Is Nigeria’s Educational System The Best In The World?

If you are still here then it means the title of this article had its effect. Let us be real; Nigeria’s educational system is nothing for us  to be proud of.

If it were, the majority of Nigerian students would not painstakingly seek to study outside of their country. And while there are many reasons why Nigerians migrate to other countries, one of the most popular reasons is for education. While students battle with university strikes, lecturers and a host  of other troubles associated with the educational system in Nigeria, such is not the case in most developed countries.

 There exists two investors in the  educational systems in Nigeria: The private educational system run by private individuals and the public educational system controlled and run by the government of the country. In the private system, students are expected to pay very high tuition  fees and other charges for sports, examination and computer services. In  public schools, students pay little or no fees. It is this financial succour that encourages students to enroll in public schools in Nigeria.

The payment of affordable fees in  public schools is no longer the case as tuition fee has not only gone up but new charges have been introduced. The public schools managements have justified these new fees, stating that they are forced by  the reduced  subventions and grants from government.

On the part of government, the interplay of forces made it impossible to give higher grants to public schools. The options are small. The fees should be allowed to rise or the facilities and quality of teaching resources are watched to decay. The import is that the hitherto affordable public schools is no longer the case. The difference in fees charged between private and lublich schools is now very marginal.

Despite the rising fees charged in public schools, there are still other challenges. These challenges in the educational system include::

Infrastructural decay: The public institutions consist more of dilapidated buildings which should not be considered a learning environment for children. Sometimes there are not enough classrooms, teaching aids (labs, computers) and the libraries are not standard. Despite the exorbitant fees, there is neither change nor improvement. In fact, it only gets worse.

Cultism: How? The need for students to be feared is one of the reasons for the vulnerables to join deadly and dreary cult groups. The male  students want their female friends to be free from  sexual harassment from their mates and teachers. Some students become cultists to avoid unnecessary exploitation  by  other students and teachers.  Some feeble-minded students are brainwashed that some of their  teachers are doing well because they are members of one cult group or the other.

Corruption in admission:  Most qualified students are not admitted into institutions. In their stead unqualified applicants who are able to bribe are admitted. The students who got admission fraudulently continue their academic growth through the use of money or any other uncharitable means.

Other problems include; nepotism, lack of commitment among lecturers and examination malpractices.

With the highlighted challenges confronting the public schools, there is additional impetus for higher preference to seek formal  education in private schools. This preference of course further emboldens the private schools to raise fees and charges. It is vital to state that even with high fees charged in these private schools, quality of teaching is not commensurate.  What is however assured is  that any student who is able to pay the fees will graduate.

Parents who want qualitative education for their children or wards will certainly prefer institutions overseas. These are usually children of policy makers  and high government functionaries. The net result is sustained lack of desire to invest in the government schools thus systemic slide in quality of education in the country.

 UZOR-DIKE OBY DIVINE, of the Law Faculty, Delta State University, Abraka.

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