THE DECADENCY OF NIGERIAN EDUCATION BY AUGUSTINE E. AKHILOMEN

When the head refuses to act swiftly and intelligently on issues affecting the nation, the possibility of such having a negative effect on the masses could be simply devastating.

The wealth of a nation is not measured by the acquired resources in her disposal but by the trained educated elite saddled with the responsibilities of managing it.

Education which plays a vital role in developing, sensitizing and empowering all living human beings in any given society, has suddenly become a tale of woes in Nigeria, where the standard has depreciated and the system has gone sour without any sign of urgency to proffer concrete solutions to it.

Besides, the worth of a nation depends on the certain set standard which they hope to actualize in the cause of driving the nation forward. No government or people will be dreaming of walking under the shadow darkness of life when the possibility of actualizing success remains attainable.

However, it is bizarre to know that
despite the dwindling nature of our education, the Nigerian government still shows no sincere responsibility of ensuring that they resuscitate our educational system back to life.

It is a known fact that the budget being allocated to education by the Nigerian government is nothing to write home about compared to the other sectors. How well then do they hope to benefit from the creative and mental intelligence of Nigerians when the foundation is on the verge of absolute collapse?

In the words of John F. Kennedy, he said: "Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation."

This is a statement of fact and truth which the Nigerian government has not shown considerable interest on, instead their political agendas and corrupt attitude has blind folded them from undertaking the right path in building a sustainable standard of education for Nigerians.

More over, the massive failure of Nigerian students in some core subjects in the secondary school (WAEC, NECO and JAMB) most especially Mathematics and English Language, is a further indication of how our education standard has fallen.

Gone are the days when Nigeria can boast of competent and reliable students who could confidently defend their education in the face of difficulties without succumbing to it. Then it was like their world will come crumbling and the image of their families will be tarnished if they fall short of the standard.

However, the same can't be said of our generation, where lots of damages have been done right from the grass root level (primary schools) to the tertiary level, even when the chance to make a change was there without utilizing it.

Come to think of it, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) last year embarked on an indefinitely strike over issues we expected the Federal Government to have solved amicably without much noises. However, university students are those at the receiving end of it all, as some of them are gradually getting tired of staying home and wasting their academic years. Of what gains will this be to our government?

Although Nigerian teachers have a share in the blame due to their lackadaisical approach in impacting positive knowledge on the students, however, their incompetency in terms of reputable skills and social market activities in class room have also affected the call for improved academic programmes in the country.

Likewise the students who to some extent have lost interest in extensive reading and appreciating the fact that learning could be broad and fun and also that the dividends in the long run could come handy in future.

According to the assertions of G. K. Chesterson and Aristotle, education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another. And that the roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.

We have come to a stage where our government needs to identify the importance of education in our day to day existence in life, if we're to re-instate the academic excellence which we've been known for in the past.

"It is a pity to note that the standard of education in Nigeria is on the decline because the government does not infuse funds into the education sector. As a result of this, the lecturers only teach outdated materials. Most rich people send their kids abroad to get good education and care less about the average Nigerian student who couldn't afford to do this. Education in Nigeria has become one which is fit for those who have no hope for a better chance at good education," an anonymous person reacts.

What exactly can our government pin-point as a factor that has prevented them from carrying out their educational responsibilities? Is it that the available mineral and natural resources are not sufficient enough to establish and bank roll standardize educational programmes in the 36 states of the federation? Definitely, no!

Government determination to improve the state of education also brought about various systems such as the Nomadic Education Commission (NEC), the National Mass Education Commission (NMEC), the Basic Development for Education Commission (BDEC), Universal Basic Education
(UBE) programme to mention a few, which have produced little or no impact.

Unless the present government led by President Goodluck Jonathan proffers a concrete solutions or measures meant to tackle the increasing decadency in our educational sector, the risk of a high level of illiteracy might be on the rise and a continuous output of 'half baked' graduates on yearly basis might also sky rocket.

The need to invest massively on education in Nigeria is a duty which both the federal, state and local government must embrace irrespective of their personal and political goals.