Educating Nigeria: The Zoom Out

"The foundation of every state is the education of its youth." - Diogenes.

If you are a Nigerian or have come in contact with a Nigerian, then chances are you have experienced the Nigerian education system or been a part of the learning process in Nigeria. Then you would probably know that education in Nigeria (or even Africa) is still behind compared to other educational systems in the world. This article series will shed a spotlight on some inhibitors in the educational system and suggest ways to solve them systematically.

Currently, over 10 million children are out of school in Nigeria, making it the highest in the world. This translates to one in every five out-of-school children in the world is in Nigeria. Also, among the children who are going to school, 27 million are performing poorly. About 30% of the Nigerian population (over 60 million people) are illiterates and millions more are half-educated.

Sadly, although many Nigerians are aware, most are not paying attention. And those who are taking steps to solve the problem are facing systemic challenges; and going further, the fear of the government and their agencies is wisdom. The root of many problems facing Nigeria as a nation is the high level of illiteracy and the inability to educate the nation. It is often said that Nigeria has a high human capital, but it is quite the contrary.?

According to a definition from Oxford Languages, human capital is?

"the skills, knowledge, and experience possessed by an individual or population, viewed in terms of their value or cost to an organization or country"

In reality, Nigeria has very low human capital. What we have is a very high population of people with great potential, but incapacitated in contributing their own quota to the growth and development of their nation because of the deplorable educational system. Here's a brief look at what is happening in the Nigerian educational sector.

Where it all began… Primary Education.

The process begins with pre-primary and primary schools, the foundational education that almost everyone should have. The principal goals of primary education are to instil basic literacy, arithmetic, communication skills and also increase in children the desire for more knowledge. All this culminates in the development of children's speaking, writing, reading, and relational skills.?

However, there are many challenges faced in primary education in both rural and urban settlements. Amongst others, the problems of understaffed, overworked and underpaid teachers, as well as the overpopulation of pupils in government-owned public schools prevent children from having quality education in urban schools, while poor infrastructure, untrained teachers, little or no educational funding plague schools in rural settlements.

My (Femi’s) experience while serving in Edo State was humbling. Every morning, instead of seeing children looking sharp in their school uniforms on their way to school, you often see children carrying baskets on their heads, struggling to pick up the pace of the older ones on the way to the farm. The situation is worse in other parts of the country, and it almost seems like the population doubles daily. Things will be totally out of control if we do not take drastic steps, and that is a given.

Secondary Education

Hurray! The children who are ‘privileged’ to have any kind of primary education have passed entrance examinations. Off to Junior Secondary School! However, there are many cases where students are required to pay for their uniforms and textbooks, which can be very difficult for many parents. With no form of intervention, many cannot afford to bear responsibility for the children at this level. And we’re talking textbooks and uniforms here, not laboratory equipment.

"Secondary education in Nigeria is aimed at preparing students for useful living within the society and for higher education"

With the level of secondary school education in Nigeria today, it will surprise you how far we are from this basic definition. We equip few students who leave secondary school to live useful and productive lives. Some even struggle to achieve the aim of primary education by the time they finish secondary school. Whew!

Public secondary schools are over-populated, and they enrol most of the population as many parents cannot afford the high cost of attending private schools. Overcrowded classrooms, with many kids sitting on the floor because there aren't enough chairs and desks, little or no class control and the inability of teachers to carry everyone along is a daily occurrence in many public schools.

Vocational Education?

In Nigeria's education, vocational training and informal education are the principal ways to share knowledge of a specific area. The National Board for Technical Education supervises the management of vocational education. Besides the institutional form of vocational education, the Nigerian government also allows and encourages participation in apprenticeships. These apprenticeships help instil skills related to specific industries but also inculcate a commitment to community values, including patience, determination, and respect. The Child Labor Law prohibits children under the age of 15 from entering the labour market, but children under the age of 15 can legally access apprenticeship opportunities.

Various government-funded colleges, schools and institutions provide vocational courses. Other diplomas of vocational training courses offered include electrical engineering, telecommunications, computer science, fashion design, electrical engineering, travel, event management. Vocational education aims to help people get an excellent learning experience while doing their jobs better. Working professionals hone their skills while making money.

In Nigeria, there is an over-emphasis on university education, which reduces the economic opportunities for those who are work-oriented. Not everyone can afford a college degree, and not everyone will prefer a formal education. Lack of funding and ill-equipped vocational centres also hinder vocational training in Nigeria. In summary, the major arm of education set up to educate the builders of the industry has become the last option for students who got 'jammed' by JAMB’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and still have some hope of getting a university education in the future.

Tertiary Education?

This involves other tertiary institutions such as universities (public and private), polytechnics, monotechnics and education colleges. Currently, there are 170 universities, 132 polytechnics, 26 monotechnics and 89 colleges of education. This brings the total number of higher education institutions in Nigeria to approximately 417.?

From 2010 to 2015, only 26% of the tens of millions of people who applied to higher education institutions were successful. And in 2019, 2 out of 3 JAMB applicants did not get admitted. This goes to show that the gross deficit in the number of higher institutions in Nigeria. To further add salt to the wound, the quality of higher education in Nigeria is blatantly low. Education is about instruction and practice; one cannot exist without the other. Unfortunately, many tertiary institutions in Nigeria instruct and administer examinations. This unfortunate situation is also the reason for the increase in the number of uneducated and dropouts. The annual dropout rate of all Nigerian universities exceeds 18%.

With all these facts about the current situation in the Nigerian educational sector, it is easy to think that Nigeria does not have the wherewithal to cater to the educational needs of her people. Population explosion, with about 60% of Nigerians being below the age of 24, tells us that an enormous amount of the national budget should go into educating these youths and not forgiving terrorists (someone has to say it). Sadly, the government’s commitment to education in 2021 is the lowest in over a decade, with only 6.3% of the national budget going to education. This is a minefield ready to explode and has already started, one mine after the other.?

Thinking about the stats is mild compared to the reality of the Nigerian people. It looks like a lost cause and impending doom for Nigeria because if we do not fix education, there will be a higher rate of poverty, unemployment and exploitation. In the coming articles, we will share different solutions that we think can work from various perspectives - community, vocation, and worst case, total overhaul.

Credits

Authors: Femi Fakayejo; Chika Praise Okafor.

Edited by: Femi Fakayejo.