On Standards of Education in Nigeria
By Matthew Eloyi
The standard of education in Nigeria has now become an issue for national debate as some are of the opinion that the standards of education have fallen while others argue that the standards have not fallen.
For the former, the falling standard of education in Nigeria could be linked to the lost glories of traditional education which inculcates among other things the very important values of hard work, diligence, integrity, and high productivity. When these are lacking in any production system, education inclusive, the results are often devastating leading especially to poor quality output and wastage which in themselves undermine capacity building and sustainable development.
The tertiary level produces the much desired human capital that propels nations from backwardness to modernization. But it has to be fed from the lower levels. A “mal-nourished” primary level would breed a “kwashiokored” secondary level that culminates into a “masrasmused” tertiary level.
Just quite recently, Prof. Williams Adebayo was interviewed on the “Standards of Education in Nigeria”. The veteran columnist painfully lamented that the standards of education in Nigeria have collapsed.
But, when another Professor of History was interviewed on “Democracy Day”, and to share his opinion with the public, he has a different view on the standards of education in Nigeria. He argued that the standards have not fallen.
For me, if we want to be thoroughly honest, we could see that the standards have collapsed right before our eyes.
For example, in the 21st Century, we have a curriculum or a structure of knowledge that disdainfully looks like a 19th-Century design. It looks too obsolete! So, the result is that we create “fireside knowledge” in the globalised world.
Again, all the great libraries are gone. All the great books are gone, as well. All the great teachers have left the system. While some are dead, others are still alive; but those who are alive are experiencing internal deportation or internal exile. And internal exile is when one is living in a society but not involved in that society. It’s a contradiction of living which is usually masterminded by those who delight in the death of knowledge.
For our information, the death of knowledge creates not only a dangerous society, but also a dead future. And I should think or understand that this is not the kind of society or future we hope for. We should stop deceiving ourselves that the “standards” are intact.
There is an urgent need to re-design the school curriculum at all educational levels, train and re-train teachers and adequately fund the school system for the sustainability of education standards in Nigeria as the future development of our nation hinges on the product of our educational system.
It is, therefore, recommended that the Federal Ministry of Education in Nigeria should re-design the school’s curricula and syllabi in order to provide functional education for rapid national growth and development.
