Fellow Nigerians, Is Tertiary Education for Fveryone?

 

From my own perspective as a Nigerian, I often ask myself 'Of what use is it for one to hold a certificate that he or she cannot defend?' We have all been misguided and blinded to some realities of life.  Holding a degree is good, but most Nigerian parents would add that it is compulsory. One may argue that this behavior is so because of the Nigerian economic stagnation. However, we must also acknowledge that recent diversification of of the economy has paved way for technical jobs and unskilled jobs that may not require university education.  My main grouse is with parents who impose tertiary education on children with learning disability.

 In Nigeria when a child is not academically sound they are often referred to as “iti” in my native language which means  ”a dunce"  That child is often regarded as being lazy or has a brain fag. Sometimes they say the person is possessed by an evil spirit.  The parents most often push that child to any limit

to make sure they get a degree even when is very clear that the child is incapable. This often results in the Person practically buying their degrees (termed "Sorting" in Nigeria Universities). When a child can buy a medical degree certificate which they can’t defend. I begin to ask 'To whose detriment is it? One being unable to get a degree is not the end of the world especially if you’re from a wealthy background.

 EXPECTATION

When a child is born there is already an expectation of the child If you’re from my country you should be familiar with this; “Oh My child will become a doctor, Lawyer, Engineer". The list is endless. When parents have such expectations you find that they will make that child live their own dream, not allowing their child to live his or her own dream. Parents,  there is nothing wrong with dreaming big or wanting the highest level of success for your children but we should also be ready to identify and accept certain challenges when they surface.

IGNORANCE

Tertiary education is not for everyone. I say so because some people due to no fault of theirs' are born with learning difficulties like dyslexia or mental retardation. It doesn’t mean that the person is not or can’t be useful in life. This stance is often adopted due to our ignorance. Majority of the time you find out that the person being derided is the one who is talented in things like catering, sewing, comedy, singing and the list goes on. Why not encourage that child to take up that line of trade that brings out his or her dignity as a man or woman.  There are a lot of uneducated but successful people and celebrities with learning disabilities. If in doubt, do backgrounds check of people like David Beckham and Albert Einstein.  Being less uneducated especially due to no fault of yours doesn’t in any way reflect worthlessness or make you a lesser person in any aspect of life.

PARENTS BEWARE

When your child buys that degree certificate, I ask you “what is next for that child?"  I know people who once suffered from this ignorance, believing that getting a degree was the most important thing in life. I’m not in any way discouraging people from doing that but what I’m trying to say is we should be more understanding of some challenges that our children might be facing  due to no fault of theirs and gear them towards the right direction. Imposing an education on a child when that child is obviously incapable of attaining to such level, can do a lot of harm to the child and the society.

Parents ignorance is no longer an excuse.  Please let’s educate ourselves to the realities of life and sometimes look beyond the traditional norms. Let’s not be afraid to ask questions and stop being in denial when there is a problem no matter how difficult it is.

“LET’S ALL MAKE HAYS WHILE THE SUN SHINES”