Nigeria’s Education- Where Do We Go From Here? -By Anase Momoh

It’s no gain saying that the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted a lot of standing protocols and formalities that existed before its outbreak. The rapidity at which this happened is massive and is nothing compared to the remains left to pile up and put back on track.

Globally, nations and organizations are finding sizable doorways to salvage the situation and possibly normalize the whole scene. As reasonable as this sounds, the world may not find her balance and certainly we are moving closer, if not the closest to a pandemic-battered economy world wide.

In ensuring that everything be kept secured and that solutions be procured, measures needed to be put in place are rather reshuffled and or side tracked. In some part of the world were intentional judgement that dictates the educational preferences in any nation’s ccurrent system are valued and enhanced, the process is either slowed down or is categorised as outdated and out of place. Thus the morale of students are dampened.

Apparently, Nigeria’s Federal Government are at a point of either securing an easier escape route for utmost convenience, or simply shift their focus from the weightier matter of the law which is balancing and thorough re-strategizing, while the masses suffer both consequences. Now, whether we like it or not, another drama has been cited to threaten our educational system which has never been fulfilling before now. The toll of this mortal venom in Africa, especially Nigeria has been marked by repeatedly placing our economy on the lowest level compared to other countries, this is on it’s own mind blowing.

Currently there are mists of unresolved issues concerning the re-opening of schools, most especially institutions of learning. While the rest of the world are steadily easing the pandemic, and lives are coming to normalcy, Nigeria is being left behind. This educational unconsciousness is a major setback especially when placed side by side with Nigeria’s policy.

It can be outrightly said that the philosophical foundations of education that existed had been trampled on and the process at which it was meant to follow to meet people’s intellectual needs has been channelled to fulfilling personal and social needs, than the real deal.

From this standpoint, education can be viewed as reaching its diminishing returns already, this is because the weakness or strength of any educational system is to be determined in terms of satisfying the yearnings of its recipients; especially college students who are primarily at the receiving end of this. Speaking for myself and prolly the minds of various others, the main goal of indigenous education used to be moral uprightness, political enculturation, societal milieu amongst others.

However, recent development accustomed to effect changes in our global relevance through sustainable independence has presented education as unnecessary and dispensable. Hence, efforts meant to strengthen and undoubtedly enhance the functionality of the said course, has not been properly followed up. The ASUU-FG recent tantrums is enough to show the rest of the world a country spiced up in splashes of characterized decadence and political decline in carrying out her national policy on Education, which is embarrassing and soul breaking. Apparently, it seem as though Nigeria is being sold out of proportion to other countries as a technological puppet, where she has to be spoon fed and accurately pampered.

Now, the question is – Can anything good come out of Nigeria’s educational stand?