Nigeria’s Education System Can’t Promote National Devt, Says Anchor VC
The Vice Chancellor of Anchor University, Prof. Joseph Afolayan at the weekend lamented Nigeria’s declining educational system, which lacked creativity and values that promote national growth and development.
Afolayan faulted the country’s education system at the valedictory service of Good Shepherd Schools, Lagos, lamenting that many graduates had no clue of what being creative meant after completing their programmes.
The service was attended by the Chairman of the school, Dr. Adebayo Oyeyemi and the Director-General of Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO), Prof. Gloria Elemo among others
folayan, who was a guest speaker at the event, said the current educational system could not help achieve the country’s national development objectives, especially job and wealth creation.
According to him, our educational system, especially in public institution, has no idea about what to do with creativity in schools. After schools, many graduates today have no clue on how to be creative.
He explained that there “are more cases of joblessness today caused by lack of creativity than those caused by lack of jobs. More than 90 percent of poor people globally would have been able to better their lots if only they could think beyond the materials they studied in.the classrooms.”
A Afolayan said while conventional education was good, the best form of education was self-education, noting that conventional education did not automatically confer on one the gown of success.
He noted that it should open one’s mind “to the track and strategies for success. It is a great instrument that will, however, remain meaningless if not used. If you want to be celebrated in life; if you do not want to be missing in the crowd, here is my piece of advice: Get Creative.
“But the problem is, creativity, apart from Fine Arts, is not taught as a subject in the classroom, but it should. In any case, you need to get busy and learn to know far more than you were taught in the classroom.
“Indeed, this is the time to start thinking of what would give you the edge in the corporate world. The earlier you start, the better,” he advised the students.
Also speaking at the event, Oyeyemi said the school had equipped the graduating students with the skills needed to succeed in a changing world, saying the education offered by the school was without corruption and examination malpractice.
He acknowledged that the country was facing several challengesin allfronts, which according to him, had culminated in threat to national unity and peace.