OPINION: Distorted Focus Of Nigerian Education System

Story highlights:

— Education was never designed to intimidate
— Nigerian education system rewards certificates, not
knowledge and creativity
— The system must be fixed so that our young minds can
truly become who they want to be and not what they are
forced to be
I met a brilliant young man a couple of days ago and we
got talking. He graduated from a university a little over two
years ago and narrated some of the ordeals he had to
go through. “I wasted six years of my life to study a four-
year course,” he said. “And I didn’t fail because I wasn’t
serious or smart. Far from it, it’s the system that’s bad. I
remember clearly when a foreign student who had come for
research in our school engaged one of our first-class
graduates; things totally fell apart. My Naija friend was
completely lost. Honestly, it’s as if we’re still using the 20th
century learning techniques in our schools here.”
As pathetic as the story was, it’s still not as bad as many
stories which I have heard from a number of graduates
from many Nigerian universities and polytechnics.
Many Nigerian teachers and lecturers create the notion that
education is hard and so it’s meant to stress, provoke and/
or make students suffer. That’s an absolutely wrong
mentality which unfortunately is already our culture; in fact,
it’s more or less the bedrock of Nigeria’s educational
system. Meanwhile, education was never designed to
intimidate . The real purpose of education is to stimulate
minds, provoke thoughts, birth creativity and innovation.
Education in its entirety helps to prepare next generations
of leaders — those who would take the nation to a higher
level in the nearest future. And that’s why nations that
understand and practice this secret go on to experience the
natural emergence of charismatic, excellent and
transformational leaders. To be candid, this kind of system
which we currently operate is the key factor why Nigeria is
failing and ailing. The sooner we realise, the better it is.
And something needs to be done urgently!
Majority of the students in Nigeria are groomed to
become “la cram-la pour-la forget” experts. Teachers and
lecturers expect you to give them what’s written in their
notes and handouts word-for-word during tests and
exams. It’s so funny to believe that some students even fail
all because they attempt to be creative and think outside
the box. They are often seen as “too big to know” and pay
dearly for it. This becomes even worse when they are
dealing with “academic machos” that have turned
themselves to gods all in the name of imparting knowledge.
Today, an average citizen of Nigeria is very eager to
accumulate certificates at the expense of vast knowledge,
and this is because the system encourages that. So long
as you can cram and pour, you will get your grades. When
you get your good grades (preferably first-class), it’s
presumed that a ready-made job awaits you somewhere
somehow. Whether you still retain the knowledge that gave
you those grades, which in turn gave you the certificates,
doesn’t matter anymore. After all, you are a first-class
product. This is the main reason why some people forge
certificates to get fixed up. This system of learning totally
kills creativity: you are not taught to use your own minds to
create new and more effective ways of doing things, of
solving problems. Our system rewards certificates, not
knowledge and creativity!
What about dissertations? They are products of research
done by students. Therefore, it’s expected that they should
be used to improve learning and the system in general. In
our own institutions, they are packed in the stores or the
so-called libraries and later become dusty if they are lucky
enough. It’s painful to note that final year students run
from pillar to post to produce these documents. They spend
abundant time, lots of energy and resources to get it done.
Please tell me how this type of system can easily produce
world-class leaders?
Alas, this inefficient system is not limited to h