NIGERIA Invest in 2012-13 - Newsdesk Media

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SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
the chance to take GCE ‘O’ Levels. Students who progress
to higher education can study at traditional universities as
well as the federal and state-owned polytechnics and
colleges, which were established to train technical,
middle-level students.
Government efforts
It is a system that sounds familiar to citizens of many
countries. In spite of all the groundwork done by the Nigerian
authorities, however, critics argue that the nation lags behind
its competitors when it comes to education and skills
development. According to figures from UNESCO’s Institute of
Statistics, Nigeria’s adult literacy rate was 61 per cent in
2009. For females aged
15-24, it was 65 per cent,
while among males in the
same age group it was 78 per
cent. These figures compared
favourably with its West
African neighbour, Benin,
which had an adult literacy rate of 42 per cent. But it did not
fare so well alongside Cameroon’s 71 per cent adult literacy
rate and Ghana’s 67 per cent.
Despite all of the government’s efforts, Nigeria’s
educational system still has some way to go.
“At the moment we do not see any improvement in the skills
and education being provided within the Nigerian education
system,” says Phil Wharton, deputy chairman, Costain, West
Africa. “In fact, we see it declining, with constant disruption
to education by tutor strikes and corrupt exam results.”
According to Mr Wharton, most talent is found in
Nigerians schooled overseas. He says: “The big benefit we
see is from the increasing number of Nigerians who are
Literacy rates in Nigeria
Females aged 15-24 Males aged 15-24
INvEST IN NIGERIA 2012-13
65% 78%
Education is vital in the
alleviation of poverty
educated or trained abroad who are bringing their skills back
here; they see opportunities within Nigeria and pay levels that
are increasingly on a par with other countries. As a business,
we have gradually replaced nearly all our expatriate staff
with repatriated Nigerians who understand the culture
better, enabling us to save on employee costs.”
Soni Daniel, deputy editor of Nigerian daily newspaper
Leadership, agrees: “Although skills centres have sprung up in
many places, the products are still not good enough to support
a virile economy. What most serious going concerns have done
to bridge the skills gap is to recruit and train in the relevant
areas the people they need for their operations.”
The race is now on to improve education and skills
training, to ensure the
country can meet growing
demands for a high-quality
workforce able to drive
further economic
development. Particular
emphasis is being put on
boosting skills in areas such as oil and gas, ICT, agriculture,
construction, film and multimedia.
The World Bank is involved in a range of educational and
related projects in Nigeria. These include a number of state
schemes managed by the organisation’s education team. For
example, the $65 million State Education Sector Project
(SESP) aims to improve basic education, while the target of
the $95 million Lagos Secondary Education Project is to
upgrade all public schools in the state. There are also federal
schemes, such as the $180 million Science and Technology
Education Post-Basic (STEP-B) project, which aims to produce
more and better-qualified science and technology graduates.
Dr Olatunde Adekola, senior education specialist,
World Bank Country Office, Abuja, says: “Another project
being prepared is the $150 million State Education
Programmatic Investment Project in the states of Ekiti,
Bauchi and Anambra. Edo may also be included.”
He adds: “Efforts are being intensified to reform
examination system policies and to boost the incentives for
school-based activities to improve the quality of education.”
Improving quality in higher education
In higher education there are efforts to improve quality. The
government, through the National Universities Commission,
aims to improve regulation of the university education system.
At the heart of these efforts is a push for proper accreditation
of courses in various universities, especially private ones.