“Change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably requires change. Education is essential to change, for education creates both new wants and the ability to satisfy them”.
Henry Steele Commager (1902 – 1998)
The current state of the Nigerian educational system simply mirrors the state of the nation as a whole.
Neglect of public education in the last two decades has had a more damaging impact than various other factors that negatively affect social and economic growth. In a nation as endowed as Nigeria, blessed with abundant human and natural resources, the World Bank informs us that over 70% of Nigerians live on less than $1 a day (which is approximately N150) and despite this appalling discovery, the average Nigerian is not expected to live beyond 47years. How disturbing is that?
While the government is still struggling to reduce the number of people that live, clothe and feed with less than N150 every day, improving the existing education system, which is a significant cause of the predicament, is placed at the back burner.
Here’s what we think…
Fact 1: 70% of Nigerians live on less than N150 everyday
Fact 2: 70% of Nigerians are aged 30 and under
Fact 3: 70% of Nigerians under 30 are undergoing tutorship in either the secondary schools or the universities
Assumption 1: Obtaining good formal education is the only way Nigerians can aspire for good jobs that enable them live above N150
Assumption 2: Less than 70% of students in the secondary and tertiary institutions have access to good education.
Assumption 3: There is an almost nonexistent and unrecognised informal education system to provide alternatives for formal education
Conclusion: With only a minute portion of students gaining access to standard education and an unrecognised informal education system, it is evident that the stymied growth of the formal education system (as it continuously impacts poverty alleviation and socio-economic development) is a disaster that is already happening!
What, really, can the future hold for young people with insufficient skills and low intellectual capacity to pursue their aspirations, achieve their potential and, possibly, improve their standard of living?
We have a vision for an improved Nigeria. A Nigeria that guarantees access to basic amenities and services that are taken for granted in the developed world; housing, education, security, health. We believe that she has the potential to stand out as an economic powerhouse not only amongst our African neighbours, but in the entire world. We believe Nigeria can be great again, although we have not been fortunate to live in an era when it ever was. We believe poverty and corruption can be eradicated in this nation, although it has been a part of us for as long as we can remember.
However, we know that bringing this dream to life can only be made possible through the collective efforts of a highly motivated and enlightened team of young and purposeful people with a collective will to initiate and drive positive change. With the continuous dwindling literacy rate and poor access and equity in basic education, it appears these lofty dreams will remain nothing but dreams if urgent action is not taken.
Until we take personal responsibility for addressing these anomalies, the future of our country remains bleak – as we can only live in the future we create for ourselves.
We have all been accepting of a system that has been less supportive of progress through standard education. It is clear that nothing we do can change the past, but everything we do now can change the future.
With the “Adopt-a library” initiative, we have an opportunity to work together to give young Nigerians a chance at better education by providing reading materials and adequate study environments. This initiative may, most likely, be scratching the surface of the problems facing the sector but for us it’s a start. We hope to work with brilliant minds to initiate more of such projects, some day giving us the opportunity to reach the problem’s core. But this is what we have decided to do… what about you?
