An issue that should be of great concern to well-meaning Nigerians is the exaggerated importance presently attached to paper qualification and book knowledge in the country. Let’s make no mistake about it; there is nothing wrong with book knowledge or paper qualification. However, in my view, everything is wrong with making it a major criterion for evaluating the success or failure of individuals. In the rat race for university education (brought on by the amount of disregard often shown to non-possessors of university degrees), we tend to relegate vocational education to the background. The purpose of this article is to foster a rethink and paradigm shift in the value presently placed on university education aimed at securing white collar jobs.
While basic education might be a must for every citizen of any country, the same might not be exactly true of tertiary education. This is because it is not every child that may be endowed or gifted to go as far. Some students, from the secondary school level, do discover themselves as particularly gifted in very useful crafts that could be harnessed to grow Nigeria’s ailing economy. However, because of the near-zero regard or prestige extended to craftsmen and women, such students see university admissions as do or die affairs. This partly explains the intractable cases of examination malpractices encountered by the West African Examination Council (WAEC); Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and other examining bodies. The frenzy and desperation attached to university education over other forms of education was quite unnecessary.
Just recently, the Federal Government took certain steps to bridge the artificial gaps that existed between polytechnic graduates (HND) and university graduates (B.Sc.) in the civil service. This was a nice step in the right direction. However, the government should even do more with a view to re-orientating its young citizens towards having more functional perspectives of education that could help grow Nigeria’s economy. Training the youth of a country like Nigeria in more book knowledge than vocational skills acquisition is not sustainable and would not help the economy. The government can only absorb a tiny percentage of its annual graduate outputs. The remainder do join the already large pool of unemployed graduates as redundant human resources. It was probably in realisation of this fact that vocational skills are often taught to National Youth Corps members in their orientation camps.
For countries like China and other developed countries around the world, university graduates and their counterparts from the technical schools or vocational centres were not embroiled in superiority or inferiority contests. It was more of a function of how much each group could contribute to the economy. Actually, the vocationally trained people were supposed to be in the majority. This is because they were supposed to constitute the bulk of those growing the economy with their various vocational skills. Ironically, the countries that promoted more vocational knowledge for their citizens are the major producers of the goods which Nigeria had been consuming as an importing nation.
All that is needed to turn the table around and better the lots of the Nigerian youths is for the government to overhaul its present educational curriculum. It should be done in such a way as to place equal incentives and reward systems before the graduates of the universities and technical colleges and polytechnics alike. It should create sufficient enabling environments for the graduates of the vocational centres to function. Such amenities as constant and affordable electricity, good access roads, safe environments and many others would be good incentives to help Nigerian youths to be gainfully employed. Once the technical education is restored to its rightful place and the graduates from there are actively engaged in the economic sector, the current tension and frenzy for university education will naturally relax. It will also significantly stem the tide of mass illegal migrations of Nigerian youths along dangerous and life threatening routes.
For the above proposal to work, it will require the cooperation of both the government and the parents. Many Nigerian parents would mandatorily choose university courses for their children and wards irrespective of whether they were sufficiently endowed for such courses or not. Once the youths are given free hands to discover their talents and follow their passions, the situation will be better managed. Furthermore, the issue of examination malpractices will also be reduced significantly. Only those fit for university admissions will present themselves for same. Those gifted for vocational training will go their way. Once the society can guarantee enabling environment for each of these categories to engage their knowledge and skills and be fulfilled therein, everybody will be happy and Nigeria will be a better place.
R.F. Obinta
Department of History,
Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
