The education system in the country is a major factor in the underdevelopment of the nation. The system has placed too much emphasis on the paper work (certificate) thereby ignoring the priority of education which is the practical aspect of it.
In this country, it is very rare for an undergraduate to undergo the necessary practice in an institution before graduating. In fact, I make bold to say that no institution gives graduates the required practical learning aspects to education in Nigeria. However, both the institutions and the society depend and comment on the type of qualification one may obtain from his academic pursuit before recommending that person in high regard.
These assumptions have put pressure on the undergraduates to produce a good result without minding the processes they pass through (whether they really understand their area of study or not).
That is why Nigerian undergraduate students engage in dishonourable practices such as cheating and sorting in order to graduate with a certificate that will earn them a better reputation in the society. It is disappointing to say that most students who have graduated with First Class and Second Class degrees respectively from our institutions cannot defend their classes of degrees in the labour market because the Nigerian education system exposes an individual to theories without considering the practical aspect which of it which is the most effective method of learning.
It is worthy to note that the essence of education is not to obtain certificates that will not take the society anywhere but rather to acquire a formal education that would help an individual contribute to the development of the nation. In the developed countries emphasis is not put on the certificates you have but on the services you can offer as an individual.
Clearly Nigerian educational institutions can never be compared with similar institutions in the western world because their studies are based on the practical aspect.
These western institutions, which promote and elevate practical aspects of education, teach students how to practically manufacture or produce what is within their area of interest or study. That is why in the developed countries, graduates are likely to continue practicing what there were taught in school, and this has helped in reducing the burden on the government. On the contrary, Nigerian graduates turnaround to depend on the government of the day, because they were not taught how to practicalise what they learnt in the course of their academic pursuit. It is as a result of this that many Nigerian graduates today sit in drinking joints and condemn the government of not employing them; again, that is the major reason we have huge unemployment which is bedeviling the country. If the country could imbibe the practical aspect of education more than the paper aspect which is not yielding a positive result. The education system in Nigeria and the whole country will not only witness change but the country will be pulled towards success. By imbibing this system, Nigerian graduates from engineering will be able to manufacture vehicles, those in economics will be able to predict the economy of Nigeria in the next 20 years and graduates in other areas of study will provide tangible services to the country in their own area of specialization. Relatively, government should provide the necessary equipment that would be utilized by the students. Students should as well use the meagre facilities available to practicalise their area of study. If this is done, the unemployment bomb will be defused and our mindset toward education will be reversed.
► Ikyobo J. Aondover, who is of the Department of Mass Communication, Benue State University, wrote from Makurdi.