THE SAD STATE OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

It took a lot of effort to put my thoughts into words clear enough for my audience to comprehend.

I started a program just recently. I was taught by incredibly talented intellectuals who understood the art of teaching. Even though the program is tedious, you know you are getting the highest quality of education. In this brief period, I have gained so much.

It gave me a sad mental picture of the deformed level of education in this country.

Many employers complain about the standard of the students being churned out of school in Nigeria; most of them have to retrain these graduates. That is time and resources expended, even though, no knowledge is lost.

The formative years of a child are very critical. This is when they pick up a lot of information, academic and otherwise. Unfortunately, only the privileged few have access to proper education for their wards, while the rest are left with a dilapidated system of learning.
This is seeing that Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world. 18 million children are rumored to be out of school, while the rest are divided between the privileged few and the less privileged.
This means that only a tiny percentage of school-goers have access to high-quality formative education, while the others are left with a redundant education system.

Sadly, this problem extends to the tertiary level.

This is leaving out the elites, usually, the politicians, who send their wards to school in foreign countries. They get the highest quality education and come back home to get positioned in the most prestigious job positions in the country.

I’m trying not to tie politics into this, however, it’s hard not to in Nigeria. We know that poverty and poor education are tools used by the so-called ‘elites’ to stay in power, but this is a discussion for another time.

The future of the poor seems bleak at best.

While I address the negatives, it is also necessary to picture an ideal society.

An interesting question to ask is this: what if the Government prioritized education among other things? For example, with a target that every Nigerian child should be well educated, at least up to secondary school? Make it their motto, and what Nigeria as a country is known for, what if?

We’d have the brightest minds in the world, a people unparalleled to any other race or nation.

I say this because our education is so poor, not just the outdated curriculum. It also has lecturers that are untrained in the art of teaching among other things. How do I know this?
Many students; friends, and former classmates, who passed through Nigerian universities and did poorly, suddenly get to a foreign school and excel somehow. Many different factors are responsible, however, lecturers not knowing how to teach is a factor, and an outdated curriculum as well.

A sound educational background is the first step to ensuring a bright future for everyone.

We need a clean-up in our educational system in Nigeria, as a matter of urgency.

One can only dream.

#MEMBA11