Being text of a lecture delivered by Dr. (Mrs.) Sarah Omotunde Alade, Deputy Governor (Economic Policy)Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at Bowen University, Iwo, recently.(Continued from Thursday.)
EMPLOYERS want competent graduate recruits who are technically sound in their chosen fields, as well as those equipped with complementary life skills such as problem solving, reflective and critical thinking, interpersonal and team skills, effective communication, character, integrity and high level of personal ethics, self-esteem, self-discipline, organizing skills and abilities to translate ideas to action. The challenge facing the Nigeria education sector is that these life skills are rarely taught as part of the higher education curriculum. Yet as soft as they are, they are no less important in making a successful graduates prepared for the real life challenges.
Decline in Graduate Quality
The continued decline in the quality of Nigeria?s higher education system remains a thorny issue. Research indicates that the quality of education in some Nigerian institutions in the 1970s was comparable with the high quality education offered by top class universities in the world. Graduates were of high quality and their certification recognized anywhere in the world. Poor quality at all levels of education is exacerbated by the acute shortage of instructional materials for effective teaching and learning. A related issue is the quality of the faculty in some of the tertiary institutions. The faculty-student ratio is further worsened by the inadequate qualification of some faculty members. Until recently, the faculty of many university departments in Nigeria did not have the required number of staff with doctorate degrees, contrary to NUC basic requirements of at least 50% of departmental faculty members with doctorate degrees.
Skill Gaps
The increased enrolment in higher institutions over time notwithstanding, the choices by university planners and administrators are clearly revealed in the structure of outturn of the institutions which reflects critical gaps in skills needed by employers. An analysis of the outturn by discipline during the period 2001-2005 revealed that Social Sciences, Administration, Education, Sciences and the Arts dominate the academic programmes of tertiary institutions in Nigeria. On the other hand, disciplines such as Law, Engineering, Technology, Agriculture, Medicine, Pharmacy and Environmental Sciences, which are required to supply the needed manpower to drive the nation?s development agenda and produce graduates that can be self-employed, had a Lower share.
Poor Student Orientation and Motivation
Arising largely from the failure in some aspects of the society as well as the decline in imbibing certain values, the interest and habit of reading, acquisition of books and the development of other skills has dwindled drastically among students. Many students are being negatively influenced by peer group pressure, social media such as TV, Facebook, and blackberry messenger, Twitter etc. while parents are busy with other things without giving adequate attention to the moral, social, religious and academic needs of their children. Many students in turn have a warped philosophy of what life is all about, and have lost the will-power to shun nefarious activities such as thugery, cultism, truancy, robbery, etc.
The state of the education system had been succinctly captured in the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) which noted that ?. . . the delivery of education in Nigeria has suffered from years of neglect, compounded by inadequate attention to policy frameworks within the sector. Findings from an on-going educational sector analysis confirm the poor state of education in Nigeria. The system emphasizes theoretical knowledge at the expense of technical, vocational, and entrepreneurial education. School curricula need urgent review to make them relevant and practice oriented?.
Implications of the Current State of the Nigerian Educational System
The current state of Nigeria educational system, which resulted from a combination of factors such as low funding, poorly trained teachers, etc, has far reaching implications not only for the development of future leaders but the nation at large. The Nigeria educational system is insufficiently prepared to produce the caliber of students that would graduate to drive the rapid transformation of the country into one of the fastest growing economies on a sustainable basis.
Human Development Index Ranking
An analysis of the average Human Development Index (HDI) for the countries between 1980 and 2010 shows that countries that had higher average expenditure on health and education as a percentage of GDP also had higher HDI rankings. These include countries like Sweden, France, Canada, Korea, Italy, Botswana, Mexico, Egypt, etc. Nigeria?s ranking averaged 142 in the period.
Competitiveness
The current educational system has rendered most Nigerian graduates less competitive in the global labor market, making it difficult for qualified Nigerians to access jobs globally. The Nigeria Vision 20:2020 blue print noted that ?Declining quality of education, training and skills acquisition has posed serious impediments to the employability of the labor force in many respects. Of the 6 million Nigerians graduating annually from the educational system, only about 10% are often employed.
Low Level of Innovation and Creativity
The deficit in the educational system has led to low level of innovation and creativity among the graduates. The development has constrained their ability to meet future challenges, and could be linked to why most of them are unemployed and uncompetitive in the global labor market. Indeed, most employers will need to retrain Nigerian graduates before they could be put on the job. In addition, the nature of education in Nigerian institutions gives little or no international exposure to their graduates, which therefore, limit their ability to appreciate the global dimension of issues.
Low level of International and International Exposure
Many graduates are not trained to be creative and innovative. The development has constrained their ability to meet future challenges, or to effectively contribute to the labor market. Indeed, most employers that hires them, usually retains them. In addition, the nature of education in Nigerian Institutions gives little or no international exposure to their graduates, which therefore, limit their ability to appreciate global dimension of issues.
Huge Outflow of Foreign Exchange
Due to the poor state of the Nigerian educational system, a large number of Nigerian students are currently schooling abroad. The huge foreign exchange paid as school fees and other maintenance allowances have implications on the country?s stock of foreign reserves. The amount of foreign exchange spent on these students as allowances, tuition and maintenance allowances could substantially improve Nigeria?s educational system and place it as one of the best in the world. It could have also been used for other productive activities in the economy.
Low Scientific and Technological Breakthrough
As noted earlier, Nigeria?s educational system is weak in the sciences and mathematics. Consequently, there is a low level of scientific and technological breakthrough. The quality of research in Nigerian universities cannot give the country the necessary scientific and technological breakthrough needed in the twenty-first century. This was clearly manifested when the country had to rely on Chinese and Russian scientists to launch the Nigerian satellites.
Preparing Our Future Leaders: Making the Right Choices
From the foregoing, it is imperative to take bold steps to ensure that the future leaders of this country are well educated. ?The future belongs to those who understand that doing more with less is compassionate, prosperous and enduring, and thus more intelligent than competitive? (Paul Hawken, ?National Capitalism? Mother Jones, March/April 1997). The challenge of the future for which leaders should be appropriately prepared would further include conflict resolution, environment, international developments, poverty and social injustice. Such leaders will therefore require a moral, academic and strategic make-up or support in order to succeed. The educational system easily recommends itself for such a noble role. The government, the academic institutions, the parents and the students (youth) themselves have roles to play in building the future leaders we desire. It is important for all the stakeholders to make the right choices.
Improved Funding
The quality of investment in education today is a measure of the quality of future leaders. Expenditure on education that is inadequate or poorly made penalises the future of the country. Towards this end, a sustainable financing arrangement must be developed. Government and all stakeholders in the education sector must ensure that the funding of education is given priority so that students can have opportunities for quality learning. One cannot ensure quality education without providing reasonably good infrastructure, sufficient number of trained and adequately compensated teachers, other amenities and teaching aids, including access to new technologies that are becoming an essential part of contemporary life. In this regard, new and alternative sources of funding education should be explored while government should also increase allocation to the sector and ensure effective and efficient use. In particular, there is need for greater involvement by the business community in the financing of education. Private involvement in the sector must also increase in order to improve the quality of education in a cost effective manner.
?To be continued
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