On the National Open University Misconception – A Rejoinder

While the rest of Nigerians were busy battling for who rules Nigeria and who should not in the just concluded April polls, my thanks goes to a Romanus who brought to fore the issue of misconception on the National Open University in the Sunday Sun, April 29, 2007.

Romanus talked about the fees paid in the school to be on the high side and pleaded for reduce for the affordability of the common person. Romanus talked about the bird-eye Nigerians watch the school with, as being nothing, and argued that what the school is doing is far better than the conventional University because their was no room for examination malpractices there.

It is certain that Nigerians value school more than education. We forgot that education brings the information or knowledge but school only places the certificate. So, which one is better?

A lot of our youths pass through school but do not pass through education. Education is in two categories: Formal and Informal. The formal education helps us to develop in technology while informal helps us morally. But how many people are pursuing the later? What we are interested is to acquire the University certificate and that could be why we suffer in recent times high level of moral decadence!

It’s the quest to grasp this Certificate at all cost that education in our universities is on the errand. And the personalities that employ these graduates are not helping matter either. They are curious only of what school a graduate attended and not the education the person had before the person could be given job opportunities. And this act is bad! They do not test the knowledge in that person, but the certificate. What a wicked act is this!

As an educated person in Nigeria could only be taken as someone who went to the University and school may be limited to University, I do not think that education has any limit. And this is what we should be gusto of grasping rather than scoring Universities.

In overseas, which I am conversant with through the Internet, I have read a lot of people’s bio who got their certificates from what we call here “common institute” and they had good jobs. But the obverse is what we get in Nigeria.

I believe that what matters in going to the University is to attain the knowledge first and ‘later’ the certificate to show that one is a professional in the field the person professes.

Nevertheless, someone once said: Those who go to school for want of certificate are the most primordial people on earth.

I hope that person does not mean Nigerians?