From: Debiruss College

June 13, 2018

From: Debiruss College - Location 1

Visit Date: 06/11/2018

Debiruss College is the high school portion of Debiruss Schools in Lekki-Penninsula, Lagos. Both a day and boarding school, Debiruss educates students from “Creche”, which is essentially nursery school
, to secondary school, or high school. The campus is beautiful, with golden buildings with cream pillars, nice plots of grass, and a small collection of animals for the students to admire. I was warmly welcomed upon my arrival by staff, and greeted by my contact, Vice Principal Enunwaonye Susan, who showed me around the school and led me to each of my interviews.

While at Debiruss, I had the opportunity to speak with three extremely bright 11^th grade girls along with three female educators, including the VP herself, who is also a Physics teacher. Though some opinions and statements overlapped, in each interview I learned something new and got an interesting take on my preset list of questions.

My first question for both students and teachers was general, as I asked “Why do you think education is important”? Many of them answered standardly, speaking of education as a necessary tool for personal success and preparedness for the workforce, as well as an avenue towards improving societal problems. Two of the students, however, Awele and Tochi, the College’s “Head Girl”, gave extended answers, both saying that education allows for a better understanding of one’s own environment and rights. Beyond that, they each used “thinking outside of the box” as an example of the positive effects of education, noting that creativity and self-exploration are just as essential as the academic and potential financial benefits offered by a quality education. For Awele, this manifests in her passions for graphic design and animation as an extension of her interest in computer science; Tochi believes that her education has given her a confidence to become a model outside of her educational pursuits and professional aspirations.

Across the board, all of my interviewees agreed that education should be equally distributed to all students, regardless of gender, and that treatment should not vary on that basis. One of the most opinionated and informative of my interviewees, a Social Studies and Government teacher named Phidelia, added that she believes that an understanding of students’ different learning styles is the most important factor in building teacher-student relationships and having the best impact on students, regardless of their gender. Each of the three girls had different takes on the execution of such equal treatment at Debiruss; Amira believes that she is treated the same and Awele concurred, only finding that boys were relied on more for physical tasks at the school. With Debiruss being her sixth secondary school between Nigeria and the U.K., Awele thinks that gendered treatment is much worse elsewhere; she recalls being marked lower by a male teacher who was more lenient towards his male students academically and behaviorally. Tochi, however, stated that she feels as though her male classmates receive more praise in the classroom for answering correctly or receiving higher marks. When I asked her how this makes her feel, she shrugged and simply replied, “I got used to it.”

In regards to possible gendered biases in regards to student treatment based on their own educations, the educators’ responses varied. The Guidance Counselor, Lauretta Ani, stated that the biggest obstacle in her education was not being taught how to be practical enough, from which she has learned the importance of producing adequate assessments for her own students. Ms. Phidelia stated that her education wasn’t gendered, but lacked quality overall and has made her teaching style much more intentional than what she personally received. Only the Vice Principal stated that she may have some unintentional bias towards female students; she was educated in all-girls schools, and Debiruss is the first co-ed school that she’s worked in. Despite this, however, Ms. Susan expressed that she thinks she prefers working in a mixed school.

These variances in opinion continued when I asked each teacher if they thought one system of education is better than another. Ms. Ani initially answered that she does not think one is better than the other, as they all have their advantages and disadvantages; eventually, though, she began to lean towards the U.K. system as her preference, given that it is less theoretical and more practical than both the Nigerian and American systems, in her opinion. Ms. Susan showed bias towards the Nigerian system, acknowledging its issues but asserting that she believes they are “trying” to improve and compete with other countries. Ms. Phidelia refused to pick just one system and instead said that it “depends on what is applicable” and necessary in a given area, and that societal needs should be addressed regardless. She also added suggestions for Nigeria’s handling of education in its public schools - which lacks in resources, number of teachers, and curriculum in her opinion – stating most boldly that they shouldn’t allow those without actual degrees in education to become teachers as they do now in order to allow students to taught by those who are actually informed in the operations of educational fields.

Overall, I got the impression that Debiruss’ students and teachers are happy where they are. The students praised the community that exists there and the relationships they have with teachers there, who they believe to be invested in them and their wellbeing. The teachers feel the same about their students, expressing appreciation for their dedication to their studies and eagerness to learn. Across the board, the only negative about the school expressed by students and faculty alike was the lack of extracurricular resources and facilities, which they all think would enrich students’ experiences. Vice Principal Susan told me that they are working on improving that soon.

The time I spent at Debiruss College was an excellent start to my project location visits, and I’m grateful to have been able to visit there. Though it was the singular Nigerian school tour I received, the diversity in opinion from all six of my interviewees gave me a bit of a broader sense of educational systems in general, despite my inability to see that for myself. I’m thankful for the experience I had there and to each of the interviewees for sharing their opinions, from them to us.

‘Til Next Time,

Sydney