By Rekpene Bassey
A moment of viral social media infamy erupted when a graduate from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) declared to an Abuja-based Pentecostal Church pastor that she held a BSc in Law. The subsequent outrage and disbelief echoed far beyond Nigeria’s borders.
How could a law graduate be oblivious to the fact that a first degree in law is an LLB—Bachelor of Laws, derived from the Latin words Lex or Legum (plural) Baccalaureus? This incident was a glaring symptom of the alarming degradation within our education system.
The decay is so pervasive that it is evident even among university graduates, including those with first-class honors and advanced degrees, who struggle to compose a coherent one-page essay. This raises critical questions: How did these students achieve first-class honors? How did they advance to graduate-level studies? How competent were their teachers and dissertation supervisors?
There have also been instances where graduates mobilized for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme were unable to express themselves in simple written English. One such NYSC participant was an itinerant campus trader who managed to enroll and graduate from a particular university in the country.
The situation is even direr at the primary and secondary levels. It is not uncommon to find secondary school leavers with excellent certificates who can neither write nor read simple texts.
This precipitous decline in the education system of a country that was once a beacon of educational excellence has far-reaching implications for its future development.
One of the implications of poor standards of education is unemployment. Graduates who lack sound education are not only unemployable but often end up with poorly paid jobs if they find any. The other indirect consequences of poor quality of education include the drift to deviance, crime, poverty, and low-level and unhealthy lifestyles.
At this point, it is important to do a brief overview of the causative factors. And the key question here is, what are the factors that contribute to the falling standard of education?
An examination reveals a complex web of interconnected factors: rampant corruption, pervasive poverty, and economic instability. Other contributing factors include inadequate funding, incompetent teachers, low career morale, and harsh working conditions.
Incessant strike actions (especially in public tertiary institutions), outdated and decaying infrastructure, a devaluation of educational pursuits due to misguided social orientation, and skewed economic motivations also play significant roles.
Of all these factors, corruption exerts the most devastating influence. Inadequate monitoring and poor quality control assessments, coupled with budgetary allocations that are sometimes purloined by education administrators, exacerbate the problem.
Poor pay and working conditions have led school authorities and teachers, particularly at lower levels, to compromise standards. There are numerous accounts of parents and prominent individuals paying off school authorities to secure excellent results in “miracle examination centers” for students. Such centers proliferate across the country.
In this era of global competition, how can the products of such corrupt practices compete with their counterparts elsewhere?
In many universities, particularly public ones, the prevailing mantra is to “sort” to pass and/or earn outstanding grades and certificates. This practice explains why some graduates perform so poorly in real-world situations.
To address this crisis, the government must muster the political will to prioritize a new national policy thrust on education. Such a policy must ensure significantly improved funding for education.
Beyond funding, an effective system of accountability must be implemented. This should include an enhanced curriculum grounded in robust quality assurance and stringent control over the proliferation of educational institutions, especially universities.
There is also a critical need for improvements in teacher training and educational development programs, leveraging modern technology to enhance learning outcomes.
Equally crucial is the need to drastically improve the morale of teachers through better working conditions, a supportive working environment, and encouraging post-career conditions of service. Such measures will help curb the incessant strikes plaguing tertiary institutions.
The alarming decline in our country’s educational standards demands immediate and concerted attention from both private and public sectors to foster sustainable solutions. These solutions must incorporate strong community engagement and participation to be truly effective.
The time for rhetoric is over. We must act decisively to restore the integrity and excellence of our education system, ensuring that future generations can compete on a global stage and contribute meaningfully to the nation’s development.
Finally, the country’s falling standard of education calls for immediate private and official attention to foster sustainable solutions. These solutions must not exclude strong community engagement and participation.
Rekpene Bassey is the President of the African Council on Narcotics (ACON). He is also a Security and Drug Prevention Expert.
