Educational system crumbling in our today’s society
By Hanifa Yakubu
Education can be thought of as the transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge.The history of education extends at least as far back as the first written records recovered from ancient civilisations,The establishment of formal schools in ancient Greece and Rome Education has been around for millennia, but the first evidence of formal schools dates back to ancient Greece and Rome, where students were taught reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Education has certainly changed and developed over the years, as new ideas and methods have been introduced. In the past few decades, for example, we’ve seen the rise of new educational approaches like progressive education, Montessori education, and distance learning. And as technology has advanced, it’s also been incorporated into the classroom, leading to the development of e-learning and other digital learning methods. Education in the world has so many positive impact.
Education has many advantages for people. For instance, it illuminates a person’s mind and thinking. It helps students to plan for work or pursue a higher education while graduating from university. Having education in an area helps people think, feel, and behave in a way that contributes to their success, and improves not only their personal satisfaction but also their community. In addition, education develops human personality, thoughts, dealing with others and prepares people for life experiences. It makes people have a special status in their own society and everywhere they live in. I believe that everyone is entitled to have education ‘’from cradle to grave’.education
grants us a good status in society. As educated people, we are considered as a valuable source of knowledge for our society.
Education makes us view obstacles as challenges to overcome with no fear; facing new things. It is the main
factor behind successful people and the merit of developed countries. Therefore, education is deemed a real success behind any future success.
Also education has it negative effect in the society. They’re are so many challenges effecting our educational system:Underfunding
is one of the biggest challenges in education. It is also one that gives rise to a host of other problems . In more extreme cases, school hours have to be
reduced to save costs, with students being asked to come in late or go home early, 42% of schools had cut teaching staff in order to save cost. Curriculum breadth is
often reduced, with languages, computing, design, technology, and music most affected. Valuable programmes such as support for children with special education
needs are also compromised
Teachers shortage
This is partly a result of the budget deficit, as underfunded schools are forced to downsize staff. Reducing the number of teaching assistants and teachers as well as cutting learning resources spending are the three most common responses to financial
pressure in secondary schools. As a result of the reduced staff, teachers are asked to take on extra duties, from teaching additional subjects and providing lunchtime
supervision to cleaning and other tasks. Combined with the growing class size, this increases classroom problems as pupils receive less individual attention from
teachers.Budget cuts aside, the shortage of qualified teachers has been an ongoing challenge.Subjects such as maths, science and languages have seen the worst
shortages of qualified teachers, as graduates of these subjects are often drawn to jobs other than teaching that offer higher pay, better prospects, and more innovation. After
all, both state and independent teachers work an average of 55 hours per week. That could be why as many as half of all teachers of these subjects leave the teaching
profession after five years.Indeed, teacher shortages are particularly severe for inner-city schools, and this is not only a matter of school budget. With students hailing from diverse cultures, religions and socioeconomic groups, extra care and support is needed, which often results in additional workload and stress for
teachers. They are often willing to teach at private schools for lower salaries because the job is easier given the smaller class sizes and students from less complicated
backgrounds.
Inadequate access to technology:
While most of us are used to the idea of working on computers, classrooms in the minds of many are places where children work with pen and paper and where electronic devices are a distraction. It was during the pandemic that we realised how
the lack of access to technology is affecting their learning, and how far schools are behind in preparing children for a future driven by technology. A 2020 survey conducted for Lenovo on teachers across the UK found that 65% of teachers want more training to utilise existing technology, and nearly 70% believe more computers are needed for students, with London reporting an average of 11 students sharing a computer at school. More than a quarter of schools do not offer extra-curricular opportunities to develop digital skills! While there are learning resources for different
age groups online and schools had to take lessons online during the Covid lockdowns and self-isolation, many low-income families could not afford laptops and Wi-Fi connection for their children.
Inequality:
Inequality is arguably the most pressing current issue in education today and a culmination of all the problems mentioned above. Whilst the performance gap between pupils from advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds has narrowed
slightly (around 4%) over the past decade, it remains significant. Due to the lack of resources both at school and at home in deprived regions, children from low-income
families or with special education needs are more severely affected by these problems than more affluent students. Schools in deprived areas face more difficulty in recruiting qualified teachers and have smaller budgets for electronic equipment.
Disadvantaged children also lack the home learning environment enjoyed by their peers, The Education Policy Institute (EPI) argues that the government’s commitment to “level-up” funding, contrary to what it sounds like, directs additional funding towards schools that historically receive less funding because they are in more
affluent areas with fewer disadvantaged pupils eligible for additional funding.
Ways on how to tackle the issues
Technology improvements such as a new network and access points, new filtering services, changes to LAN/WAN layout and footprint, and the evaluation of Voice over IP were also on the agenda. Facilities coordinated with IT to implement technology Changes, something that makes sense for every district because it’s easier to make technology changes when physical changes are also on the drawing board.
After all, it’s all of these types of investments that improve a student’s working environment, access to information and collaborative learning, which will help to shape their future, according to experts at EDUCAUSE.
Schools of the future should take their cues for this edict from the businesses of today.
From a technology perspective, students, like employees, simply need to get their work done. This means educators should look at integrating many of the same technologies that provide modern workers with opportunities for collaboration, growth and innovation, which range from video conferencing and collaboration tools to analytics.
Having a fast, secure network and up-to-date operating systems are critical to success.
Classroom technology, fortified by a robust network, gives students the ability to video chat with other students across the globe or research their latest project. Teachers can upload assignments and create student portals so parents and caregivers can be more involved with their child’s progress and work, and everyone gains access to cloud-based services, tools and textbooks. Digital cameras let students record experiments, create video blogs and capture their work so it’s easily shared and
stored.
Hanifa Yakubu, Department of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello university Zaria.
