The gains of education in every society are unquantifiable. Education is a process that sets slaves free. Education gives boldness to a primitive person and makes him soar like the eagle. The boldness is such that once educated you can conquer challenges without much ado. Several factors make me believe that it was God that indeed sent human beings the desire for knowledge in order to liberate man from ignorance and bondage.
Each time, I imagine the scores of twins that would have perished not for the intervention of Mary Slessor, I thank God for education. Because of this, many of the twins lived to fulfill their destinies. Indeed, more kudos to our dear Mary Slessor who vehemently fought the tradition that sustained the killing of twins for ages. Because of lack of education, our forebears believed that the birth of twins was regarded as a bad omen. When a woman became pregnant, her world knew no peace. She prayed fervently that no curse should come upon her though the birth of twins. The bountiful blessings of twins were misunderstood as evil. Many twins born in those days suffered untimely death. Deaths that were not natural but were motivated and sustained by ignorance. For the singular reason of ignorance great men and women created by God where not given the chance to fulfill themselves as most of them were thrown into the evil forests where lions and bears devoured them without mercy, no thanks to the days of ignorance. Proper education brought an end to all these because through education, men wee made to understand that twins were not evil but blessings from God, they also came to the knowledge that twins form as a result of biological reactions.
Another benefit of education is that most sickness which were believed to be spiritual attacks and demonic influences were discovered to be simple cases that could be solved through the administering suitable drugs. Then cases like Ogbanje which most of the times were sickle cell victims were attributed to ndi-uke and other evil factors.
But the liberation through education especially the exposure to other cultures has put stop to the manifestation of such ignorance.
In Nigeria for instance, the government works assiduously to ensure that illiteracy is eradicated in the state. To encourage education schools are built arid equipped with educational facilities courtesy of agencies such as the MDGS. Government encourages its citizens to enroll in the schools so they can receive formal education. The establishment of adult education and nomadic education programmes are all aimed at encouraging the general public to be literate. It baffles me to know that even the low income earners starve to send their children to school. Some of them are determined to send their children to the best schools %, not minding the cost effect on them.
Today’s parents do all sorts of ills to secure admission for their children. From secondary school, they hire impersonators to sit examinations for their children. The machineries in turn knowing that parents are desperate settle to the highest bidder; and trust the high and mighty and the rich because they will always afford any amount provided the deal will be successful.
When you come to our campuses, you will find out the worst students in terms of academics and characters are the children of the rich. One may wonder why the breed that has every comfort at their beck and call constitute problems on campuses. Do you blame them? Of course there is no way they will do well when they had already formed poor reading habits from the cradle. At their tender age they developed Phobias for school that when they cry and express displeasure in Attending School, the maids and guards will pamper them and lure them to sleep.
Such children can only come alive when it is time for ice cream, going to fast foods, joints and super markets. Above all, they are fulfilled through traveling all over the world on holiday trips. The stress of education becomes so enormous that they find it difficult to cope. Their parents are: not bothered because they have people that will sit the exams for them. And true to their words, someone writes the exam
and they find their way to the university!! Back home celebrations go on as proud parents do not hesitate to tell whoever has ears to listen that junior has secured admission to study Medicine, Law, Engineering as the case may be. My dear fresh student comes into the university and meets greater freedom and “enjoyment”.
They throw caution to the winds and begin partying. The affluence of their parents is measured by his/her chains of boy friends/girl friends respectively. In the university there is no restriction to enjoying life and nobody reminds anybody to attend lectures or visit the library. While the reasonable students are busy reading and attending lectures, the unreasonable ones remain in the laps of Delilah in eateries and hotels. Guess what? The first test comes, you see the unreasonable ones smuggle friends from other disciplines to sit the test for them. Some of them resort to cheating in the exams. How will such a person make any head way academically?
Some deliberately: miss the school test and delegate their friends to enter their names in the attendance list. When the results of the tests are out, they begin to disturb lecturers with their numerous lies. Some who did not attempt the test or exam will tell lies that they wrote the exam. On further enquiry as to what could have gone wrong, they will tell you “ma/sir check the attendance list you will see my name!” an indication they were present. And lecturers who are not used to such antics will be thrown off balance. They must find the missing scripts. While the lecturer is drowning in his sweat; my dear sharp student is busy glowing in his lies. But that will only be for a while because evil cannot thrive in any fair contest with goodness.
Some students have very poor and even terrible reading culture that they find it difficult to attend classes.
On enquiry as to why, they produce a thousand and one lies. If it is not that they lost their father, it will be their mother, brother or sister. Some will pretend to be sick in a healthy body. Some even go as far as printing the obituary papers of their fathers or mothers who are alive all to justify their follies.
What of those who have courage to sit for exams? In a class where people are making A’s and B’s they are making F’s. When you sit down to read their scripts, you will find out that some of them are writing animal languages. No single word or sentence is properly written. Some resort to re-coping the questions back into the answer scripts and at the end expect to pass the course. And when they fail the lecturer’s phones and ears will know no peace as a result of calls from the unreasonable students.
How will a student pass when he is living like a king/queen in the hostel? Some ôt them on their own perform the sacrament of matrimony without a priest and their witnesses are only their fellow students. Most students are illegally married with their girl friends, as
while the lecturer is drowning in his sweat, my dear sharp student is busy glowing in his lies. But that will only be for a while because evil cannot thrive in any fair contest with goodness.
Some students have very poor and even terrible reading culture that they find it difficult to attend classes.
On enquiry as to why, they produce a thousand and one lies. If it is not that they lost their father, it will be their mother, brother or sister. Some will pretend to be sick in a healthy body. Some even go as far as printing the obituary papers of their fathers or mothers who are alive all to justify their follies.
What of those who have courage to sit for exams? In a class where people are making A’s and B’s they are making F’s. When you sit down to read their scripts, you will find out that some of them are writing animal languages. No single word or sentence is properly written. Some resort to re-coping the questions back into the answer scripts and at the end expect to pass the course. And when they fail the lecturer’s phones and ears will know no peace as a result of calls from the unreasonable students.
How will a student pass when he is living like a king/queen in the hostel? Some ôt them on their own perform the sacrament of matrimony without a priest and their witnesses are only their fellow students. Most students are illegally married with their girl friends, as such they live like husbands and wives and do the things married couples do. How can they survive the academic stress with such distractions?
Some come to school in exotic cars. When you enter their rooms, they have all sorts of gadgets, like fridges and freezers, flat screens, exotic chairs and big gas cookers. One wonders who such a person with so much comfort can properly concentrate on his school books when he/she is too comfortable for the academic exercise.
When I see all these ills and the degeneration in our standard of education, I weep for my children. I usually ask myself whether these crops of people are indeed those that will replace us! If they are my children and your children are in serious trouble, what it means is that we may not find qualified teachers who will teach our children! Both the federal and state governments should look into the falling standard of education.
To the students out there face your studies so that our society will be better in your time. Retrace your steps. I love you all that love and promote knowledge. May God’s grace save us from the dangers of ignorance but especially the disaster of unqualified teachers.
