For a better Nation, Encourage and motivate the Youths

By

Victor E. Dike

vdike@cwnet.com

In the recent past, Nigerians have had many jobs to choose from and encouraging and motivating the youths to plan for a better career was not necessary. But the bad economic situation in the society has changed everything! Presently, for many individuals frequent career change has become inevitable. Whether one wants to start a new career or enhance a current career, one needs to continually retrain to improve ones skills. To encourage and motivate the youths to contribute to the growth and development of the nation the leaders should provide them the necessary resources.

Not too long ago, the National Universities Commission (NUC) denied accreditation to some courses offered at some universities in the country and the affected institutions were instructed to desist from admitting fresh students into the programs. It also reported that some of the institutions lack the requisite quality teachers and resources to provide quality instructions to students and to conduct research. This information is not new because the tertiary institutions in Nigeria (federal and state) have for long been starved of funds for effective teaching and learning. As a result the good teachers who teach from the heart are disgusted for lack motivation to perform their duties, leading to the unending brain drain phenomenon in the society and the unmotivated youths they churn out each year.

One should think that the nation is getting what it what ordered! The nation has no oneself to blame for the low academic standard in the society but itself. The politicians, whom the people elected (and those who rigged their way into power) to run the affairs of the society, are diverting the funds for education to their private purses leading the decay in the system. For a better nation, the society should begin now to dismantle the obstacles hampering effective teaching and learning in Nigerian schools.

The role of education in the development of a society has been vastly documented in academic journals, and we do not intend to revisit it here. However, it suffices to say that the current poor quality graduates from the nation’s schools is preventing Nigeria from becoming a better society. In other words, the dismal state of education in Nigeria affects the economic, social and political life of the nation. But the nation’s progresses depends largely on the quality of its education and the educational attainment of its citizens. According to development experts “growth means prosperity” and “no growth means stagnation, recession [and] a decline in the standard of living” of the people. Therefore, without good quality education Nigeria may not become a better nation; and that's why the society should maintain and equip its schools and consistently give the sector the attention it deserves.

The many commissions and probe panels to study the problems cannot do it without proper steps to tackle the crucial problems facing the universities (and the educational sector in general). However, having identified the problems what plans have the NUC to ratify the situation? Are efforts being made to improve the working condition of teachers in the system so as to attract and retain good scholars? Has the government allocated enough money to the system to procure the necessary tools for effective teaching and learning? Have some funds been made available to graduate students in the form of loans to pursue doctoral programs in the needed academic areas? Presently, there is a mad rush by state governments, individuals and organizations to establish private universities without serious plans on how to train the requisite manpower for the institutions. Another aspect of the matter is that it not good enough for the NUC to issue out credentials to individuals to open up higher institutions. The commission should go beyond that! Any organization applying for a license to establish a university should be required to show concrete and serious plans for training or acquiring the needed teachers for the programs they intend to offer. For education to accomplish its objective both for the individual and the society, the root causes of the problem in the system must be removed. This requires a well thought-out educational policy otherwise the society will continue to breed unproductive citizens.

Lack of proper regulation and supervision is part of the problem bedeviling Nigeria’s educational system. Despite of their inability to provide the necessary resources for effective teaching and learning most of the existing universities are offering programs in the areas they are not properly equipped to handle. Without laboratories and libraries virtually all the tertiary institutions in Nigeria (even the new ones) offer courses in Medicine, Pharmacy, Engineering, Computer Science and Law, et cetera. Thus, the new educational institutions should be required to operate for some years before being permitted to award degrees in some areas. In some societies, such the US and Britain, schools would operate for decades before venturing into the resources-intensive programs. But anything goes in Nigeria! One wonders why everything about Nigeria different! The country seems out of touch with reality of modern world. Good quality education is becoming a mere slogan in the society because schools have remained in dilapidated condition and nothing serious is being done about it.

This writer has argued elsewhere that teachers should not be expected to perform miracle without the necessary tools for effective instruction. Also, students should be encouraged and motivated to perform (teachers will not do the reading for them). As the great educational theorist, John Dewey, noted in Experience and Education teachers are just “the agents through which knowledge and skills are communicated and rules of conduct enforced.” As a poster says “Teachers open the door, but you must enter yourself.” Nigerian youths have the ability to perform if proper learning tools are provided to them, and more importantly, if they have the hope of finding employment or establishing a business after graduation.

The society should go beyond ranking of schools and begin now to device serious plans to give proper training and education of the youths. They should be systematically trained and educated to acquire the knowledge that will be useful to the society. Attentive care should thus be devoted to the schools to change the graphic sordid conditions of nation’s educational institutions and launder their image to improve their reputation. This would assure the world and Nigerians that education and skill acquired at Nigerian universities is valuable, worthwhile and potentially life changing. The teachers should perform their part well (granted they are lacking the necessary teaching tools) for better subject-matter delivery) by adopting better teaching strategies. The lecturing and memorization mode of instruction (and book learning on the part of student) should be replaced with a more practical form of teaching (learning) where knowledge, skills, and principles are applied in real situations. With this, the society will train good citizens (workers) to properly perform their duties for a better Nigeria.

There is no short cut to real success! The nation should invest in the youths; any amount of money spent on the education of the youth is a wise investment. It is only through good quality education that a society can be well governed because good quality education is the foundation for growth and prosperity in any society. The society will not plant ignorance in the mind of the youth and expect them to be productive and caring. As Benjamin Franklin was reported to had said “They only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.” Increased funding for research in science and technology will spur technological innovation (and new invention) and economic growth and development. Primary and secondary education (basic education) should not be neglected in the process; their curricula should be re-designed with the needs of the society in mind. Presently, the schools do not appear to be teaching the pupils about the greatness and vastness of Nigeria. They should teach them the history and geography, visions, and values of Nigeria, and how to become loyal, responsible and productive citizens.

In addition, Nigeria should adopt a better educational policy and include the elements of career development process (self-discovery, investigation, decision-making and implementation) and management in the system. A career is the sequence and variety of occupations (paid and unpaid) that one undertakes throughout a lifetime. Career-decision making, which involves more than matching a person to an occupation, is an important component in the process. However, career guidance (a term that has been used to describe a range of interventions including career education and counseling) should be provided youths for a general understanding of life and work and other life options that are open to them. These are the way things are being done in serious societies and Nigeria should not be any different!

The general poor performance of the schools stands in the way of the prosperity of the nation. This situation may not change without adopting new education philosophy, which means taking concrete and desirable steps toward removing the bottleneck to ‘progressive education’ in the society. Re-activating the moribund student loan program could help serious students to pursue graduate studies and to fill the void. Nigeria’s educational social order is still plunged in corruption and immorality with ‘sorting’ taking the place of serious academic work. And politically, the ‘big crooks’ that are only interested in extracting from the society are in charge of the affairs of the society. No society progresses when the ‘rouges’ are in charge! If the society continues to neglect its schools, it would not properly educate its citizens.

Nigerian youths should be encouraged and motivated to pursue their vocational and academic interests. Towards this, the barrier and discrimination between polytechnic and university education should be removed. That would give the youths the opportunity to move from vocational to technical and to university education without hindrance. For a better nation, the society should encourage diversity in knowledge and skill and everyone should be encouraged and motivated to contribute his/her quota to the development and progress of the nation.

As it were, almost everyone has had occasion to reflect upon ones school days and wonder what has gone wrong with Nigeria. The question, therefore, is how would the system produce the critical and creative minds Nigeria needs to manage its democratic system? The success of any democratic system, as experts have noted, depends on the individuals' ability to analyze problems and make thoughtful decisions. Nigeria claims to be a democratic society but it appears autocratic and totalitarian, because the leadership comprises individuals who do not seem to have the basic understanding of the modus operandi of democracy. Democracy, as it has been noted, thrives on the productivity of its diverse constituency-productivity fostered by free, critical, and creative thought on issues of common interest. As Marzano, et al (1988) rightly noted democratic values are nurtured on the fertile ground of basic education – a functional education with the right focus and correct scope. For Nigeria to be become truly democratic it has to begin today to properly educate the future leaders with integrity to administer the laws of the land. As Jean-Jacques Rousseau had noted in The Social Contract "it is only men [and women] of integrity who can administer the law…"

For this to be possible the educational institutions should be allowed unfettered hands to engage in healthy academic competition and raise funds to supplement allocations from the government. This writer has emphasized elsewhere that higher education should not be free in Nigeria, and that any person who is talking about ‘free education’ now is out of touch with the reality in the modern world. One could afford to complain of poor quality of education if one would pay for it. Nigeria should look beyond the NUC accreditation exercise and invest copiously in education because improving the state of education in Nigeria is an important part of the solutions to the myriad problems facing the society. Without this, the system will continue to produce poorly educated and unmotivated youths, and the nation will remain underdeveloped.

Victor E. Dike, CEO, Center for Social Justice and Human Development (CSJHD), in Sacramento, California, is the author of Fraud or Democracy? The Presidency of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, 2003-2007 [Forthcoming, 2007].