₦airaland Forum

Governor Peter Mbah has called for a paradigm shift in says Nigeria’s current education model,saying it cannot deliver the much-needed speedy development and economic transformation.

Mbah therefore, advocated for a shift from rote or memorisation to experiential learning, which he described as the missing link between education, industrialisation, and GDP growth.

He stated this on Tuesday while delivering the 1st Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Distinguished Personalities Lecture Series entitled “Experiential Learning: Building the Wealth of the Nation.”

“Why do Nigerian universities seldom feature on the global ranking list of world’s best universities? Why have they seemed perennially unable to become the ideas factory which universities ought to be? Why are our universities not producing inventive graduates?

“The answers to these questions lie in many inconvenient truths, amongst which is the fact that the learning in our schools, from basic to tertiary, has for years not imbued our young people with productive skills and competencies. This is the root cause of our underdevelopment,” he said.

He noted that knowledge has always been the prime lever for progress throughout human history, the reason he said nations like the US, China, Germany, and Netherlands, which invest the most in building a qualitative and experiential education ecosystem are the world’s leading economies – United States of America.

Mbah, who is currently building 260 Smart Green Schools to power experiential learning in the 260 wards of Enugu State, stressed that by embedding the model from the basic to tertiary levels of education, Enugu was creating a seamless pipeline where students progress from foundational learning to practical innovation.

He also directed all state-owned tertiary institutions to deliver experiential learning going forward.

“So, we hereby announce as a policy that all state-owned tertiary institutions in Enugu State must henceforth deliver Experiential Learning to our children. We want to see this change reflected in planning, budget, curriculum reform, assessment and promotions, as well as research.

“Experiential learning ensures that education is deeply connected to the challenges and opportunities of the real world.

“It fosters critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. It empowers students to see themselves not as passive learners, but as active problem-solvers,” he said.

Justifying his administration’s allocation of 33 per cent of the state’s budget to the education sector, Mbah regretted that whereas governments could be sacked in developed nations for a slight drop in standard in either of the sectors, most leaders spend more on physical infrastructure like roads, which yield immediate results and acclaim.

“Instructively, the most impactful policies are not necessarily those that create the biggest buzz. But they offer the clearest indices of human development.

“Nothing transforms lives and paves a path to a promising future like quality education. It is the reason why one-third of Enugu State’s total annual budget went into funding education.

“This translates to roughly twice UNESCO’s recommended benchmark of 15 per cent – 20 per cent. What this means is that for every N100 Naira spent, N33 goes to the education budget.

“This funding has enabled us to implement both infrastructural and pedagogical overhaul of our education system.

“Our will has enabled us to begin a transition from a system where pupils seemed, to all intents and purposes, to be merely going through the motions of learning, to an ecosystem of experiential learning.

Tabithatim:
... pushes for a paradigm shift_

...directs Enugu tertiary institutions to deliver experiential learning_

.. why Enugu is Spending 33% of annual budget on education_


https://x.com/DanNwomeh/status/1859572659559751980?t=vFX5WHO-x5wXFDUwCtwEXQ&s=08[/quote]We will always have leaders cum governors who have nonsense to say because they are in governance.
Mbah wants the students to bring the needed development to Enugu State and Nigeria at large!!!!!
If that is the case then it means all those who has held elective positions in the country since 1999 till date are just the same reason development is not seen in Enugu State and Nigeria.
Well we need to be told where they got their education from?

bixton:
We will always have leaders cum governors who have nonsense to say because they are in governance.
Mbah wants the students to bring the needed development to Enugu State and Nigeria at large!!!!!
If that is the case then it means all those who has held elective positions in the country since 1999 till date are just the same reason development is not seen in Enugu State and Nigeria.
Well we need to be told where they got their education from?

alanto:
I totally agree with you Mr Governor but what I've learned about this country overtime is that many people know the problem but nobody proffer real solution. I guess we'll see in coming years how Mbah approach will change and better the lives of the residents in the state.

I wish our leaders will start sending people abroad the way India and China did. Send people to developed country to learn science, tech and engineering. Let them come back in 5 years to build phones, planes, infrastructures and breakthrough in medicines. We don't have capacity for such education at the time. We can't teach ourselves these things. If you overhaul the education system and retain the same teacher what would be the difference?

I bet it's all big talks. No walk.

Onewazobia:
I totally agree with you

alanto:
I totally agree with you Mr Governor but what I've learned about this country overtime is that many people know the problem but nobody proffer real solution. I guess we'll see in coming years how Mbah approach will change and better the lives of the residents in the state.

I wish our leaders will start sending people abroad the way India and China did. Send people to developed country to learn science, tech and engineering. Let them come back in 5 years to build phones, planes, infrastructures and breakthrough in medicines. We don't have capacity for such education at the time. We can't teach ourselves these things. If you overhaul the education system and retain the same teacher what would be the difference?

I bet it's all big talks. No walk.

Tabithatim:
... pushes for a paradigm shift_

...directs Enugu tertiary institutions to deliver experiential learning_

.. why Enugu is Spending 33% of annual budget on education_


https://x.com/DanNwomeh/status/1859572659559751980?t=vFX5WHO-x5wXFDUwCtwEXQ&s=08[/quote]So our bad education system is the cause of corruption here and here in the country?

mrvitalis:
99.999% of Nigerians don't know the problem. We know symptoms of the problem but not the problem

Our educational system failure is a symptom not an actual problem


The fundamental problem with Nigeria has always remained it structure... This structure killed merit every other thing is as a result of lack of merit

alanto:
You have a point about merit. Now add quota system