SEE PRECEDING CONTRIBUTIONS BELOW THIS ONE
Very valuable analyses.
Very valuable analyses.
Ebohon's perspective seems rather overly optimistic, however.
I dont know much about Nigerian education since my exposure is limited to one university and the few secondary schools I attended as well as those institutions I hear about.
It seems one can credit Nigerian institutions generally with a degree of rigour of training and a significant number of dedicated teachers.
What might be lacking is uniformity is standards within the country. Also challenged is integration with the global community within Africa and beyond. Also problematic might be the level of indigenous development of knowledge.
What is integration in this sense?
Integration in this context is the relationship between an educational system and developments in knowledge in other parts of the world. A central questions that illustrates this is that of to what degree is learning in Nigerian institutions informed by global developments in the relevant fields?
Indigenous development of knowledge in Nigeria consists in the development of knowledge by people working in Nigeria. There are grades of originality and of contribution to a field in such development. It is possible to have what Yesufu described as 'growth without development'. Is the publication of papers and books,of whatever number, in and of itself, sufficient index to the scope of contributions to knowledge in any field? The fact that every field of knowledge is constituted by discoveries and creations of various levels of impact indicates that there are various levels of contribution, not necessarily defined by sheer volume.
Albert Einstein, to give perhaps the most famous example in science, made his contributions to science in terms of four papers, three in 1905 and one about eight years later. A step down from contributions that reconfigure a discipline like those of Einstein, Isaac Newton before him with his work in physics, calculus and optics- achievements represented by two or three books,although his magnum opus in physics Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy is quite large, or the developments in quantum theory by Erwin Schrodinger and others, are achievements that do not create new disciplines or subjects within those disciplines but build up existing disciplines. And within those there are levels of contribution to the discipline. Examples to support this style of assessment can be given from practically every discipline.
What is the scope of contributions of scholars in Nigeria to the various disciplines they participate in? Are they able to create new disciplines, reshape old ones or make strategically significant contributions to old ones? To what degree are their contributions indispensable to the study of those disciplines?
The global stature of the achievements of artists working in Nigeria is well established. Chinua Achebe and Christopher Okigbo, and to some degree, Wole Soyinka, among the second generation of Nigerian writers are people who are central to the constitution of African and world literature. I qualified the inclusion of Soyinka because though the environments that inspired his work are often Nigerian, some of of his key works most likely were not written in Nigeria but in England and France- Myth,Literature and the African World, and The Man Died -although it might be difficult to demarcate the various locations they were written in full because he often shuttled between Africa and Europe.
To what degree can the same argument about centrality to a discipline be argued for literary criticism by scholars in Nigeria? The work of Abiola Irele while he was at the University of Ibadan, for example, is wonderful for a study of African and world literature and stands out anytime.
One can ask the same question about philosophy and history. Godwin Sogolo and others in philosophy, Kenneth Dike and others in history, in the earlier generations of scholars in these fields, were central to the development of African philosophy and of the study of African history.
What is the current situation? Under what conditions did the earlier achievers achieve what ensures that their discipline cannot be discussed without them?
A clearer picture emerges in modern African art in which the achievements of modern artists from the earlier generations of Bruce Onabrakpeya to the more recent prominence of El Anatsui suggest that modern Nigerian art has always been part of the mainstream of African art, and must therefore command a central place in any globally inclusive art history.
Can the same be said for the study of Nigerian art in Nigeria? What writers must one go to be informed about classical as well as modern Nigerian art? Where is most of the work of these critics done even when like Okwui Enwezor, Olu Oguibe and Chika Okeke-Agulu, they have done some work in Nigeria, as Oguibe and Okeke-Agulu, but for decades have been based outside Nigeria? Migrations between continents like those of Soyinka who oscillated for much of his career between Africa and Europe ensures that one can work in various continents. But my knowledge of such mobility suggests it might not be common among Nigerian artists and scholars.
Are Nigerian scholars sufficiently motivated and empowered to contribute to knowledge that is valuable to discussions on a global scale? What is the level of interpersonal fertilisation of ideas within and between disciplines in Nigeria? What is the level of access of Nigerian scholars to the organs for the dissemination and application of their knowledge, as well of remuneration for their achievements, including but not limited to their salaries?
The degree to which Nigerian scholars are able to measure up to such criteria is the degree to which they will be able to train students who posses not only the foundations of knowledge and skill in particular disciplines but are able to understand and keep up with as well as contribute to knowledge as it is developed in the global theatre of knowledge.
thanks
Toyin
On 14 March 2011 13:08, John Ebohon <ebohon@dmu.ac.uk> wrote:
Dear Nowa,
First of all, I can see the passion in your response and have no doubt
about your commitment to this issue. Just as you, I'm also very keen to
see that our educational system is on sound footing. So many issue are
mixed together in your response and will try to deal with them one by
one as much as possible.
Firstly, I did not want to dwell on this aspect of the issue but since
you have raised, I might as well address it, and this is the issue of
Ghana. I was recently sent some Masters degree projects to externally
examined where I came across works by students who had their first
degrees from Ghana and Nigerian universities, and some of the students
with their first degrees from Ghana were Nigerians. I cannot just begin
to tell you my findings, and I took the projects to three Nigerian
colleagues in the same institution and asked what exactly do they mean
they say that Nigerian education standards are falling? I asked this
question to try and decouple the issues - is it the buildings? is it for
the lack of facilities? is for the lack of good and effective teaching?
is it the attitude of students? attitude of staff? or indeed, the
incessant strike?
I have never discounted the views of those who say that the Nigerian
educational system has declined but simply indicating, on the basis of
my experience, that the quality is not as bad as it is made out to be.
Take a student who obtained her first diploma in Accounting from Yaba
College of Technology who is her for her Masters Degree in Accounting
and Finance - not only did she pass with distinction but went on to
complete her ACCA exams within one year. There are two chaps from
Igbinadion university who did brilliantly in their examination. On top
of this, I engage in no less than 5 trips a year to academic
institutions to different parts of Africa and the Far East. The only
cohort of Nigerian students I often come across struggling with their
education in the form of deferrals and re-sitting are those who attend
private O and A level colleges in the UK.
I'm not defending the Nigerian education system - I do not work in it
and have nothing to gain by defending the system. Last time I went home
and visited my former school - Western Boys High School, I was shocked
by the level of dilapidation. More shocking was the staff quarters where
all the louver windows have disappeared but the irony is that there are
staff still living in in these accommodations. I also visited AAU,
UNIBEN, and the University of Nigeria - Nsuka. Why lamenting the
deplorable state of infrastructure and other services, I also wondered
how they could produce students that can come to Europe and America and
perform to the level that I have seen. The same question I ask academics
from Nigeria that I bump into at conferences how they are able to
continue writing research papers under the conditions that they work.
The same question I ask when I'm sent a paper for review by peer review
journals and the author happens to be a Nigerian, and this surprise from
me is against the background of the facilities and inducements for us in
the Europe and America and we still struggle.
I'm not convinced that the fall in educational standards in Nigeria is
the main reason for parents sending their children to Ghana and other
places for education, and while accepting that there is an element of
this, one cannot also discount the fact that many do so to acquire or
enhance their social status. Your fathers era that you referred was an
era when people believed and work assiduously to make Nigeria as great
as any other nation on earth. It was a period of 'we can show we are
capable of managing ourselves', and the can-do-spirit was very much
alive. As you rightly pointed out, those with qualification from the USA
and the then Eastern Bloc countries were either required to defend their
work again or accept lower status jobs. May I just quickly say that
looking at this practice it with hindsight, it was more to do with
protectionism or ring fencing than seeking to uphold educational
quality. Your father and his cohorts in the civil service then served
the country selflessly and the value system then where good name,
honour, dignity, and integrity were valued more than riches. If your
Father, as the surveyor general of the Federation then is occupying this
position today, many of us on this forum and beyond would expect him to
own half of Nigeria, and you will have no minute of rest from incessant
calls from foes and friends asking you to secured land for them.
Also when you sat your WAEC exam in 1974, the value system was different
to what we have now. I remember vividly some of my classmates at Western
Boys High School resuming late and having to explain that this owed to
having to do with harvesting seasons. They were also those that would
leave immediately after exams to return and help out with planting.
Those of us not fortunate enough to derive from rich households see
education and hard work as the only way out of poverty. Those who
derived from well to do homes see education and hard work as the only
way to maintain the status quo. We know when these values started to
break down and what we have now is a culture that is epitomised by 'not
how you get rich but whether you are rich or not'. How can we expect 100
degree pass rate when most secondary school students have made internet
cafes their dormitories where they stay awake all night, not reading,
but sending out tons of fraud mails. What drives secondary and
university to want to seek, not just wealth at this stage of their
lives, but the way they set out to do so? Now that modems are out they
do not need to venture out of their rooms anymore. Imagine if you did
this in your time, and whether 100 percent pass rate is possible?
In this kind of environment, all sorts of alien behaviours will
undoubtedly begin to manifest, and people may go to college or
university but are they there for the right reasons? Some people may go
to universities not to acquire knowledge but to gain certificate and
some letters against their names. Have you not heard this said by people
often that going to school or university will add little or nothing to
them in way of advancement and that their sole interest is to have some
letters against their names in order to belong to their desired social
groups. Did we not see governors enrolling in their State's university
and coming out with fantastic degrees? Thus, students that go into
education in Nigeria believing it is the only way they can emancipate
themselves do acquire knowledge comparable to anywhere else in the world
despite the abuse and onerous challenges they face. When you see these
people you will know them, which is why there are many Nigerians who
trained at home coming to assume jobs and responsibilities within their
discipline in Europe and America without additional training or
education. I know many in civil engineering, accountancy, IT, and
architecture.
I approched this issue from this perspective because of the fact that
only by understanding and approching the issue holistically can we
beging to come out with effective policies and measures to deal with the
problem. As we have seen over the years, various measures have been
implemented, for example, changing the system and bring in JSS and SSS
and we were told this is how it is in Ghana and other countries because
the proponents of this measure see the system rather than modern and
adequate facilities as the problem. So it would be tomorrow that people
may see the problem as simply that of inadequate facilities and
infrsatructure without considering the attitude, culture, and the value
system in place. The question is can we have an education system that
totally different from what obtains from the rest of society?
I'm not holding brief for the Nigerian education system but simply
trying to understand why most people hold this view while the evidence
that I have come across tells a different story.
My kind regards,
OJ
-----Original Message-----
From: NigerianID@yahoogroups.com [mailto:NigerianID@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Nowa Omoigui
Sent: 14 March 2011 02:02
To: NigerianID@yahoogroups.com; John Ebohon------------------------------------Subject: RE: NigerianID | GUARDIAN - NEW UNIVERSITIES AS GLORIFIED
SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Dear OJ
Many thanks too for your response.
The point you make, drawing a US analogy about the relative state of the
current educational system glosses over the catatrophic decadence of the
Nigerian situation.
Even by Nigerian standards viewed over time (as an internal control),
results of school leaving certificate examinations have been declining,
even in basic subjects like Maths and English. And the elite is well
aware if it, which is why they are scrambling to send their children to
other African countries (not to mention Europe and the USA) or to local
private schools are high cost - a situation that was certainly not the
case when I attended school in Nigeria. There was no time my own father
ever thought of sending me to Ghana! And I distinctly recall that there
was a time in Nigeria we even used to look down on foreign trained
graduates, particularly those from many US schools. But obviously the
current generation of parents is running away from something.
Those who graduated 20 years before me cannot say the same about my
generation. A cursory review of School Cert results within the federal
government college system for example, should reveal this quite clearly.
By the time my set did the WASCE in 1974, the performance was
extraordinary, with a litany of distinctions our forebears could not
match. It was entirely consistent with the traditional African paradigm
that one hopes ones children will outperform one. It is certainly NOT
"the usual irritation suffered by successive generations about their
education from previous generations".
We are now dealing with a situation in which WAEC itself and NECO are
lamenting the catatrophic decay in the system with regular orgies of
mass failure. Ditto the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination
(UTME) system. But then, aFter decay, there are signs of reversal here
and there, say, for example with return of certain secondary schools to
religious entities (or infusion of infrastructural funds from Alumni)
who are now striving to restore the old glory days, or the growth of
some high quality private universities that are attracting frustrated
old generation public university teachers into their fold. It is a live
controlled experiment to prove the point.
Regarding your questions:
QUESTION: For what economy do they need these supposedly world class
graduates?
ANSWER: The Nigerian economy, which needs an educated workforce at
multiple levels. Those countries that have invested in an educated
workforce have reaped the benefits in many ways. I am not even talking
of multinational corporations here. I am talking of Nigerian owned
companies that much prefer foreign trained Nigerian graduates (or
foreign brushed up, domestically trained Nigerians) to totally
domestically trained ones in many cases. Even government departments
lament such simple issues like the quality of stenographers and typists.
I known a Lawyer in Benin who complains of similar problems. He does not
trust his own typist. Instructors at military academies in Nigeria
lament the declining quality of papers submitted by officers at staff
colleges. We are talking about basic English composition let alone
higher order tactics and strategy.
QUESTION: Are we training graduates for the Nigerian economy or the USA
and European economies?
ANSWER: See above. The Nigerian economy ofcourse, which is not a static
entity but should be growing and getting more sophisticated, to meet the
demands of the future, not declining into obscurity.
QUESTION: Secondly, at what level do the businesses represented by
these recruiters engage with tertiary educational institutions, as their
counterparts do, in countries they often readily use as barometers for
quality education?
ANSWER: Your question here is moving into the realm of seeking solutions
to the crisis, not denying that there is a problem.
What engagement does a Nigerian secondary school need from corporate
Nigeria to know what to do to ensure that students can pass JSS and SSS
exams, and adhere to nationally set curricular, even as the government
which thinks it has the solutions to all problems, is busy creating new
problems by opening schools and universities they know they cannot fund
adequately?
Meanwhile, in many states, governors are politically reluctant to turn
over schools they took over from private/religious entities and
destroyed in broad daylight.
What I am talking about are barometers that are domestic, ie performance
in the same examinations that their forefathers whose parents did not
even speak English did, sometimes via external correspondence
examinations. That said, there are private companies in Nigeria that
are making brisk business offering ongoing training in digital literacy,
for example, to the Nigerian private and public sectors to make up for
major deficiencies in pre-employment education.
QUESTION: How many Chairs do these companies fund across the various
universities in Nigeria and how many ceos, managers, technologists seek
cooperation with universities in Nigeria as their counterparts do in
Europe and America?
ANSWER: It may surprise you to know that these activities are going on,
just as the number of private institutions - whose standards are indexed
to international benchmarks - are growing to deal with the collapse of
the public system. Even parts of the federal government are not left
out. Faced with the need to maintain a pool of adequately educated and
trained personnel in areas of taxation accounting and law, for example,
the Federal Inland Revenue service is funding at least 12 Professorial
chairs in federal and state universities across the country and looking
at ways to sustain long term domestic expertise in those fields. The
Defence Industries Corporation is engaged in collaborative projects with
some universities in the area of armament technology.
Many private companies and groups are doing the same with targeted
scholarships and bursary awards. Student hostels and even administrative
blocks of certain University Departments (and labs) have been donated.
UNESCO and UNICEF have funds for educational purposes, and there are
funds available via the so called Educational Trust Fund that Governors
can use. The Petroleum Trust fund provides another avenue outside the
NUC and Ministry of education for development of expertise in certain
areas. Ditto the NDDC. Some local governments have even toyed with the
idea of funding a specified number of post-graduates from their
constituencies to foreign institutions to meet future demand for higher
level teachers and researchers while at the same time seeking a way to
polish those who graduate with weak (ie suspect) degrees from the
Nigerian system by sending them for 1 or 2 year Masters qualifications
in serious countries.
All of this reactiveness is encouraging even though grossly inadequate.
It certainly does not justify our usual failure to pay attention to
details as manifested by the thoughtless prospective establishment of
multiple glorified secondary schools as new "Universities" or continuing
pretence that all is well with our current Universities and Technical
Colleges.
We have a crisis on our hands. That is the truth.
Regards
NAO
--- On Sun, 3/13/11, John Ebohon <ebohon@dmu.ac.uk> wrote:
From: John Ebohon <ebohon@dmu.ac.uk>
Subject: RE: NigerianID | GUARDIAN - NEW UNIVERSITIES AS GLORIFIED
SECONDARY SCHOOLS
To: "Nowa Omoigui" <nowa_o@yahoo.com>, NigerianID@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, March 13, 2011, 8:01 PM
My brother Nowa,
Many thanks for your response.
If you were to ask 100 people in the US who attended University 20 years
ago, you are likely to hear the majority paraphrasing you about the
relative state of the current education system. Indeed, those who
graduated 20 years before you would have the same to say about your
generation. It is the usual irritation suffered by successive
generations about their education from previous generations.
I have some questions for these recruiters - firstly, for what economy
do they need these supposedly world class graduates? Are we training
graduates for the Nigerian economy or the USA and European economies?
Secondly, at what level do the businesses represented by these
recruiters engage with tertiary educational institutions, as their
counterparts do, in countries they often readily use as barometers for
quality education? How many Chairs do these companies fund across the
various universities in Nigeria and how many ceos, managers,
technologists seek cooperation with universities in Nigeria as their
counterparts do in Europe and America? It takes much more than the eyes
can see that make up Universities in Europe and the US. Finally, those
who know why they are in university do very well in Nigeria and beyond.
My warm regards,
OJ
From: Nowa Omoigui [mailto:nowa_o@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sun 13/03/2011 19:34
To: NigerianID@yahoogroups.com; John Ebohon
Subject: RE: NigerianID | GUARDIAN - NEW UNIVERSITIES AS GLORIFIED
SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Hello OJ
Thanks
You misunderstood me. I ought to have made myself clearer. It is not
that he graduated 20 years before applying for US graduate school. It
was that he was a graduate of UNILAG from within the last 20 (or more)
years of systemic degradation of the Nigerian educational system.
UNILAG (and other Nigerian) graduates from the seventies, for example,
did not have such problems. Many graduates from Nigeria in recent years
have similar tales of woe, particularly in Technological and Engineering
fields.
Even in the US where resources are far greater than in Nigeria, there is
a Carnegie classification of Institutions of higher education. There
are National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges, Regional
Universities, Regional Colleges, Specialty schools, 2-year Colleges,
4-year Colleges, private, public, parochial, etc.. Every single
University is not all things to all people. Institutions do not bite
more they can chew.
The resources required to sustain a solid education in Medicine,
Dentistry, Pharmacy, Public Health, Engineering, Physical Sciences,
Natural Sciences, Liberal Arts, Social Sciences etc are NOT the same. It
is not every University that can offer a viable environment for Masters
and PhD programs....for example. In many Nigerian Universities they have
not see any modern journals for decades. Nor do many have the
connectivity to access information online, unrestricted.
When I was in medical school in the seventies, the situation was very
different from what it is now. Recently I accidentially ran into a group
of students at a Nigerian medical school doing ward rounds with their
Professor. The crowd was so large that practically two thirds (or more)
of the medical students could not even see the Professor or the patient
at the front, let alone understand what he was trying to demonstrate in
clinical skills. But they will eventually "graduate" to be unleashed on
the Nigerian public.
In my time I stood right next to the giants of medicine at UCH of that
era right in front of the patient. They held my hands. Is anyone
asking what the impact on unsuspecting Nigerian patients has been as as
a result of the decay in our system?
In the basic sciences, many Nigerian institutions have long stopped
doing practicals. They just do "theory of practicals." Even in what they
call "IntroTech" in the JSS and SSS system, 99% of secondary schools
have no IntroTech labs. NONE. This is a disaster, if truth be told. I
recall that in the early seventies while attending public secondary
school IN NIGERIA I had my own personal lab space with my own supply of
burrettes, pipettes, etc... We had a Technical Drawing Lab. All that is
now ancient history except in select private schools. Meanwhile we keep
opening new "Schools" and "Universities".
That ONE individual got a scholarship to attend graduate public health
school at Harvard (which requires no clinical skills whatsoever) or that
from time to time you run into outstanding individual Nigerians merely
reinforces my point that the focus should be on the interquartile range
(25-75 percentile) of Nigerian graduates in various fields as a measure
of the system, not those at the tail end of the Bell curve in any
direction.
A short conversation with recruiters in the private and public sectors
in Nigeria (including the military) will readily confirm what I am
saying about the complete decay of the educational system even as
politicians are making wild promises, creating new Universities that
will then proceed to offer admission for Medicine, Engineering etc....
Meanwhile most modern Nigerian graduates cannot write good English - the
language of technology - at a time of increasing globalization and
interconnectedness. With an undereducated and maleducated work force,
the future of our economy is bleak. Perhaps one silver lining is the
large but inadequate reserve of educated Nigerians in the diaspora.
Regards
NAO
--- On Sun, 3/13/11, John Ebohon <ebohon@dmu.ac.uk> wrote:
From: John Ebohon <ebohon@dmu.ac.uk>
Subject: RE: NigerianID | GUARDIAN - NEW UNIVERSITIES AS
GLORIFIEDSECONDARY SCHOOLS
To: NigerianID@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, March 13, 2011, 9:53 AM
Nowa,
Thanks so much for opening up this debate. Firstly, let me use the very
example you have given of the guy who made first class from UNILAG and
was doing Sophomores. Anyone who graduated in any subject for the last
20 years and returning to education to read any course would generally
require a remedial or refresher course, and in the example you gave,
certain modules that he was not taught. This in no way makes the
education he received in Nigeria inadequate simply because, which ever
course he is on would and should be taught differently from how it was
taught 20 years previously on the grounds that new knowledge has emerged
and many theories and paradigms have been extended. Aside, courses often
do not contain the same modules but would retain the core
subjects/modules and each universities do distinguished themselves by
the additional modules or subjects they include to make a course. You
can go Yale and read BSc in Computing that would be different
from a BSc in Computing run by Brown University. This does not make one
degree inferior to the other because the electives are different.
The examples I gave cut across all disciplines and across UK
Universities, including Cambridge and Oxford that run Shell-Chevening
Scholarship programme for Nigerian graduates to postgraduate programmes.
There is a an Edo girl who completed her medical degree from Uniben and
serving her NYSC in Sokoto has just been awarded a scholarship by
Harvard University to read a Master Degree in Public Health. I'm not
generalising because I have not dismissed the views of those who says
that Nigerian Universities are "glorified colleges" but simply baffled
relative to the products of these Universities that I encounter time
from time.
OJ
From: Nowa Omoigui [mailto:nowa_o@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sat 12/03/2011 23:02
To: NigerianID@yahoogroups.com; John Ebohon
Subject: Re: NigerianID | GUARDIAN - NEW UNIVERSITIES AS
GLORIFIEDSECONDARY SCHOOLS
OJ
To what percentile of their cohorts do the students that top their
classes when they go to the UK belong? Are they from liberal arts or
technological or engineering faculties?
If students in the 25-50 interquartile range of graduates from such
glorified institutions can top their colleagues or at least be at par
when they go to the UK or anywhere else then we are in good shape (in
those fields)
But if we are talking about those in the top 5% of their cohorts across
the board in Nigeria, then we need to be cautious about extrapolation
I know someone who graduated at the top of his class (first class) at
UNILAG in an engineering field within the last 20 years who found on
arrival in the US to do a Masters degree in the same field that he was
having to learn from sophomores. Many things taken for granted here had
NEVER been taught to him in Nigeria. So he had to ramp up in the night
all the while pretending he knew what was going on. It took a full year
and half of catch up study and courses to do so. And this person is for
all intents and purposes a genius. It is the Nigerian system that failed
him, not that he was incapable.
All degrees are not equal. You cannot be doing "theory of practicals" in
Nigeria and expecting to be competitive internationally in technological
and scientific fields. We need to pay attention to details, keep our
curricular current, and makes sure education includes hands on exposure.
This requires real resources, not government propaganda.
NAO
--- On Sat, 3/12/11, John Ebohon <ebohon@dmu.ac.uk> wrote:
From: John Ebohon <ebohon@dmu.ac.uk>
Subject: NigerianID | GUARDIAN - NEW UNIVERSITIES AS GLORIFIEDSECONDARY
SCHOOLS
To: NigerianID@yahoogroups.com
Date: Saturday, March 12, 2011, 3:17 PM
Why then do these students come for higher degrees in Europe and America
and often top their class? I have heard this view of Nigerian university
qualification expressed so many times? The same in South Africa where
Nigerian students fresh from Nigerian universities engaged with their
Master's and doctoral degree programmes - not only are these students
praised for their academic ability, which they could not have perfected
so soon in South Africa, but they retained as graduate assistants and
lecturers.
It is important to point out that I'm not in no way doubting what has
been said below but I'm confounded by what I see regularly put against
the view below. Also, the Highly Definitive skills programme of the
British Government, which is coming to an end with the new coalition
government allows educated and skilled Nigerians to migrate to the UK
for work, and majority of these had their university education in
Nigeria. They are working in laboratories in hospitals as biochemists,
structural engineers on construction sites, accountants, and in IT with
the education underpinning their skills simply earned in Nigeria.
NB
Those in the UK should watch Ben TV for the Nigerian Vice Presidential
Debate
OJ
From: NigerianID@yahoogroups.com on behalf of rotimi_osunsan@yahoo.com
Sent: Sat 12/03/2011 18:07
To: Wilson Iguade; NigerianID@yahoogroups.com; valojo@md.metrocast.net
Subject: Re: NigerianID | RE: GUARDIAN - NEW UNIVERSITIES AS
GLORIFIEDSECONDARY SCHOOLS
No university education should be free. None. It definitely and directly
impact the quality of the deliverables, the products or the graduates.
It's no wonder why more than 80 percent of the graduates are
unemployable.
The quality of education, including the university's is deplorable and
shameful. I write from recent experience while trying to staff my
campaign office. I couldn't believe the aptitude and capability levels
of those interviewed. I am too ashamed to report it.
By my estimation, the value of a current university degree is no more
than a Form III or maybe, just maybe Form IV of two decades ago. .
The future of the country is doomed unless we all do some things
immediately that would reverse the situation. Surely, floating new
useless universities all over the place can never be the answer.
There's nothing glorifying about those universities, old or new - they
are worse than some secondary schools!
I hope to work ve ry hard in this area as a legislator. I promise. The
youth, the future, is the focus of my campaign.
Rotimi Osunsan, CPM
PDP Candidate, Federal House of Representatives, Lagos Suru-Lere,
Constituency II
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
From: Wilson Iguade <Iguade@Hotmail.com>
Sender: NigerianID@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2011 11:39:29 -0600
To: valojo@md.metrocast.net<valojo@md.metrocast.net>
Cc: <NigerianID@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: NigerianID | RE: GUARDIAN - NEW UNIVERSITIES AS
GLORIFIEDSECONDARY SCHOOLS
"Even the United States, the wealthiest nation on earth, fees are
charged in public universities. The fees range from
$15,000-$50,000/year..." by Dr. Ojo.
How did you calculate this? You said ... the United States, let me
repeat given your half-baked education and ignorance on economic issues,
repeating now, you said The UNITED STATES (an entity by itself), meaning
the country or nation is the wealthiest of all nations on earth!
Dr. Ojo, how is it pos sible that the most debtor nation, USA, on the
planet earth is also the wealthiest nation on earth?
Please answer this question, thanks.
You people should stop following blindly by using word like "earth" or
"world" without knowing what you are talking about.
Dr. Ojo, you not only a bona fide liar when you said "... the United
States, [is] the wealthiest nation on earth" you demonstrated your
HALF-BAKED education which i know is totally worthless because it lacks
modicum of "common sense" and fundamental logic.
Dr. Ojo you MUST learn that you cannot continue to bully people in these
forums because you are an old fart. You want to abuse people you too
will be abused, take it from me. As you treat others so shall you be
treated. Good day. Iguade
Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 11, 2011, at 12:33 PM, "Dr. Valentine Ojo"
<valojo@md.metrocast.net> wrote:
Malam Wane/Salihu Mustafa:
"....it does not make sense for government to tie the hands of
university administrators insisting on zero fees whereas", you quip.
But it makes sense for the Nigerian government to "rush to establish
nine or 12 universities at a go when the existing public universities
are in an appalling state"...?
"Even the United States, the wealthiest nation on earth, fees are
charged in public universities. The fees range from
$15,000-$50,000/year..."
And...?
Is Nigeria the United States of America...?
How many Nigerian parents make that kind of money...?
Are these monies meant to run American universities stolen/mismanaged by
the American administrators of these universities...as is frequently the
case in Nigeria?
Does the American government not provide financial support for American
universities...even private ones?
Oh, you "do not see the problems raised by the Editorial"...?
Then you cannot know much about running universities (though I
understand that you teach at a university), since the PROBLEMS raised by
the Editorial concerning the present states of Nigerian government
universities are not ONLY FINANCIAL, but also "acute shortage of lecture
halls, laboratories, libraries, and hostel accommodation. In this age of
internet technology, very few Nigerian students have access to the use
of computers. There isn't enough academic and ancillary staff to man the
departments and laboratories. The quality of teaching in the
universities is below standard. Consequently, not one university in
Nigeria, out of 109 in the country is among the top 50 universities in
Africa or top 100 in the world. It is no longer news that graduates of
Nigerian universities seeking postgraduate studies in foreign
universities are either rejected or made to undergo remedial courses at
the undergraduate level to qualify for their intended programmes."
What part of this is TOO DIFFICULT for you to understand, Malam
Wane/Salihu Mustafa...?
Will the above problems be addressed by the Nigerian government "rushing
to establish nine or 12 NEW universities at a go"...?
So, what exactly is your point...?
Dr. Valentine Ojo
Tall Timbers, MD
On Fri 03/11/11 1:08 PM , Salihu Mustafa salihumustafa@gmail.com sent:
Folks,
I do not see the problems raised by the Editorial. The issue of
underfunding existing public universities would continue unless
Nigerians agree to pay for university education.
Even the United States, the wealthiest nation on earth, fees are charged
in public universities. The fees range from $15,000-$50,000/year,
depending on the state. Recently, United Kingdom raised the fees payable
by its students in British universities from 2,000pds to 4,000pds
despite massive demonstrations by the students.
Thus, it does not make sense for government to tie the hands of
university administrators insisting on zero fees whereas, inferior
education offered by ill equipped private universities is paid for.
Malam Wane
On Fri, Mar 11, 2011 at 8:57 AM, africa today <africatoday80@gmail.com>
wrote:
NEW UNIVERSITIES AS GLORIFIED SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Wednesday, March 9, 2011 GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER
Still on Federal Govt and more universities
Editorial
WITH the appointment, the other day, of Vice Chancellors and registrars
for nine out of the now slated 12 new universities by the Federal
Government, the hope of revisiting the issue despite the barrage of
contrary views to that effect appears sealed. That sets the stage for
the take-off of the universities from the next academic session in
September. But the inherent problem of under-funding of university
education in the country remains. The fear is that the new universities
would face the same predicament, except there is a change, thereby
degrading further the quality of university education in the country.
Still on Federal Govt and more universities
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