But what I see, feels like “they are coming to grill us so we’ll take off the dirty shirt and hide them so we are seen to have no faults.” and that never helps.
I think your approach towards the SUBEB official was a wise one. You were aware of the fear he wanted you to have of his presence in the school and you didn’t allow it affect your work or classroom activity. Well done Agnes.
ReplyDeleteThe inspection and Monitoring arm of Education in our country is meant to track Teachers'and children's performances and to enforce quality control. However, this has been totally mesmerized. I, for one, take my job very seriously and my students are the fruit of it. If a SUBEB Official meets me having a "brain break", so be it. I don't have the time to start running around and forming busy. I try as much as possible to dot my it's and cross my t's. But even when there's a misdeed on my end,why should I fear? The Official should amicable discuss things I could do better and watch me against next time.
ReplyDeleteThe coke and meat scenario you shared, is nothing but pathetic. That's how these officials and head of schools negotiate the future of school children over a plate of Amala. Pathetic!