Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
As the world rounds up events marking the 2019 International Youth Day, Mr Hadu Napthali Lingari, a lecturer at the economics unit of the School of Basic and Remedial Studies at the Gombe State University (GUS), condemned the underdeveloped state of Nigeria’s education system, urging government, parents, and youths alike to embrace and pursue reform in the sector.
“Youths in Nigeria have lost the quintessence of education; we are getting our formal education totally wrong,” said the lecturer, speaking at an event organized by Foundation for Youth Awakening and Empowerment (FOYAE) to commemorate the International Youth Day in Gombe State.
“It seems Nigeria does not want its students to be educated; all key stakeholders in the education sector do not seem to really subscribe to ensuring we learn,” he added. Lamenting that schools in Nigeria only qualify students for certificates, not education, he observed that “grade is superior to education in our schools today.
Having ‘Transforming Education’ as the theme of 2019’s International Youth Day, Napthali said “we, youths, must differentiate between educated individuals and certified individuals. We must all seek to be educated and not certified. Certificates only qualify us, but education makes us.”
Urging young people to transform their orientation towards education, Napthali, said that “as youths, we owe ourselves and our society a lot. We must begin to educate ourselves in such a manner that will enable us to think as well as liberate our society from the shackle of ignorance and 21st-century illiteracy. These we can only do by transforming how we both teach and learn.”
Speaking earlier, Linda Alabura, Eecutive Director, FOYAE, had highlighted the role of education in eradicating poverty, promoting health, gender equality, combatting climate change as well as peace and youth development.
“To our youths, you must all know that all you want to achieve in life depends on education. You also have a role to play in transforming education,” Alabura said.
As government and other agencies are working hard to do so, I, therefore, enjoin you to participate in the transformation of education fully in your various societies,” she said.