Nigerian Higher Institutions And Youth

Thoughts of the decadence in and present status of the Nigerian educational system (particularly the higher institutions) and the place of the youth are traumatic. Even writing this piece sends a retching feeling through my veins as it costs me extra strength to finally put my pen on paper for the write up.

Everywhere I go, I see fingers pointed at the youths, “you don’t stay in school; you have become fraudulent; you are meant to be the future and now you are the reason the future is bleak…”  Uhmm…politicians and parents refuse to accept blame, lecturers also claim alibi, and in our ‘black’ culture, we never accuse an adult of lying, so we take the blames, we watch as they eat today and not reserve for tomorrow…  and of course, the attendance menace is our feast. Evidently, the youths also have vital roles to play as the cross eventually will be laid down for us to carry.

Destruction has come in overnight while our politicians and elders all scramble for enrichment without foresight, enrichment that would eventually lead a continent back to the dark ages, to enslavement of generations, and the veracity of neo-colonialism. Little wonder we are solely dependent on importations of items ranging from toothpicks, pencils, erasers to petroleum products.

The government has almost totally abandoned education and research, you can ask how many new higher institutions and schools in general have been created in proportion to the continuous population growth of the country. Schools that were established many decades ago still stand unmatched with the newer ones.

Examples are the structures in schools like University of Ibadan and University of Lagos, among others. Today, infrastructure in higher institutions are mismanaged and others obsolete. When last did our educationists align their knowledge and what is being taught with what obtains in the outside world?

How affordable is education now compared to what it used to be? What is the value of the bursary being paid to Nigerian students today and how many students actually get paid? Probably not up to five per cent.

After school, we talk about availability of employment, which is why some have ironically reinterpreted the NYSC (National Youth Service Corps), to mean “Now Your Struggle Continues”. Apparently how wrong are they? Aren’t these enough answers to why more students drop out of schools, and seek a way of survival? Families with more means and political funds send their wards abroad so they can come back to immediately turn the next brand manager at one big company or the other.

From a global perspective, economic and social development are increasingly driven by the advancement and application of knowledge. Education in general, higher education in particular, is fundamental to the construction of solid economy and society in all nations (WORLD BANK 1999). Yet the potential of higher education systems in developing countries to fulfill this responsibility is frequently thwarted by long-standing problems of finance, efficiency, equity, quality and governance.

Now, these old challenges have been augmented by new challenges linked to the growing role of knowledge in economic development, rapid changes in telecommunications technology, and the globalization of trade and labour markets (SALMI 2001).

In 1996, China, India, Brazil, and East Asia invested 11% of what the entire world invested in research and development. Today, it shows on their rate of development.

In contrast, many developing countries are yet to link knowledge directly to economic growth. Nigeria has only 15 scientists and engineers engaged in research and development per million persons. This compares with 168 in Brazil, 459 in China, 158 in India, and 4,103 in the United States (WORLD BANK 2002a: Table 5.11). Nigeria’s number of scientific publications for 1995 was 711 – significantly less than its output of 1,062 scientific publications in 1981 by a comparatively much smaller university system (TASK FORCE 2000).

This is a call to the entire nation, to wake up to the need and restoration of  educational values to avoid deterioration of our country into the dark hollows of utter poverty.

Much has been done to elevate the educational system by  the recent democratic governments in Nigeria, but with little or no effect.

More  policies and provisions should be made for education and for the Nigerian youth directly and not  for self-centred educationists or politically inclined youths  in the name of student leadership.

Technical education should also be taken seriously and infused into the university system to make our graduates more employable.

—Oludare Omolaja is an undergraduate and publisher, TULK Magazine, youth/entrepreneurship.