THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION BY MUOGBO MICHAEL IZUCHUKWU ZIMUIFE (ZIM LIGHT)

INTRODUCTION

The importance of education as an effective catalyst for economic growth and development in a given society cannot and should not be exaggerated. It is truism that education is the bedrock of any society or rather country that wants to attain the higher level of growth and holistic formation of the citizens. We can also say that it is right to opine that the progress of any country is exclusively dependent on how educated her citizens are. It is on this note that this work is structured in a way to discuss the place of an encompassing philosophy of education in attaining the M.D.G for Nigeria. In order to achieve our aim, we shall for the below guidelines:

·         Conceptual clarifications of terms: Philosophy, education and philosophy of education.

·         Conceptual clarification of term: Millennium development goal (M.D.G) and its aims.

·         General overview of the present educational situation in Nigeria.

·         Obstacles of encompassing philosophy of education

·         Benefits/ usefulness of encompassing philosophy of education towards attaining the M.D.G for Nigerians

·         Evaluation and Conclusion.

MEANING OF PHILOSOPHY

The definition of term; philosophy  It has become a controversial issues, even in the field of philosophy and among philosophers, since they have not been able to reach a consensus on what the term philosophy means or produce a single universally accepted definition of philosophy. In defining philosophy, philosophers can be said to be partial in that some of them have defined philosophy from their own point of view. Etymologically speaking, philosophy comes from the two Greek words, “Philos” meaning “Love” and ”Sophia” meaning “wisdom”. The two words joined together translate to “love of wisdom. Danbury defines philosophy as a process of asking questions about the world, about man’s place in the world and about all aspect of human activities and experiences[1]. Furthermore, philosophy can be seen as the love of or pursuit of wisdom or knowledge and cause of all things, whether theoretical or practical. According to Omoregbe J.I, philosophy is nothing but essentially a reflective activity[2]. To him, to philosophize is to reflect on some fundamental questions with sole aims of providing answers for them. Philosophy can also be critical analysis of one’s doing in life. However, in a more encompassing manner, philosophy can be seen as art of questioning what is normally unquestioned in the life of the human being in the society.  From the above conceptions of philosophy, one would easily see that philosophy is by nature, a reflective enterprise. Philosophy constitutes a mode of inquiry and a discipline that enriches the capacity for reflection and rational deliberation.

MEANING OF EDUCATION

The term education has been given various definitions by scholars and philosophers. Education may be regarded as method of leading people out of ignorance. It is a means of socializing human beings. It can also be said that education is a systematic process of giving (by teachers) and receiving (by learners) of instruction.[3] It is an act and experience which has a formative or shaping effect on the learner. Education can be thought of as the transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge of a society.[4] This could mean that education serves dual purposes: as a means of communication and as a means of knowing what is not clear. It follows that Education is guide for learning a culture, molding of behaviour in the ways of adulthood, and directs toward eventual role in society. Education is the art of training a person intellectually, morally and physically, it is the best legacy any parents can leave for his child. In fact, it is the most valuable possession any person can have. From the above, one can see that education refers to any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of the individual. In this sense, education is life-long process. It is what we continue to learn from experience throughout our lives.

What Are The Aims Of Education?

Philosophers right from antiquity like Plato, Aristotle and other notable scholars have made many points concerning the aims and usefulness of education. Generally, I would say that, any meaningful education whether in our society, that is, our country Nigeria or elsewhere must prepare the individuals for the followings:

·         Education should make an individual to make contributions to life

·         Education should make an individual to adapt himself or herself to the ever changing nature of the society.

·         It should make one to be a good citizen

·         It should make one to develop a broad mind and objectivity.

·         It should assist one in developing his or her personality.

·         It should make one to be able to develop good relationships with other human beings.

·         It should make one to be self-discipline

·         With education, one has to develop in all ramifications: spiritually, morally, academically, and socially.

·         With education, one will be able to earn his or her living

·         Education should also make one to contribute towards the development of the nation.

·         Education helps to chisel out animalistic propensities in man so as to become more rational being.

·         It trains the mind, helps in self-actualization and proper adjustment to ones’ environment.

·         It is meant to develop the capacities that are latent in human nature

From the above aims, it is obvious that education should be positive and not negative so that one can contribute positively to the society. The implication is that negative education will always lead to negative contributions to the society while positive education will also lead to positive contributions or effects

MEANING OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

It is very relevant to note the meaning of philosophy of education as this would help us to know the place of encompassing philosophy of education for attaining MDG for Nigerians. Philosophy of education is an application of philosophy to education, that is, rational thoughts as applied in the field of education. Put differently, philosophy interrogates the idea/concept of education. By critical thinking and questioning the unhealthy elements in peoples educational system can be recognized and expunged and enabling values incorporated in the system.[5] Additionally, Philosophy of education can be succinctly defined as a codified system of rational thought which guides, directs and regulates education by examining what teachers teach and what learners learn. This is to say that it examine education, its nature, its aims and its relevance in a given society. And it can also aid in formulating educational context or curriculum. Apart from the above conceptions, Philosophy of education can be seen from two perspectives: in a loose sense and in a technical sense. In a loose sense, the notion of philosophy of education often arises when people begin to pass comment or express their dissatisfaction about the process of educational system in their society. In this category, there is no serious application of philosophical tool on the educational principle or system instead there is peoples’ expression on the type of education which they had received or liked. In looking at philosophy of education in the strict or technical sense, one will see that philosophers of education are in a good position to provide thorough and hard look at the educational system, to analyze it and after deep reflection to produce an alternative system. In line with this, Akinpelu argues that both the process of analysis and reflections are what the professional mean by philosophy of education[6]. It is evident that connections between philosophy and education have been from earliest time and philosophers have traditionally focused their critical attention, on all aspects of education. This is not amazing because there is no way we can talk about human existence, or ask questions for the better ways for mankind or make provision for the sound education, without first of all giving some concerns to topics that are related to intellectual , and moral aspect of individuals. The most basic interrogations of philosophy into education are: what are the proper aims and guiding ideals of education? What are the proper criteria for evaluating educational efforts, institutions, practices, and products? Many aims of philosophy of education have been proposed by philosophers and other educational theorists; they include the cultivation of curiosity and the disposition to inquire; the fostering of creativity; the production of knowledge and of knowledgeable students; the enhancement of understanding; the promotion of moral thinking, feeling, and action; the enlargement of the imagination; the fostering of growth, development, and self-realization; the fulfillment of potential; the cultivation of “liberally educated” persons; the overcoming of provincialism and close-mindedness; the development of sound judgment; the cultivation of docility and obedience to authority; the fostering of autonomy; the maximization of freedom, happiness, or self-esteem; the development of care, concern, and related attitudes and dispositions; the fostering of feelings of community, social solidarity, citizenship, and civic-mindedness; the production of good citizens; the “civilizing” of students; the protection of students from the deleterious effects of civilization; the development of piety, religious faith, and spiritual fulfillment; the fostering of ideological purity; the cultivation of political awareness and action; the integration or balancing of the needs and interests of the individual student and the larger society; and the fostering of skills and dispositions constitutive of rationality or critical thinking.  

Importance of philosophy of education

·         It helps to understand and to modify the educational process.

·         It helps to identify conflicts and contradictions in any theory. I

·         It develops the human capacity to raise questions about theory.

·         Also, it clarifies concepts and assumptions that are underlying educational theories.

MEANING OF MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL, MDG

The millennium development goals are a strategy adopted by the about 189 member States of the United Nations in September 2000 with the sole aim of improving the lives of the people. The millennium development goals MDGs) focus the efforts of the world community on achieving significant, measurable improvements in people's lives by the year 2015. These member states through millennium declaration established targets and yardsticks for measuring result not just for developing countries but for the rich countries that help fund development programs and for the multilateral institutions that help countries implement them.

The eight MDGs listed below guide the efforts of virtually all organizations working in development and have been commonly accepted as a framework for measuring development progress:

1.      Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

2.      Achieve universal primary education

3.      Promote gender equality and empower women

4.      Reduce child mortality

5.      Improve maternal health

6.      Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

7.      Ensure environmental sustainability

8.      Develop a Global Partnership for Development

GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE PRESENT EDUCATIONAL SITUATION IN NIGERIA

In talking about Nigeria’s educational situation, it is crystal clear that at all level of federation, it has radically collapsed. This manifests in a situations where most of the educational institutions are underfunded, understaffed, underequipped and cult infested. Many after schools become touts and ruffians for politicians owing to the fact that our educational sector is poorly managed. The educational situation of Nigeria shows that government is not giving adequate attention to the academic sector as it ought. Infrastructures are lacking in schools and things are made too hard to the advantage of the students. There is no see the reason why the state, which has education as its industry that produce intellectuals for public interest, would be sky rocketing the school tuitions, disregarding the fact that some students are orphans and cannot afford such. There are equally accommodation problem in some schools.     The chief causes of these ugly educational situations in our country are:

 Misplaced Priorities

Evidence has shown that our leaders have misplaced priorities. A critical assessment of our leaders since independence reveals that two-third of our leaders was just square pegs in a round hole. Majority of them have no vision, nothing tangible to offer to the people, unprepared for the positions. Majority of them, no sooner had they gotten into the offices than they began to fumble with enormity of the challenges of their positions. Some of them are not even educated talk more being innovative. What we see in our leadership positions are those who were thrust forward by circumstances other than their initial disposition to occupy such positions. In fact, the irony of leadership in our country is that those spend time preparing never get there because our system always devises a means of outwitting them in the game. It is because of these that things are in the shoddy state because Nigerians do not share the same fate with their leaders. While the common man laments the biting economic reality, the leaders can afford to live extravagantly and build empires of fortunes for their children and generation yet unborn. With basic infrastructures collapsing left, right and center due to lack of maintenance, our leaders run away from these messes they have created to look for means of satisfying their needs, both within and outside the country. But good and encompassing philosophy of education is an antidote to all these aforementioned problems of misplaced priorities our country Nigeria is currently experiencing. If we have good and encompassing philosophy of education, our leaders should be able to provide those things especially social needs that the citizens need. Those things include: Good Roads, basic amenities like good water, shelter, and also social unity and so on. We should know that these things are essential needs of the people and our leaders are not supposed to be using them as their propaganda. But the tragedy is that even when they include them in their propaganda, yet they will even fulfill any of them.

Poor Effecting Of Governmental Policies

Here, one would not be slow to say that, in our country Nigeria, the main problem that we are face with is not the formulation of policies but implementation or rather execution of them. These policies are often hampered by incessant change of government, instability of school calendars lack of incentives to staff and so on. And most of these policies are sought to inculcate the ideals needed for the formation of human persons in schools. in this situation, students are not taught or given what they should be given, hence, they are not even in the right path to imbibe the right values for themselves.

Bribery And Corruption Of The Authorities

Bribery and corruption, even without being told is another deadly factor that has eaten so deeply our educational sector. This menace has in a way stunted the growth, progress and development of Nigeria’s educational sector. It undoubtedly manifests in a way in which the authorities or school officials associate with students to promote examination malpractices. Furthermore, Students are profoundly compelled to pay unnecessary fees during examination and those who do not comply with such suffer for it. In fact, our schools have turned into special centers, business centers and an arena where teachers and authorities get rich swiftly. Because of the fact that our leaders and authorities of schools are corrupt, once any money, which is meant to be spent for the renovation of classrooms and other essential equipment needed in schools, enters their hand, they see it as a golden opportunity to embezzle and siphon the fund.

Poor Staffing:

A critical look into our educational situation would know that there inadequate number of qualified teachers who are competent and dedicated to impart knowledge on the students. Most of the public schools do not have teachers on some very important subjects like English language, Mathematics, to mention but few. Even the private schools that claim that they have teachers, at the end of the day, one would realize that what they have are unqualified staff, secondary school holders.

High Rush For Paper Qualification

If we take a look to our various schools of learning, it is obvious that rush for certification has taken up the stand. Most people do not go to school to learn or acquire knowledge but to get certificate by all means. Such kind of people, when it comes to the situation of putting their certificate into practice, they would not be able to do so. Many factors have contributed to this menace such as corruption from the teachers and students, poor funding, indiscipline and poor staffing. These factors play many dangerous roles in giving premium to certification. Coupled with these, most students are no longer interested in embracing vocational careers. Everyone wants to be employed by government so that they can enjoy and work under air condition. But the truth of the matter is that everybody cannot be employed by government. Now how does encompassing philosophy of education help in dissolving this? Encompassing philosophy of education helps in providing and building self-reliant nation. This is a situation where we would not focus or give premium on white collar job but be more focused on what we can produce with our acquired knowledge. That is our knowledge should not be limited to hypothetical knowledge but should go beyond that. 

Unfavourable School Climate And Disruption Of School Calendar

A good school climate is one which creates room for effective and efficient teaching and learning process. But, this is not guaranteed in Nigeria educational system. Most of the schools are built in the market square, beside the industries, besides roads and railways. With these, one will begin to wonder how, with this situation, the teaching and learning can be enhanced. Not only this, some of the schools are created from conversion of duplex or three-bedroom flat. Most schools don have play group, or field where students can exercise themselves during recreation. All these amount for the bad situation of our educational system. Furthermore, there is so much disruption in the school calendar to the extent that a session is hardly completed without the school closing for one reason or the other. There is often witness of strikes which do last up to six to eight months.

OBSTACLES OF ENCOMPASSING PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION In Nigeria

Here, there is need to critically look whether there is possibility of encompassing philosophy of education in first place. From surveys and observations, one would strongly ague that there is not possibility of encompassing philosophy of education as far as Nigeria educational system is concerned. This is largely because, in the first place our leaders are not even educated talk less of having any vision concerning our educational statues.  Our leaders have different policies and ideologies. These are necessitated due to instability of government. For instance, a current leader may decide that there will be free education, that is, education from primary school to the tertiary institutions is free. Although, this ideology has both merit and demerit, but another government may come and decide to say no to free education. He or she may not even stop at saying no to the ideology of the past leader, he will go on and create his own policy also which the next coming leader my also render invalid and it goes like that. Furthermore, different society also is one of the factors that can make encompassing philosophy of education almost impossible in our country Nigeria. For instance, in our country Nigeria, it is a well-known fact that Western education is more fascinated in the south-West, south-South and South-East more than in the North. They (Northerners) prefer Islamic education to western education. So, in this condition it will be impossible, if not absolutely, to have an encompassing philosophy of education. This factor will automatically make it not possible for our leader to an educational policy that will cut across all the societies. This is simply because, if he or she does that, it is either it favours some part or unfavours some people. Another factor that has rendered encompassing philosophy of education almost impossible in our country is different teaching methods and curriculum. Also, differences in language and culture are yet another factors that may cause encompassing philosophy of education impossible in our country, Nigeria. Our country as we know is a country with culturally diverse people. And each culture has their language which they hold to a high esteem than others. And even the leader must be from a particular culture. We can see that it is of a difficulty for us Nigeria to find a language that will be universally aceepted by every tribe

BENEFITS OR USEFULNESS OF ENCOMPASSING PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION TOWARDS ATTAINING MDG FOR NIGERIANS

Having stated the agenda of the Millennium development goals, the main focus in their sub-topic is to explain the various ways through which encompassing philosophy of education can be of help towards achieving the aims of the MDG for Nigerians. Despite the various aims of MDG, if education should be kept on premium, then, other problems would be automatically be solved. A clear look into the nature and objectives of education, one would come to relies that, other things anchored on education. This is largely because; it is through education that individuals will be mostly able to contribute their quotas to the government for the enhancement of the economy and so on.  It is just to be liked to light that dispels darkness. It brightens the future of a country and paves way for its development.  It chisels out animalistic propensities in man so as to become more rational being. It trains the mind, helps in self-actualization and proper adjustment to ones’ environment.

Determination of educational type needed

Philosophy of education plays a role of determining for us what type of education do the citizens want. It determines whether we want free education or not. And what does free education imply. It also brings out the pros and cons of any choice taken on the educational type needed. For instance, just as free education has the followings at its benefits: it provides inviduals, the poor and less privileges the opportunity to be educated. In a long run, it encourages free and easy access to education for everyone and if we are all educated then, we will be liberated form the shackles of ignorance, illiteracy and be free from gullible and this in turn would lead to our enlightenment is all ramification, on the other hand, it has the following as demerits: our citadels of learning will be congested as a result of free education which creates unfavourable teaching and learning atmosphere  both for teachers and students, also free education, if not properly checked would make students not to really cherish the values of education, not only students but even the parents. If government gives free education, most parents will never bother themselves to cross-check their children’s activities and performances in their various schools.  Everything will be expected to be done by the government. The parents must ensure that government provides their children with exercise books, pen and pencil. The tragedy here is that if these are not provided by the government, the students will continue to go to school empty handed. Apart from these, government may also decide to choose scholarship programmes in order to encourage students who are interested in education.

Encompassing philosophy of education gives room for the evaluations of our educational policies:

Here, a leader with an encompassing philosophy of education will ensure that our educational policies are evaluated to ensure that they are relevant and still fruitful to the students who are the recipient of education. In fact, philosophy of education ensures that educational polices incorporates technical and practical aspect and not theory alone. This is simply because; education entails a wide variety of both formal and informal educational activities and those programmes that will help a student to acquire functional literacy. This particular effect of philosophy of education helps in ensuring that we build unifies society and self-reliant nations. Here, what it means is that with education we have, we will be able to produce some of the things with our own hands, not relying solely on others for our survival. We are also not to focus only on white collar job offered by government but to be able to do some blue collar jobs, vocational skill and others. By doing these, poverty and shortage of food supply in our country, which are parts of the aims of millennium development goals, will be reduced if not entirely eradicated.

Philosophy builds a just and classless society

A good leader with an encompassing philosophy of education ensures that just and egalitarian societies are built. That is, society that promotes gender equality where there is equal distributions of rights, no biases, no prejudices, no sentiments. For instance in our country Nigeria, there is nothing like gender equality. Women are still being treated as if they are not part of human species. Leaders are beyond judgment when they commit atrocities. In our country, only the followers are punishable by law when rules of the country are violated. But it should not have been the case. Everybody has to be punished as far as rules are violated. Not only, we also experience tribal prejudices, ethnic fear and so on in our society (Nigeria) today. For instance, an Igbo man will be afraid or extra careful when he o come in contact with a Hausa man and vice versa, a Yoruba man will not be able to work freely in an Igbo environment, moreover, one tribe trying to dominate others and become superior to the others while the others are looked upon as inferiors who had nothing to offer to the society. So, if our leaders have good encompassing philosophy of education, this problem of gender inequality, which is also one of the targets of Millennium development goals, will be a past story.

Good and encompassing philosophy of education exposes our social needs

A leader with a good and encompassing philosophy of education would be able to detect the basic and social needs people want. These needs are to help in making the lives of the citizens better and improving. These social needs can be visible and invisible things. The visible things include: construction of roads, industries, good water supply, electricity, shelter, hospitals and so on. When these are put in place, then the aims of Millennium development goals are already met. This is because, for instance, if there is good and equipped hospitals, illnesses are cured, if there are workable industries, food items and other products are manufactured, if there good water supplies, we will not contact water-borne disease and so on. On the other hand, invisible needs include: national unity, attitude of cooperation, having concern for others and so on.

Good and encompassing philosophy of education improves standard of the living

What this means is that an encompassing philosophy of education helps in improving the standard of living. That is, it aims to better the society and that is what our leaders should preoccupy their mind with. Philosophy of education should reflect with the circumstance of the people. That is, it should aim at satisfying the identified needs of the society with the aim of improving the living. In an essence, philosophy of education is not and should not be something static but should help in making individuals and society better.

Good and encompassing philosophy of education evolves general curriculum

Good and encompassing philosophy of education has a major role to play in our educational sector. The mastery of it will help our leaders to evolve curricula that will cut across all schools both privates and public. To develop educational policies and values that help the students not only in academic life but also in moral life.in our educational sector, we experience a situation whereby curricula of private schools differ extensively from that of public schools. To the extent that some of the subjects that are taught in SS3 in public schools are being taught in SS2 in private schools.

Good and encompassing philosophy proffers the best educational ideas

Philosophy of education ensures that educational ideas that are being operated upon are suitable for that particular purpose. It critically evaluates its structure and ensures that it meets that demand in which it was adopted. For instance, in our country, Nigeria, many educational systems have being used and changed. They include: 8-6-2-3 system of education. That is, 8 years in primary school, 6 years in secondary school, 2 years of higher school certificate and 3 years university. Later on it was changed to 6-5-2-3 that is, 6 years primary, 5 years secondary, 2 years higher school certificate and 3 years university, 6-3-3-4 that is, 6 years primary, 3 years of junior secondary education, 3 years of senior secondary education and 4 years of tertiary education and so on. Philosophy looks inwardly into these ideas to see their pros and cons. If anyone is no longer relevant, it is immediately jettisoned and a new one is evolved.

EVALUATION / CONCLUSION

From the above discussion, we are able to see what philosophy, education and philosophy of education are all about. Furthermore, we made an attempt to describe the meaning and objectives of millennium development goals MDG, the functions of education and some hindrances of encompassing philosophy of education. Despites these hindrances, if our leaders make maximum use of philosophy of education, there will be good standard of living, our basic needs will be provided, we will form a society (country) that is self-reliant and democratic, egalitarian. We are to bear in mind that educational as a factor anchors all other objectives of the millennium development goals. This is largely because; it is true education that other factors such as Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, Achieving universal primary education, Promoting gender equality and empower women, Reducing child mortality, Improving maternal health, Combating  HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, Ensuring  environmental sustainability and Development of Global Partnership for Development can be achieved.

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[1] Danbury C., The New Book of Knowledge, (New York: Grolier Incorporated, 1980), Pg. 191.

[2] Joseph Omoregbe, “African Philosophy, Yesterday and Today”, in P.O. Bodunrin (ed.), Philosophy In Africa, (Ife: University of Ife Press, 1985), Pg. 1.

[3] Emefiena Ezeani, A philosophy of Education for African Nations (London: Veritas Lumen, 2013), Pg.13

[4] "Education”. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite.  Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2012.

[5] Ibidi P.14

[6] Akinpelu, J. A, An Introduction to Philosophy of Education, (London: Macmillan Publishers, 1985), Pg.2.