This post with keywords, Nigerian government educational malpractices in brief
This post, Nigerian government educational malpractices describes the major educational malpractices by the government of Nigeria. It also shows how these malpractices have contributed to the fall of the quality of education in Nigeria. In conclusion, this post details how you can help to remedy the problem – by joining the Nigerian education reformation campaign.
Introduction to this post with keywords: Nigerian Government Educational Malpractices
This post, Nigerian Government Educational Malpractices, is a continuation of an earlier post. The earlier post gives a general introduction to the Nigerian Education Reformation – what it is, its objectives, the initiators and the actors. Click here to quickly read the earlier post.
This post, the earlier post and many more posts in this line are part of our series on the Nigerian education reformation. The Nigerian Education Reformation is a tagline for advocacy. An advocacy for, and promotion of ethical practices among education stakeholders to correct the many educational malpractices in the industry. This series of post is our way of giving voice to the reformation.
What the series aims to achieve
Through the series, we hope to inspire action in support of the reformation rather than passively communicating knowledge of the malpractices. It is a well-known fact that arbitrary listing of problems is not an issue for a typical Nigerian (student). We may even say the same for suggesting solutions. But, the issue has always been with implementation, putting the suggestions to work – practically acting to solve the problems. Action, consistent action; is the bedrock of any reformation.
Consequently, if you read this post and others in the series and you take the right action; then the posts shall have served their purpose. For this reason; majority of the malpractices that I discussed here shan’t be new to anyone of significant familiarity with the Nigerian education system.
Why Participate in the Reformation?
Well, whenever apolitical individuals hear something of the sort of reformation; they often feel it is a thing for some people but them. Whether true or not, this shouldn’t be so when the reformation is the field of education. This is because education is one field that everybody influences and also affects everybody. This is not the post that I discuss how education relates to every aspect of human life. But the shortest thinking in this line will reveal ways and links between education and other aspects of our lives – even ways I may not have capture in the post.
Therefore, for a field as fundamental as education; a thing amiss equals an unbalanced society. Anyone with the required depth of understanding – of the underlying philosophy and psychology of the forgoing statement – could as well postulate that education (or the lack of its true state) is responsible for all social mishaps.
For the sake of those that will still need a reason to participate in the reformation; I have included the sections below.
The reason you should participate in the ongoing Nigerian education reformation is because it affects you.
The introduction of this section should make this clearer. There is need for reformation because there are malpractices overshadowing quality of education. When there is no quality education, the society cannot produce productive labour force. When the productivity of a society’s labour force is low, there is general imbalance and lower standard of living.
An average Nigerian in this era should understand this best. For if you are fortunate to be in the average to upper class, you will have more than enough people depending on you – people who could have been independent had the society be OK. And if you are below average, then you perfectly understand what general imbalance and lower standard of living mean.
By participating in the Nigerian education reformation, you are not only helping to repair the system to mutually benefit you. But you will be building a better society for the future generation.
Another reason you should participate in the reformation is to win the right to the law of compensation.
I have always taught this. Both in my trainings and whenever I have to write about choosing to stand up for any right course or to be indifferent. The world and all that we know of the heavens are founded on laws. These laws exert themselves within their jurisdiction without permission from the inhabitants. Every faithful student both of the natural and supernatural understands this perfectly. One of such laws, and by a very good extent very popular; is the law of compensation. The law of compensation opines that nature is a fair judge. And being so, it will reward you for every action you perform – good or bad.
I’ve seen this playing oft and now. I am sure you know people that “successfully” lived badly to end miserably. We have had people that “failed” in their good life for a happy ending. Either way, nature always has its course.
By participating in the Nigerian education reformation, you are taking a stand for the good against malpractices. In doing so too, you will automatically be commanding the entire of nature to conspire in your favour.
We have three kinds of legacy to leave behind.
First is the legacy of no legacy – nobody will remember you ever lived.
Second is the legacy of bad legacy – that which causes the progeny to cringe their faces with abhorrence or remember with indifference.
The last is the legacy of good legacy – that which inspires the posterity for greatness.
If you choose to act instead of being a bystander, read on – and be reminded of the educational malpractices by the governments. Who knows? You may be an education officer with the government or a member of the policy makers; then you will lead from the front. Otherwise, you can join your tempo to the chants of change and echoes of victory that is welling up from across the country.
Nigerian Government Educational Malpractices
Governments are the custodians of education, its guiders, policy makers and primary financiers. No wonder, governments at all level, federal, state and local, dedicate special arms and agencies for dispensing its educational duties.
The ministry of education oversees all education matters including supervision of every sub-ministry. Then there are education agencies with one special mandate or another in the administration of education and educational services. Some of these include the NCE, NUC, NBTE, NCCE, JAMB, NECO, NTI, NABTEB, UBEC, NERDC, NIEPA, etc.
The mandates of each of these agencies and many others, are unique and central to the provision of quality education in Nigeria. These unique responsibilities collectively translate into a supposedly perfect and well-ordered system. If every government education agency discharges its duties responsibly, there will be no problems in the Nigerian education sector. This is because these agencies collectively form the foundation of the sector.
A Broken Foundation
But as Cardinal Wiseman rightly said, a break in a system does not represent “simply a link broken, but the very fastening of the whole [system] wanting; not merely a gap, or a break, made in the structure, but the foundation gone”.
The forgoing statement perfectly describes the Nigerian education system that we know today. Its very foundation seems to be gone. And what trust can be placed on a house whose foundation is gone?
The depletion of the foundation of Nigeria’s educational system is due to the ineffectiveness and lack of efficiency in its agencies. Consequently, a cardinal point of the Nigerian education reformation is to make government and its education agencies effective and efficient.
A break in a system does not represent simply a link broken, but the very fastening of the whole system wanting; not merely a gap, or a break, made in the structure, but the foundation gone
Reparation
Nonetheless, anyone with reasonable knowledge of the government’s educational malpractices – educational malpractices within government education agencies – will attest to the fact that the compromises are too much for self-reparation. The Nigerian peoples must be involved to make this possible. Accountability is the key.
Consequently, I list here below; the educational malpractices by the governments of Nigeria. These are simply headings for long discussions. We will discuss each adequately in subsequent posts.
The Educational Malpractices by the Nigerian government include:
- Under-funding
- Misappropriation of education funds
- Inconsistent education policies
- Delay in education service delivery
- Corruption and poor supervision
Nothing New
Do we not know the details of all these problems? In fact, a typical education student in any tertiary institution in Nigeria have listed same since far back as possible.
But again, discussing the same problems is not simply to communicate their knowledge. The objective is to spur all concerned parties – the members of the Nigerian education community – to action.
I will explore the breadth and depth of each of the headline issues that I outlined above in subsequent posts. In addition, I shall also explore the action plan to remedy the maladies.
Conclusion
As for this post, suffice it to say that you are able to:
- Define the Nigerian education reformation
- State the objective of the Nigerian education reformation
- Mention why you have to participate in the Nigerian education reformation
- List some government education agencies that forms the foundation of education in Nigeria
- Identify five educational malpractices by the government of Nigeria
Check back for the continuation of the next article in the series.