HOW LECTURERS RUIN STUDENTS CAREER IN NIGERIA

I know quite a number of undergraduate and postgraduate students who are passing through the hell in the name of receiving education in Nigeria. A lot of lecturers in the Nigerian universities — notably the public ones — have turned themselves into the demigods oppressing the students, though they are rather supposed to inspire and empower young people within and outside the classroom. Anytime one listens to the students’ ordeals, they would always, instinctively, arrive at the following conclusion: the Nigerian system of education needs serious change. A particular story — which is of course very pathetic — is that of a friend of mine, who had an extra year during his undergraduate days because his results were missing (a case of a “missing script” as they popularly call it). Instead of taking responsibility for the recklessness and insensitivity, the school management made him pay dearly for an offence he didn’t commit in the first place.

Mean lecturers – why are they so dangerous?

As far as I know, there are lots of lecturers who purposely fail students. The main reason they do it is because they also failed the respective exams when they were undergraduates. So, to them, it would be gross injustice for any student to pass with flying colours. Is it not supposed to be the exact opposite? These lecturers are taking revenge on the innocent souls, who studied at the primary or secondary school or were even not born when they failed way back at school.

A teacher should inspire the students with their own stories and encourage them to learn from them. Thus, the students will have a chance to avoid a lot of mistakes and perform better. Instead, the students, who are supposed to be groomed to become academic giants capable to help to solve many of the nation’s problems with their knowledge, skills and experience, are being turned into underdogs with low self-esteem and abandoned life-long dreams. A number of students have become preys of these prowling sadists, and their efforts are consequently crowned with “extra” as the folks call the wasted years at school.

Implications for the nation’s development

In the long run, the universities churn out lots of frustrated graduates, who go on to struggle unceasingly — and usually with little returns — in the labour market. With meager income and no powerful contacts, they are forced to go back to their postgraduate studies. Many of them do not go back to the classroom because they want to expand their knowledge base and contribute more to solving the challenges facing the country — which in itself is the real essence of education. However, they have to do that thinking it could land them a job to at least make ends meet. So, they go on with their studies grudgingly! This is a vicious cycle that continues year in year out.

Taking into consideration the marginalization of the Nigerian youths by the political class and the government during the past decades, one can easily identify why many young people are frustrated and become ready to take up anything that will yield returns for them — terrorism, 419 scams, armed robbery, prostitution, to name a few.

How foreign lecturers treat their students

Just about two weeks ago, I was chatting with a friend of mine who had applied for a master’s degree in Saudi Arabia after graduating from a Nigerian university. We started talking about our undergraduate days, and he was quick to tell me that the lecturers over there so much respect their students that they are always eager to receive them, especially when the latter encounter challenges in their studies. To them, the comfort and success of their students is the ultimate. In return, the students are inspired – they do their best and think creatively.



He explained why the foreign lecturers behaved in this manner: they saw themselves as the role models for the future leaders who would solve the challenges facing the citizens and contribute to the national research base. In fact, they do not derive any pleasure from the students’ failures. The story is not different in the countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Russia and others. Why not in Nigeria?

Let there be change!
There obviously are the great teachers in the Nigerian universities — at least I have come across  a handful of them — and there is actually a trend: the more genuine and inspiring a lecturer is, the better the quality of the graduates. The “engine room” of a nation’s development is education, and lecturers are at the heart of it. As a result, if they do not care whether their students will become giants or underdogs, then the future of Nigeria is in jeopardy.

As a matter of fact, I expect the vice chancellors, the federal and state governments, civil society organisations and all Nigerians to beam more light on these mean lecturers so that their excesses can be checked. They have done more harm than good. In fact, there may be the need to set up a mechanism, through which the cases of the erring lecturers are reported and investigated. Once convicted, they should be sanctioned in order to serve as deterrents to the others. This is how sanity can be returned to our schools. Change should not only be limited to the ministries, departments and agencies in Nigeria, it must also touch upon our universities. We are in the era of change!