THE NIGERIA EDUCATION SYSTEM

 

THE VALUE OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

Abdulquadir Iyanda Jimoh,

Reporter, National Telescope

Education in Nigeria is in shambles judging from the high level of inadequacy of the graduates and the school-leavers.

Education play major roles in the transformation of any society. Our educational system is not on the right track looking also from the angle of recurring vices among young Nigerians both educated and non educated youths.

Today, one cannot distinguish between literates and the illiterates among the youths and the 

adults based on their immoral rascality, and corrupt disposition and recklessness in handling National issues which is very common among people in the helms of our Affairs. Technical Education in our higher Institutions also focused on theory instead of practical which have to be embedded in our daily activities and dealings.

Education which supposed to be upholding moral uprightness and refining citizens to be responsible, respectful, loyal and trustworthy only focus on mere theory and in return, our institutions is now a place where you can find all forms of social vices and immoral acts ranging from cultism, prostitutions, examination malpractices, syndicated cyber racketeering and criminality, love frauds, ritual killings, quick money enterprises and et cetera.

It is saddening that our education system has placed much value in certificate over individual intellectual capacity.

In advanced countries of the world that we always refer to as "developed world", they have placed much of their resources in developing capacity building of their citizens resulting in the ability of those countries in inventions and innovations in both ICT and Nuclear power that is accurately matched happenings in the 21st century.

Education in Nigeria only focuses on already developed work of those countries and in return we worship their uniqueness and ability to do things differently with highly sophisticated technologies.

Furthermore, in the area of our past history, Nigeria as a country is lacking because of our lackadaisical attitudes in attending to the matters that requires important and paramount attention.

Many of our historical and ancestral materials are not properly kept for the future references and purposes, imagine in the future when our children will be going over sea to places like USA, UK and others to catch fun and still have to pay at their National Museum to watch all our invaluable artifacts abroad.

There's need for our history to be adequately documented in order to save our future generations from calamity and disaster. A wake-up call to both students and educators who specialized in history across Nigeria, because this country is depreciating from lack of proper records and acceptable historical information of our backgrounds.

All Authority concerns in Education sector must rise from their slumber to rescue our rotten system where we produce graduates who can not find solutions to most of our major and pressing problems in this country and instead contributing nuisance to already established problems, then adding more salts to the injury.

Going further, it is not surprising that social vices overwhelmed our youths today. It is as a result of inability of our education institutions to impact acceptable moral standards, ethics and character.

Nigeria has bred countless lazy men and women that believes only in leisures and quick money enterprises.

Arguably, our religions also teaches us the importance of education, research and knowledge.

It was stated in the holy Qur'an time over, the importance of quality education.

And that's the reason why, the importance of education is repeatedly emphasized with frequent injunctions, such as "God will exalt those of you who believe and those who have knowledge to high degrees" (58:11), "O my Lord! Increase me in knowledge" (20:114), and "As God has taught him, so let him write" (2:282) and many more.

In the holy Bible as well, God stressed further the need to be knowledgeable and take learning as a priority.

Proverbs 1v7 KJV: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9v10 KJV: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: And the knowledge of the holy is understanding. 

Timothy 2v15 AMP: Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.

The most dangerous part of our education system in this part of the world is incompetence of the graduates to perform effectively in their chosen profession. This point can be easily discovered in the building and road construction processes and implementation among others. In reflection of their incapability, innumerable of our construction project are substandard and are in shambles.

Furthermore, Teachers Training Institutions is one of the principal victim of this mediocre. High level of corruption among individual Nigerians, Educational institutions and Agencies of Government in charge of quantity Education vis-a-vis introduction of miracles centre is killing our generation. And we are left in our basic schools with half baked educators (teachers).

Then, in a country where the corrupt has becomes very popular and privileged among power that be, we cannot expect any part of this system to function properly and efficiently as expected.

Lastly, it is high time we change our mindset and eschew all forms of ideology that is dragging us down.

" The future of the world belongs to the educated races", we mustn't stop educating our young ones on the basis of quality education and moral standards.