“A fundamental change is needed in the way we think about education’s role in global development because it has a catalytic impact on the well-being of individuals and the future of our planet.”
The deplorable state of academic institutions in Nigeria calls for a prompt intervention. The recently released 2016 Q2 report estimates real GDP growth in the country’s education sector at 2.88 percent. However, infrastructural development in higher institutions has been extremely poor.
The lack of proper infrastructure has led to the continuous increase in the brain drain from the country. According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS), after Morocco, Nigeria sends the most students overseas of any country in Africa. Quite a number of students exit the country due to a lack of adequate infrastructure and poor learning conditions in these institutions.
In the University of Maiduguri, students were seen studying under streetlights due to a power outage. Over the years, several school protests have occurred in the country due to a lack of adequate welfare. These protests often lead to strike actions and a complete shut down of institutions for a long period of time, thereby disrupting the learning process and affecting the academic duration of students.
Education with tears: UNIMAID reading with the aid of street light. SHAME OF A NATION. @NigeriaInfoAbj@CNN@BBCpic.twitter.com/TGN2HudyQj
— SHADRACK DASUKI (@SHYDOO) September 1, 2016
Nigeria’s progress in improving the state and conditions of academic infrastructures is really slow. In a new report, Global Education Monitoring, a UNESCO affiliate, said that Nigeria will achieve universal primary education in 2070, universal lower secondary education in 2080 and universal upper secondary education in the next century.
Implementing Nigeria’s change agenda would require the availability of skilled labour. The government needs to ensure that adequate funds and support are provided to allow for the effective functioning of these schools. “A fundamental change is needed in the way we think about education’s role in global development because it has a catalytic impact on the well-being of individuals and the future of our planet”, said Irina Bokova, UNESCO’s Director-General.
