State of The Nigerian Educational System

It is sad and embarrassing that the standard of education in Nigeria has dropped drastically with even our best universities missing on the list of the world’s best 500 universities.

But it has not always been like this. There was a time when graduates of our universities were sought after by the best schools abroad to enrich their graduate programmes.

How long can we continue like this? Who will save Nigeria’s educational system and when?

The problems are numerous and the challenges of re-inventing our educational system are daunting. The rot in the system permeates all strata of the education sector: poor learning environment, inadequate funding, low moral and ethical standards, inadequate facilities, poor teaching skills, corruption, lack of seriousness by many students, poor supervision of students, students over-population and more.

Everyone from the government to the school authorities, students, parents and the society at large is guilty. It is well known, for instance, that some parents are so desperate to get their children certificates that they are often ready to go to any extent, including indulging in corruption for the sake of their children even right from primary school to the university. Some students have got used to buying their way through the entire educational system. School administrators are themselves no role models. Weighed down by their own moral baggage, it is not surprising therefore that they are in no position to discipline the students whose characters they are expected to mould. And the Nigerian society has become increasingly permissive and tolerant of things which were a taboo in the past.

We are all paying for the collapse of our educational system. Fraudulently earned certificates make the holders of such certificates useless to the society. Students who cheat cannot go far in life before their past catches up with them.

Our so-called universities have become certificate industries.  These certificates are in a real sense not official documents attesting to their level of achievement or the in fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of an academic programme. Here comes again my rhetorical question: how many of the Nigerian graduates today are truly graduates in learning and in character? Only a few of them can be so qualified.

Things are so bad in our university system that it is now commonly believed by students that it is strange to be good and proper in the educational arena. Corruption in the system is fast becoming a normal thing. Lecturers and students who indulge in corrupt activities now do them openly and with impunity. It is no longer hidden that some lecturers extort money or sex from students in return for good grades. Some lecturers are known to text their bank account numbers to their students to facilitate cash-for-grade transactions.