During the presidential debate, Kadira asked the Presidential candidates how to improve the educational sector. Buhari's answer came as a huge disappointment to his audience. He said there is nothing wrong with the Nigerian Educational system!!!

The video is available online here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13401163
Check from 1HR: 25MINS and follow through the answers of the repondents. Enjoy

This is the same guy people say GEJ is scared of facing in a debate.
Nonsense!

There is NOTHING wrong with the Education SYSTEM  . . . . . So all the moves to CHANGE IT are BULL! The problem is, and remains CORRUPTION and LACK of IMPLEMENTATION at all levels, and lack of trained staff.

The system does not need an overhaul or whatever it is the current admin has been suggesting.

The Nigerian Education System obviously has many problems. There is no use denying the fact. If he cannot identify the problem then he is no where near being capable of solving it. Business people know this: The first step to solving any problem is to IDENTIFY the problem.

^^ The problem has been identified and it has nothing to do with the SYSTEM, so the SYSTEM is NOT the problem. Corruption, lack of training and infrastructure is. And this is the same problem that PLAGUES all other sectors of Government. Any solution that makes attempts at OVERHAULING the system is WRONG, IMO.

I hope we know that the "Nigerian Education System" is beyond the 6-3-3-4 cliche. It encompases formal and informal education. If our education system had no problems it would have been able to cater for all the almajiris in the north and militants in the south. If there were no problem, how come we have the notorious Boko haram? Any system that cannot cater for the people it is targetted to serve has a problem. It is the duty of our leaders to identify and fix the problem.

efisher:

I hope we know that the "Nigerian Education System" is beyond the 6-3-3-4 cliche. It encompases formal and informal education. If our education system had no problems it would have been able to cater for all the almajiris in the north and militants in the south. If there were no problem, how come we have the notorious Boko haram? Any system that cannot cater for the people it is targetted to serve has a problem. It is the duty of our leaders to identify and fix the problem.

I am not even sure where you are going with this anymore. What has the existence of Almajiri's, Boko Haram, and ND Millitants to do with our education system?

Ok kobojunkie, let me slow down a little. I will like to ask a few leading questions to help drive home my point:

1. What would you define as a good education system?

Is there really a problem with the system as such, or a problem with the implementation of se out process. We might find that resource allocation might not be the problem, but corruption prevent resources from reaching where they are desperately needed.

efisher:

Ok kobojunkie, let me slow down a little. I will like to ask a few leading questions to help drive home my point:

1. What would you define as a good education system?

Again, the system we have is fine . . . but LIKE every other sector, we need to fix CORRUPTION, Lack of Trained Staff . . . These are the issues that Continue to diminish the QUALITY of our education system.

Renew the system for all your care, as long as corruption persist, we will be at the juncture come 4yrs from now. Like most(all )crumbling sectors, corruption remains the single most damaging factor

Everyone has been pointing fingers at corruption. What an easy excuse for laziness! Has anybody wondered why the telecom sector in Nigeria is thriving despite the heavy corruption. Humans are corrupt everywhere but it should not be an excuse for poor performance. It is like saying the devil is the problem with Nigeria. What are the standards for measuring corruption?

The point is we know there is corruption BUT while fighting corruption, we can make policies and implement brilliant strategies to make things work. We should not dump everything on the table of corruption and fold our arms afterwards.

Buhari said there's nothing wrong with the educational system, rather it's lack of will, corruption and indiscipline that's killing the system.

What do you call a situation where an AD steal money meant to standardize the school? do you say something is wrong with the educational system or you say something is wrong with those who are suppose to manage it?


So BUHARI's spot on, Nothing wrong with the educational system, rather corruption is killing the system.

@ kobojunkie, I'm still waiting for your answer to my question. I would like to understand your point of view better.  

There is nothing wrong with the  education system(6-6-4), but there are problems within the education sector.

efisher:

@ kobojunkie, I'm still waiting for your answer to my question. I would like to understand your point of view better.  

Sigh!!! We have a good system in place .  . . . but it is plagued by corruption, lack of implementation etc.  Does this help you?

You can easily compare this to our judiciary system. It is a good system --- on the same levels as what is obtained in the west BUT corruption etc has given it the image it currently has today.

Crude Oil:

There is nothing wrong with the  education system(6-6-4), but there are problems within the education sector.

^^^ This is exactly what many people see as the "Nigerian Education System". Perhaps Buhari didn't see beyond the 6-3-3-4 cliche either!

The system is beyond those numbers. I will offer my definition of what the system is but before then I will like to throw the question to everyone.
What would you define as a good education system?

efisher:

Has anybody wondered why the telecom sector in Nigeria is thriving despite the heavy corruption.

Simple:

Because they are extorting the poor masses while the government sit back, watch and do nothing about it, since the corruption is paying them, why won't they continue?

Perfect response to a reetard!

honeric01:

Simple:

Because they are extorting the poor masses while the government sit back, watch and do nothing about it, since the corruption is paying them, why won't they continue?

Kobojunkie:

There is NOTHING wrong with the Education SYSTEM  . . . . . So all the moves to CHANGE IT are BULL! The problem is, and remains CORRUPTION and LACK of IMPLEMENTATION at all levels, and lack of trained staff.

The system does not need an overhaul or whatever it is the current admin has been suggesting.

Exactly kobo -

efisher:

^^^ This is exactly what many people see as the "Nigerian Education System". Perharps Buhari didn't see beyond the 6-3-3-4 cliche either!

The system is beyond those numbers. I will offer my definition of what the system is but before then I will like to throw the question to everyone.
What would you define as a good education system?

"System" and "Sector" are two different words. They dont mean the same thing.

What is wrong with your car?

Nothing, it just needs a little fix there.

this is what Buhari said. simple, there is nothing wrong with our educational system, we just need to secure the finance

efisher:

^^^ This is exactly what many people see as the "Nigerian Education System". Perharps Buhari didn't see beyond the 6-3-3-4 cliche either!

The system is beyond those numbers. I will offer my definition of what the system is but before then I will like to throw the question to everyone.
What would you define as a good education system?

simple

Where student learn in a conducive environment
where competent teachers are recruited, trained and made to train others
Where student are provided enabling environment to experiment all that they learned in school
Where school authorities don't fundnap money meant for the development of the school
Where the curriculum of the school is followed to the latter
Good education is when the end result is seen, touched, felt in the country and world at large.

@honeric01, Thank you for the answer. More answers welcome.

efisher:


1. What would you define as a good education system?

In addition to what honeric01 has said, a good educational system is one that guarantees

1. Qualitative teaching of academic, moral and technical skills
2. That graduates will SURELY fit into at least one productive area of the country's sub-systems or sectors.
3. That graduates can compete favourably with their counterparts from all over the world.
4. Recognition of the system internationally.

Kobojunkie:

Sigh!!! We have a good system in place .  . . . but it is plagued by corruption, lack of implementation etc.  Does this help you?

You can easily compare this to our judiciary system. It is a good system --- on the same levels as what is obtained in the west BUT corruption etc has given it the image it currently has today.

No, we do not have a good system in place. How can a system that has no certification program for teachers be good? How can a system that does not have a standardized method of evaluating pupils until they take SSCE or whatever be good? The educational system in the US is constantly be retooled and re-evaluated and you are sitting here telling us we have a good system. Common!!!!!

Thank you damas11111 for your answer. More answers welcome

@Genius100, thank you for your insight. The problem is, just like Buhari, many people have an "inside the fence" view of what the education system is. The system we are talking about should include the policies, controls, procedures and structures. The 6-3-3-4 only represents the structure of a part of the education system. We should expand our view and look at the big picture then we can begin to understand better.

Abeg lets not go there, the man made valid sense. The system is designed well, the problem is the will to enforce, what happened to the trade schools? Everyone wants to be a medical doctor MSCHEEW!

Ok let me make it clear for everyone.

The education SECTOR runs based on a SYSTEM called The Education System. It comprises the principles, procedures, controls and structures put together to achieve the goal of Educating the Populace. We should bear in mind that every system should be adapted to meet the needs of the target beneficiaries. The system fails when one or more of its parts fails. Honeric and damas have come up with a good list of what the output of a good education system will be. If these are absent, they are indicators that the system has failed. It is our responsibility to identify what the problems are and attack them purposefully.


I decided to put this statement under the X-ray for all to see because it sends a very clear message. We all know he didn't have any clear idea on this important subject and in many other issues. Some of the people who watched this debate live also made their remarks simultaneously here on nairaland. Follow the link and see their comments:

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-626596.160.html

We do not need to decieve ourselves. We need a vibrant, focussed and realistic leader that can make things happen. Not one that will keep pointing fingers at corruption while being oblivious of the real issues.

An Educational System where lecturers of higher institutions are recruited based on nepotism, ethnicity/indigence (not citizenship) and connection!

Have you wondered why the best graduating students refuse to work for the universities compared to other sectors, which should not be the norm! or have you not heard that its the third class graduates the eventually end up as lecturers these days!

An educational system within a democracy that selects Vice Chancellors through Kangaroo Committees

An educational system that does not offer opportunity to more than 25% of secondary school leavers each year

A universal basic education system that is hardly universal at all! it is still ok for kids not to attend school but hawk on streets

You will understand if you have been part of that Annual Nigerian Student's Day of Madness, called JAMB! Especially if you are among the majority who have had to do it consecutively for more than three years! In education, mass failure means a failure of the teacher!

Have you wondered why reasoning countries conduct JAMB like exams every month, catering for smaller numbers and providing qualitative testing.

Where is the provision in the structure that ensure's that teachers specialize and update themselves, instead of the fire brigade 2 days workshops that the Ministry of education keeps wasting funds on!

Again whats the purpose of 6-3-3-4,
It is an ambitious attempt to generate technicians at the average age of 14 (after Junior WAEC), instead of after Secondary School and higher School or college (Associate degree). Every economy needs an army  of technicians, but I doubt if you get them at age 14. The system can only work in a highly industrious country like Japan, not Nigeria.

Today after the 6-3-3 everybody wants the 4, cause you do not have the technical skills to gain employment. Even mere road side mechanics who are expected to go from the 6-3 to apprentice ship do not bother cause it has nothing to contribute in term of the actual skills they need to work.

Have you seen the more recent Junior Secondary Introductory Technology Texts, they are so watered down from what we used in the late 90s that you begin to wonder if it was still meant for the 6-3-3-4  system. People are adjusting their expectation to the mediocre instead of the high goal.


Again someone will tell me its because of the Corruption, but the truth is that humans world over will steal and cheat when given the opportunity, Hence a good system is one designed with self regulating checks and balances that ensure no individual part of the system over indulges in the resources of the system. There is no need to have corruption czars and crusaders, they can only last for a while  like Ribadu, before being either compromised or overwhelmed!

What we need are good systems, not necessarily perfect, but ensuring that no one can continuously cheat the systems without repercussion.

It is men like Buhari, IBB, Abacha, etc who in their military incursions, suspended, debilitated, and sacked parts of the systems to achieve their power ambitions. They created a system where one could loot public funds with impunity since they had long killed the checks and instituted themselves as the final arbitrators when they are hardly omni-present. They made laws that were neither debated nor properly x-rayed, unfortunately we continue to apply a lot of their crap as parts of our system.    

The telecoms system is highly successful because of the private sector driven competition, and the use of an institutionalized umpire who is not in the business and does not have any direct control over the resources of the sector. We need no Ribadu or Buhari over their, competition is forcing their prices down

[size=16pt]Vote for Goodluck/Sambo for the best Democratic Credentials
For the due respect for our systems and its institutions
For that one more Step that leads us closer to the ideals of Democratic Sophistication!
[/size]

@efisher,
There is nothing really wrong with the system. Maybe you don't know but the system provides for teachers to be trained and retrained.
The system provides for students to be evaluated 2ce a year thru standard exams and once in three years through national exams.
And this system is re evaluated once every 4 years by top Professors and administrators.

So there is nothing wrong with the system. What is wrong with the system is corruption and indiscipline. It is corruption that makes teacherscollect money from students to pass them. It is corruption that allows teachers provide answers to examination questions for their wards.
If this corruption is not dealt with, we are wasting our time.

So Buhari is right, there is nothing wrong with the system. We just need to implement that system.