Formal education, particularly tertiary level, is at a deplorable stage in comparison with the rest of the world.
Despite outcries on countless occasions to improve the standard, it is saddening that little attention is paid to the quality of value offered through our educational system.
Worse of all is the undeniable truth that education is not accessible to all in the country, whether of quality or not.
According to UNICEF, about 10.5million of the country’s children aged 5-14years are not in school especially girls child.
About 10.5million of the country’s children aged 5-14years are not in school especially girl child- UNICEF
In a country where primary education is not well taken care of, the fate of higher institutions are definitely not guaranteed.
The private sector are reputed to provide quality education across the country, albeit at a price.
Different factors have been accused to cause the rift in education standard in Nigeria.
One of those reasons is inadequate funding of those government-owned universities. According to research, funding is the biggest problem confronting the Nigeria educational system.
The percentage of the budget allocated to education annually is abysmally low. In 2018, only 7.04% was allocated to education.
This is far below the UNESCO recommendation which is 15-26%. There is no accurate funding in schools which made the schools to increase their fees.
This explains why parents and all stakeholders bemoaned increments in tuition fees, AAUA case sticking to memories.
This kind of scenario will only widen the gap between the rich and the poor as 90% of the population are living in abject poverty.
Incessant academic strike in the country is also a demoralising factor.
Unfortunately, we’ve been encountering annual strikes -since ASUU’s creation in 1978 to represent the interest of universities staff- which is only providing setback to the school academic setup annually. For example, AAUA is still in 2020/2021 academic session when the year is almost run out.
At this point, it must be mentioned that Covid-19 played a role in the delay experienced. However, ASUU must take its fair share of the blame for the hitch in schedule.
It can be recommended that all parties involved in the decision making should prioritise the welfare of the lecturers and teachers generally to reduce their complaints in carrying out their duties.
Conclusively, the government, as well as the private investors, should work together to regulate educational crises in Nigeria.
If more scholarship are been given out to students and school fees are lessened, there is a higher probability that Nigeria educational system will improve.
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