Another-look-at-certificatedly-uneducated-individuals-and-those-uncertificatedly-educated
September 7, 2020 | News
ANOTHER LOOK AT ‘CERTIFICATEDLY-UNEDUCATED’ INDIVIDUALS AND THOSE ‘UNCERTIFICATEDLY-EDUCATED’
With the recent happenings in the Nigerian polity, we consider it necessary to once again, reiterate the subject matter and hope that Nigerians, particularly Nigerian political leaders’ elites, would learn one or two things from, and also make adjustments in their mindsets. Arguably, when it comes to man and the acquisition of knowledge (be it formal or informal), and the right application of such acquired/developed knowledge or skill to transform his society for his good and that of others; one can be certificated and yet remain/act as someone who is uneducated. While another can be uncertificated but yet act/remain educated - with so much achievements (that have positively impacted many) to show for it. That is the summary of our thinking whenever we consider our Nigerian politicians and elites, most of whom, despite all the certificates and degrees that they have accumulated through their lives, still act like one who is devoid of education and understanding of how things should work. Compared to many others there, who, despite not being able to have any (or little) certificates/degrees, but have positively impacted their environment and humanity far more.
It has become a salient law in Nigeria that if one is not a Second Class Upper-Division or First-Class degree holder, he or she cannot get a job in big corporations, oil companies and some Government establishments in Nigeria. They usually specify it in employment adverts on print and electronic media. Whereas, the tools and equipment used in these corporate offices were invented and produced by people who were without college degrees/diplomas/certificates. The founder and inventor of Microsoft, Bill Gates, has no college certificate/degree/diploma. And I bet to you, that those graduates with lower division degrees/diplomas may even perform much better than those with higher grades/degrees/diplomas. The truth is that the Government, and corporate bodies, need to stop this practice that only pushes people to focus on certification without prerequisite knowledge to defend it. They have to look for better ways to improve quality and performance of potential and existing employees, rather than relying more on paper qualifications that is without efficiency.
Agreed that education is an investment that pays off any time anywhere. And in a world of crumbling economies and turbulent times, investing in education becomes even more paramount. But despite its importance in development, there are still several misconceptions about education in Nigeria, where many people define education in “quantities” rather than “qualitative terms.” This means that “paper qualification” (certification) is substituted for knowledge/skill acquisition and ‘application’ to solve humanity problems. In other words, certificate acquisition and passing courses have been highly rated at the expense of knowledge/skill acquisition and application or evident performance.
Perhaps, this is the reason why our Nigerian universities and colleges are producing more of “certificated illiterates” as teachers at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education, who then go on to produce “unemployable graduates” that usually have bunch of certificates/degrees. That is why in the Nigeria of today, a person who acquires certificate is ranked higher and valued more than the person without it. This happens without any iota of regard to how the person acquired it, and irrespective of whether he/she possesses the requisite knowledge and skill to back-up such certificates/degrees. This has made many to spend most of their adult life acquiring degrees upon degrees in other to climb the corporate ladder of their careers. Surprisingly, Nigerians have many ways of acquiring certificates. It is easier for a Nigerian to get a certificate from Toronto University than a Canadian.
The emphasis placed on certificates and formal education in this part of the world is quite funny because the said certificates do not translate to tangible results that would positively affect our society. Who would have believed that the world most educated President used to be a Black African? That person was former President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, who was recorded to be the most educated former President the world has ever produced. With a Bachelor's degree in History, English, Public Administration, Education and Law and also a Masters degree in Law and in Economics alongside several other PhDs aside the 14 honorary degrees, this record will indeed be a very hard one for any other President in the world to break. Yet, Zimbabwe is one of the poorest and backward countries in the world.
Surprisingly, the former South African President, Jacob Zuma, used to be the World's most “uneducated President” when he was still in office. Jacob Zuma had no formal education. In fact, he is said to be ‘self- schooled’ - he taught himself to read and write. Acquiring formal education was difficult for Zuma because he was poor, and lost his father at a very young age. With little or no access to funds, he borrowed books from friends in the neighbourhood, and would insist his friends put him through on how to pronounce words. Many a time, Zuma would personally educate himself in the bush and was involved in the fight against the Apartheid government alongside legendary late Nelson Mandela and this led him to prison, yet he continued in self-education and today, former President Jacob Zuma speaks fluent English, French, Russian, and other languages – which he learnt through self-education. He regarded self-education as more important than certification. Hear Jacob Zuma; "I don't regard myself as uneducated, I only lack formal qualifications and certifications".
Though, former President Jacob Zuma was put under pressure to resign from Office because he had a lot of corruption cases hanging on his neck while in office, but who would ever believe he does not possess a primary, secondary schools or tertiary certificates when he used to stand to address his nation on political and economic issues? Or when he used to sit in the African Union (AU) and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and respond to questions without Aides and Personal Assistants or whatever they call them in Nigeria. He speaks English language even better than many of Nigeria’s certificated-uneducated political leaders and elites. If former President Jacob Zuma of South Africa was a Nigerian, we are very certain that by now, he would have acquired, rightly or wrongly, bunch of certificates/degrees without passing through colleges and universities and without actually completing and passing the relevant compulsory and elective courses often required to obtain certificates/degrees. Jacob Zuma, like many of his kind, has proved to the world that one can get and use self-education to develop one’s self.
There are many billionaires, entrepreneurs and political leaders across the world today that were/are without certificates of the different levels of education but their positive impacts to their society and humanity have continued to outlive them. Michael Faraday worked in a London book shop, with virtually no formal education, was able to revolutionized our understanding of electricity and a whole lot more; Thomas Edison who invented the light bulb, motion picture camera, telephone, phonography and has more than 1,000 patents in his name, was taught how to read and write by his mother, after he was expelled from school because teachers thought he was too slow to learn; Richard Branson, a British Businessman with about 400 companies (not on paper but in reality), under Virgin Group, does not have any college certificate/diploma; Sir Hugh Grosvenor, the present Duke of the City of Westminster in London, is Britain’s youngest Billionaires, who was born great and inherited a great amount of wealth, including mass expanse of lands. The Queen of England is the only person that owns more lands than him in Britain. Yet, he is very humble, simple and not intoxicated by his wealth, even as a young man. If he was a Nigerian, he would have acquired degrees upon degrees, including Doctorate degrees and what have you. There is also The Wright brothers who never finished High School, invented the “flying machine” and flew the first airplane; Bill Gates only spent 2 years in Harvard and he became the founder of Microsoft and still considered one of the world’s richest men; Larry Ellison only spent One year in College and became the founder of Oracle; Michael Dell, founder of DELL only spent One year in the University of Texas; Steve Jobs, founder of Apple only spent One year in Reed College, we can go on and on. However, the moral of the story here is – do not drop out of school/College, if you have not invented/created anything that is impactful to humanity.
It is high time we began to look beyond certificates and class of degrees in getting the best brains, especially in the public service domain. A first-class degree holder does not necessarily mean “first class knowledge or brain.” What is a certificate without a corresponding knowledge and character?
The bottom line is that we seriously need to address that downward trend our educational system is going in this country. The importance of education cannot be overemphasized. In fact, many studies have shown that a nation’s economic growth and quality of governance is enhanced by having leaders who are well-read, competent with the right leadership skills, exposure and behaviour. It is also believed that poorly-educated leaders are ill-informed and do not have the idea that politics is supposed to be used to offer selfless service to the people that they represent. Furthermore, it is a general belief that a well-educated leadership is a competitive advantage for any nation and there is a correlation between good governance and leaders’ level of education. However, it seems this theory is not working in Nigeria. As it has been observed; the present political leaders in Nigeria - Councilors, Local Council Chairmen, Federal and State Legislators, Governors and other top public officers, are mostly individuals with high educational qualifications of First, Second, Third Class Degrees and Masters, including Professorship. But despite this, it has not translated into noticeable good governance and security-integrity in the country over the last 20 years.
How do we then reinvent the wheels? How can we resuscitate our comatose educational system and make it serve as the vehicle for social transformation? How can our educational system prepare today’s young people for leadership and public service in a fast-changing world? These questions are far from being merely academic; they touch at the heart of nation building and authentic human development.
Today’s students need to know that the individuals who are emerging as the new winners of the 21st century are those who possess “above average creativity”, “strong analytical skills”, “foresight” and “good people skills”. They are the right-brainers who are taking over the present economy. They are the inventors, the designers, the listeners, the big-picture thinkers, the meaning-makers and the pattern recognizers – those who know how to optimize and creatively maneuver the facts, not just memorise or regurgitate them. All this they do while knowing how to effectively team up with others. Even in remote villages of the world, people with such talents are popping up.
To succeed in this new world order, young people need to be taught leadership and moral ethical principles that will equip them with more adaptability, knowledge, ingenuity and resources, not just to survive on the margins, but to thrive in the 21st century. They need to be infused with the passion, the dynamism and the entrepreneurial spirit to shape their lives and future and the future of the world. Today’s challenges place a higher premium on the ability to champion change, drive for results and an ability to lead a process of continuous improvement.
For instance, a young Nigerian who aspires to be president or lawmaker or minister or governor or who wishes to attain the echelon of any other area of professional life, should know from an early age what schools or colleges he should attend, what sort of books he should read, what sort of friendships he should cultivate and what sort of places he should go to learn the rudiments of life and leadership. This is how best brains are discovered and helped to focus their energies in the right direction. In Europe and America this is how young people are equipped and prepared for the challenges of the future. In Nigeria, we too can do the same in our own African ways of life. Our African forefathers though, not “certificated”, had natural wisdom, intelligence and knowledge and integrity. The “certificated uneducated graduates,” we have today have thrown away all of these moral values.
Zik Gbemre.
October 15, 2019
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
With the recent happenings in the Nigerian polity, we consider it necessary to once again, reiterate the subject matter and hope that Nigerians, particularly Nigerian political leaders’ elites, would learn one or two things from, and also make adjustments in their mindsets. Arguably, when it comes to man and the acquisition of knowledge (be it formal or informal), and the right application of such acquired/developed knowledge or skill to transform his society for his good and that of others; one can be certificated and yet remain/act as someone who is uneducated. While another can be uncertificated but yet act/remain educated - with so much achievements (that have positively impacted many) to show for it. That is the summary of our thinking whenever we consider our Nigerian politicians and elites, most of whom, despite all the certificates and degrees that they have accumulated through their lives, still act like one who is devoid of education and understanding of how things should work. Compared to many others there, who, despite not being able to have any (or little) certificates/degrees, but have positively impacted their environment and humanity far more.
It has become a salient law in Nigeria that if one is not a Second Class Upper-Division or First-Class degree holder, he or she cannot get a job in big corporations, oil companies and some Government establishments in Nigeria. They usually specify it in employment adverts on print and electronic media. Whereas, the tools and equipment used in these corporate offices were invented and produced by people who were without college degrees/diplomas/certificates. The founder and inventor of Microsoft, Bill Gates, has no college certificate/degree/diploma. And I bet to you, that those graduates with lower division degrees/diplomas may even perform much better than those with higher grades/degrees/diplomas. The truth is that the Government, and corporate bodies, need to stop this practice that only pushes people to focus on certification without prerequisite knowledge to defend it. They have to look for better ways to improve quality and performance of potential and existing employees, rather than relying more on paper qualifications that is without efficiency.
Agreed that education is an investment that pays off any time anywhere. And in a world of crumbling economies and turbulent times, investing in education becomes even more paramount. But despite its importance in development, there are still several misconceptions about education in Nigeria, where many people define education in “quantities” rather than “qualitative terms.” This means that “paper qualification” (certification) is substituted for knowledge/skill acquisition and ‘application’ to solve humanity problems. In other words, certificate acquisition and passing courses have been highly rated at the expense of knowledge/skill acquisition and application or evident performance.
Perhaps, this is the reason why our Nigerian universities and colleges are producing more of “certificated illiterates” as teachers at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education, who then go on to produce “unemployable graduates” that usually have bunch of certificates/degrees. That is why in the Nigeria of today, a person who acquires certificate is ranked higher and valued more than the person without it. This happens without any iota of regard to how the person acquired it, and irrespective of whether he/she possesses the requisite knowledge and skill to back-up such certificates/degrees. This has made many to spend most of their adult life acquiring degrees upon degrees in other to climb the corporate ladder of their careers. Surprisingly, Nigerians have many ways of acquiring certificates. It is easier for a Nigerian to get a certificate from Toronto University than a Canadian.
The emphasis placed on certificates and formal education in this part of the world is quite funny because the said certificates do not translate to tangible results that would positively affect our society. Who would have believed that the world most educated President used to be a Black African? That person was former President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, who was recorded to be the most educated former President the world has ever produced. With a Bachelor's degree in History, English, Public Administration, Education and Law and also a Masters degree in Law and in Economics alongside several other PhDs aside the 14 honorary degrees, this record will indeed be a very hard one for any other President in the world to break. Yet, Zimbabwe is one of the poorest and backward countries in the world.
Surprisingly, the former South African President, Jacob Zuma, used to be the World's most “uneducated President” when he was still in office. Jacob Zuma had no formal education. In fact, he is said to be ‘self- schooled’ - he taught himself to read and write. Acquiring formal education was difficult for Zuma because he was poor, and lost his father at a very young age. With little or no access to funds, he borrowed books from friends in the neighbourhood, and would insist his friends put him through on how to pronounce words. Many a time, Zuma would personally educate himself in the bush and was involved in the fight against the Apartheid government alongside legendary late Nelson Mandela and this led him to prison, yet he continued in self-education and today, former President Jacob Zuma speaks fluent English, French, Russian, and other languages – which he learnt through self-education. He regarded self-education as more important than certification. Hear Jacob Zuma; "I don't regard myself as uneducated, I only lack formal qualifications and certifications".
Though, former President Jacob Zuma was put under pressure to resign from Office because he had a lot of corruption cases hanging on his neck while in office, but who would ever believe he does not possess a primary, secondary schools or tertiary certificates when he used to stand to address his nation on political and economic issues? Or when he used to sit in the African Union (AU) and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and respond to questions without Aides and Personal Assistants or whatever they call them in Nigeria. He speaks English language even better than many of Nigeria’s certificated-uneducated political leaders and elites. If former President Jacob Zuma of South Africa was a Nigerian, we are very certain that by now, he would have acquired, rightly or wrongly, bunch of certificates/degrees without passing through colleges and universities and without actually completing and passing the relevant compulsory and elective courses often required to obtain certificates/degrees. Jacob Zuma, like many of his kind, has proved to the world that one can get and use self-education to develop one’s self.
There are many billionaires, entrepreneurs and political leaders across the world today that were/are without certificates of the different levels of education but their positive impacts to their society and humanity have continued to outlive them. Michael Faraday worked in a London book shop, with virtually no formal education, was able to revolutionized our understanding of electricity and a whole lot more; Thomas Edison who invented the light bulb, motion picture camera, telephone, phonography and has more than 1,000 patents in his name, was taught how to read and write by his mother, after he was expelled from school because teachers thought he was too slow to learn; Richard Branson, a British Businessman with about 400 companies (not on paper but in reality), under Virgin Group, does not have any college certificate/diploma; Sir Hugh Grosvenor, the present Duke of the City of Westminster in London, is Britain’s youngest Billionaires, who was born great and inherited a great amount of wealth, including mass expanse of lands. The Queen of England is the only person that owns more lands than him in Britain. Yet, he is very humble, simple and not intoxicated by his wealth, even as a young man. If he was a Nigerian, he would have acquired degrees upon degrees, including Doctorate degrees and what have you. There is also The Wright brothers who never finished High School, invented the “flying machine” and flew the first airplane; Bill Gates only spent 2 years in Harvard and he became the founder of Microsoft and still considered one of the world’s richest men; Larry Ellison only spent One year in College and became the founder of Oracle; Michael Dell, founder of DELL only spent One year in the University of Texas; Steve Jobs, founder of Apple only spent One year in Reed College, we can go on and on. However, the moral of the story here is – do not drop out of school/College, if you have not invented/created anything that is impactful to humanity.
It is high time we began to look beyond certificates and class of degrees in getting the best brains, especially in the public service domain. A first-class degree holder does not necessarily mean “first class knowledge or brain.” What is a certificate without a corresponding knowledge and character?
The bottom line is that we seriously need to address that downward trend our educational system is going in this country. The importance of education cannot be overemphasized. In fact, many studies have shown that a nation’s economic growth and quality of governance is enhanced by having leaders who are well-read, competent with the right leadership skills, exposure and behaviour. It is also believed that poorly-educated leaders are ill-informed and do not have the idea that politics is supposed to be used to offer selfless service to the people that they represent. Furthermore, it is a general belief that a well-educated leadership is a competitive advantage for any nation and there is a correlation between good governance and leaders’ level of education. However, it seems this theory is not working in Nigeria. As it has been observed; the present political leaders in Nigeria - Councilors, Local Council Chairmen, Federal and State Legislators, Governors and other top public officers, are mostly individuals with high educational qualifications of First, Second, Third Class Degrees and Masters, including Professorship. But despite this, it has not translated into noticeable good governance and security-integrity in the country over the last 20 years.
How do we then reinvent the wheels? How can we resuscitate our comatose educational system and make it serve as the vehicle for social transformation? How can our educational system prepare today’s young people for leadership and public service in a fast-changing world? These questions are far from being merely academic; they touch at the heart of nation building and authentic human development.
Today’s students need to know that the individuals who are emerging as the new winners of the 21st century are those who possess “above average creativity”, “strong analytical skills”, “foresight” and “good people skills”. They are the right-brainers who are taking over the present economy. They are the inventors, the designers, the listeners, the big-picture thinkers, the meaning-makers and the pattern recognizers – those who know how to optimize and creatively maneuver the facts, not just memorise or regurgitate them. All this they do while knowing how to effectively team up with others. Even in remote villages of the world, people with such talents are popping up.
To succeed in this new world order, young people need to be taught leadership and moral ethical principles that will equip them with more adaptability, knowledge, ingenuity and resources, not just to survive on the margins, but to thrive in the 21st century. They need to be infused with the passion, the dynamism and the entrepreneurial spirit to shape their lives and future and the future of the world. Today’s challenges place a higher premium on the ability to champion change, drive for results and an ability to lead a process of continuous improvement.
For instance, a young Nigerian who aspires to be president or lawmaker or minister or governor or who wishes to attain the echelon of any other area of professional life, should know from an early age what schools or colleges he should attend, what sort of books he should read, what sort of friendships he should cultivate and what sort of places he should go to learn the rudiments of life and leadership. This is how best brains are discovered and helped to focus their energies in the right direction. In Europe and America this is how young people are equipped and prepared for the challenges of the future. In Nigeria, we too can do the same in our own African ways of life. Our African forefathers though, not “certificated”, had natural wisdom, intelligence and knowledge and integrity. The “certificated uneducated graduates,” we have today have thrown away all of these moral values.
Zik Gbemre.
October 15, 2019
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes