Nigerian Education: As Things Fall Apart...

It has been about two weeks now since the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board reduced the UTME cutoff score for University admission to 180. To put it mildly at best, that is disheartening.

It is sad that JAMB has chosen to institutionalize mediocrity at such a time as this, rather than hold on to a semblance of educational excellence by maintaining the average score of 200.

Time and time again, the correlation between the quality of a country's educational system and the quality of life of her citizenry has been proven. It is even safe to say that we will not experience widespread growth as a nation - until we pay more attention to Education.

At this juncture, the onus lies on the Government to think hard and re-prioritize. It is not enough to clamour for an increased budgetary allocation to Education; the whole system needs a overhaul. Measures must be put in place to check the activities of School Principals and Administrators who do personal work on government time. Teachers who would discuss Nollywood films in their Staff Rooms rather than teach must be found, and punished; those who encourage cheating must be dismissed outrightly. Local Inspectors of Education must be made to take their work more seriously!

The truth remains that Private Schools still require some form of 'public' (Government) supervision. A lot of private schools who charge exorbitantly are understaffed and ill-equipped. Some form of rating Private Schools akin to Hotel ratings needs to be developed and made publicly available. Parents who can afford to pay these fees should be helped to make informed decisions - and get their money's worth.

Lastly, it all rises and falls on the family. Parents must help their children to see the value of qualitative education. They must teach them not to 'facebook' when they should be listening in class. They must evaluate their children's performance, independent of the teachers. They must reward excellence, and kick against mediocrity.

Seeing as children who are not properly taught end up selling their father's houses (Yoruba Proverb) - a qualitative educational system is better insurance for the future than the best managed Sovereign National Fund.

An article is enough for the wise.

Does Nigeria Really Need The NDLEA?

The NDLEA does a GREAT job, no doubt about that... However, I have some questions - one question, really...

On my way from Ife to Ibadan, I got stopped by NDLEA officers who conducted a superficial search of the vehicle - presumably looking for 'drugs'...

As they conducted their search, I began to wonder what exactly is so special about drugs that Babangida had to create an agency separate from the police to enforce 'drug law'. Is it not the constitutional duty of the police to enforce ALL laws? Do we still have need of the NDLEA in this age where everyone is shouting 'smaller' government?

I'm going on a search for answers [:)], but on the interim - read about the NDLEA here (official TEST website)...

Some Advice To a Young Graduate

It has been quite a while since I was here... :(

I've been pretty busy, writing exams and all... Now, they've come and gone and I can breathe a sigh of relief and look forward to blogging with a little more consistency...

Y' know, there's this article by Mary Schmidt that is one of my all time favorites... It's an all-time classic, I guess, and I'd like to share it - who knows what someone out there might gain from it...

The following are some classic lines from the article:

"...Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded...

...Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum...

...Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself...

...Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future...

...Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth..."

What do you think? Any other advice for a young graduate?

Read the full article here.