Daily Independent Online.
*
Monday, July 05, 2004.
Re: Why our
(under-) graduates speak poor English
I
am one of the regular readers of your newspaper and I enjoy writing articles
sometimes or commenting on topical issues.
I read with
interest the story captioned above and published in your paper on Monday 31st
May, 2004 on page E3. The views of
Professor Peter Okebukola, the National Universities Commission (NUC) Executive
Secretary were captured in this article.
Without any doubt, Prof. Okebukola is an erudite scholar of many years
standing and has a string of qualifications to his credit.
To a large
extent, I agreed with his views in this article, but not totally. I was even surprised that he missed the
point I am about to canvass now.
In order to avoid being criticized for not fully digesting the whole
story, I have read it more than once and have convinced myself that there is
indeed an omission. When the
professor was asked about the origin of the problem, he responded by saying
“we can point accusing fingers in at least seven
directions…” He went
on to say, “University students need good grounding in communication
skills at the secondary level…” This is where I beg to differ. I strongly believe and from the experience I have on
bringing up my children and working with various other parents and children
over many years, the foundation of the problem is certainly not at the
secondary level but at the primary level.
If the NUC does a painstaking survey of the sources of the communication
skills problems, it will find out that if the skills are not properly taught at
the primary level, the student carries on the deficiency through life. It is indeed sad that the declining
communication skills of a sizeable proportion are growing bigger by the day and
across all professions. My
contention therefore is that this malaise should be tackled properly from the
primary level where the foundation of all knowledge is laid.
Prince Adegoke
Ademiluyi,
7, Foluso
Alade Street, Opebi - Ikeja
