The Nigerian Education System Conundrum 

Toks Yerokun

Discussions on the Nigerian education system have been ongoing, almost forever. Lately, there has been renewed interest in this area other than from a solely political perspective. Apparently, the daily reminders and pervasive impact the education system is having on society are increasingly agitating our collective conscience. In order to forge a meaningful and sustainable way forward, we need careful deliberations. Recognizing that a system does exist, albeit inept at serving the real needs of the people, the wheel does not need to be re-invented, in my opinion, it needs re-invigoration, renewal, rejuvenation, it just needs to be made to work much better. To achieve this goal, everyone becomes a stakeholder, the force of change that become actively involved in making it work. Its been almost fifty years following the introduction of free education at the primary school level in the old Western region of Nigeria and about thirty years since the state government took over administrative control of all secondary schools. The free primary education became universal for the rest of the nation, but the Nigerian society of fifty years ago is no longer the same. The effective implementation of the free primary education policy was a major contributing factor to the surge in the standard of education and quality of students that emerged from the mostly mission run, but relatively few secondary and post-secondary schools that existed in the entire country at that time. Several articles have been written, anecdotal comments made and personal experiences expressed, but the standard of education, atmosphere in academic institutions and indeed, the whole system of education in Nigeria continues on a path of precipitous decline. 

There is a tendency to simplify a rather complex situation when commenting on the Nigerian education system. For the three academic tiers, primary, secondary and post-secondary, whose over-arching goal is to produce an educated populace, their evolution has been historically disparate and at best, disjointed. Almost five decades later, my state, Nigeria and indeed most nations of the African continent are still faced with the issue of improving the education system. Now, the dilemma of a sound education system is compounded by the growing challenges of sustaining economic well-being and political stability in an environment that is no longer local or regional, but increasingly global. Arguably, the education system in most African nations has ceased to fully serve the needs of the people. This personal commentary is tempered by acknowledging the broad array of individuals with the intellect and academic competence, better equipped to provide more poignant historical perspectives. All the same, merely connecting the historical past with the present situation will not be enough to effectively confront the underlying and persistent factors contributing to the declining state of affairs in the education system. 

My contribution to the ongoing discussion on our education system is from the perspective of an enthusiastic observer who has experienced different phases of the evolution of the system. As a friend of mine recently stated to me, I have caught the education bug, but in my opinion, it is not whether the education system in my state can be salvaged, for as a matter of fact and survival in the competitive national and global context, it must, the question that is paramount in my mind is whether the evolution of this change will occur during my lifetime or during the lifetime of anyone reading this article. I am reminded that in my State, for example, the education system emerged from the same one that produced the likes of Herbert McCauley, Obafemi Awolowo, Adetokunbo Ademola, Wole Soyinka, and many others, whose intellectual integrity and accomplishments compare to the best of the human race. Individuals who not only made their country proud, but also contributed to the emancipation of a whole race on many levels, social, literary, political, academic, legal, you name it. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but the time has definitely come for concerned parents, the business community, administrators, educators and students to form a stronger alliance, whose concerted mission would be to re-invigorate or reform the academic atmosphere and make it more relevant to their needs. There is the need for everyone to regain a sense of dignity and gradually, we have to chip away at the problems that seem to be consuming our education system, or else we will find that through our ignorance and negligence, we have authored an unforgivable atrocity on our selves and are the sole party responsible for our continued hardships.

Robot  # 1 | 13.12.2008 08:17

The Nigerian Education System Conundrum Toks Yerokun Discussions on the Nigerian education system have been ongoing, almost forever. Lately, there has been renewed interest in this area other than from a solely political perspective. Apparently, the daily reminders and pervasive impact the education system is having on society are increasingly agitating our collective conscience. In order to forge a meaningful and sustainable way forward, we need careful deliberations. Recognizing that a system does exist, albeit inept at serving the real needs of the people, the wheel does not need to be re-invented, in my opinion, it needs re-invigoration, renewal, rejuvenation, it just needs to be made to work much better. To achieve this goal, everyone becomes a stakeholder, the force of change that become actively involved in making it work. Its been almost fifty years following the introduction of free education at the primary school level in the old Western re...Read the full article.

Olanrewaju Olaosebikan  # 2 | 19.12.2008 03:18

:(What use is the value of education that cannot provide jobs for citizens? Education that doesnt add value to the socio-economic well being of the citizens? Nig education sys is out of touch with the socio-economic realities of Nig. I think we should revise our education policies and include compulsory vocational studies from pry level -secondary level. Where students can acquire practical skills dt will make a difference in their life. Students who could not further their education for one reason or the other can establish a vocational trade of their choice with govt assistance. By so doing, we reduce the army of unemployed in our society n this craze mentality for white collar jobs. There are a lot of graduates in the street looking for vacancies to fill n we are told dt most of them are half baked.