Sponsors |
|
|
|
|
Vision 2020 and Crisis In Nigeria Educational Sector
Rahaman Onike
VISION 2020 AND CRISIS IN THE NIGERIA EDUCATIONAL SECTOR
The crisis facing the educational sector appears to be insurmountable, if it is viewed against the backdrop of the existing system of financing this important sector by successive administrations. I am agonized that the idea of vision 2020 conceptualized by president Yar'adua's administration is becoming blurred and even imperiled due to government attitude towards education. Of course, education is the bedrock of economic development. Toying with education therefore would put in jeopardy the future expectation of the people.
With the under-funding of the educational sector, it seems government is only paying leap service to her targeted 2020 goal of making Nigeria one of the best economies of the world. It is self-evident that such lofty vision cannot be translated in a situation where there is near absence of effective and functional educational system, educational institutions and educational infrastructure. I make bold to stress this point, considering the fact that our educational system is badly adrift. Hence, president Yar'adua must come to terms with the current educational challenges in our match towards 2020.
What is given me nightmare is that much difference has not been noticed in the way president Yar'adua approaches educational issues to distinguish him from his predecessor who was never an academic. It is expected that he would give more priority to education by virtue of his antecedent as a former Polytechnic lecturer. Yet, one is bewildered the way he goes about crisis in the educational sector. Ordinarily, the servant leader would have been expected to have sympathy and sentiment for education; however, there is a suspicion that he is alienating himself from the academic community which was his primary constituency. Despite his promise of looking into the issue and plight of 44 unjustifiably sacked University of Illorin lecturers, nothing meaningful has come out of it.
The current trends suggest that it is either the president is not sincere or lack the knowledge and understanding of appropriate strategy to address the myriad of issues affecting the nation's educational development. Indeed, there is a resemblance in the ongoing educational crisis and anti-intellectual stance of the last administration of president Olusegun Obasanjo.
In other parts of the world, especially in the developed economies attention is given to education, teachers are well paid and schools are frequently provided with adequate and relevant educational facilities. With high rate of illiteracy, Nigeria is likely to remain a nation with stagnated development for long. Without being immodest, a nation whose large population are either pure illiterates or barely literate would certainly face difficulties in the implementation of the millennium development goals strategies.
The widespread apprehension and phobia currently being exhibited by people especially the educated elite still indicate that education receives insufficient revenue allocation, the teachers are receiving poor pay even the recent teachers strike over new teacher salary structure (TSS) is yet to yield any dividend. What a messy situation!
The previous world Universities ratings further prove that our educational system is abysmally sick. The reports of the ratings equally reiterate the fact that there is urgent need to declare emergency in the sector. Without being equivocal, our Universities are in shamble due to poor research funding, low quality research collection, shortfall in their monthly subvention, inadequate library and laboratory facilities. The real danger is that this can result into poor teachers' job motivation. No doubts, there is no policy, no matter the philosophy behind it that can bring about positive changes in the educational sector, if the available human and material resources are in short supply. This is because, no educational system can rise above the quality of its teachers.
Similarly, the quality of the graduates of the nation's institutions of learning cannot be trusted by the employers of labour. It is against this background that an average Nigerian graduate is perceived not competent enough to supply quality labour. Given our peculiar experiences as a nation, one would expect the president who has taught for several years in the tertiary institutions to understand the real problem of our educational sector. It seems reasonable for the servant leader to show in utterance, conduct and approach to have once been part of academia. Otherwise, it would appear as if the president is an intellectual buffoon. Or the complexity of statecraft is becoming too cumbersome for him probably due to his controversial health status.
In actuality, much is still desired from Mr. President to facilitate the attainment of vision 2020 goal. And to give an impression that he is not only capable but also up to the task. Hence, I adjure him to rise up to the challenge of improving the Nigeria educational standard to enhance the attainment of the goal of vision 2020. At any rate, the crisis that has engulfed the educational sector is poising threats to the nation in terms of availability and utilization of quality manpower which is sacrosanct and a major determinant of economic growth and development of any nation.
Again, the nation is loosing some of her highly learned , resourceful and extremely educated ones to other countries through brain drain'. Many of them are outside the Nigeria shore and border receiving international awards and are helping other nations to develop their economy. But hope is not totally lost. It is an indisputable fact that these Nigerian scholars and achievers might return home if the government could provide an enabling environment and offer equitable rewards for quality services.
Of equal importance is the role of computer in education. World as become a global village with the invention of computer. The ongoing internet revolution further reduces the burden of pursuing knowledge and accessing information through the websites. It is believed universally that knowledge explosion in the globalised economy is truly aided by computer and internet accessibility. Yet, Nigeria remained one of the countries in the world with the least access to internet facilities.
Worse still, the president's team on education are either incompetent or do not share the vision and aspiration of the present administration on agenda 2020. This may sound derogatory but there is nothing to suggest otherwise. Certainly, they are going to share the blame individually and collectively in case of any failure. Up till now, most of the president's team on education have not shown or demonstrated a rear courage and probably clear understanding of the problems affecting the educational sector. Beyond mere rhetorics, the attainment of the vision 2020 goal rests on government commitment to education through provision of adequate finance, quality and sufficient personnel, conducive learning environment and effective school discipline.
By
ONIKE RAHAMAN
P.O.BOX 331 , OYO TOWN ,
OYO STATE
He is An Editorial consultant, Policy Analyst, Public commentator and socio critic.
E-mail address:- onikerahaman01@yahoo.com
Phone No:- 08054695935 or 07033902827
Article submitted Monday, October 06, 2008
This article has been viewed 1 times.
Most Popular |
|
|
|