Learning Without Limits

There are many great academic institutions in my country. Many Nigerian universities have produced award-winning geniuses, the likes of Wole Soyinka who has won the Nobel Prize in Literature, graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University. In today’s world, Nigerian universities continue to produce gurus in the fields of arts, science and the last one. So, I would say the education system in my country is satisfactory to some extent. However, this doesn’t mean that the system is flawless. Of course, there are many negative things to point out about the education system. Is it the fact that some schools are not well funded, or that some universities are still yet to accredit some important courses or is it the fact that, although universities around the country keep producing thousands of graduates every year, more than 70 percent end up on the street, jobless and desperate. Nevertheless, we still cannot deny the fact that there are good institutions for learning in Nigeria. Some of the institutions were established even before the country gained independence. University of Ibadan (UI), the oldest university in Nigeria, was established in 1948, 12 years before the country gained independence.

For this week’s Hive learners’ prompt, the community asks us how the education system is in my country. As I mentioned above, the education system in my country is not bad. There is still room for improvement. I’m sure that some of the schools in my country will compete with other schools around the world, in terms of competitions and even come out amongst the best. The community also asks us if there are forms of gender bias in education in my country. A system where boys are prioritized over girls as a result of cultural or societal norms.

Looking back, the education system in my country has changed over the past decades. I remember my first year in high school, our seniors who were in their final year in school, were tall, muscular, gigantic. The guys had full grown beards. This is because the system worked differently at that time. There used to be a height requirement. If you placed your left hand across your head, it had to touch your right ear, if not, you would not be allowed to start school. This system delayed so many people, especially those who had stunted growth. Things are different now. Today, you see students who are 14 or 15 years old and they are done with high school and ready to proceed to universities.

Another aspect that has significantly changed in the education system in my country is the gender bias in education. Back then, male children were prioritized over female children. My grandmother gave birth to 10 children. The first 4 children are females. When she gave birth to the fourth child, my grandfather did not come to the hospital to pay the bills. According to my mom, he was pissed because he wanted a male child. Decades ago, only male children were allowed to go to school. Female children were also allowed to go to school, although most of them stopped at primary level of education. They believed that there was no point in training a female child since they would be married off to rich husbands and their roles would strictly be limited to the kitchen and raising babies.

Although some female children, especially those whose parents were rich, made it farther than the primary level of education. Only a very few made it to the last level. Gradually, year after year, people started to see the need for female children to be trained. They started to see the truth in the fact that female children deserve to go through all levels of education just as male children.

It's great to see that the education system in my country and in most African countries has improved compared to the past. I'm not aware of any schools that discriminate based on gender. I don't know if there are any schools that would deny admission simply because a student is female. Although gender-based discrimination is still deeply rooted in other aspects of society, it's better when it comes to education.

The images in this post are mine.

Thanks for reading.