Most countries around the world are currently working towards bringing back jobs for their nationals in the wake of the global economic crisis. Education has become one of the most powerful weapons known for reducing poverty and inequality in modern societies. It is also used for laying the foundation for a sustainable growth and development of any, nation. For too long, Nigerian education sector has suffered most unspeakable deprivations and indignities in the hands of government as a result of poor remuneration and working environment.
It is unfortunate that in the twenty first century oil rich Nigeria, students of institutions of higher learning would inhabit structures that are archaic. It is unimaginable and unbelievable that students of primary schools not to talk of a higher institutions in a country as rich as Nigeria will have to resort to using the nearby bush as their toilet since the government on whose shoulders such a responsibility lies had failed to provide them with even ordinary pit-latrines to ease themselves in.
The world has blamed the woes of Nigerians, and in particular that of the education sector, to the many years of military rule. But with the re-emergence of civil rule the nation’s educational institutions are still in shambles today with university professors still not being paid on time. Some may argue that the universities have started to clear their way back precisely with the reprise of civil rule. But that remains to be seen.
Despite the fact that most of our present leader are retired classroom teachers, and with that strong belief that it is the only government so far that exist in Nigeria where majority of politicians claim and other appointees are claiming to in one time or the other were classroom teachers, unfortunately there isn’t any serious move made towards resuscitating the state education sector. Today teachers exhibit the lowest morale.
In fact, they are catastrophically wretched and their uninspiring material conditions are great disincentives to aspiring teachers and students alike, to the extent that out of any sample of 100 students, you will hardly get one whose future ambition is to become a teacher, or to be married to a teacher. The historically prestigious teaching profession can now be justifiably associated with poverty manifested in thread-bare clothes, long face, hunger, ejection from rented house, dejection and bring structures needless say.
Those outside the profession thank their stars and never pray to come in, while those inside look forward to day that will move; on the rewarding jobs.
This unfortunate scenario is a reflection of the value we attached to academic works in our strange sense of job and it is the same happening before the leaders who are familiar with the so called environment. The problem of education in Nigeria does not stop at welfare of the teachers only, but the students also bear the consequence. Additionally the sector also finds itself in shamble or total disarray. Presently, students do sit on bare floor or on the window sills, taking their lessons from a faded blackboard in short inadequacy of desks and chairs, infrastructural facilities teaching aids have now become rampant in our dear states.
The worst part of this pathetic situation is that government is at all levels treating the education sector with utmost disregard and disrespect. Education as a means of human resources development must be adequately treated as a matter of top priority. The poor quality of university graduates is directly associated with the poor academic foundation in the primary and secondary school levels.
It is unfortunate to hear that over 9.5 million children are currently roaming our streets in the name of begging. One of the most important challenges ahead of the government at all level is come up with a practical and realistic approach on how to liberate the education sector so that the future of our children and the youth will be brighter as well as mapping out modalities on how to tackle the menace of street begging across the nation.
Such bad trends in the sector as enumerated above were some of the reasons why many don’t like teaching job. But with an overhaul in the whole system, things will change from bad to good.
