By Alaba M. Dare
THE educational system in Nigeria requires a holistic revamping to prevent it from collapsing. This sector can be revived through thorough overhaul. The pitfalls experienced in the system were borne out by a myriad of factors. The principal factor I would pinpoint is parenting. The majority of parents are not conversant with the character of their children or wards from neonate. A child develops his or her character from less than or equal to three years. Any habit that was not curbed at that age might be difficult to correct.
A parent must watch and monitor the children or wards closely and keenly at this stage. Moreover, when a child starts school, the parent must ensure that he or she is diligent. Diligence is a virtue that must be worked out in a child. Human beings can be lazy or lackadaisical if there isn’t a propelling force to gear them up. Discipline cannot be exempted from diligence.
An indolent child or ward needs to be disciplined. Discipline must be inculcated both at home and in school. However, the reverse is experienced nowadays. Parents are over-pampering their children at home. In the citadels of learning, parents confront teachers whenever their children are disciplined. Some parents give their children expensive phones just to display the idiosyncrasy called “social class”. Definitely, the phone might be needful because of “e-learning” system of education, but excesses must be curtailed. Children must be monitored while using phones. This is crucial to dissuading them from watching uncultured sites and vice sites or images that pop up on mobile phones inadvertently. I would advise that academics, teachers, psychologist and policy makers in this sector should devise a medium whereby academic phones exclusive of social media applications can be used in our ivory towers. This would reduce failure rate and promote academic excellence in the country.
1•Dare, PhD, is an educationist
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