Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - The Economist: The disposable academic Why doing a PhD is often a waste of time

Ikhide,

on  the issue of no resources in nigeria i think that is not correct.

the experience of people i know there and my personal experience convince me there are resources for those who are ready  to mine them.

my exposure on this is limited, being based purely on personal experience and general observation but i have faith in that nation based on my experiences and observations,both pleasant and painful. 

the real hunger might be for leadership. leadership to harness resources. 

i am keen on knowing what you mean by resources and why you think they are not there. 

i am puzzled about this-

' our intellectuals are collaborating with the politicians to ruin other people's children.' 'The resources are simply not there; much of it looted openly by thieving intellectuals...'

who are these intellectuals? are you referring to ASUU members? if so, in why can they be  described as looters and collaborators with politicians?

I am yet to respond fully to you on your sweeping disparagement of Nigerian education beceause I am still editing my response.

meanwhile, can you also do the following, please?

explain why you think Nigerian education as a whole is in such a dismal state.

how did you arrive at this conclusion and from what time did this dismal development set in, in your opinion?

on the Biafra issue, can you please explain why you think a detailed knowledge of biafra and ojukwu  are  relevant as a trouchstone for nigerian education?

what you wrote earlier was not about the civil war as a whole. your focus was on biafra and odumegwu ojukwu which you said this chap knew little about. 

if biafra is seen as  being about more than  secession , it would be useful to explain why you think it was more than that.

thanks

toyin

On 31 December 2011 20:25, Ikhide <xokigbo@yahoo.com> wrote:

Toyin,

The idea that PhDs invest in self employment is a good one, I imagine. Nigeria could use any and everything, any and everyone, there is so much hunger in that land for resources. I was there in September and I can attest to how much there is to do in Nigeria. The resources are simply not there; much of it looted openly by thieving intellectuals and politicians. You and I know that there is nothing new that I am going to say in terms of ideas that folks on this forum and elsewhere have not said in the past. Why just recently, Etannibi Alemika wrote a thoughtful piece on the same issue. If people are not responding it is not that they don't care, they are tired of saying the same thing over and over again with nothing happening.

We need to stop talking and start shaming people into being accountable. I seriously doubt that there is any Nigerian intellectual on this forum that will not privately say, what is happening to our children and youth in our classrooms is disgraceful. There are many Nigerian PhDs abroad toiling at jobs beneath the expense and trouble of their earned degrees. We could use them back home. I love your idea, but Toyin, our people do not care. They do not care that generations of children are being abused in classrooms - because their own kids are safe elsewhere. These thugs are of my generation, those of us who were educated at great cost by the military. You know me, I am not going to make patronizing noises about the situation. That would be dishonest, I will say what I am seeing, which is that our intellectuals are collaborating with the politicians to ruin other people's children.

And of course this is not just my passion, this is my life and my career. I have been in K-14 education all my professional life - three decades with all but three of those served here in the US and being part of a leadership team running the 16th largest public K-12 school system in the US and the best of course, if I may say so ;-) So it pains me because I care and because I know what I am talking about. You can talk all you want, our people do not listen. You may think I exaggerate when I say this, but if you calculate per student how much is being stolen daily, the figure would rival the cost/pupil of educating a child anywhere in the West. And yet our primary schools look like where lizards are being abused. Under those circumstances I should be forgiven for sneering at anyone calling that situation an education. It is criminal and we should all be ashamed of the situation.

And by the way, I do not understand how you can tolerate a situation where a 35-year old Nigerian educated up to the tertiary level knows little or nothing about Biafra and the Nigerian civil war. And the notion that Biafra was all about mere secession just seems to me a simplistic reading of the Nigerian situation. But it is your opinion, not mine. Be well,

- Ikhide

---

From: toyin adepoju <toyin.adepoju@googlemail.com>
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2011 12:54 PM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - The Economist: The disposable academic Why doing a PhD is often a waste of time

Ikhide,

It would be interesting to read from you your views on the significance of PhDs to the Nigerian academic system, since that system attracts a significant degree of your passion.

The essay in the Economist is interesting and sums up longstanding  issues  in the PhD universe of parts of Europe and North America.

One approach that PhDs could use is the  idea of building a base for self employment during their PhDs which they can use after the degree is completed. 

thanks

toyin

On 31 December 2011 16:49, Ikhide <xokigbo@yahoo.com> wrote:

"Whining PhD students are nothing new, but there seem to be genuine problems with the system that produces research doctorates (the practical "professional doctorates" in fields such as law, business and medicine have a more obvious value). There is an oversupply of PhDs. Although a doctorate is designed as training for a job in academia, the number of PhD positions is unrelated to the number of job openings. Meanwhile, business leaders complain about shortages of high-level skills, suggesting PhDs are not teaching the right things. The fiercest critics compare research doctorates to Ponzi or pyramid schemes."

I disagree with the Economist. I do believe that beleaguered nations like Nigeria could use all the PhDs it can train and productively use. America is a different ball game. Depending on what your life's passions are, a PhD may be a thorough waste of time in America; I wouldn't recommend it.  But it is a thought-provoking read. Read on.

- Ikhide

- Ikhide

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