A few days ago, a video containing the commandant of the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) being asked the address of his organisation’s website in a discussion with Channels news hosts went viral. In this video we watched:
- A person holding a high office in a Nigerian Parastatal speak very Informal English in a formal discussion.
- This same person fail to tell us what his organisation’s website address is.
The state of Education in Nigeria is very appalling. People graduate University and cannot even construct a grammatically correct sentence. The exams conducted to gain admission into tertiary Institutions are a huge sham! Take the Joint Admissions And Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination as an example. Students bribe the exam invigilators and so are allowed to cheat or at the very worst, the supervisors are paid to read out answers to the multiple-choice questions to the students. A student who has indulged in this would end up gaining admission into a tertiary Institution and possibly cheat his/her way through. Our Educational Institutions put a high percentage of half-baked individuals in the job market yearly, what skills with regards to their degrees do they have to offer? In 2011, the UK blacklisted medical graduates from 9 Nigerian Universities. The quality of education received in our Universities is clearly not up to world standard. With outdated Science laboratories, how does a university student gain practical knowledge? In 2013, students suck the end of their pipettes to fill it up, are we in the Stone Age?
A few months ago, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education and current Vice President of the World Bank’s Africa division accused the Yar’Adua/Jonathan administration of wasting $67 billion left in the Federation Account by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration. The present Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Makun then went on to accuse her of mismanaging N458.1 billion budgeted to the Education sector. Oby Ezekwesili took up the appointment as Education Minister in June 2006 and left to take up her World Bank appointment in May 2007. I do not believe that these funds were misplaced under Mrs Ezekwesili’s watch as she is a woman of great Integrity but this just goes to show how vast amounts of money are toyed around with by government officials whilst the populace suffer. N458.1 billion apportioned to the Ministry of Education, yet a child cannot get decent education?
Some states have tried to provide their citizenry with free Primary education, but the quality of education being received is very poor. These children leave primary school and can neither read nor write. Recently, a social network called “Keek” became very popular. People make 36 seconds long videos and post them unto this platform. A lot of people go on Keek to have a laugh and a lot of youth based in Nigeria use this platform. The grammatical errors made by some of the Nigerians on Keek are alarming. I laugh whilst I watch people display sheer illiteracy but the harsh reality is that these people are my peers, we are the leaders of the future. The different societies we have found ourselves in have shaped us positively/negatively.
No sector decline has as much an effect as education has. Human resources are the most important of all resources as we control other resources. I remember watching a Documentary on the history of Nigeria and listening to our Past leaders speak Impeccable English, in comparison to what blares from our televisions and radios today, we have really gone downhill. Reading Pa Chinua Achebe’s “There was a country”, and imagining all his University of Ibadan stories, I get really jealous. There was a time when people didn’t have to cross the Atlantic and pay huge sums of money to get a world-class education because the one they got in the country was just as good.
A total reform in the Education sector is required. More Teacher’s Training Colleges and Polytechnics need to be created. Not all Universities are up to par; those not up to par should be converted to polytechnics and teachers training colleges. The welfare of teacher’s should be taken into account. An increment in their salaries are required, these are the people who mould the future generation hence they should be well taken care of. League tables are necessary as they fuel Inter-school competitions. Competition helps to improve quality. The education sector needs to be void of corruption; it needs a well-managed budget. It should not be toyed with as the future of our Country is dependent on the skills we, the youth possess.
Every child has a right to good education #REFORMTHENIGERIANEDUCATIONSECTOR
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