MY ADVICE TO APC AND GENERAL BUHARI/PROFESSOR OSIBANJO (EDUCATION! EDUCATION!! EDUCATION!!!) BY ABBATI BAKO,psc The education is a priority A not B, C or D to any society or nation. The importance of education will never be over-emphasis by any right thinking leader/nation. Without qualitative education, no nation or individual can rightfully prosper. No society or nation can reach a developmental growth; politically, economically and socially without a sound and qualitative world-class education. How do we succeed when other nations are growing, changing, innovating so fast? A lot of the answers are clear. But the problems with Nigerian leaders and Nigerians are lack of commitment, zeal, interest and patriotic approach to solve the protracted problems that afflict our nation since independence. To deal with our educational problems; we must study how other nations succeeded. To tackle the bloat in education sector, experts within and outside Nigeria must be consulted: make sure our schools and universities are truly world-class. Our educational top ranking ratio (among world nations) is the lowest. Looking into paradigm perspectives in education reform we’ve not been (so) radical. I mean in education – revolutionary ideas have not been formulated and implemented as other nations have done. And crucially, to compete in this global race we must make sure that Nigeria is more outward-looking than ever before. Looking into the educational performance of some African nations/Asians are far ahead of our nation; Ghana, S/Africa, Egypt, Uganda, Tunisia, Algeria, Namibia and Tanzania. Shamefully, we are not even among the top 20 ranking Universities in Africa (we call ourselves the giant of Africa). What of south-southern part of the world? Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan S/Korea, Singapore and so on; I think it will be a waste of time to talk about educational ratio between these Asian tigers and Nigeria. There are over 8,114 Universities in India alone. There are thousands of them in China, Japan, USA and the Europe. We have less than 140 Universities in Nigeria. And the UNESCO (one of the 27 of UN agencies) advises or prescribed that any nation of the world to allocate not less than 26% of annual budget to education sector. But in Nigeria we allocate less than 10% annually on education. And again, on the importance of education, research indicates that; 75% of Iranian women attend University for quest of knowledge. What of Nigerian women? Why our Universities are periodically closed down? How about the government’s inability and failure to reconcile and negotiate, with ASSU at all times? William Zartman observes that “sometime the solution is within the air” and all that is needed is for someone to catch it. These are some of the reasons that experts say that poor and sub-standard education is offered in Africa (Nigeria inclusive). The assessment of the top ranking Universities in the world (2011) showed that Obafemi Owolowo University is at the position of about 3,676. And the very few one can see in the list; Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), University of Jos, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Ilorin University, and University of Nsukka are (far) at the list close to 4000. All these negative • The history of oldest Universities in the world • Top 10 Oldest Universities in the World: • Ancient Colleges - Unfortunately, the U.S. will never boast a medieval university, as this country’s origins, established in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence, were formed when the oldest university in the world already was about nine centuries old. If you’re interested, we do have a list of the oldest universities in the U.S., by accreditation year. The following list of ten oldest universities in the world shows, through their brief histories, a trend: The University as an autonomous self-governing institution first was developed as religious institutions (madrasahs) that originated in the medieval Islamic world. But, Europe did not fall far behind these Islamic developments, as Italy founded its first university approximately two centuries after the first university developed in Morocco. The last university on this list, the University of Padua in Italy, was founded in 1222 — 270 years before Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue in 1492. This list is compiled of extant universities, although a few of them closed for brief periods from the effects of war or local disputes. On the whole, the European universities on this list have expanded their campuses and enjoy high rankings in the world today. The list below is compiled in order of the university’s founding. 1-University of Al-Karaouine: Located in Fes, Morocco, this university originally was a mosque founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri, a woman. It developed into one of the leading universities for natural sciences. It wasn’t until 1957 that the university added mathematics, physics, chemistry and foreign languages. This university is considered the oldest continuously-operating degree-granting university in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records. 2-Al-Azhar University: This university, located in Egypt, is the world’s second oldest surviving degree-granting institute. Founded in 970-972, this university serves as a center for Arabic literature and Sunni Islamic learning. Al-Azhar university concentrates upon a religious syllabus, which pays special attention to the Quranic sciences and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) on the one hand, while also teaching all modern fields of science. 3-Nizamiyya: This series of universities was established by Khwaja Nizam al-Mulk in the eleventh century in what is now present-day Iran. The most celebrated of all the Nizamiyya schools is Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad, established in 1065 in Dhu’l Qa’da and that remains operational in Isfahan. But, this was just one of many Nizamiyyah schools — others were located in Nishapur, Amul, Mosul, Herat, Damascus, and Basra. The Nizamiyya schools served as a model for future universities in the region, and al-Mulk often is seen as responsible for a new era of brilliance which caused his schools to eclipse all other contemporary learning institutions. 4-University of Bologna: This University was the first higher-learning institute established in the Western world in 1088. The term, “university,” was coined at its creation. Located in Bologna, Italy, this university led the Western world in educational innovations until the period between the two World Wars. At that time, leaders called upon the university to forge relationships with institutions in more advanced countries to modernize and re-invigorate its educational philosophies. This university met the call and, today, is considered a leader in the European university system. 5-University of Paris: This university’s exact founding is unclear; however, teaching from this university existed since 1096. The university was reorganized as 13 autonomous universities in 1970. Often referred to as the Sorbonne after the College de Sorbonne (founded about 1257), this institute grew up in the latter part of the twelfth century around Notre Dame Cathedral as a corporation centered on the fields of arts, medicine, law and theology. In 1968 the Cultural Revolution commonly known as “the French May” resulted in the closing of the university for only the third time in history. The first occasion was in 1229, and the second was due to the invasion by the German army of 1940. 6-University of Oxford: like the University of Paris, the exact date of this university’s founding is unclear. The formal founding date, however, is 1096 — although teaching from the Oxford location is considerably older than this date. This institute developed rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. The school has temporarily closed twice, once in 1209 for the town execution of two scholars and in 1355 for the St. Scholastica riot. Currently, this oldest English-speaking university contains 38 colleges, each with its own internal structure and activities. 7-University of Montpelier: Located in Montpelier, France, this university also is considerably older than its founding date of 1150. A papal bull issued by Pope Nicholas IV in 1289 combined all long-existing schools into one main university. This university was suppressed during the 1793 French Revolution, but the faculties of science and letters were re-established in 1810, law in 1880. This university, in the spirit of modernism, was “re-founded” in 1969. The modern focus is on science and technology. 8-University of Cambridge: Known as the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, this university was formed by scholars who left the University of Oxford over a dispute in 1209. The two schools have, therefore, a long history of rivalry between them. Currently, Cambridge is ranked as one of the world’s top five universities and is a premier leading university in Europe. As of 2009, the alumni from this university account for eighty-five Nobel Laureates. Cambridge now consists of 31 colleges comprised of over 150 departments, faculties, schools and other institutions. 9-University of Salamanca: Located in Salamanca, Spain, this school was established in 1218 and obtained the title of “university” by Alexander IV’s papal bull in 1225. The school originally was established by Leonese King Alfonso IX to allow the Leonese people to study at home rather than leave to study in Castile. Its historical high note was when Columbus consulted this institute’s scholars in seeking a western route to the Indies. Today, Salamanca remains the University of choice for Spanish students who want to focus on humanities and language studies. 10-University of Padua: This is the second oldest university in Italy, falling behind the University of Bologna. This university was founded in 1222 when a group of students and professors left the University of Bologna in search for more academic freedom. Its primary claim to fame is its anatomical theater, established in 1595, which drew artists and scientists studying the human body during public dissections. The gardens and museums were begun in 1545, and remain as a testament to the focuses on botany and history. As of 2003, this university had approximately 65,000 students collegestats.org/articles/2009/12/top-10-oldest-universities-in-the-world-ancient-colleges/ Conclusion: The Nigerian nation is failing to apply knowledge based policies; especially by our politicians and practitioners (civil servants). Why are we powerless? Because we arent producing knowledge and spending much of our budget on education (say 30% of our annual spending). Why are we powerless and underdeveloped? Because we arent diffusing knowledge. Why are we powerless in Africa and the world? Because we arent applying/implementing academia knowledge based researches in our policy making and implementations. And, the future belongs to knowledge-based societies or nations. may God save Nigeria and Nigerians. Abbati Bako,MA,psc,bsis,mti,UK (Political Strategist)
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 23:25:48 +0000
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