‘’Take your certificate and go, don’t ask questions, don’t develop
your reasoning, don’t experiment what you learn, just take your
certificate and go’’.
Loading ...It is no longer news that some Nigerian graduates have been described
as half baked graduates. Close observation of some graduates sometimes
give credence to that description.
However, while it is true that half baked graduates themselves should
take adequate responsibility for their inability and incompetence,
other parts of the blame should actually be directed at the
Institutions that produced them.
It is instructive to note that, lack of facilities doesn’t necessarily
make a graduate half baked, neither do lack of adequate funding, what
often make graduates half baked is the attitude inbred-ed into them.
Let me state that, anyone that has passed through Nigerian higher
institution in recent time would agree with me that, management
policies in many of these institutions are geared towards producing
weak and docile students. Students may enter higher institution with
positve attitude towards learning, but end up come of with negative
attitude. Hardly do students go into institution with negative
learning attitude and come out with positive one. This is the reality
of the situation.
Indeed, some of these institutions parade world class lecturers and
study materials, but the sharp practices they engage in are such,
which force students to conform to negativity.
While education is the ability to ask critical questions about
situations with the aim of finding solution,Nigerian institutions
often force students to keep mute in face of questionable practices.
Students who defy the general norm of keeping silent in face of such
questionable practices are adequately punished for doing what
responsible students should do. Some times, they are expelled for
doing the right thing.
It is true that students read about best practices in books, but their
lecturers, leaders and management often engage in something different.
Any attempt to ask questions often lead to coercive shutdown.
On 10/11/2015, Students of National Open University of Nigeria under
the aigis of Congress of Noun Students called for the immidiate sack
of the institutions Vice Chancellor, Prof Vincent Ado Tenebe and 4
others over accusation of menumental corruption and extortion. In
return, the University announced the expulsion of two leaders of the
students Congress.
What was the crime of the expelled students? They asked the university
to account for over N14000,000,000.00 (Fourteen Billion naira) it
regularly received annually from students as course material fee
without providing those materials. There are other similar demands
contained in the 10 points demand of the students.
According to the University’s announcement on its website, it said,
‘’This is to bring to the attention of all students of the National
Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and the general public that the
under listed persons have been expelled from the University on the
basis of being FOUND WANTING IN CHARACTER.
1 Mr. Hamza Abdulrazak Oyebanji Matric Number NOU070173152 Department
of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution: School of Arts and Social
Sciences.
2 Mr. Elias Ozikpu Matric Number NOU110770565 Department of Mass
Communication School of Arts and Social Sciences.
Both Students are President and Public Relation Officer of the
Congress of Noun Students respectively.
By the admission of the University based on its announcement, the
students committed no crime. Their lack of character is simple as a
result of asking questions which is regarded as a taboo. How dare mere
students ask the almighty management to account for funds.
When Section 40 of the Constitution of Nigeria said every Nigerian
have freedom to association, expression etc and the management of some
institutions decided to deny students those rights, students are
expected to conform. Any one who try to question such illegality is
punished and all others tends to believe what they read in books were
mere illusion about rights, what they see being practiced is regarded
as the ultimate.
These coercive enforcement of negativity gradually affected the
general reasoning of most students in such a way that, anything they
read from book is simply regarded as meaningless. What they are left
with is the bad practices they see from their teachers.
For example, If I read in the book that this is the right way, and I
see the same institution that gave me that book as acting contrary,
any developing mind should ask questions about why the authorities are
acting contrary to what is taught. But in Nigeria, such questioning is
a taboo. You are expected to conform without saying a word. If you
want to prove you are too stubborn like they refer to those who ask
questions, they punish you with all might. This is why every student
simply concentrate on what they called, ‘’take your certificate and
go’’.
Take your certificate and go, don’t ask questions, don’t develop your
reasoning, don’t experiment what you learn, just take your certificate
and go.
While engaging my University on why certain illegalities are taking
place, they felt threatened and reported me and others to the police.
Rather than address the issues raised, they reported that we are
threatening the Vice Chancellor. After they failed to provide any
meaningful evidence to back such claim, the police felt disappointed.
But a police officer privy to the issue came close to us and said,
‘’shebi you are already in your final year, don’t argue with this
people again oo, just take your certificate and go’’.
In a similar development, when my colleague went to the University,
the PRO of the school said similar thing to him. ‘’This one that you
are proving to be intelligent, are you not simply planning to be here
for like 20 years? Instead of just taking your certificate and go, you
are busy showing yourself.
The following week (last week), myself and the colleague were
eventually expelled from the National Open University of Nigeria for
simply asking what the University does with our money,since it doesn’t
provide the materials paid for.
In conclusion, we should all understand that, students who graduate
under similar exploitative environment, but remained silent or see
nothing wrong with the system could hardly change when they are out of
the system. Their ability to reason properly and express themselves
have been damaged by the same institution that should build them. That
institution should be held accountable for heir half baked nature.
www.mrrights.com.ng
