AN INDEPT ANALYSIS OF THE NIGER DELTA EDUCATION SETBACK WHICH RESULT TO THE
UNEMPLOYMENT CRISIS IN THE REGION
Since after the Nigerian Civil War of
1967, highly respected and renowned educationists and employers of the Niger
Delta region whose parents could afford their University and other Tertiary
education, misl-informed the Niger Delta Youths
to disregard certificate, Diploma and Degree earned through distance learning or
correspondence. According to them, credentials earned through this
method will not be recognized by the government in case of employment, adding
that they (the Niger Delta Youths) must follow the same sphere that they were educated, that is by enrolling
in a recognized University or other Tertiary institution either campus based or
part-time, both home or abroad which became the Niger Deltans Philosophy and had
gone deep into their brain.
Consequently, these graduate employers that
passed through the traditional university education process, became a Watch Dog
for the type of Degree or Certificate to be presented for employment thereby
discriminating against Certificates and Degrees.
So they make it mandatory for all Niger
Deltan Youths to seek for admission into any of the established universities
and other tertiary institutions both home and abroad either for campus based study or
on a part-time basis.
Unfortunately, most parent cannot afford
the campus based traditional University
or other Tertiary education because it is cost intensive dependent on individual's economic and financial status.
Consequently, students that passed out from the secondary school were forced to
lean poor skill jobs called ‘hand work’ in order to earn a living such as road side
mechanics, electricians, messing or bricklayers, radio or television technicians, carpentry, bar and restaurants
sales boys or sales girls and in retail business, hair dressers/barbing saloon,
security officers etc.
Some of them that are employed to work
in the government offices become clerks, messengers or cleaners, using their
WAEC 'O’ Level or Primary Six First School Leaving Certificate, while those that
graduated from Universities and other Tertiary institutions become their boss
in the office.
Some find it difficult to further their education due to poor
salary couple with family's
responsibilities. So they depend on mass promotion at the job place for salary
increment based on individual's certificate level and years of
service.
Some of them that married could not
afford to train their children in the universities or other tertiary institutions
due to poor salary scale.These children also ended up with WAEC or Primary Six
Certificate and married with children which they could not afford to train as
well.
Consequently,
in the Niger Delta region, you have a whole lot of people with only WAEC or
Primary Six Certificate. If you carry out a research, you would see what I mean. Large percentage of the Niger Deltans are not properly educated and only few of them
are graduated from the Universities or other tertiary institutions like the Polytechnic; based
on the fact that they cannot afford the high fees incurred and ignoring the distance learning or correspondence
education which is the cheapest and easiest way to earn a University Degree or a higher level Certificate.
THE
UNIVERSITY’S EXTENSION CAMPUSES
The Niger Deltans were amazed to see
the opening of University Extension Campuses in several cities and in some
Rural Areas of the region. They could not believe their own eyes based on the fact that they were mis-informed
by their educationists and employers who had not enlightened them of the substantial
benefits of enrolling in a distance learning programme to earn a Degree or other higher certificate without writing Jamb or UTME exams and without resigning
from currently employment.
However, the presence of the University
off campuses and Polytechnics for the first time in the Niger Delta region created the awareness of distance learning education programme which at first was considered as unacceptable and unrecognized
method of leaning to earn a Degree and other qualifications. The tuition fees
in the extended campuses and the related cost of study materials is considered
cheaper compare to the fees in the main
campuses. This stems from the following factors:-
The lecturers in the extension campuses
are ad hoc staff working on a part-time basis which bring the tuition fees to
the barest minimum couple with the related study materials; while those in the
main campuses are working full time placed on government salary scale which
boiled down to high tuition fees and
other administrative cost to be borne by the students.
Since the cost is lesser, most Niger Deltan youths including those
working in the government offices with
WAEC 'O’ Level and in the companies enrolled with the high expectation of earning
a University Degrees outside their main campus
gates. No Jamb or UTME examination required.
But their joy was short lived as the
former President Obasenjo Administration closed down these extended campus of
the Universities and the polytechnics forcing the student to continue
their education at the main campus instead.
This was indeed like a nightmare to the Niger Delta students that had
enrolled.
Those that cannot afford the main
campus based education dropped. Those that can afford continue with much
stress. Those who cannot afford, loose all the monies that they had already
paid.
Till today, so many of them refuse
enrolling with any other distance learning institution believing that same
scenario might repeat itself. However, Niger Deltans have
fully come to realize that one can also earn a University Degree or Diploma
through distance learning education which at first was considered to be unacceptable and unrecognized method of
education.
Still in the affirmative, the former Obasanjo
Administration for a substitute, introduced
the National Open University with the main purpose of making university
education available to all Nigerians without attending the traditional
Universities or polytechnics. The tuition is carried out both online (internet
based) and offline (through her extended campuses) solely operating as a distance learning programme which also
serve as an eye opener to most Niger Deltan educationists and employers who at
first do neglect correspondence or distance learning education which is being practiced even in the advanced nations since
about a century ago.
NOW THE BIG QUESTION IS:
Most Niger Deltans traveled to abroad and
earned their Degree either in Europe or America, why can’t they Introduce the distance learning or correspondence education in the
region to encourage the less privilege as some of them ended up with WAEC ' O’ Level and some work to earn poor salary in government or company’s offices.
Instead of encouraging them, they want
everybody attend the same campus based university or polytechnic or fly
to abroad to earn a degree, while they become their lords in the government or company’s office, It baffles me a lot. This ugly behavior makes
the Niger Deltans become so backward in
education, compare to those in the South-West and South-East region of Nigeria that are over flooding the labor market in the oil rich
region
.
THE LABOUR MARKET: THE
SOUTH EAST AND SOUTH WEST DOMINANCE
Those Nigerians taking over the Niger Deltans jobs are predominately
from the South-East and South-West.. Although, the North has the political influence
over key job positions, yet they are complemented by the South-East and South-West that already had the required
academic qualifications and professional expertise to their great advantage
quite unlike the Niger Deltans graduates that has the degree qualification but
no job experience. What you can find in their portfolio is Degree certificate, HND OR OND, NYSC Certificate and Industrial Training certificate or letter for one year service.
Those from the South-East
and South-West enrolled in distance learning program in pursuit of their career and for job security based on the fact that they supplement the
traditional university education and polytechnic with distance learning program
without resigning from their job whose curriculum vitae is filled with long list of
Job experience span throughout the years
quite unlike the Niger Deltan graduate profile.
Consequently, they accelerate from primary Six qualification to university Degree and
back- up with professional
qualifications (as members of several professional bodies) and from the position of a Messenger or Cleaner
to the position of Manager or Director whose
opportunity is not giving to the Niger Delta youths who only possess their education through the traditional
university system by studying on campus
either part-time or full-time and in the polytechnic.
Evidently, most
universities in the South-West such as
Obafemi Awolowo university Ile Ife,
University of Ibadan, University of
Lagos etc offer distance learning program through extended campuses or through affiliation to teaching institutions even before and after
the Nigerian civil war. The South-East indigence based in Lagos imitate their educational pattern and also established
distance learning program through the Federal and State universities located in the South-East region such as the University
of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State
University of Science and Technology, Imo State University, Abia State University, etc and polytechnic that has both off campuses and institutional
affiliations but it is rare to see any Niger Delta based university or polytechnic having off campus
and institutional affiliation in other
states rather they only focus on the one
way method of learning that is by gaining admission through JAMB and UTME for
campus based study either part-time or
full-time which is the foundation of their former educationists and employers
both in State Government offices and
companies.
Those educationists and employers in South-West and
South-East have much regards for distance learning program and certificates or
degrees obtained by their respective indigenes as some of them also passed
through that same process to occupy key positions in the government offices and
companies.
Consequently, they do not discriminate against certificates
or degrees provided is obtained from a well recognized University or other
tertiary institutions offering distance
learning or correspondence program, quite unlike in the Niger Delta region.
However, although this attitude has drastically changed since the introduction of off campus
based education and the establishment of the Open National University, it seems too late for
the Niger Deltans to compete favorably with those in the South-East
and South-West in the labour market being the pioneer of the
distance learning and corresponding education in Nigeria and even in the production of highly respected academicians such as professors and professionals of world class standard some of them are Consultants to
the world Bank, United Nations and other
multilateral agencies. They dominate the
labour market as professionals
in all fields and in academics which they imitate from the western world by combining both distance learning and campus based education together unlike the Niger Delta educationalists and
employers that deprived their youths from this golden opportunity which those
in the South-East and South-West enjoy, focusing only on campus based education part-time and
full-time to gain admission through JAMB and UTME exams.
This ugly
situation deprived the Niger Delta youths from employment
in the region consisting of several
multinational oil companies and
government parastatals whose key
positions are being occupied by those from the South-East and South-West regions
that already have the requisite professional experience since
over the years back up with professional qualification and university degree or
equivalent and can work in those position
with less supervision as beneficiaries of distance learning programme unlike the Niger Deltan youths who do not have the required professional experience but only
degree certificate.
In most cases, they
loose their job quotas to those from the South-East or South-West who occupy
those vacant positions meant for the Niger Deltans based on the fact that, they do not have the opportunity to complement their job experience with academic or professional qualification through
the correspondence or distance learning program without resigning from their job position unlike their counterpart
from the South-West or South-East region.
The employers in
those companies soliciting for qualified applicants take advantage of
those with the required job experience back up with the academic and
professional qualification because it is cost intensive to employ and train
graduates who do not have the job experience specially in key positions such as
supervisors, managers, or directors preferably with several years of job experience.
As of those from the South-East and South-West occupying those
key positions, in case of any
subsequent employment opportunity, they bring in their brothers and sisters
from their regions that are applicants to
work as junior staff and some as
graduates without job experience and they would do their best to retain them;
consequently, the Niger Deltas still
stand the chance of losing their vacant job positions because those key positions
are already occupied by those from the other regions that already had the
qualifications and experience through
distance learning education.
THE ADVANTAGE OF DISTANCE LEARNING EDUCATION
OVER TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITY
The traditional University and other
Tertiary institutions are quite expensive to afford compare to the distance
learning education based on the following factors:
The majority of the revenue generated
by the traditional and other Tertiary institutions is used for payment of workers salaries
both for the academic and the non-academic staff placed in the government
salary scale ranging from grade level 01-16 and in most cases they complement their individual internal generated revenue with the Federal or State
government budgetary allocation which is not enough.
Consequently, it boils down to several industrial strike since over the years which result to
the influx of several Nigerian students in foreign countries for studies in
which they considered having economic and political stability and without
constraints in the pursuit of their educational carrier quite unlike Nigeria.
Countries like Ghana, Europe and America have become the safe haven for
Nigerian students studying abroad.
One of the advantages of the University
off campus studies is that it is less expensive based on the fact that tuition
is offered by the ad hoc staff that are not the university officials whose
tuition fees is based on negotiation and are not under government salary scale - working only on a part-time basis. Study materials are offered at a reduced rate
compare to campus based study.
Gaining admission into traditional
university or other Tertiary institution has a whole lot of complex procedure.
Failure to pass JAMB and UTME exams in order to meet up the required cut of
marks frustrate lot of students who use
several years to rewrite exams based on the fact that only limited numbers of
students will be admitted to study either part-time or full-time in
consideration of the workforce involved and
the limited numbers of the academic and non-academic staff, feeding and
accommodation issue.
On the contrary, distance learning
programme eliminate admission constraints and stringent procedures. Students get direct admission provided
they have the required credentials to study in his or her own
space of time. The school fee and other related materials are reduced to the
barest minimum in as-much-as ad hoc
staff are employed providing quality tuition
based on the conventional university
course outline and graduates without
resigning from current jobs, therefore complementing his or her educational career with job experience and get promoted to the next level.
THE ADVANTAGE OF UNIVERSITY AFFILIATION
The university extension Campus is
different from affiliation. An institution can affiliate to any
university or tertiary institution dependent on the courses or programme
involved. Such affiliation could last for several years before the institution
get the full accreditation to award a degree and became fully independent whose certificate
or degree would be recognizes all over the world.
Niger Deltans should be encouraged to
enroll with any institution that has a recognized University affiliation.
The University off campus based studies
has the disadvantage that it is being controlled directly by the university officials
and the State or Federal Government and
may decide to close such campus due to one reason or the other as they did in the past during the Obasanjo
Administration including polytechnics but that is not the case with the affiliated
institutions operating independently and can change over to another
University for affiliation in case this is a disagreement between the
University and the institution.
The University off campus students may
be asked to go to the main campus to
continue their studies which may frustrate lot of them and loose all monies they have
paid. But student studying in the affiliated institutions will not experience
such a scenario, rather can shift over to
any University or tertiary institution either within Nigerian or abroad while the
students continue their study without loosing any money only they could be cost difference which may more or less which may not be too much compare
to the former University they had enrolled.
The new University they had enrolled
must verify all of their transcripts and
other vital documents and then continue with them.
It is possible to make such arrangement with
another distance learning institution that has a recognized University affiliation.
