On Education
On Education, written by Princewill Odidi
You send a child to school and he is taught one plus one as two. If the whole essence of that knowledge is to write exams and pass then that knowledge is wasted knowledge. Our educational system in Nigeria over the years was designed to impart knowledge. Our test of knowledge had been a sort of competition as to who is the most brilliant. So because we learn to pass exams people just focus on passing exams, they cheat, they sort just to have their way, and that’s all. This is one of the main causes of African underdevelopment.
Our knowledge is not applied to knowledge. Because we learn to pass exams, our politicians cannot think through any simple project by themselves. They have to invite the Chinese, the Britons or Americans to do even very simple projects as remodeling a building, constructing a swimming pool, planting a palm or rice farm. It is within this prism that you can better understand Africa’s underdevelopment. Our policymakers find it difficult to blend and create a relationship or synergy between book knowledge and applied knowledge.
This has resulted in mental fatigue and stunted growth. Now, One of my greatest shocks schooling in the United States was discovered that almost 90 percent of all my exams were open book. A lecturer gives you exams and asks you to take it home and submit the next day. He is more concerned that you understand the subject and he finds pleasure that you passed, however, this is so different from the orientation we grew up with back home.
In developed countries, the questions set by the lecturer in itself is set up in such a way that if you don’t know you don’t know, even the textbook will be of no use to you. The questions are asked in such a way that you are forced to study the materials to understand the context. In the developed world, teachers teach for the students to understand and apply what he is teaching, the focus is not exams. However, in our clime, the focus is too much on exams. Recently I read in some Nigerian tabloids that some parents even pay teachers to help their kids pass exams. As a nation, we have failed.
Now, If we must catch up with the rest of the world we have to return to the basics. This book knowledge mentality is largely responsible for why projects fail in Africa and will continue to fail. Our policymakers do not think through projects. They focus so much on the end result rather than the process that will lead to making the end successful.
You spend billions building gas turbines power plant without plans on how to connect gas pipelines to the plant. You build a specialist hospital without corresponding plans for specialist doctors, specialist technicians, specialist equipment, and research centers to power the specialist hospital. These are the consequences of book knowledge that cannot be applied to common sense. We focus too much at the end result rather than the process of achieving those results.
A society is said to be inefficient when the educational system is dead. To a large extent, this book knowledge mentality is largely responsible for why most of our young people find it difficult to pass a simple aptitude test. If Africa must rise again, we need a total reorganization and reorientation of our educational system, structured towards what we call Applied Knowledge. Applied knowledge is learning that is used in various situations and contexts.
This happens when Students use various procedures and analytical tools to formulate and generalize concepts to solve diverse problems and situations. So if you teach a secondary school student about photosynthesis, in real life the child should know how photosynthesis applies to his day to day living. To change Nigeria, we need leadership that understands what the exact problem is. Our current leadership from states to federal expresses so much cluelessness.
I have sat in forums when Nigeria has mentioned these white boys we tend to worship back home just laugh. The problem is how we are trained, the type of goals we grow upsetting defines everything about why our present is disorganized and why our future is uncertain.
When we see the rest of the world getting it right, it is not because they are smarter, it’s simply because their education is focused on applied knowledge and not mere exams knowledge. Take a look at mathematics. You are asked 2x plus 3 equals 5. What is X? Now, this is a mathematical query, how does this query apply to real life? This is the knowledge our children don’t have.
Now, your ability to solve this enables you to tackle real day to day challenges in your office, in politics and in general living. It increases your reasoning and intelligence. For Africa, getting it right is not an option, the rest of the world is moving, and really fast. We cannot afford to be left behind, we cannot continue to be led by analog thinkers, this is the 21st century, if we must move forward as a people the Processor must change, must be fast pace and the operating systems upgraded. To be continued. Curled from my book: Nigeria- the travails of a failing State.
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