Reviving Education in Nigeria: The Impact of the New Policy

 

BY – EGUNGWU CHUKWUKA BENJAMIN

 

Recently, Minister of education, Prof. Tahir Mamman introduced new policies to refurbish the educational systems in Nigeria.

The minister declared that the accepted age required for the higher institution admission in Nigeria is 18 years hitherto.

However, he disclosed that more than 22,500 Benin republic and Togo school certificates obtained by Nigerians from 2019 through 2023 were inauthentic

The movement is considered a vital step towards refining the decayed educational systems across the country as it promises an uncompromised actions against the scofflaws.

In this piece, we will be analyzing each of the policy, revealing its advantages and suggestions on how the issue should have been tackled.

 

✓ 18 Years Old Admission Policy

 

This policy will limit the number of those gaining admission into higher institutions in the country.

Before now, some parents who consider their children geniuses permit children to skip primary six, to take common entrance examinations from primary five to gain admission into secondary schools, and some, while in secondary school, write WAEC, NECO, and JAMB from senior secondary two (SS2) to gain admission into higher institutions.

No doubt, some kids/children are very intelligent, but the above actions have it’s effects on them. It can lead to emotional and social immaturity, as the child may struggle to cope with older peers, and it can bring increased pressure on the child.

Nigerian higher institutions can be a melting pot, considering how they harbour different individuals with varying backgrounds, ideologies, and behaviors. This exposure can pose risks to young students, especially those who may not be emotionally or psychologically ready.

Students below eighteen (18 years) can be considered minors and are still in a critical phase of development. Sudden exposure to independence and new environments can be overwhelming.

They will be exposed to sexual pressure and experimentation, cultism, peer pressure, alcoholism, drug abuse, and other social vices. It is very vital for parents and guardians to consider this policy as a great one and see the need to prepare their children emotionally and psychologically before sending them to higher institutions.

Channel of communication should be opened for honest discussions in order to make known the risks and challenges they may face in higher institutions and how to go about it.

 

✓ My Expectation/Suggestion to the Federal Government

 

The federal government should consider tackling this issue from the root by enforcing that before a student will be admitted into primary one (1), he/she must be six years old and above. Calculating with the above suggestion, the child will be twelve when graduating from primary school and 18 years when graduating from secondary school without skipping any class.

A one year vocational training can be mandated as part of the students’ transition from primary school to secondary school.

To further help reduce the unemployment rate in the country, a year vocational training should be introduced in order to equip the students that are transiting to higher institutions the high demanded skills as this will make them viable.

This will aid or curb the high rate of cybercrime and prostitution involved by students in higher institutions.

Base on my findings while in school, most students who engage in the above social vices do so after gaining admission into higher institutions due to peer pressure and inability to get full financial support from their sponsors, who are also trying their best to ensure all provisions are made.

The Nigerian government should address the root causes of strikes by lecturers in higher institutions, such as timely payment of salaries, to prevent disruptions to the educational system.

Strikes have resulted in prolonged academic calendars, forcing students to spend extra years in school, which can lead to delayed entry into the workforce due to age restrictions imposed by employers.

This can have long-term consequences for students’ career prospects and life plans. To mitigate this, the federal government should not only resolve the issues leading to strikes but also consider revising age restrictions for employment to create a more balanced system that supports students’ timely transition into the workforce.

 

✓ Declaration of Certificates from Togo and Benin Republic as Fake

 

I sincerely commend the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, for his observation and for taking such a step to improve the standard of education and graduates in the labor market, paving the way for people who actually worked hard to acquire their certificates.

This same issue occurs within Nigeria higher institutions, whereby people acquire certificates without attending classes. HND holders, due to discrimination in the labor market, try to convert their certificates to get BSC certificates without getting into the four walls of the class.

The question should be, if one of the certificates is better than the other, or if what is being taught in universities is more better and of more standard, why don’t individuals attend classes to acquire the knowledge which their polytechnic education didn’t give them?.

I am not trying to criticize the efforts made by the federal government but trying to bring to their notice that we have to start from the scratch or from home, if we want our educational system strengthened, and the sector considered one of the best in society, because the accusation of fake certificates is one of the reasons for the devaluation of the Nigeria educational system globally.

In conclusion, the federal government’s policies to raise the required age for higher institution admission to 18 and to declare fake certificates from Benin Republic and Togo as invalid are a stitch in time gearing towards refurbishing the educational systems in Nigeria.

Lastly, our educational systems can thrive in the competitive market across the globe if these curative measures are put in place as proposed.

Egungwu Chukwuka Benjamin is a Nigerian freelance Journalist, who writes from Lagos.