The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has suspended its eight months industrial strike. Reports have it that the suspension of the strike last week was not an indication that all the knotty issues that led to the strike had been resolved. Hopefully, all students at public universities in the country will resume their academic activities this week.
At the heart of any meaningful development in a country is the people. I mean quality people. There are a couple of literature in the public domain showing that funding of education by the Federal Government remains less than 10 percent of the yearly total budget. This is far from the 15 percent recommended by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). How does the most populous black nation in the world convert its young people into a catalyst of growth and development? I ask this question because Nigeria stands a chance of losing out on a literate, and skilled workforce if matters concerning the education of our young people are treated with levity.
The number of out-of-school children is rising daily. According to the United Nations (UN), out-of-school children cover children who are yet to be enrolled in formal education, excluding pre-primary education. The age range for out-of-school children is 6-11 years.
I ask this question because Nigeria stands a chance of losing out on literate, and skilled workforce, if matters concerning education of our young people are treated with levity
Data compiled by UNESCO in partnership with the Global Education and Monitoring Report showed that Nigeria has about 20 million out-of-school children. These figures place Nigeria after India, a nation with over one billion people. Pakistan, a nation of almost the same population as Nigeria, comes third. These three countries – India, Nigeria, and Pakistan, are leading the world on the out-of-school children ladder globally.
The degenerating security situation in the country as pointed out by some scholars at a conference recently is partly responsible for rise in the number of out-of-school children. Degenerating security, particularly in the Northern part of the country, is responsible for the closure of many schools as well as rising poverty which has forced many parents to put their children in the labor market to hawk cheap goods from other countries.
Available statistics show that 10 states are leading in the out-of-school children table. In the list, Kano State leads while Akwa Ibom, Katsina, and Kaduna trail behind. Other states that rank high on the list include Taraba, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara, and Bauchi. States with the lowest number of out-of-school children include Cross River, Abia, Kwara, and Bayelsa. Others include Ekiti, Enugu, and the Federal Capital Territory.
For the children who go to school, most of them drop out of primary and secondary schools before enrolling in tertiary institutions. Although, the Federal Government in the 2023 Budget Address delivered by the President, noted with dismay that the crisis in the education sector has paralysed activities in the public universities in the country. True! However, the government has promised to provide a total of N470.0 billion in the 2023 budget from the country’s constrained resources. This amount we learned is for revitalization and salary enhancements in tertiary institutions.
Most importantly, the government has informed Nigerians that it cannot provide alone the resources required for funding tertiary education. Why? It was adduced that in most countries, the cost of education is jointly shared between the government and the people, especially at the tertiary level. So, the government expressed how imperative it is, to introduce a more sustainable model of funding tertiary education.
Furthermore, the 2023 Budget Proposal reflected the government’s commitment to the implementation of agreements reached with academic staff unions within available resources. And that is why the Government has remained resolute not to sign any agreement that it would be unable to implement. Mr. President in his 2023 Budget address stated that “Individual institutions would be encouraged to keep faith with any agreement reached in due course to ensure stability in the educational sector.”
Although the government has stated on several occasions that it is committed to improving the quality of education at other levels. A world bank document titled “Nigeria Development Update: The Continuing Urgency of Business Unusual (June 2022 Edition) revealed that with many children out of school in Nigeria, in years to come there will be a lack of adequate and appropriate manpower in the future. With many children kept out of school, Nigeria cannot adequately compete in a knowledge-based economy globally. This is the crux of the matter!
That is why this columnist urges policymakers to remember that basic literacy is essential but not sufficient in the world we all live in today. Nigeria, will not have the capacity to address its social and economic challenges if policymakers focus only on basic literacy to the exclusion of quality secondary and tertiary education. It is only when we understand that strengthening higher education along with technical and vocational education is essential for creating a globally competitive economy.
Read also: Nigeria’s inflation report stokes equities selloff
A country with primary education graduates in large numbers will only be able to compete on the basis of unskilled, low-wage labor. This, in my view, is not the path to sustainable development, poverty reduction, and steadily rising standard of living that public intellectuals have craved. When 20 million children are out of school, one can see a grim future characterized by socio-economic and security consequences for Nigeria.
With 20 million children out of school, one can safely say that about 10 percent of the population are headed for lifetime illiteracy. It is my candid view that Nigeria should not be nurturing another generation of illiterates in addition to the existing ones. That is why many Nigerians were perturbed seeing millions of young people hawking goods on the streets of major cities, while most of our tertiary institutions were allowed to go on a prolonged strike lasting 8 months from 14 February 2022.
If Nigeria hopes to become a prosperous country, policymakers must find ways and means to reduce the number of out-of-school children. It has been said that in today’s knowledge-based economy, quality people represent the most critical national asset. Irrespective of laws and policies, policymakers must create a human capacity-building environment characterized by mutually supportive relationships among universities, industry, and government.
It is the government’s responsibility to create enabling laws, reduce administrative barriers, and reduce the cost of doing business so that industry can thrive. These are essentials but not sufficient conditions for higher productivity, increased competitiveness, rising standards of living, and economic diversification without quality people.
We need to build human capacity as barrier reduction is necessary but not sufficient for businesses to thrive and become more innovative. Even if we have a good business climate today in the country, firms will not be able to exploit the competitive opportunities provided by a good business climate if our workforce does not have the requisite skills to perform optimally. It is for these reasons and many more that tertiary institutions cannot be closed for a prolonged period.
While looking forward to the day when all issues that led to the ASUU strike would be resolved, we sincerely hope that political leadership will not allow a prolonged strike by lecturers to happen again. Our public institutions should be regarded as citadels of learning and innovation where young people discover themselves, pursue their ambitions, and ultimately achieve their best dreams. As young people and their lecturers return back to our citadels of learning, I wish them happy learning, fair wind, and following sea. Thank you.
