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African Craze For Western Education
AFRICAN CRAZE FOR WESTERN EDUCATION
When the renowned educational network, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) released
the list of the top 200 univversities in the world, many ( especially from Africa) were not suprised that only one school from the continent made the list. University of Capetown, SouthAfrica was the last on the list. The list ignited a fire showing that the continent''s education is in shabbles. Some quarters was thrown in delight because no African university made the list the previous year.
As a student in an African university, Nigeria to be precise I know what it takes to get a bachelors degree in any field. Recently I was fortunate ( or maybe unfortunate) to come across a schoolmate who claimed to have spent almost a decade pursuing a degree in medicine. She is not the very dull type its just ill - luck. Negligence is the order of the day in Nigerian universities. Lecturers are fustrated due to low pay delayed salaries or both. Some just feel it is time to pay back the evil they had undergone as students years back. It is really terrible for students in the system and may be more for others willing to enter. Stories they hear trigger evil in their minds even if half of it are exaggerated. Strikes are not minor factors in the educational cripple but they have been curtailed at least to a high degree.
Walking through Walter Carrington Avenue, Victoria Island Lagos, Nigeria, somethign perculiar runs through your head. Not only are the roads motorable which is very rare in the West African country high commissions and embassies of many countries are located in it. It was named after Walter Carrington, a former American ambassador to the country. It is also a busy street with people on long queues hanging around, applying for visas or booking for interviews or appointments. Touts and "professional" street urchins are not left out in this daily party. More than 50% of applicants to the US, UK and Canada are young men and women pursuing academic dreams. This solves an easy puzzle showing the bad condition of tertiary education in a country with a high educational reputation three decades ago. The three countries are the most prefered due to the same lingua franca and perhaps good economy. However only a "single digit" percentage of the total applicants see their dreams become reality. Inadequate funds and weak bank accounts; forged and incomplete papers are some the flimsy excuses they are given for the visa denial.
Apart from AIDS, malaria poverty and other already known nnightmares ravaging the dark continent brain drain is seen as the next epidermis. It was shown by a recent report that Africa spends an average of $2 billion yearly on expatriates to fill the vacuum caused by the massive migration of its professional citizens to the western world which is more environmental friendly. The government seems to have realized its undoings which is why it suprisingly allocated a record 18% of the 2008 budget ( which is yet to be approved by the National Assembly). Many of the 36 states have followed the positive step taken by President Yar'' Adua with similar figures been kept aside for education. Proper utilization may once again be threatened due to corruption among "pot-bellied" politicians. Unless something is done urgently, the education sector will inevitablygo down the drains. It will not only end at that there will also be a continual African craze for western education.Write your abstract here.
Published: January 28, 2008
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