Seems you dont understand my point- i would assume because you did not live in Nigeria long enough. Usually in Western Countries- the well educated become the upper class yes most of the time. Infact usually you have to be well educated in the US/UK/West Europe to gain middle class/upper middle status. Consequently their is a tradition of scholarship within families. [b]A significant number of famous researchers came from families which were heavily invested in academia. [/b]So in a way there is an IQ cutoff to wealth- like the smarter people typically attain middle class status. Not all the time though. Take for example a Nobel laureate such as Tsien:

oyinda.:

OMG sefago.
that's why i say that the privileged in nigeria should invest more in academia because they have resources that can enable them to accomplish that!!! duh!!!
I was recognizing the problem and trying to offer a solution. we are saying the same thing!!!
and yes naija system is not very meritocratic. it's mostly about who you know rather than what you know. which is why i'm saying that rich ppl should change the system. and invest more in academics either within their families or through philanthropic means so that poor people can also benefit from it.
it is definitely one way to approach the problem.

"I certainly owe all my success to having had a great education. I went to an incredible school, and I remember the teachers who encouraged me. I'm so lucky. I had what every kid should have, honestly,"

Gamine:

I think someone mentioned something about Bill Gates on this thread.


http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/microsofts-gates-joins-superman-school-mission-ap

oyinda.:

even better that he is contributing money to public schools in his hometown.
i agree with him that private schools provide better education. but this is general knowledge anyways.

tensor777:

True. That seems to be the issue here. People are juxtaposing - not to say mixing up- good general education which a lot of Nigerians have and  the ability and the wherewithal to make creative and original scientific discoveries which is at a premium in Nigeria and some other developing countries.

davidif:


Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much for posting this, awesome, awesome post. I have watched Bill Gates say this several times (crediting the great education he got for being the person he is) but meanwhile ignorant folks come on here to say stuff like "wasn't bill gates a drop out?" and ignoring the fact that h[b]e got an excellent education from the elementary level[/b] all the way to the tertiary level before eventually dropping out. Can you imagine if Steve Jobs had not had a great education? can you imagine where he would be today? once again, gamine thanks for the post jare.

tensor777:

You should know better than   to post outlandish claims without any links. I am aware that the minimum requirement to be a teacher in a Lagos State secondary school is NCE or Bachelor of Education. So presumably they should have gone through all the necessary tests BEFORE they were recruited.

By the way have we now diverted from discussing the extent to which Nigerian university graduates are able to compete with their counterparts abroad as per top level research to lambasting teacher training and recruitment?? In other words the same hackneyed immature, irresponsible tactic of blaming the "system" .

Gamine:

The 'Koko' is that these things (Whatever scientific discovery or innovation someone is going to make) starts when people are young, by providing an environment that nurtures and enhances such.  

lekside44:

well, this is not a recruitment exercise, it is an assessment exercise 4 teachers who are still in active service.

Studies have shown that locally-produced plastic waste bins are very low in quality and not compatible with the lifting devices of the waste compacting trucks.

“The previous efforts by the board to address these problems did not yield the desired result

davidif:

Its so sad that this topic did not make the front page, yet topics like "Taiwo Gets Nigeria Recall And Shittu Dropped" or "Chidinma Wins Project Fame 2010!" make it to front page. Na wa o , it shows our priorities in Naija.

ziga:

Did you create the thread because you felt it could make front page or out of genuine interest in the educational institutions in Nigeria
Hypocrisy is indeed the biggest problem in Nigeria.

davidif:

WHAT HYPOCRISY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?? WHERE WAS I EVER BEING AN HYPOCRITE? I AM TALKING ABOUT PUTTING THIS THREAD ON A FORUM WHERE LOT MORE PEOPLE CAN HAVE ACCESS TO IT AND DISCUSS THIS CRITICAL ISSUE AND HERE YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT HYPOCRISY. WHERE WAS I EVER TALKING ABOUT HYPOCRISY? WHY DON'T YOU GO TO THE DICTIONARY AND LEARN WHAT HYPOCRISY IS BEFORE YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND START TALKING NONSENSE.