Rivers
Don Faults Nigeria’s Educational System …Advocates Deschooling To Attain Educated Society Status
A lecturer in the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Professor Edward Ezebuaghom Adiele, has faulted Nigeria’s educational system, saying it awards degrees without the awardees acquiring commensurate skills.
Speaking as the 55th Inaugural Lecture of the university on the topic, “Epidemiology of the Paralytic and Epileptic Nigeria’s Education System: Towards Epistemological Oriented Based Economy”, at the university’s auditorium, Professor Adiele accused universities of having anti-educational effect on the society by their “role in awarding certificates, diplomas and degrees without commensurate knowledge and skills by those who possess such certificates and degrees”.
According to the Professor of Educational Planning, “schooling is not the only means of acquiring education, hence associating education with schooling portends serious danger to the society.
“It reduces the chances of the citizens acquiring other forms of alternative education that can be acquired outside the school environment which are equally important for individual survival and contribution to societal development”
He stated that “the erroneously held idea about schooling and education also account for the reason society looks down on people who did not attend school, but have developed their potentials and talents through other forms of education.
According to him, approximating education to schooling also negates the fact that schools may not be the best place to produce the best craftsmen, artisans, businessmen, musicians, footballers, film actors and actresses that are badly needed for economic development.
“It is because of the wrong idea of taking schooling for education that every Tom, Dick and Harry wants to empty themselves into educational institutions even when they do not possess the requisite aptitude for higher education schooling”, he emphsised.
Professor Adiele noted that funding of education in Nigeria is another major challenge that is seriously responsible for the numerous ailments the education system is suffering from.
“Budgetary allocations to education, which on the average, has never exceeded 10 percent, does not show any seriousness on the part of government in Nigeria to provide education to the citizens when compared to other less endowed countries like Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, Tunisia and Morocco where budgetary allocations to education range between 19 and 20 percent”, he stated.
The university teacher continued that poor funding of education sector is responsible for poor production of quality manpower to meet the economic development needs of Nigeria.
“These daunting challenges place the education system at a crossroad and at most the system can best be described as paralytic and epileptic”, he said.
The 55th Inaugural Lecturer hinted that the academic curriculum does not take into cognisance the employers of labours’ need “and this has made it difficult for university graduates to fit into the world of work.
“The course content of most tertiary institutions in Nigeria lacks entrepreneurial contents that would enable graduates to become job creators rather than job seekers”.
In addition to the stated challenges faced by Nigeria’s education system, he also identified the role of strikes.
“The incessant strikes by tertiary institutions has also resulted in the production of half-baked graduates who are unemployable”, he stated.
While informing that Nigeria holds the world record of having the highest number of dropouts from school with 20.5 million out of school topping the list of 12 other countries, he hinted that the number may have increased further by now.
“The Nigerian school system has not been able to develop the individual into a sound and effective citizen. The country has remained in the status of a developing economy for the past 47 years because of obvious weak education system”, he emphasised.
He, however, stated that although the causes of the paralytic and epileptic education system are numerous, the Nigerian education system can still be salvaged through a holistic education.
Adiele asserted that the cure to the identified ailments lies within the education system itself.
He said it can be done “by overhauling the system and redirecting it towards epistemological (knowledge) oriented based economy, if at all the country is ready to address the inherent development challenges”.
To attain this, he advocated the imperativeness of a paradigm shift from the old orthodoxy of over reliance on schooling alone as a means of acquiring education, to opening the education market to include the non-formal structures such as apprenticeship schemes, trades and the use of practical skills as a means of certification of claims of knowledge acquisition.
“Any society that genuinely seeks education as a means of effecting national development must do so within the ambit of educational planning framework that is anchored on rational decisions that seek to domesticate the school curriculum to reflect the peculiar Nigerian environment, develop a sound educational information management system, the planning of the non-formal education sector and develop a sound framework for educational financing, and finally, increasing access and equity in educational provision”.
He urged educational planners and policy makers to wake up and assume their rightful position of planning the right education for national survival.
In his remarks, the Acting Vice Chancellor of IAUE, Professor Okechuku Onuchuku, who agreed that the educational system suffer paralytically and epileptically, stated that for anything to be considered educational, “it must transmit cultural heritage to younger generation, develop skills and contribute to nation building”.
He stressed the need to take education and research seriously for growth and to minimise wastage in the system.
Professor Onuchuku observed that the country is stagnated because Nigerians are more of consumers than producers and that the overdependent nature is why the foreign exchange rate is very high.
He stressed the need to deemphasise the importance attached to certificates and to encourage and promote informal education, job creation and trade to reduce the mismatch between graduates and industries and for development.
Sogbeba Dokubo
The Rivers State Primary Healthcare Management Board (RSPHCMB) says it will commence Supplemental Immunization activities on Saturday, May 3, 2025, to vaccinate children from 0-5 years across the State.
The State Health Educator, Dr. Diana Babbo, who stated this during a sensitisation meeting with Media Advocate for Health, Rivers State, on the update of immunization exercise in Rivers State, said the National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) is a re-enforcement of the routine immunization at the health facilities.
According to her, it is aimed at boosting polio immunisation against the circulating variance of polio virus currently threatening the total eradication of polio in the country.
She further stated that there are four pillars of polio eradication, namely routine immunization (administered on babies in the health centre), supplemental immunization activity (supplements to boost the babies), surveillance (searching for children that have weakness in their legs or some oart of their bodies), and outbreak response.
The Health Educator noted that the Novel Oral Polio Vaccination Type 2 (NOPV 2) will be administered to children under the age of 0-5 years, which targets a specific polio still in existence in communities and capable of causing paralysis among the stated categories of children, despite the country being certified a polio-free nation.
Dr. Babbo further stated that this year’s NIPDs will address the high number of unresolved non-compliance cases in the State.
She debunked what she tagged a false rumour by mischief makers which claimed that the vaccines are responsible for the development of autism in children.
She said, “vaccines are not known to be responsible for the development of autism. We’re just hearing that. The truth is that one cannot know everything.
“That aspect that has been found, have we looked into other aspects, such as genetically modified foods, drinks, and milks that our children are taking?
“Have we also looked at genetic compatibility between couples before we now say vaccines are causing x, y, z things?
“Are we looking at the environment where these things are happening, what they are peculiar to?
“It must not be peculiar to all the families, there could be something also that’s happening around that we have not known. Research is evolving, let us not accuse our precious vaccines that have succeeded so far in my knowledge, to keep as many sicknesses at bay.
“The reason we do not have small pox in our world today, apart from the lab (a bio-lab) is because we vaccinated to the point where we were able to move small pox totally out of existence from human beings. We can succeed with that same pattern with all kinds of viruses”.
She stated that the connection between autism and vaccination could merely be coincidence.
Babbo, therefore, urged all parents, churches, and school owners to avail their children/wards the opportunity to be vaccinated against polio the stated exercise.
Sogbeba Dokubo
Engr Obi Fortune, a renowned philanthropist, has donated 80 desks to four secondary schools in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State. The donation is part of his commitment to advancing education in the area.
The schools that benefited from the gesture includes- Community Secondary School Umuoye.
Community Secondary School Akwa- Government Secondary School Ozuzu and Community Primary School Okehi 2 and all the schools got 20 units each of the desks.
Speaking during the brief handing-over ceremony held recently in okehi recently, Engr Obi stated that the donation fulfills his promise to use proceeds from his book sales to procure desks for schools in the LGA.
He disclosed that more desks will arrive soon and expressed his continued commitment to supporting education in the area.
Obi urged the schools to make good use of the desks and called on other individuals to contribute to the educational needs in the area.
This gesture demonstrates Engr Obi’s dedication to improving education in Etche LGA.
A professor of social and political philosophy at Rivers State University (RSU ) Nkpolu Oroworukwu port Harcourt, Prof Agha Eresia _Eke has emphasized that citizenship participation is crucial for achieving true democratic government. He stressed that citizens’ involvement in exercising their basic rights, such as freedom of speech, assembly, and religion, is essential for a democratic institution to thrive.
Eresia _Eke stated this while presenting his inaugural lecture at the 111 university’s inaugural lecture series with the topic “Nigeria Democratic practices:a contextual paradox”held at the university senate auditorium in Port Harcourt, last Wednesday.
According to him, core democratic values which include:,- Respect for individual rights and freedoms, Protection of human rights and fundamental freedom, Equality before the law, Freedom of speech, assembly, and association, Protection of privacy and personal autonomy.
“Through out history, the problem that has agitated social and political philosophers has been to work _out a model for the realization of the common good of man.
Man has always sought and developed methods and systems of organising himself according to his true nature as a rational being.”he stated.
Eresia-Eke notes that Nigeria is not practicing a true federalism and highlights the importance of a pragmatic approach to democracy, where ideas and solutions are tested and refined in real-world environments.
He emphasized that citizens must hold their leaders accountable and demand respect for human rights, stressing that by doing so, citizens can undertake their civic obligations and responsibilities, strengthening society as a whole.
Earlier in his address, the Vice chancellor of the university, Prof Zeb _Obipi commended the lecturer for his brilliant performance, adding that he has justified and proven that he is a professor in his area of specialization.
The VC averred that the university has been consistent in the inaugural lecture monthly and assured that his administration will continue to continue to keep the trend.