THE ROLE OF EDUCATION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY: According to Uwadia (2010), Education in a broad sense is a process by which an individual acquires the many physical and social capabilities demanded by the society in which he/she is born into to function. It is to a nation what the mind is to the body, just as a diseased mind is handicapped in the coordination and direction of the bodily activities. Therefore, the single most significant complex of social – control tools for national development is found in the educational system be it formal or informal. Eduwen. (2009), asserts that, education is the process of acquisition of knowledge, that is, it involves the teaching and learning process. Formal education in Nigeria date back to the British colonialism. In the pre-colonial and colonial era, the colonial master introduced reading, writing, arithmetic which was the beginning of formal education system in Nigeria. Before now, education was informal, that is apprenticeship system of acquiring knowledge. With the advent of the British colonialism there was a shift from the informal to the formal system of education. Soon after the Nigeria independence tertiary institutions for man power training and development were established by the Nigerian states. Consequently this led to the growth of the Nigerian professionalism. The Nigerian education have had a tremendous impact on the Nigeria nation over the years this is evident in the growth and development of the Nigeria Civil service, Political system, Technological growth, Communication, Industrial growth, increase in Agricultural production, Medicine engineering as well as the harnessing of her national endowment.

Vocational and technical education facilitates the acquisition of applied skills and basic scientific knowledge. It is a planned program of courses and learning experiences that begin with the exploration of career options, supports basic, academic and life skills, and enables the achievement of high academic standards, leadership, preparation for career and continuing education (Career and Technical Education, 2009). Unfortunately, Nigeria does not seem to give vocational and technical education the attention it deserves. This appears to be the reason for rising rate of unemployment and poverty in the society which had contributed largely to the insecurity problems in the country. According to Olaitan, (2006), this is because the youths and graduates from tertiary institutions are not equipped with adequate skills that will enable them exploit the natural resources that abound in Nigeria. He further posits that unemployment leads to frustration and disillusionment which may result in crime or drug abuse in a futile attempt to escape from, and forget the pains and humiliation associated with poverty which has worsened, as millions of school leavers and graduates of tertiary institutions are not gainfully employed. The reason is that they lack the necessary occupational skills that would enable them to be self-employed and effectively function in today’s world of work.

With the use of policies and recommendation by professionals there has been adequate management of Nigerian domestic and international relations with other countries leading to improved leaving standard, social economy growth, political stability infrastructural development, provision of basic amenities social reconstruction etc with the increased demand for education there has been a continuous drive for a better leaving condition and way of life thus bringing about modernization and sophistication to the ordinary man.

There were high expectations of universities in the newly established nation states. Under circumstances that prevented mobility, new learning opportunities were required in regional centers with no real academic traditions. New faculties were established either from nothing or on the basis of previous branch departments. The tradition of strong ‘independent faculties’ and a weak university made the mushrooming of new institutions easy. The role of the university in society was reconfirmed in a similar way to in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries: the time for ‘the national university’ had returned. Rector Rugova explained it in the following way: ‘The role and significance of University were typical for the roles and significances that universities have played in the western civilized countries, illuminist and liberator from tutelage of the others’ (Rugova, 2010).