PRESS RELEASE: CAEMI VOWS TO REBRAND EDUCATION AND EXAMINATION IN NIGERIA

As Nigeria continues to struggle on how to bail itself out of the present poor educational system that has taken over the country, a group known as CAEMI, acronyms that stands for Campaign against Examination Malpractice Initiative has officially declared its plans and efforts towards combating the present educational problem in the country.

In a press briefing held on Monday at Bolingo Hotel Abuja, the group through its founder, Prince Chibuike Echem had disclosed that it was determined to take Nigerian education to another level through regular partnership with well-meaning Nigerians and the government. It promised to brand the nations education system and give it a new face.



Details below:

CAEMI as an organization was established in response to the high level of Examination Malpractice that has pervaded at the secondary and tertiary levels of the Nation’s educational system. The mission of the organization is to strive and institutionalize virtues such as integrity, character, honesty, hard work, excellence, and dedication in our scholars; whereas our vision is to sanitize our school systems by eradicating completely the menace of Examination Malpractice and bring back value based education, which will cure corruption in our dear nation.

Our focus in CAEMI is to fight against examination malpractice and re-introduce Value Based Education in our schools because we know that youth are the future leaders of tomorrow. And if we are able to inculcate these values and ethics in them now that they are young, they will grow to become good adults and leaders that will transform our society.

Development of Value Based Education is very important in any country since it promotes knowledge, skills, habits, and values. Our social values have been diminishing over the past decades. Therefore, it is necessary to develop holistic Education which trains the Head, the Heart and the Hand. Our normal school system now trains the head and the hand while leaving out the Heart, which is the engine room of any human behaviour.

Education has long been recognized as a central element in Nation development.

The question arising here is: What type of Education is needed to empower citizens to become agents of postive change for better Nigerian Society?

IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION:
Education is important because it promotes knowledge, skills, ethics, values, attitudes and understanding of the people.

It is also considered as the backbone of any development in the nation. Therefore, greater concern and emphasis must be given to means and ways by which education (learning and teaching process) transfer the needed knowledge and information to students and children.

It helps the people to become useful members of the society and to develop an appreciation of their culture.

THE QUESTIONS WE MUST PROVIDE ANSWERS TO NOW ARE:
How can we prepare our future generation to cope with the challenges and fast changing realities of today and future? How can we develop citizens who can bring about the transformation of the culture of violence, intolerance and greed to one of peace, non-violence and respect for one another, which is prevalent in our society today?

Value Based Education is not simply the heart education, but also the education of the heart.

VALUE BASED EDUCATION:
Values are principles, standard or qualities that are considered worthwhile and desirable. They are integral to the process of education. This is to state that the question of values arises everywhere in the educational process and in the society. Consequently, all human activities, including teaching and learning revolve around values.

Equally, every curriculum must therefore support Value Based Education as a process of inculcating desirable attitude and behaviours in the individual.

Value Based Education involves a process of attaching degrees of goodness to activities and relationships. This is to state that it is concerned with the development of the individual’s sensitivity to good and the right of others.

THE AIMS OF VALUE BASED EDUCATION:
1. To promote basic and fundamental qualities like compassion, truthfulness, patriotism, peace, justice etc in the children.
2. To train them to become open and considerable in thought and behavior.
3. To train them to become responsible citizens in personal and social life.
4. To encourage them to rise above prejudices on religion, ethnicity, language, sex or creed.
5. To develop proper attitude towards one’s own self and fellow human beings.
6. Value Based Education involves ability to choose the right values in accordance with the highest ideals of life and internalizing them in thought and realizing them in action.

Indeed as remarked by Gandli: A Value Based Education makes a child a gift of God to mankind and pride of the human race, but its deficiency can make him the cause of the world’s social problems.

COMPONENTS OF VALUE BASED EDUCATION
Components of Value Based Education that are recognized in the society are as follows:

HUMAN VALUES: Human values are needed for human social existence and for the well being of the individuals and the society. Its components include:
• Truthfulness: To have constant practice of truth to approach and reality.
• Constructively: To help for good undertaking.
• Sacrifice: To help without selfish motive.
• Sincerity: To work within assigned stipulated time.
• Self Control: To have control on individual’s mind for action and to have self - restrain.
• Altrum: To always deal with others with love and consider well being and
happiness of individuals first.
SOCIAL VALUES: These concern the responsibilities and the contribution of the individual towards the society and its well being. These are governed by the political and social philosophies and the constitution of the country.

Thus, the overall social philosophy of Nigeria is to live in unity and harmony, with the democratic principles of freedom, equality and justice; promote effective citizenship with national consciousness and better human relationship.

MORAL AND ETHICAL VALUES: These are values related to the code of conduct of good character such as honesty, integrity, discipline self-reliance, hard work, excellence etc.

SPIRITUAL VALUES: These are values related to the development of the soul and spirit of man. They include the spirit of ‘do unto others, as you will like them do unto you’, fear of God, value for human life etc.

THE PROPOSED VALUE BASED EDUCATION:
There is no doubt that there is need to integrate CAEMI’s Value Based Education into the Universal Basic Education (UBE) by developing a special value-oriented curriculum.

The recommended integrated Special curriculum should focus on Value Based Education with emphasis on respect for and appreciation of human dignity using thematic and practical activities for effective learning delivery.

In practical terms, our proposed Value Based Education (VBE) courses are as follows:

COURSES FOR JSS 1 – 3
• Value Development and Character formation (Basic).
• G – Factor and essence of life (Basic).
• Impact of malpractice on my future and society.
• How to plan, prepare and pass examinations.
COURSES FOR SS 1 – 3 AND TEACHERS
• Value Development and Character formation (Advance).
• G- Factor principle and the essence of life (Advance).
• Failing forward (Advance).
• Principles of Nation Building.

COURSES FOR PARENTS
• Foundation (family free).
• Value Re-Orientation.
• G – Factor Principle.
• Authentic parenthood.

In communicating our Value Based Education (VBE) to the above mentioned, CAEMI forms Anti-Examination Malpractice Clubs in all our Schools.

The objectives in the formation of these clubs are to drive down these subjects on Value Based Education thereby creating awareness on the fight against Examination Malpractice within the School System.
These Clubs hold once every week, and the subjects to be studied shall be that of values and ethics.

This strategy is a tripartite one in which we interact directly with students, teachers and the parents through (PTA Meetings) over a period of nine months i.e. one academic year. Monitoring and evaluation of components form parts of the arrangement in order to measure set objectives.

We want to use this forum to inform the general public that we are starting our Nationwide Campaign on Anti Examination Malpractice and re-introduction of Value Based Education tomorrow, the 28th day of May, 2013 with the FCT. This pilot project is in collaboration with Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB). We randomly selected six public schools (one each from the six Area Councils) in the FCT. Our first point of call is Government Junior Secondary School Garki, Abuja.

Our activity in the school include workshop, free distribution of our book (Sour Tale of Exam Expo) and establishment of Anti Examination Malpractice Club

We hereby call on well meaning Nigerians and organizations to support this initiative so that this campaign will get to the grass root. This is one of the ways to eradicate corruption in our dear country by instilling good values like honesty, integrity, hard work, excellence, fear of God, patriotism, respect for constituted authority, dedication, value for human life etc. We in CAEMI strongly believe in transformation of Nigeria.


Thank you.
Prince Chibuike Echem
The Founder / National Coordinator
CAEMI

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