The storm over first-class degrees in Colleges of Education is far from over. After GES PRO Daniel Fenyi released graduation statistics that shocked many, education commentator Munkaila Bawuniwia has fired back strongly.
In a widely-shared response, Bawuniwia accuses Fenyi of misleading the public, disrespecting students and lecturers, and turning data into suspicion instead of real advocacy.
“Numbers Without Context Are Misleading”
Bawuniwia argues that Fenyi’s reliance on raw statistics is shallow and unfair.
“Your attempt still fails to confront the most critical point,” he writes. According to him, numbers must be understood in proper academic and institutional context. Without this, they mean nothing.
He insists that Fenyi’s style of analysis “lacks intellectual honesty” and risks misleading the public.
Defending Students and Lecturers
The rebuttal also defends the real people behind the figures. Bawuniwia says Fenyi’s approach casually dismisses the efforts of hardworking students and lecturers.
“Let’s not start a conversation about quality by degrading the achievers,” he stresses.
Instead of suspicion, he believes any concerns should be raised with real policy analysis backed by evidence.
Could First-Class Growth Be Progress?
Bawuniwia flips the narrative and offers a different view. He argues that the rise in first-class graduates could actually be a success story:
Colleges now have better resources.
Student support systems are stronger.
Lecturers are more dedicated than ever.
The B.Ed reforms are now bearing fruit.
“That a College produces 211 First Class students does not inherently mean the system is weak,” he states. “It could equally reflect a maturing academic ecosystem.”
“That’s Subtle Sabotage”
Bawuniwia directly challenges Fenyi’s claim of “campaigning for the colleges.”
“You claim to be campaigning for the colleges, yet your language and tone sow public doubt about their credibility. That’s not advocacy. That’s subtle sabotage.”
He also dismisses Fenyi’s use of AI as “bias automation,” explaining that AI only reflects the suspicion in the prompt and cannot provide fair context.
A Call for Respectful Dialogue
Bawuniwia ends with a strong appeal: raising academic standards is important, but it must be done respectfully.
“If you want to raise the already high academic standards in Colleges of Education, great… But don’t do it by casting doubt on the credibility of graduates.”
For him, this debate is bigger than numbers. It’s about respect, fairness, and the right way to have a national conversation on education.
Do you agree with Bawuniwia? Should the surge in first-class graduates be celebrated as progress or investigated as a red flag?