14 a functional education will make nigeria attain the goals vision 202020

7/28/2019 14 a Functional Education Will Make Nigeria Attain the Goals Vision 202020

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A FUNCTIONAL EDUCATION: KWARA STATE AS AREFERENCE POINT IN 20/2020

By

Suleiman Nasiru ArisekolaPresident National Association of Kwara State Students,

Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Chapter

14.1 INTRODUCTION

Nigerias economic potential is well recognized. It

is the biggest economy in the West African sub

region. Given the countrys considerable resource

endowment and coastal location there is potential

for strong growth. Yet Nigeria has realized very

little of this potential. Previous efforts at planning

and visioning were not sustained. The history of

economic stagnation, declining welfare and socialinstability, has undermined development for most

of the past 30 years.

But in recent years, Nigeria has been experiencing

a conditions seem right for launching onto a path

of sustained and rapid growth, justifying its

ranking amongst the N11 countries. These are the

countries identified by Goldman Sachs to have the

potential for attaining global competitivenessbased on their economic and demographic

settings and the foundation for reforms already

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The previous administration had declared the

intention to pursue the vision of placing Nigeria

among the 20 largest economies in the world by

2020 and the current administration is committed

to the attainment of this vision.

A vision is a clear mental picture of the future

which must represent a significant improvement

on the current state. It however must be

supported by a clear and realistic path to itsrealisation and requires consistent and sustained

effort for its achievement.

Though the key mission statement for the vision

2020 state thus:

By 2020 Nigeria will be one of the 20 largest

economies in the world able to consolidate its

leadership role in Africa and establish itself as a

significant player in the global economic and

political arena.

Education has been an integral part of national

development strategies in many societies because

of its impact on productivity and economic

development. In a weak political and economic

system, and persistent ethnic and religious

conflicts in a country like our (Nigeria), education

provides the best alternative for national stability,

security, unity, and prosperity. John Dewey, one of

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the most influential American philosophers,

writing for the America audience in the early 20th

century, believes that democracy was important

not only because it stood for freedom and equality

but because of its educational consequences.

Despite its contributions the leaders of Nigeria

have not given this education the attention it

deserves. And that is one of the reasons for the

nations underdevelopment. However, for Nigeria

to attain the goals of vision 2020, the functionaleducations have to be the paramount focuses,

with reformation systems. A modern and vibrant

education system which provides for every

Nigerian the opportunity and facility to achieve his

maximum potential and provides the country with

adequate and competent manpower has to

employ.

14.2 THE CONCEPTOF FUNCTIONAL EDUCATION

The terms "Functional Education" have several

meanings:

(1) In the United States and in Germany (starting

around 1920), the adjective "functional" refers to

education that comes spontaneously from the

influence of the environment; It is a kind of

undirected, "natural" education, that is different

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from the deliberate, goal-oriented education, that

is directed by man.

(2) In Western Europe this term refers to

education that comes from the child's needs, and

that uses the child's interest as a mechanism for

activating him and towards his desirable

activities; Its purpose is to develop the life of the

mind, that acts from the wholeness of organic life,

with relation to practical life in the present and inthe future.

However, these are two basic processes in

shaping a human, and they have to be combined

for educational success, just for the mutual

influence of the members of society and of their

life-styles that acts on every human.

Thought, education is a planned program of

courses and learning experiences that begins with

exploration of basic academic, supports of career

options and life skills, and enables achievement of

high academic standards, leadership, preparation

for industry-defined work, and advanced and

continuing education. In other words, it is an

education designed to develop occupational skills

to live, learn and work as a productive citizen in a

global society.

14.3 THE ROLEOF EDUCATIONIN SOCIETY

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1. Aim of Education

Education is a continuous and creative process. Its

aim is to develop the capacities latent in human

nature and to coordinate their expression for the

enrichment and progress of society, by equipping

children with spiritual, moral and material

knowledge.

2. Education to Realise Truth

Within this creative process, it is possible to

achieve an essential harmony between faith and

reason through an approach to education that

encourages the free investigation of all reality and

trains the mind to recognize truth, irrespective of

its origin.

3. True Education

True education releases capacities, develops

analytical abilities, confidence in himself, will

power and goal setting competencies, and instills

the vision that will enable him to become self-

motivating agent of social change, serving the

best interests of the community.

4. Expanded Definition of Education

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Today, education needs an expanded definition

that frees it from today's largely economic context

and acknowledges its role in transforming both

individual lives and entire society.

5. Objectives of Education

Education in terms of the knowledge, qualities,

skills, attitudes, and capacities that enable

individuals to become conscious subjects of their

growth and active responsible participants in asystematic process of building a new world order.

6. Education as an Instrument of Change

Educated persons should understand their

positions as members of both a local community

and the world community and they must believe

that their lives can make a difference.

7. Education for Individual & Community Growth

Education makes the child a collaborator both in

his own growth and in the development of his

community.

A well-educated community member is a

determined yet humble participant, who helps

overcome conflict and division thereby

contributing to a spirit of unity and collaboration.

8. Education not only for Economic Growth

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Although economic considerations are recognized

as necessary in educational planning, resistance is

growing against the conventional view that

education is chiefly a means for only improving

the individual's own economic situation.

9. More than Words Alone

An educational approach directed towards

personal growth and social transformation, and

based on the belief that human beings areessentially spiritual, however, must go well

beyond a mere statement of purpose.

10. Tapping Inner Forces

But moral values are not the only constructive

elements of social processes, rather, they are

expressions of the inner forces that operate in the

spiritual reality of every human being, andeducation must concern itself with these forces, if

it is to tap the roots of motivation and produce

meaningful and lasting change.

11. The purpose of Education

The purpose of education for individuals both

male and female --- is to develop the powers and

capacities latent within them, so that they may

contribute their share to an ever advancing

civilization.

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12. The Relevance of Education

Universal education must be relevant to the true

needs of a community and contribute to the

unification of mankind. It must enable people both

to move in the direction of their own choosing and

help them appreciate those universal qualities

that distinguish the entire human race.

13. Women & Education

Women must be educated not only for the service

they render to humanity as the first educators of

children, but ultimately, for the special

contribution women must make to the creation of

a just world order, an order characterized by such

compassion, vigour and scope which has never

been seen in human history.14. Education should help self discovery

Education should lead to the discovery and

perfection of one's capabilities and instill a

commitment to serve the best interests of the

community and the world as a whole.

15. Moral Education Community Responsibility

The dual responsibility of developing the childs

character and stimulating his intellect, belongs

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also to the community as a whole, including the

father, grandparents, and neighbours. Indeed the

extended family and a close community may

provide the best environment for nurturing

children.

16. Spiritual Approach to Moral Education

Awareness of the necessity to free people from

religious bigotry and fanaticism gives rise to a

non-sectarian yet spiritual approach to moraleducation.

17. Words and deeds supported by Moral Force

When words and actions are not directed by a

moral force, scientific knowledge and

technological knowhow lead us readily to misery

as they do to prosperity and happiness.

18. Education for Social Change

At certain moments in history, education must

also act as a powerful instrument for profound

social transformation.

19. Education for Individual & Social Growth

Increasingly, it is becoming evident that education

should be examined in the light of its contribution

to individual growth and to bring about

fundamental structural changes in society,

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changes which are necessary for the creation of a

just, peaceful, and harmonious environment.

20. Concern for Social Progress

Education should lead to an adequate

understanding of some of the concerns of

programmes of social progress, such as health

and sanitation, agriculture, crafts and industry, at

least in the local context.

21. Service Un-Locks Capacity

The realization that it is chiefly service to

humanity and dedication to the unification of

mankind that unlock individual capacity and

release creative powers latent in human nature.

22. Balance between Culture and ValuesCommitment to the unity of mankind implies a

balance between the study of ones own cultural

heritage and an exploration of those universal

qualities that distinguish the entire human race.

23. Cultivate Virtues and Skills

Human beings are inherently noble, and the

purpose of education is to cultivate suchattributes, skills, virtues and qualities as will

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enable them to contribute their share to the

building of an ever advancing civilization.

24. A Positive Attitude Towards Learning

Indeed, the cultivation of positive attitudes

towards learning is now coming to be perceived as

a precondition for the achievement of most social

and economic goals and objectives.

25. Excellence in Productive Skill

A reasonable degree of excellence in at least one

productive skill through which individuals can

experience the truth that work is worship, when

performed in a spirit of service, and can secure

the means of existence with dignity and honour.26. An Aid for Intellectual Investigation

Some development of the individuals capacity for

intellectual investigation as a distinguishing power

of the human mind and as an indispensable

instrument for successful community action.

27. Dignity and Decision Making

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Individuals should be skilled in the art of

consultative decision making and empowered with

the sense of their own dignity and worth.

28. Recognize Nobility and Capacities

This notion of the student as inherently noble, yet

in need of patient cultivation, implies that the

teacher must be a model of nobility, self-

actualization and discipline. Sound character is

ultimately more important than intellectualbrilliance. The teacher must also see the nobility

and capacity in each student recognizing that a

lack of opportunity is different from lack of

capacity.

14.4 BRIEF HISTORY OF NIGERIA EDUCATION FROM

60STO DATE

As the nation evaluates the new education reformplan, it is necessary to revisit briefly what we

know about education reform in Nigeria. The

federal government issued the first National

Development Plan (1966-1970), the plan

emphasized modernization and technological

training. In 1969, a national curriculum conference

was staged to overhaul the Nigerian education

system. One of the goals as outlined in the

National Policy on Education (1981) identifies

citizenship education as: "a basis for effective

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participation in and contribution to the life of the

society; character and moral training, and the

development of sound attitudes; developing in the

child the ability to adapt to his changing

environment."

In the Second National Development Plan (NDP,

1970-1974), the objectives of the plan became

the foundation for the National Policy on

Education. The aim of the NDP was to: build a freeand democratic society, a just and egalitarian

society, a united, strong and self reliant nation, a

great and dynamic economy, and a land of bright

and full opportunity for all citizens (Federal

Republic of Nigeria, 1981). As Federal government

attempts to correct the gross injustices and level

the playing field, and define our democracy, and

move toward a market economy, it is crucial that

the new education plan reflect the current

realities in the country. This generation of

Nigerian youth must be prepared to think

nationally and globally. They must be prepared to

compete in the global economy.

Since independence in 1960, Nigerians have

worked to develop a federal and unitary form of

government that could effectively serve peoplewith such disparate traditional political systems.

For example, fostering national unity, stability,13


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and security through the social studies education

curriculum was tied to the National Educational

Policy in 1981 and to the national aspiration for

citizenship education.

In 1996, a new curriculum for citizenship

education was developed to reflect the transition

to constitutional democracy and the new

Constitution in 1999. The philosophy of the social

studies education hinges in part on the idea thatNigerian schools should not only train individuals

to be just and competent individuals, but to

function as contributing and participatory

members of a free constitutional democratic

nation. This implies that students must rely on the

knowledge, skills and awareness of the rights of

minority and majority groups to coexist and

worship freely; respect for law and order; and

respect for public and private property of

Nigerians and non-Nigerians. This includes the

awareness of the rights and obligations of citizens

to government and society, and reciprocal

government responsibility to citizens.

In 1999, Nigeria became a constitutional

democratic nation. The new Constitution

addresses core national issues such as citizenship,fundamental human rights, the legislature, the

executive branch, the judiciary, national identity,14


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and political parties etc. The assumption here is

that the new Constitution can be a catalyst and

stimulus that engenders national consciousness,

political reconstruction and participation, and

economic stability and growth, and ethnic

sensitivity and individual development.

Education in Nigeria has been interrupted by

regime change since independence from Britain in

1960. For example, between 1960 and 1999,there have been eight military and four civilian

regimes in the country. Now that our nation has

embarked on sustaining unity, democracy and

economic growth, the next president should make

a budgetary commitment to education. The United

Nations has recommended that African nations

should allocate about 21% of their national budget

to education. With our National Domestic Product

(GNP) and the petrodollars in good shape, Nigeria

can sustain a comprehensive educational plan. If

this is done correctly, the future of the country will

not only be secured, education and democracy

will be enhanced. This generation of Nigerian

youth therefore must demonstrate a commitment

to the democratic principles, economic goals,

develop the skills, and values needed to sustain a

constitutional democratic nation. The sustainedrecord of corruption and human rights violations

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and abuses in Nigeria continue to undermine our

potential as a nation. The political corruption and

the lack of human respect and human dignity

combined with weak governance are attributable

to the years of authoritarian military rule, but this

will change, as Prof. Wole Soyinka and others

continue to remind us of our responsibility as

citizens and our authoritarian past.

The challenges to education and democracy areobvious. Nigeria embodies 250 ethnic groups

speaking approximately 400 languages and

practicing traditional African religions, Christianity,

and Islam. Three major ethnic groups continue to

strongly dominate and influence social and

political events. These groups represent different

political traditions. The Hausa-Fulani, in the north,

are mostly Muslim and traditionally support a

centralized authoritarian system with a strong

village chief and local Emir. The Igbo, in the

southeast, are mostly Christians who traditionally

live in autonomous village communities and are

noted for indirect democracy. The Yoruba, in the

west, follow a mixture of religions and lie midway

between the direct democracy of the Igbo and the

authoritarian systems of the Hausa-Fulani in their

traditional government.

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The Yoruba have traditional leaders and a council

of hereditary chiefs who make decisions in

addition to those made by local self-governing

units. Although the Yoruba and Igbo differ greatly

in culture and traditional political system, they are

often viewed as southerners in contrast to Hausa-

Fulani northerners. Politically, the Igbo and Yoruba

are lumped together (not any more) because of

the generally higher levels of education as a result

of early exposure to Western ideas brought in bythe missionaries. The regionalization (north north,

north central, north east, south south, south east,

and south west) of the country is intended to

realign the political power structure and

dominance of the north.

In any democratic society, education remains at

the core of national stability, security, and an

instrument for political and economic growth and

development. Nigeria has a blend of cultural

diversity. This diversity is symbolic of our national

unity and diversity. Many people believe that the

issue of co-existence was resolved after the Civil

War ended in 1970. Today, co-existence is

seriously threatened by religious fundamentalism

both in the north and now in the south. It would

require a huge national effort, funding, and a long-term vision and commitment from our federal

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government to address concomitant effect of

religious fanaticism. Dewey believes that "a

society which makes provision for participation in

its good of all its members on equal terms and

which secures flexible forms of associated life

promotes democracy. Such as a society must

have a type of education which gives individuals a

personal interest in social relationship and control,

and the habits of mind which secure social change

without introducing disorder."

The new education plan should endeavor to create

viable and enabling programs amidst the

challenges of private vs. public education,

funding, instructional methods, research, and

teacher education, citizenship education

programs, and activities that have become crucial

to sustaining the goals, objectives, and aspirations

of the nation.

The major policy speeches for YarArdua (and his

army of sycophants) these days revolve around

his unrealistic aspiration of transforming Nigeria

into one of the first 20 largest global economies

by the year 2020. And he recently assembled a

405-member panel to realize the project.12The

political leaders can make all the noise they wantabout transforming Nigeria into an industrialized

nation, but they should be warned that rhetoric18


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cannot make the society an economic super-

power. YarArduas Vision 2020 and the Seven-

point Agenda will remain a paper tiger without

technical and vocational education being a major

part of the strategy. Any person who thinks that a

country that lacks skilled technical manpower and

cannot generate electricity for more than three or

four hours in a day, and unable to fix its roads and

bridges could be transformed into an

industrialized nation in less than eleven yearstoday must be living in a different planet. No

society has ever become an industrialized nation

without technological capability.

14.5 GLOBAL TRENDS IN EDUCATION

Education systems in economically successful

countries tend to be characterised by universal

adult literacy, universal access to primary andsecondary education, a significant size of

enrolment in technical /vocational education and a

30% enrolment in tertiary education. They also

tend to have high transition and success rates

between the various levels and in the terminal

examinations and other external assessments. In

those countries, learning is often student-centred

and problem solving and skills-centred, ratherthan cognition-centred. This is because it is

realised that owing to the knowledge explosion,19


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facts may change rapidly but skills endure and are

improved upon through life-long learning.. In

those countries, teaching is fully professionalised

and well remunerated in comparison with other

professions. Expansion is anticipated well in

advance and planned for, so that the delicate

balance between educational inputs and outputs,

which determines quality, is always maintained. In

those countries, education is not merely regarded

as a social sector service but as the most crucialvehicle for economic development.

14.6 Comparative Benchmarking Analysis

Nigeria appears to be lagging behind countries

that it aspires to be like in most of the important

indices of education such as gross enrolment

ratios for all levels, proportion of GDP and national

budgets spent on education etc as indicated bythe Table 1 below:

Comparative Education Indicators: Club of 20 Vs

Nigeria

The table shows comparative education between

the countries is aims to attain the goals of vision

2020:20

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Country

SecGER

TertiaryGER

%TVeEnrolment

AdultLiteracy

ExpenditureonEducationas % ofGDP

EducationExpenditureas % oftotalGovtExp

UK 170

60 51 100 5.3 9.8

US 95 82 NA 100 5.7 15.3Japan

102

13 100 3.6 11

China

N.A

13

Brazil

75 2 88.6 112.1

Korea

15 4.1 110.9

Iran 8 4.9

Nigeria

35 69.1 0.9

From the above table, one will deduce that Nigeria

have some critical roles to play to be in the group

of this club.

14.7 THE CRITICAL NEEDIN EDUCATIONFOR KWARA

STATETO ATTAIN VISION 2020

Basic Education

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According to the Federal Ministry of Education

Ten-Year Strategic Plan, Basic Education is the

education offered to children aged between 3 and

14 years. It comprises: 3 years of Early Childhood

Care Development and Education (ECCDE), 6

years of primary and 3 years of Junior Secondary

Education. It also covers special interventions

directed at nomadic and migrant children, mass

literacy as well as the almajirai and other

vulnerable and excluded groups. Early ChildhoodCare Development and Education (ECCDE) Early

Childhood Care Development and Education

(ECCDE) is defined by the National Policy on

Education (2004) as the education given in an

educational institution to children aged three to

five plus prior to entering the primary school, it

includes the crche, the nursery and the

kindergarten (p.11-12). The main objectives areto:

Effect a smooth transition from home to the

schools; Prepare the child for primary level

education; Provide adequate care and supervision

for the children while their parents are at work;

Inculcate social norms; Inculcate in the child the

spirit of enquiry and creativity through the

exploration of nature, the environment, art, musicand playing with toys, etc; Develop a sense of

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cooperation and team-spirit; Learn good habits,

especially good health habits; Teach the

rudiments of numbers, letters, colours etc,

through play (2004, p.31)

Primary Education

Primary education is described as the education

given in institutions for children aged 6 to 11 plus

with the following objectives: Inculcate permanent

literacy, numeracy, and the ability to

communication effectively; Lay a sound basis for

scientific and reflective thinking; Give citizenship

education as a basis for effective participation in,

and contribute to, the life of the society; Mould

the character and develop sound attitude and

morals in the child; Develop in the child the ability

to adapt to the childs changing environment;

Give the child the opportunities for developing

manipulative skills that will enable the child

function effectively in the society within the limits

of the childs capacity; Provide the child with basic

tools for further educational advancement

including preparation for trade and crafts of the

locality (NPE, 2004).

Under-funding of the education sector is a big

problem in Nigeria, although it is difficult to gauge

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total education expenditures because of the way

the three-tiered federal system works. Still, best

estimates are that the country spends about 2.3%

of GDP for education, less than half the

percentage of GDP spent by the 19 sub-Saharan

Africa countries on average. Moreover, only about

35% of the education budget is currently devoted

to primary education, whereas to reach EFA goals

it is estimated that about half of the education

budget needs to go to the primary subsector.(USAID, 2003).

The primary school infrastructure has badly

deteriorated, with many of the existing structures

needing repairs, and it is difficult to attract

sufficient numbers of teachers to teach in primary

schools, despite salary increases of more than

500% since 1998. At the same time, some states

are experiencing large numbers of teachers who

are unemployed after obtaining their teaching

credentials, and those who are employed

frequently go through many months of

uncertainty worrying about when (or whether)

they will receive the salaries due them. (ibid).

The learning conditions in schools are alarming:

paucity of teaching materials (few textbooks, inmany schools no charts or teaching aides, children

in many cases having only their exercise books for24


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taking notes), absence of adequate furniture in

some schools, over-crowded classrooms, lack of

ventilation, and generally run-down condition of

many of the school buildings. Also, in many cases

teachers appeared to be de-moralized by the

conditions under which they were working and by

the fact that they had so very little with which to

help the children learn. (ibid).

Junior Secondary EducationThis is the education received by children 12-14

years. According to the Road Map the expected

enrolment figure for JSS is 9.27 million but the

actual is 3.27 million, leaving 6.0 million as the

unenrolled in Junior Secondary Schools. Figures

indicate that only a little over half of all students

who complete primary education progress to

junior secondary level. Transition rates haveincreased over the years. Figures also show that a

higher percentage of girls are progressing to

Junior Secondary School than boys (2005: 55%

female, 49% male). The completion rate is much

lower at JSS level than at primary level (about

34%).

Nomadic Education

The National Commission for Nomadic Education

implements basic education with respect to

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nomadic groups (pastoralists, migrant farmers

and migrant fisher folks). The Nigerian Federal

government recognizes that the occupational

roles of these groups do affect their response to

education hence the tailoring of education to suit

their peculiar circumstances. The education of

nomadic groups apart from being premised on the

fact that education is the birth right of every

Nigerian, also has economic importance as they

supply over 80% of the animal requirements ofNigeria. At the moment the NCNE is able to cater

for the Pastoralists (the split movement group)

and Migrant fisher folks. It has collected baseline

data with respect to Migrant farmers in the South-

East. Its intervention in basic education is so far

restricted to primary education and adult

education.

Adult and Non-Formal Education

The National Policy on Education (2004) describes

mass literacy adult and non-formal education as a

form of functional education given to youths and

adults outside the formal school system such as

functional literacy, remedial and vocational

education. The NMEC is the agency established in

1990 with the mandate in the areas of monitoring,coordination and research on adult education. The

States agencies for Mass education established in26


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the 36 states of the federation and Abuja are

responsible for the implementation of adult

education programmes. The Local Government

councils are responsible for the day to day control

and administration of local mass literacy and adult

education programmes. Adult literacy, which was

57% a few years ago is now sliding to 49%.

According to ESA (2003) Adult and Non-formal

education offers basic literacy, post literacy,women education, functional literacy, continuing

education, Arabic integrated education, literacy

for the blind, workers education, vocational

education, literacy for the disabled and Prison

education.

Post-Basic Education

The Nigerian post-basic education cycle has three

years of senior secondary education. Only about

28% of the children in this age cohort are

attending school, while 72% (representing 7.2

million children) are out of school. Only 3.6% of

senior secondary school students were enrolled in

technical/vocational education in 2005, which

explains why there are serious skills gaps in this

sector to the extent that our best plaster of Paris

technicians are now Togolese or Beninois, forinstance.

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Tertiary Education

Tertiary Education comprises the following sub-

sectors namely, Universities, Polytechnics,

Colleges of Education, Monotechnics, and

Innovative Enterprises Institutions (IEIS). The

primary core responsibilities of this sub-sector

are: academic teaching, research and community

development.

The major thrust of tertiary education is theproduction of highly skilled, knowledgeable,

competent, conscientious and globally

competitive citizens. According to the Education

Road Map (2009), there are currently 94

Universities in Nigeria, 115 Polytechnics and

Monotechnics, 86 Colleges of Education and 62

Innovative Enterprise Institutions. The Universities

have staff strength of 99,464 consisting of 27,394academic staff and 72, 070 non-academic staff,

the Polytechnics and Monotechnics 12, 938

academic staff and 24,892 non-academic staff

while the numbers for the Colleges of Education

are 11,256 and 24,621, respectively.

With regards to enrolment, the Road Map showed

that as at 2007, there were a total of 1,845,952

students in all the three types of tertiaryinstitution. When combined with the estimated

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number of students in other post-secondary

professional institutions such as Schools of

Nursing and Midwifery, the aggregate enrolment

figure comes to approximately 2,000,000, which is

about 10% of the 18-25 year old age cohort.

Approach to Developing the NV 2020

Education Plan

In developing this plan, the following parameters

were considered for each level or type of theeducational system:

Access and Equity; Standards and Quality

Assurance; Infrastructure; Teacher Quality,

Motivation and Development; Curriculum

Relevance; Funding and Planning and

Management.

14.7 CONCLUSIONAND RECOMMENDATION

Without a real commitment to education, without

the official realisation that education is critical not

only for economic concerns but also for society as

a whole, then the civilised nature of Nigeria

society will continue to be under threat.

On July 5, 1948, the British Government

introduced its National Health Service, following

several years of discussion and argument on the

topic of healthcare. It was their aspiration that

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the NHS would provide first class healthcare for all

people from the cradle to the grave. Equality of

access, for everyone, was the guiding principle. It

was successful in this aim when there was the

political will to guarantee that the importance of

this guiding principle was honoured.

In Nigeria, we need to adopt a similar and all

encompassing approach to the provision of

education for us to attain the goals of vision2020:20. Education for all, from the cradle to the

grave, should be our motto. And there are many

reasons why this should be so.

Certainly, education is vital for our future

economic successes. We can see that the

cornerstone of our recent economic development

was laid in the educational achievements of

earlier decades. Also, the developers of Nigeriasfuture industries are currently in schools,

institutes and universities around the country. But

education goes to the core of our society also, and

should mean more to us than the means to earn

the bread and butter of our daily lives.

Education offers people the ability to step outside

what is usual, what has been their personal

experience, and to imagine different experiences,

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feel affinity for different peoples, and expand their

personal horizons beyond the norm.

It gives many people the capacity to appreciate

that there is more in heaven and earth than is

dreamt of our conventional day-to-day existences.

It can incentivise people to push themselves

towards greater achievements, build self-

confidence, self- awareness and a feeling of self-

worth.All of these effects have a profoundly important

social benefit that is all too often overlooked in

our narrower concept of what it means to receive

an education.

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REFERENCES

1. Victor E. Dike: Vocational Education: Missing

link in Nigerias Development Policy; online:

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/victo

r-dike/vocational-education-missing-link-in-nigeria-

s-development-p-2.html, March 2, 2005.

2. Career and Technical Education: Washington-

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction:

http://www.k12.wa.us/CareerTechEd/

3. Vocational Education:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocational_education;

online-

ww.dest.gov.au/sectors/training_skills/policy_issue

s_reviews/key_issues/nts/glo/utoz.htm.

4. N. F. Duffy (ed.): Essays on Apprenticeship,

1967.

5. The Columbia Encyclopedia- (6th edition)-

Columbia University Press, 2001.

6. Bart van Ark: Vocational education and

productivity in the Netherlands and Britain;

National Institute Economic Review, January 5,

1992.

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7. Milton Friedman: Capitalism and Freedom;

University of Chicago Press, 2nd edition, 1982.

8. Chaedar A. Alwasilah: Vocational education

must provide students with life skills, The Jakarta

Post, Feb 11, 2002.

9. This Day: Shun Social Vices, Youths Told,

March 17, 2009; Daily Trust, 80% of Nigerian

Youths Unemployed-FG, November 26, 2008.

10. Victor E. Dike: Youth Unemployment in

Nigeria: The Relevance of Vocational and

Technical Education; in NESG Economic

Indicators, July-September 2006, Volume 12, No 3,

pp.25-29; 5. Vanguard: Neglect of technical,

vocational education increases youth

unemployment-DON, December 23, 2004;

Vanguard: "UNESCO tackles decline in technical,

vocational education, November 25, 2004.

11. Victor E. Dike: Vocational Education: Missing

link in Nigerias Development Policy; online:

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/victo

r-dike/vocational-education-missing-link-in-nigeria-

s-development-p-2.html; March 2, 2005.

12. Punch: Vision 20-20 is FGs craziest concept

Sagay, February 17, 2009; Daily Trust: Yaradua

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inaugurates Vision 2020 business support group

today, February 16, 2009.

Victor E. Dike is the author of Leadership without

a Moral Purpose: a Critical Analysis of Nigeria and

the Obasanjo Administration, 2003-2007

(forthcoming)

13.

http://www.cmseducation.org/rolegoal/role.htm

14. Chris Livesey: www.sociology.org.uk

15. http://tutor2u.net/sociology/education-

role.html

16. Report of the Education Sector National

Technical Working Group

17. Adaraledge, A. (1972). A philosophy of

Nigerian education: Report of the NationalCurriculum Conference, September 8-12, 1969.

Ibadan, Nigeria: Heineman

18. Federal Republic of Nigeria (1981). National

policy of education. Lagos, Nigeria: Federal

Ministry of Information.

19. Osokoya, O.I. (1994). 6-3-3-4 education in

Nigeria: History, strategies, issues, and problems.

Laurel Educational Publishers, Ibadan, Nigeria.

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20. Spring, J. (2004). How Educational Ideologies

Are Shaping Global Society: Intergovernmental

Organizations, NGOs, and the Decline of the

Nation-State. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,

Publishers. Mahwah, NJ

21. U.S. Department of Education (2002). Meeting

the highly qualified teacher challenge: The

secretarys annual report in teacher quality.

www.title2.org/ADAtitleIIReport2002.pdf

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