The many troubles plaguing Nigeria’s education system stem largely from the obsession with only tertiary education to the detriment of the primary education level, which is rightly the most important level, says Pat Utomi, founder/CEO, Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL).
Utomi, who is also a professor at the Lagos Business School, further laments that education in Nigeria is likewise plagued by a situation where parents abandon their rightful responsibility of being the first teachers of the children.
Utomi made this observations in his keynote address on ‘How to revitalise Africa’s educational system’ at the Second ‘State of Education in Africa Conference’ held last Wednesday in Lagos.
Amini Kajunju, president and CEO of The Africa- America Institute (AAI) emphasising the value of education in Africa, notes, “nearly 50 per cent of Africans are under age 15. Africa’s young people are our future leaders… thus investment in education and training is essential in building an educated and skilled workforce.”
The State of Education in Africa conference, a creation of the Africa-America Institute, co-sponsored by the Ford Foundation, with support from the World Bank is a “solutions-driven global education conference” devoted to “putting forth a bold agenda to improving the educational landscape in Africa.”
Experts say that Africa’s educational system is at a crossroads as 31 million children are out of school on the continent, 50-54 per cent of children who go through primary school go into secondary schools, and only six per cent of secondary school graduates actually progress to tertiary education.
