Academics call for restructuring of educational system

The need for the Federal Government to restructure the country’s educational system, for it to be in tandem with global trend, where little emphasis is laid on who passed and who failed, but on the knowledge they acquired and what they can do with it.

At a Colloquium tagged, “Mission, Education and Nation Building,” held in Lagos State, founder, Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL), Prof. Pat Utomi, blamed the country’s backwardness and sloppy pace of development on lack of quality education.

The colloquium was in honour of the Archbishop of Lagos Archdiocese, His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, and Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Ibadan, Pai Obanya, for their contributions to the transformation of the country’s academic sector.

Utomi at the forum, tasked leaders on the need to improve and reform the country’s educational system, in order for it to keep pace with the rest of the world.

Prof. Obanya in his comments, observed that the current educational system in the country was too examination conscious, consequently, students study to pass examination, and not to gain knowledge.

Obanya, who maintained that the manpower to change the system was there, while the political will was lacking, said that most government policies on education were mere “pronouncements and not policies” adding that for such to be regarded as policies, they must be interactive and participatory.

He regretted that African governments spend more money on political management of education as even small countries have three ministers of education and three assistants, who would also have many others working under them.

“But when you get to the schools, teachers are owed salaries, windows are broken down, no first aid boxes and no continuous teacher training,” he added.

Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer, Global International College; Mrs. Abolaji Osime, stressed the needs to “invest and not spend” on education; saying that a good investment is not determined by the amount of money put in the system, but doing it in the right places

She added, “We have being teaching with a curriculum from the 17th century, the teachers needs to be trained on the right curriculum.” because the “input determines the output,” she said.

Corroborating her views, Professor Gidado Tahir, of the University of Abuja, noted that unsuccessful attempts have been made in the past to change the curriculum, but the implementation has remained a major issue.

He added that teacher’s prestige needs to be upheld and this can only be achieved with the “enactment, enlightenment and enforcement of the right educational curriculum.”