By Goodluck Egueke (Ughelli)
It is no news that after the celebration of the Christmas (2022) and now in the New Year (2023), Pupils/Students are set to return to school. The question is: how prepared are the pupils/students, the parents, the school authority, the government and other stakeholders in the education industry to ensure they (pupils/ students) are well taught and unitize the knowledge acquired for the advance of their lives, and the society at large?
Today’s education systems have not helped in any way. Though, the Government has its policies on education, but the challenges of curriculum development on education policies at different levels have not helped to a large extent. It is pertinent to say that the system of education in Nigeria prior independence and after independence has taken a different dimension. Research has shown that, to a large extent, Nigeria system of education has fallen. This is largely due to many factors. Prior to the Nigeria’s independence in 1960, Nigeria operated the 6-5-2 system. That is, six (6) years of primary education, five (5 )years of secondary and 2 years of Higher Level / A Levels system to mirror the British’s system.
This is not unconnected to the colonial tie between Nigeria and the UK which stimulated the importation of administrative and academic frameworks. In 1988, the educational system was updated to the 6-3-3-4 system: six (6) years primary, three (3) years junior secondary, three (3) years of senior secondary and four (4) years tertiary education similar to the America’s system. This is meant to replace 6-5-4 system of education. That is six (6) years primary school, five years(5) secondary school and four(4) year for higher institutions..
One germane advantage of the 6-3-3-4 system is that, post primary education is designed to expose students to various subjects that capture the multiplicity of all professions in human endeavours. After primary education, the first three(3) years in the secondary school is meant to evaluate the strength of students in various subjects to help in providing the needed guidance for career choices in the second phase of three years(3) in the secondary school education By this system, Students are made to learn vocational training that would make them to be self-employed and self-reliant at that level if they are not able to proceed to the university. One of the objectives is to reduce unemployment with its attendant negative effects in the society.
The 6-3-3-4 system of education did not achieve the desired objective due to some internal factors such as epileptic power supply, lack of adequate home grown technology, lack of adequate skilled man power to see the students through the vocational training, corruption, etc. Among others that for a policy to be made in order to achieve the desired objectives, proper analysis and planning should precede the policy in order to ensure that the enablers of the policy are put in place.
Lately, there was an introduction of a new system of education called the Universal Basic Education (UBE) otherwise known as the 9-3-4 whose curriculum is expected to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2020. Though, the exposure of students to multiple subjects has been faulted by some curriculum experts given what obtains in advanced countries. it has been proven that exposure to different subjects helps students to gain deep insight on how to chart a career path. However, the ubiquitous challenges of poor education infrastructure, paucity of teachers, absence of laboratory and library and insistence of parents on certain professional courses have made it somewhat impossible to optimize the utility of the 6-3-3-4 system.
It is commonly said, “Education is the bedrock of human and socio-economic development of any society”. It is a sector that attracts serious attention in developed countries given that, the intellectual and human resources to drive growth in all sectors of the economy are birthed in the various layers of academic acquisitions. To meet up with the dynamic requirements of the society, the structure, curriculum and mode of assessment in various citadels of learning are reviewed, reworked and recalibrated periodically.
In developed countries, real life challenges form the foundation of curriculum development, and the UN’s recommended 25% budgetary allocation to education is implemented. This is because, leadership recognizes the nexus between overhaul economic expansion and education, but the case is not the same in low income countries where lip service is accorded educational development and planning.
Against this backdrop, experts have in various contexts and theoretical expositions interrogated the structures, policies and curriculum development trajectory in Nigeria. The introduction of the 6-3-3-4 education system was informed by the recognition of the obvious shortfalls of the previous 6-5-2 system and the resolve to improve on the system that hitherto existed.
This was to enable Nigeria to compete with other countries in all sectors of human endeavours. Experts from various institutions of government at the state and federal levels converged to construct the 6-3-3-4 system but studies have shown that the performance of the system is poor. Few reasons would be sufficient to buttress this assertion. In the northern part of Nigeria, literacy rate is one of the poorest. Recent surveys had revealed that over 12 million children out of school and these children were required by the system to acquire six (6) years primary education and proceed to three (3) junior and three (3) senior secondary school levels and four years(4) in the university. But lack of funding, and development of infrastructure have made the acquisition of primary education intensely difficult in Nigeria. Research has shown that children who learn and excel early, and stay motivated, have higher chances of educational success in their chosen career. .
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To further dissect the failure of the 6-3-3-4 system, it is pertinent to evaluate the performance of the five cardinal objectives espoused in the Nigerian Policy on Education adopted in 1982. The Education Policy was meant to achieve a free and democratic society, to secure a just and egalitarian society, to prioritize a united and self -reliant nation, and to entrench a great and dynamic economy and a land of opportunities for all citizens. It is evident that from the utilization of the 6-3-3-4 system, there is no equal access to education in Nigeria as the disparity in the quality of education for the poor and elites is evident.
In the country where school infrastructures continue to deplete, pupils/students are exposed to varying degrees of risk, given the spate of insecurities that have overwhelmed the capacity of the Nigerian security architecture.
Given the poor state of education infrastructures in primary schools across the country, the foundation of education upon which other layers of academic acquisition are built remains vulnerable as the 1982 National Education Policy that prioritizes and attempted to incentivize preparation of young people for useful living within the society and preparation for higher education have not been sufficiently achieved.
Studies have shown that the quality of secondary school leavers has deteriorated. Secondary school leavers before the year 1960 had the mental alertness, wit, and academic wherewithal to function in various capacities in the corporate environment, public offices and industries. But without exaggeration, the same standard cannot be met today given the scenario of examination malpractices, and poor investment in education.
Similarly, the poor state of primary and post primary of education has manifested in tertiary institutions where endemic corruption, incessant industrial actions by university lecturers and archaic curriculum in many disciplines have depleted the quality of graduates churned out annually. It is germane to add that most Nigeria graduates cannot fit perfectly into certain offices (companies) in direct correlation with their areas of training due to the disconnect between teaching methods and the dynamic economic environment. The absence of hands-on-training and reduced prioritization of practical learning represents a major drawback to the implementation of the 6-3-3-4 system of education.
Against this backdrop, there is the urgent need to retool the curriculum of learning in various layers of academics to connect with contemporary challenges of the society. Government must create a new environment and have a sense of urgency to invest in sciences, mathematics, technology and innovative learning to keep pace with other countries.
It is also pertinent to address the paucity of manpower, epileptic power supply and provision of of instructional materials and infrastructures. Education Policy makers would be required to, as a matter of urgency, ratify the UN recommendations on 2 up 5 percent investment of national budget on education. Evidently, the system was founded on previous foundation that was incapable to meet the educational needs of a dynamic society with no plan for sustainability. The abysmal failure of the 6-3-3-4 system can be drawn from the lack of planning on the sustainability of the system and the need to secure funding through timely legislations and inclusive implementation to address the need of physically challenged in the society.
The effect is that, the system that would have launched Nigeria into a technologically driven society where science and innovation are prioritized is now underutilized. This is why it is imperative for government to place more premium on the utility of education in all sectors of development as making the policy to succeed would ultimately transform all sectors of the Nigerian economy.
It therefore hoped that Nigeria education industry and its actors will improve and pupils/students would take studies seriously in order for the education policies and programmes’ aims and objectives can be achieved. Since the growth and development of the country much depend on the level of literacy and the technological knowhow, Nigeria as a country would do well if it can implement the desired policies to the fullest. As the school resumes any moment from now, the pupils/ students are to prepare to face the challenges in this regard.