I have been confronted with the issue of moral uprightness a
number of times, and I cannot vouch that I have stood tall all those times. In
a society where right is wrong and wrong is right especially if it involves us
sometimes it is difficult to say what exactly the touchstone of morality is. So
we waiver and bend to what majority holds upright or what wind is blowing at
the time or what favors us. I am
culpable as anyone else and also a victim as anyone else.
I believe the only way that one can escape this prison of
moral degeneration is to accept the life of Jesus as the moral yardstick. But I
am not speaking from the Christian point of view, but from the point of view of
what we all have to do so we can have a moral just and fair society. I am not
proposing what needs to be done, but just sharing what I meet with everyday as
a common teacher in neglected school.
What we do today whether right or wrong affect present and
future generations. One way or the other, we all profess a belief in one faith
or the other. It beats my understanding
that irrespective of the number of faith and religious groups that spring up
every day; greed, injustices and all forms of moral degradation envelope our
society today. The corrupt politician, civil servant, public servant,
businessman, student, individual are all part of the society, attend a
religious meeting and upholds the beliefs that we all share.
Every year when my students get to the final year, they
become obsessed with passing their exams through any means possible. The means do not involve working hard at
their books but cheating in the exams to pass. Such penchant for cheating
reached a crescendo this year when very earlier before they even got registered
there were rumors that someone could help them have their grades changed. Some
of my students approached me and said they actually spoke with the person and
he wanted a teacher to be a liaison between him and the student. I declined. My
students were disappointed. To them I was the only one they could trust to do
that for them and since I declined that means their hopes were dashed.
I did not feel completely heroic. I felt some dint of guilt
that I was unable to help them achieve their dreams. But was I not doing that
already? Teaching them and inspiring them in the classroom, showing them all
the opportunities that lie ahead of them if the study hard! My students believe
that is not enough and that we should do more including cheating in exams for
them to pass.
What makes this situation precarious is that they have
evidence that other schools are engaged in such practices to make them pass.
The harder I try to explain to them why they should not do that, the more they
point to what is happening elsewhere. How other schools are passing courtesy
their teachers but not the students efforts. And I will give in to defeat and
accept what they say but not agree to do what they want.
But it is an open secret that some schools buy grades for
their students. It is also widely known that some powerful parents buy certificates
and grades for their wards. There have been a number of leakages of exam papers
emanating from WAEC. If not from WAEC then where? After all they are the ones
that have access to the papers. So what happens to many students who find
themselves in situations that do not give them that access and chance others
have?
Many of the students I teach already have poor academic
backgrounds, are from poor homes and remote communities. They are in a school
that has limited resources. Majority of them even lack faith in their own
abilities and even that of us the teachers to motivate them to study and pass
their exams. Cheating in exams is unacceptable. But where others use that and
get ahead of others is also unacceptable and an injustice. And one feels cheated
if he is unable to cheat so he can keep up with the Joneses. For someone like me I feel guilty if I am not
able to do that for my students. That is the guilt I carry all the times
especially this year when only twelve out of over five hundred students pass
their core Mathematics in my school.
Unless we create an equitable environment where everyone sees
himself or herself being treated fairly, we do not have they moral right to
judge the actions of others. We will accept that our society is corrupt, but it
takes an uncorrupt leader to change a corrupt society. And we are all leaders
in our own small ways. Where what is good for the gander is not good for the
geese persists our fight against corruption and any form of moral degradation
will be futile.
