Nigeria's Education Sector Crisis and the Potential Impact on Private Sector Performance

I was very interested to read the World Economic Forum’s insight report titled Catalysing Education 4.0. Investing in the Future of Learning for a Human-Centric Recovery. The report presented some interesting statistics.

 The statistics: “A single $1 investment in a child’s education yields as much as $5 in returns over a lifetime. An additional year of education, on average, translates to 9% higher lifetime earnings and in some cases up to 15% higher. The returns in lower-income countries are even higher than those in higher-income countries” (page 4). A 2012 World Economic Forum study, in collaboration with PwC, found that targeted investment in upskilling the global teaching workforce could add more than $4 billion to global GDP due to increased sector productivity.

Statistics such as these make one simultaneously pleased and displeased. I am pleased that the importance and impact of laying a solid foundation through education are discussed at such a high level (at the WEF). However, it is saddening that we do not appear to fully appreciate the importance of education in Nigeria. And we may, therefore, be overlooking the catastrophic implications of neglecting the education sector.

 The ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities has taken a frightening dimension as our university students have stayed away from learning for many months. Beyond the extra costs involved, the idle students are beginning to yield to various social vices, with significant negative impacts on the social and economic infrastructures. 

 We may have focused so much on achieving economic growth, but this has not resulted in development when considering the low education and health ratings. Nigeria’s HDI value for 2020 at 0.539 puts the country in the low human development category - positioning it at 161 out of 189 countries.

 The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living.

 A healthy and knowledgeable citizenry will make a productive nation. Unfortunately, education and health have continued to suffer from preventable disruptions caused by industrial actions that are not attended to before they escalate. Early in the year, medical practitioners embarked on an industrial action that left our medical care centers in paralysis and decay.

 While we acknowledge the high budget allocations to defence and security, we want to caution that without corresponding allocations to education and health, we are likely ignoring the root causes of the security challenges facing our nation, Nigeria. 

 The build-up of dropouts in northern Nigeria has been said to contribute to the mounting number of terrorists and bandits. We need to attack the root causes of the current-day security challenges to achieve a long-term solution.

 The organized private sector is disturbed by the rate of school dropouts and protracted disruption of the academic calendar. Our youths are subjected to delays in their studies which sometimes culminates in increased levels of dropouts. The link between school dropouts and crime is real and must be tackled in our fight against terrorism and other security crises.

 The private sector requires well-trained and healthy employees to contribute to national development. We call for a renewed commitment to education and healthcare delivery to achieve sustainable development in Nigeria beyond GDP figures.

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) is the foremost Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria and West Africa. With a strong membership base operating in almost all sectors of the economy, LCCI has remained a strong advocacy brand that represents the business community.  

.