Education

The Scam In Nigerian Education – Ganiu Bambose, PhD

The Scam In Nigerian Education – While the word “scam” means a dishonest scheme or fraud, this lexical item has a semantic extension in Nigeria to mean anything irrelevant or insignificant. Common on the lips of young Nigerians is the expression, “school na scam” (schooling is a scam). While many adults might silence them for saying this, a sincere appraisal of the situation reveals that this claim of the netizens is true. Isn’t a schooling system that cannot help scan the future of the students truly a scam?

I have argued in some previous articles that having the kind of skills called handwork in Nigeria such as tailoring and hairdressing is a more productive engagement than going to school. If a young lady who is a tailoring apprentice cannot cut a piece of cloth after six months, the trainer will most likely summon the lady’s parents and inform them about the need for a deliverance session for her.  On the contrary, students who cannot define and identify a preposition successfully push their way through many departments of English in Nigeria, and countless are graduates of computer science who cannot tell the function of Ctrl V. What else do we call a scam?

Furtherance to this academic dilapidation is the number of departments running courses that the lecturers cannot explain their contemporary relevance, not to say the students. School curricula are sacrosanct in Nigeria; they are like customs and traditions that have to be with the owners forever. Courses are not channeled to contemporary realities and experiences of the learners. The higher institutions keep postulating what society is not adopting. The poor working condition is killing the ingenuity in academics.

A career demanding passion and attention has become just a means of surviving that does not even guarantee survival. Writing and research are now just for gain and promotion. The gown (higher institutions) that should dictate to the town (society) now gets influenced by the town. With these and more is the reality, we ask: how do we restore the glory in education?

Advertisement

Sadly, the best option is at the moment the worst option. The government that should champion the transformation is the brains behind the retardation. To expect anything from a government that has kept students and lecturers at home for over 5 months is, frankly, to be waiting for Godot. While we hope that the government will, soon enough, wake up from its slumber and do the needful, few things can be done by other stakeholders to make school a scan rather than a scam.

First, parents should pay attention to the interests of their children and let that guide their paths. It has to be reemphasized that compulsory education ends after junior secondary school and this is why it is now called Basic 9.

Schooling should not be made to look like a heavenly duty. A child that wants to become an actor can be registered in an academy at an early age in life and the one that loves to weave hair can be enrolled in a sophisticated salon. The ones who also wish to continue with formal education will do so enjoyably and will not consider schooling a scam if it is what they want for themselves.

Advertisement

Secondly, there is a need for a complete overhaul of the curricula of different departments and faculties. Faculties of Arts and Humanities that do not teach courses in aspects of popular culture, peace studies, the internet, and social media are behind the 21st century needs and reality of modern students.

Notwithstanding the attitude of the government, academics must, even if just for posterity and fulfillment, endeavor to discharge their duties diligently and most importantly channel their contents to the needs and passions of the students. Like  John Dewey said, if what interests the child is not in the child’s best interest, then make what is in the child’s best interest interesting.

Lastly, the students too must wake up to the fact that schooling is not a ritual. Their primary task as young persons is to also think out of the box and think of legitimate ways and things they can channel their knowledge and energy to for a prosperous life. A student of English for instance can leverage the knowledge of the discipline to be an editor, scriptwriter, public speaker, content creator, and writer of stories and biographies, among many other jobs where you do not need an employer. The ingenuity in anyone manifests when you are dedicated to whatever you choose to pursue as a career.

Advertisement

Finally, I wish to establish again that education is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values which make one a useful member of society. Education, if understood, as whatever one does to meet up with life expectations and schooling as one of its agents can, therefore, not be a scam if the aptitudes of students are considered in guiding them and if the government, the parents, and the academics all stand to their responsibilities and expectations.

Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr. GAB)
Department of English,
Lagos State University

Facebook Comments
Advertisement
Adebayo

Adebayo is a Content Developer and website manager who loves to learn, unlearn and relearn. He has a knack for exploring the tech world. He is always thirsty to learn as the tech ecosystem evolves every day.

Recent Posts

Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Launches Anti-Scam Campaign To Protect Mutual Fund Holders

Stanbic IBTC Asset Management has implemented strong measures to safeguard its customers from an alarming…

4 weeks ago

Bad governance: Recreating Nigeria To Avert Collapse

Michael Owhoko, Ph.D The root cause of Nigeria’s problem is, unarguably, an inappropriate system of…

1 month ago

Top Reasons FUZE Talent Show 3.0 Will Blow Your Mind!

Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers has launched the third edition of their highly anticipated FUZE Talent…

1 month ago

Stanbic IBTC Launches DiSEP 4.0, Empowering Nigerian Youths With Cutting-edge Digital Skills

Stanbic IBTC Holdings, a member of Standard Bank Group, has unveiled the fourth edition of…

1 month ago

Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Champions Nigerian Art With ART X Lagos Sponsorship

Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers has again made a significant mark on Nigeria's cultural landscape by…

1 month ago

NOVA Bank In Early Crisis As Pioneer MD, Wale Adedeji ‘Exits Ship’

NOVA Bank, one of the latest commercial banks in Nigeria, may be experiencing a major…

1 month ago
Warning: Undefined variable $post in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Undefined variable $post in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5318 Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5318 Warning: Undefined variable $rows in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Attempt to read property "seo" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Undefined variable $post in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Undefined variable $rows in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Attempt to read property "seo" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Undefined variable $post in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Undefined variable $rows in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Attempt to read property "seo" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Undefined variable $post in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Undefined variable $rows in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Attempt to read property "seo" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Undefined variable $post in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Undefined variable $rows in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Attempt to read property "seo" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Undefined variable $post in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Undefined variable $rows in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Attempt to read property "seo" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Undefined variable $post in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Undefined variable $rows in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Attempt to read property "seo" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Undefined variable $post in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Attempt to read property "ID" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5314 Warning: Undefined variable $rows in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323 Warning: Attempt to read property "seo" on null in /customers/e/a/5/brandnewsday.com/httpd.www/wp-content/plugins/schema-and-structured-data-for-wp/admin_section/common-function.php on line 5323

This website uses cookies.