Education in Nigeria

EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

Education in Nigeria is fast approaching its death state, such that certified scholars are not qualified and qualified scholars are not certified. The fundamental aim of Nigeria education was to produce qualified certified scholars. Scholars that can applied the knowledge acquired practically into the society to truly make Nigeria the ‘Giant of Africa’.

This focus and drive has been replaced by greed, such that many students are in schools today with the primary aim of what they will get from Nigeria and not what they will add into Nigeria to make her a great global nation.

From the grassroots to the top, students are no longer taught to be creative minded scholars. Theoretical Scholars graduating from universities with appealing certificates but unable to create a worthy job that also add positive values in the lives of the future leaders. Perhaps, they were never taught effectively the practical and skillful aspects of education.

An a-prior kind of knowledge is what is done mostly in Nigeria education- a kind of learning without observation and without experience. Students learn what they have not observed, not experienced and don’t even know how to apply the knowledge in the society. This is the kind of knowledge that makes the teacher or lecture to give out unplanned assignment. These are assignments give resulting from the inability of the lecturer or teacher to professionally or concisely explain how the answer was arrived at, or, in most cases, does not even know the exact answers or solution to the questions.

Education involves instructing, imparting knowledge, skills and judgment. Nigeria education only gives instructions and judgment without impartation and this makes it schooling without training. The processes of education are not confined to the structural classroom setting. People can be educated outside the classroom while schooling is confined to the classroom. Consequently, the schooled becomes uneducated.

Education is acquired outside the confine of the classroom building because its actual aim is to add values to the people or citizens that are not inside the classroom. Furthermore, the educated are motivated with the drive to passionately affect lives outside the classroom.

If after graduating from a particular level of learning, your life and skills or knowledge acquired do not add values in the lives of others in the society, then, you were never educated. You were awarded a certificated for being school not educated.

It is clear that a road side mechanic can be educated because he is good at the skills he has learnt and he is using that skill to add values in the lives of others in the society. While, the first class graduate of mechanical engineering might not be educated because he was only a theoretical certified mechanical engineer, who only knew little or nothing about what he was certified and cannot add values in the lives of others. Such a graduate will end up becoming a political leader since his aim of going to school is to collect from Nigeria and not to add values to lives and it seems quite difficult to make fat money from the mechanical engineering field. This is what education in Nigeria is all about today.

Mark K. Smith suggested that “education is a process of inviting truth and possibility. He defined education as the wise hopeful and respectful culturation of learning under taken in the belief that all should have the chance to share in life.”

The Wikipedia defined education as “the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits.”

How Can Education in Nigeria be Salvaged?

  1. Investing on Skillful Education From The grassroots

Nigeria should invest more on skillful educations from the grassroots. Students should be taught practical education from the basic educational level. When skills are inculcated from the lower level and the learners learn effectively to the adult level, then, jobs have been created because the hands of the learners have become skillful. Skilled hands don’t lack. Dan. 1:17, Dan. 9:22, Prov. Rr:29, Jer. 10:9

A skillful hand only needs the opportunity to function and will make Nigeria proud. In the reverse, a non-skillful hand will always waste all opportunities that come because his hands are not prepared. Eccl. 9:11

We are Nigerians! Nigeria is our country! Our father land! Nigeria educational system must not get into the grave; you are alive today, because God wants to use you to bring back our educational system, where every citizen must have a part to play in building our great nation.

  1. Parental Role is a Key

Parents have a vital role to play in the reformation of education in Nigeria. Parents that lack morals will produce their kinds even from the nursery school. Pupils that abuse their teachers learnt such attitudes from the home. Parents should teach their children to say good things.

Some parents are so busy that they don’t have time to check their children’s educational works. Some parents only pay the school fee but don’t know if their children are being promoted to new classes or not.

Some Parents give all the parenting duties to their house helps. This is totally not ideal. Spent some time or more time with your children, they are your future and the future of Nigeria. Train up your children now for a better Nigeria tomorrow.

Some parents find it uneasy to administer discipline on their children. This is a borrowed mentality. Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child. The Bible states that the “rod of correction” drives it away. Allow your children to go through the disciplinary measures to help them become refined for a better tomorrow. Remember, you can never see any beauty in gold until it goes through the furnace. The furnace washes the dirt away and brings out its beauty.

Parents should help their grown up children see the need to become better future leaders by showing them examples of bad leadership qualities and good leadership qualities.

Parents should help their children see the need or future importance of studying skillfully now. Many students don’t see the need to learn or study skills in their respective schools because their rich parents have made them think that way. With skillful education, Nigeria will truly become the “giant of Africa”.

  1. The Role of the Teacher Is vital

The teachers also have their vital roles to play in making Nigeria a better world. It’s quite unfortunate that many of the people who are teachers today are not proud of the teaching profession. Some of them actually went into teaching because Nigeria could not give them what they wanted after graduating from the university. Unfortunately, they also could not create one job for themselves and no employment seems coming from the federal or state government.

They are now in the classroom, yet they are not the real teacher because they cannot say “I am proud to be a teacher”, “I will forever enjoy the fruit of my labour”, “In many years to come, I will have inner satisfaction of haven produced great men and women.” They end up becoming poor or bad managers because they never wished to be teachers. Their dreams were to work in international oil companies, bank, etc.

The real teacher is – a philosopher – a diplomat – a guardian – a motivator – a coach – a reformer – a father or a mother surrogate – a counselor – a mentor – a maestro – a poet – a visionary leader – an inspirer and an architect. Real teachers are role models.

Teachers should wake up and add positive values in the lives of students to enhance a better education in Nigeria.

  1. The Role of the School Management

To enhance a better education in Nigeria, school managements should be less money concerned but more productive in their effort. School management should organize workshop or educational programs for the teachers to enhance effective teaching process. Schemes, plan of work, etc. could be change by different schools who see it necessary to facilitate the learning process.

What we want is a better education in Nigeria. If it requires that topics should be changed in the curriculum for a set of students to understand better, then, the teacher should do. If it will a teacher four weeks or more to pass a concept to a set of students, then, that should be allowed by all Nigeria schools and not necessarily following the one week to one topic plan method. What we desire is a better Nigeria! It is qualifications that will add values to Nigeria not certifications.

  1. The Government Have a More Vital Role in Salvaging Education I Nigeria

The government, both state and federal have a vital role to play in reviving education in Nigeria. Many leaders don’t value the role of teachers in nation building. This is one of the many ideological problems Nigeria is faced with. Teachers or education in a general sense is not valued by Nigeria leadership. With this leadership ignorance, Nigeria education can’t improve. Hence, there will be no better Nigeria tomorrow until the orientation changes.

This is a wise saying that everybody has gone the hands of a teacher, even the teachers himself. So, whatever you are today, a teacher taught you something that was part of your uplift. The local government leaders were taught by a teacher, the state government leaders were taught by a teacher a teacher, the federal government leaders were taught by a teacher. A teacher has touch the lives of all. He should be valued in the society.

The government as an administrative should value the teacher and see their important role in society development. One of the many things that discourage teachers from being effective and productive is the treatment being received from the government. The lack of good salaries and remuneration is daunting. Funny enough, even the poor salaries and wages are not mostly paid at the right time. This is a bane to educational progress in Nigeria.

The government should pay reasonable salaries, wages and provide other motivating incentives such as house allowance, car allowance, etc. which they do to other governmental sectors. These things will motivate teachers to put in more effort in discharging their passionate classroom duties.

Furthermore, the government should create a conducive learning environment to enhance effective teaching and learning process. Also, they should organize free educational workshops or seminars for teachers at all levels regularly. This should include both public and private schools and the information should be announced publicly through the media to awareness.

With these actions put in place, Nigeria education is far from the grave and at its peak of global success.

  1. The Role of the Citizens

The citizens have their role to play. It is true that you are not the parent, relative or teacher of the children at the road side fighting. However, you have a vital role to play in their lives at the moment, and that was why God took you through that path. Don’t walk pass them, give a helping hand. Be the teacher, parent or relative at that moment by teaching them morals. Help them to reconcile their differences and make them see the to live together as One Big Nigeria.

If you are educated, then you will not go further when you hear little scholars trying to find the meaning of a concept in education. You will need to be their teacher briefly before going. You might not understand that what you just did is the greatness of Nigeria tomorrow. Be a patriotic citizen!

  1. The Student or Learner Has a Role to Play
  2. The student, pupil or learner has a part to play.
  3. The learner should be willing to learn that which is being taught.
  4. The learner should be willing to study at home and not play with all the available time.
  5. The learner should understand that the success of Nigeria lies in his hands.
  6. The leaner should understand that he is the future of Nigeria.
  7. The learner should understand that he is to make his parents, teachers, and relatives, the government and citizens proud.

The learner therefore needs to study hard theoretically and skillfully for a better Nigeria.

Do your part today and education I Nigeria will stand tall

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