By By Adeyemi Shukroh Feranmi
The 6-3-3-4 system of education in Nigeria confers sixteen years of rigorous training on students in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. The system, however, has been as slow as a snail in a race. Over the years, the decline in the Nigerian educational system has caused a number of challenges for the country. These setbacks resulted from many factors such as poor funding, inadequate facilities, dearth of qualified teachers, uncultured students, poor parenting and guidance, indiscipline, examination malpractice, outdated syllabus, ineffective governmental policies, amongst many others on the endless list.
The education of a child starts from home. By implication, for a child to have a grounded education, he or she must have a solid educational background. Only in Nigeria do parents send their children to learn everything in school, when those children are not actually ready to learn. These same parents buy grades to fast track educational process; they pay to get questions for their children, protest for double promotion and attack teachers who beat their children to correct bad acts. Some parents, on the other hand, do not have time for their children; their family structure is disintegrating, and as a result, they are inattentive to their children’s performance. This results into a setback in the advancement of education in Nigeria. It is, therefore, not a gainsaying that the primacy of parents in the betterment of education is inevitable.
Following this, many students are uninterested in education. They do not want to thread the tedious path, and so, they opt for the the fastest route to success. They make infrequent appearances in school and defy school instructions, some are dormant in class activities while others find it difficult to comprehend lessons; thereby resulting into poor grades, drop outs, ignorance, increase in crime rates, etc. With this, the progress of education is hampered. The Nigerian educational system is such that is devoid of achievements, excellent results, innovations, advancement and promotion since neither the parents nor the students are helping matters.
Not only are the parents and students the driving force behind the drastic decline, but also the teachers who are saddled with the responsibility of imparting knowledge into the students. One would ask how education would be advanced when those in the position to impart knowledge are ineptitude. Many teachers are not qualified enough to bequeath students with beneficial knowledge; they are incapable to inculcate right values in them and raise the ban of intellectual competition which will enhance the quality of education and provide well educated Nigerian students. The effect of this bounces back on the educational system and hinders its progress.
Most importantly, the role of the government in the shortcoming is glaring. The quality of education virtually falls in the hands of the government. They are the first pillar to create a standardised educational system. However, the reverse is the case. The decline in the Nigerian educational system starts from the tip of their fingers and descends to the grassroot level. Eighty percent of the problems facing the educational system in Nigeria has the influence of the government. Undoubtedly, education is no more the government’s priority, but a political game. Consequently, the lack of effective governmental policies, misplaced priorities, bribery, corruption, inadequate funding, selfishness, unpatriotic acts, laziness, poor governance, etc impede the rapid growth of Nigerian education.
What is next for the Nigerian educational system? Why should negativity be attributed to it at all times? What will change this narrative? When will it change? Who will change it? Why should we change it? And how will it become a great thing to write home about? These are the questions to solve the problem which may take years to find the right answers to; and until we are ready to surmount the challenges before us, Nigerian educational system will continue to go deeper and deeper into the abyss.
Adeyemi, Shukroh Feranmi is a 400 level student of the Department of English, Lagos State University.
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