On Monday 29 July, 2019; the Education Rights Campaign - Ajegunle - kicked off the 14th Edition of the Free Coaching Lesson at Nawair U Deen Primary School, situated in the community. So far, Subject like Mathematics, English Language, Civic Education, Biology, Further Mathematics, Physics etc are been treated.
Students attending are from SS 1, SS 2 and SS 3 from poor working class homes, who at this time, under an economy where living condition for thousands of working families, are below standard - their parents can't afford to pay for tutorial centres, because of profit driven philosophy behind private organizations.
Objectively, the Free Coaching Lesson is not to serve as an alternative, to the primary function of government, to adequately fund public education, when compare to UPN Jakande 1979-83 administration, is possible - free adequate funding of public education .
However, ERC as a student and working class oriented organization, uses this program to raise the fundamentals. And in all the years of political agitations, has continued to campaign for government to fund public education. Not only in universities environment, and against the attack of neo-liberal policies, but also in the community.
Since this program kick off in 2005, more than 6, 845 students from both public and private schools had attended in Ajegunle. In fact, with the moral support from parents and well wishers, it has recorded huge success. The success of this program rest on the collective effort, of both volunteer teachers and members of Democratic Socialist Movement.
More so, well wishers and donors who indirectly or directly have been inspired by the great work of ERC, has seen this program as influential to young people, especially at the period where youth restiveness is on the rise, link to skinned alive of public education, that the government through its policies has incremate.
In fact, this poor funding with dilapidated infrastructures is in virtually all public schools in Lagos. For example, like a place in Ajegunle where majority of the primary and secondary schools don't have infrastructure. No chairs and desks, in addition, less teaching staff, which has huge implications on the poor state of education.
And because of the philosophy behind organizing this program, it has continued to attract media support as in the last edition (2018), where Vanguard and Premium Time respectively (and other newspapers like Guardian and The Sun) had reported the successes. Apparently, the Free Coaching Lesson has stood the test of time despite the challenges.
Emphatically, the Education Rights Campaign has successfully through this program, raise the fundamental demand that public schools must be funded adequately, as recommended by UNESCO: 26% budgetary allocation to public education; to guarantee free, quality and compulsory education for the Nigerian masses.
For a lot of people, it sound impossible for the government to fund. But the long standing of this initiative from ERC, and because of the philosophy behind. It has been able to litre fact that free quality education, is not something the government should toy with. Perhaps, If not because of its agenda of PPP, public education won't be suffering insufficient.
However, the commercialization of public schools has repeatedly endorse PPP. It has continue to make it impossible, for free quality education to be realistic, for the working masses. In spite of this, the sustainability of the ERC lesson in the last 13 years, has been able to reach out to hundreds and thousands of young people in Ajegunle community.
Through this program: ERC Free Coaching Lesson. The Education Rights Campaign has continue to call for the adequate funding of public education. While this is an inevitable demand, ERC with socialist orientation, believe free quality education can only be guarantee ultimately, if there is socialist alternative to capitalism.
By
Davy Fidel
LIFEINSLUM
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