OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM: A FACTOR THAT HINDERS FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIAN YOUTHS

    

   "If education is expensive try ignorance."  A common saying used as an encouraging tool to open the eyes of persistent illiterates.  Education, from all ramifications is the strongest weapon used against the villainy of ignorance. 

    Primary and secondary education equips us with the basics as far as foundation is concerned, like reading, writing quantitative and verbal reasoning. Having appreciated the wonders of education, permit me to introduce the issue of education system.

   Now, an educational system determines what, how and when your being taught in school. The primary goal of any education system is to gather a resourceful wealth of knowledge and disseminate according to the level your find yourself.

   The primary and secondary system is fine to me but I fault the university system. It is now a routine that graduates of various universities are scattered everywhere in the country with no jobs. When you approach some of these employers, they all converge to the same notion “most of them are not competent”. It can be testified to the fact that even the ones that manage to scale through, are being placed under some months training before they are being employed.

   For God's sake what then is the use of the university even after wasting student’s time. The main reason for job searching is to attain some level of financial stability and when graduates do not see these jobs, they remain financially stagnant.

   Coming down to our university education system, we spend unnecessary number of years over some courses that in the real sense should not take too long. Time wastage is a big factor that has crippled the university education system, by extension creating financial independence delay to many. 

   I stress on the issue of finance because truthfully,we all go in search of a degree to get a good job, which is  getting a good a salary. Some even go as far as reaching the Ph.D. level. What drives us to do all this? To attain a level of financial stability.

   The attitude of time wastage is being instilled unconsciously into students and as we graduate, that attitude lingers, portrayed in our actions when we are being assigned any duty in our various place of work. The African time mentality can also be deep rooted to this issue and it has passed across like a gene from one generation to the next. 

    This point is found evident in our government authorities, how major project are being delayed for unnecessary reasons. Looking at the world, Nigeria to be precise, most people get rich based on their talents and our system does not enhance the talent of its students. The mode of entry into the university is enough to frustrate you into killing your talent. I pity the many who fall victim to this poor system. 

   Take for instance, how many fashion designers institution do we have or even acting schools?  Yet we have many persons who are in love with this line of study. If you ask me, we have a university system that suppresses creativity because it’s a garbage in garbage out system and then come out with a certificate. After all this, we end up lacking a practical approach which is very vital thereby affecting financial growth.

 

    The university system is what I termed “garbage in garbage out” because apart from the boring theoretical approach always employed, you’re expected to memorize and give back what is in the handouts on the day of the exam. Our university system buries the talent of students. Students are being constrained in their actions due to the university system. 

   A student who has passion for movie directing or acting will find it difficult to be trained because our university has made it in such a way that the courses available is our only option coupled with desperation, you have no choice, constraining your dreams, by extension, affecting you financially because wealth comes from potentials and your potential is your talent. This problem is common in other countries but am using my country, Nigeria, as a reference point.

   Education is a means to an end but our system, in disguise makes it both the means and the end. Personally to me, your earned a first class does not always makes you very intelligent as its being hyped, your actions and logical thinking is what the world is interested which we give way to result. This point is made proven when you see some third class or second class lower being successful in the outside world. Some first class holders may just cram their notes all the way through to final year. This is one truth I dare to speak about and we should not shy away from.

  If we want our youth to be self-employed, then we need to encourage creativity and equip them in what they are good at, and please spare us the long unnecessary years because as we know, time is money. Equipping them in sense that we create a pathway that we enable students, absorb with joy every information we need know to enhance creativity leading to financial stability.

                                                                                       -Kennedy Anoka

                                                                                      writer and social commentator