ON EDUCATION AND THE NIGERIAN DREAM…
Once upon a time, there was a Nigerian Dream…
Knowledge is power was the motto of my primary school and the previous national emphasis on education and on its power to change earning potential and social circumstance, literally transformed people’s lives. Available data shows that 1 - 3 years of maternal schooling reduces child mortality by 15% (Abel-Smith, 1994). Houseboys and girls rose to become lawyers and doctors, people born in penury benefited from the free qualitative education policies of the past. And the vast majority of the past generation had great tales to tell of how hard work, perseverance and diligence brought them from rags to riches. That was the age of the 70s and 80s...
Unfortunately today, the story is different. Quality education in present times can only be afforded by the rich. At all levels, education has been bastardized and confused. An example in point is the recent policy by government to cancel Junior Secondary classes in all unity colleges. The Unity Colleges were previously one of the success stories of the Nigerian Educational System and fostered the ideals of the Nigerian Dream. Government sponsored quality education relieved the burden on struggling families...
The Nigerian Dream was that if you got educated, worked hard and persevered, you’ll make it. Unfortunately today, government policies have destroyed the educational system and the corruption is so dense and unemployment so high that even when one obtains the education at great personal cost and sacrifice, there is little hope of getting a job that can provide one with the tools to pursue his happiness.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. THAT WHENEVER ANY FORM OF GOVERNMENT BECOMES DESTRUCTIVE OF THESE ENDS, IT IS THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ALTER OR TO ABOLISH IT, AND TO INSTITUTE NEW GOVERNMENT, having its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness”.
- The American Declaration of Independence.
What is the function of Government with regards to education and the Nigerian dream? I think the passage above answers that question...
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Abel-Smith, B., 1994. An Introduction to Health Policy, Planning and Financing. New York, US: Longman Group Limited.
Knowledge is power was the motto of my primary school and the previous national emphasis on education and on its power to change earning potential and social circumstance, literally transformed people’s lives. Available data shows that 1 - 3 years of maternal schooling reduces child mortality by 15% (Abel-Smith, 1994). Houseboys and girls rose to become lawyers and doctors, people born in penury benefited from the free qualitative education policies of the past. And the vast majority of the past generation had great tales to tell of how hard work, perseverance and diligence brought them from rags to riches. That was the age of the 70s and 80s...
Unfortunately today, the story is different. Quality education in present times can only be afforded by the rich. At all levels, education has been bastardized and confused. An example in point is the recent policy by government to cancel Junior Secondary classes in all unity colleges. The Unity Colleges were previously one of the success stories of the Nigerian Educational System and fostered the ideals of the Nigerian Dream. Government sponsored quality education relieved the burden on struggling families...
The Nigerian Dream was that if you got educated, worked hard and persevered, you’ll make it. Unfortunately today, government policies have destroyed the educational system and the corruption is so dense and unemployment so high that even when one obtains the education at great personal cost and sacrifice, there is little hope of getting a job that can provide one with the tools to pursue his happiness.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. THAT WHENEVER ANY FORM OF GOVERNMENT BECOMES DESTRUCTIVE OF THESE ENDS, IT IS THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ALTER OR TO ABOLISH IT, AND TO INSTITUTE NEW GOVERNMENT, having its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness”.
- The American Declaration of Independence.
What is the function of Government with regards to education and the Nigerian dream? I think the passage above answers that question...
________________________________________________
Abel-Smith, B., 1994. An Introduction to Health Policy, Planning and Financing. New York, US: Longman Group Limited.
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