THE number of first class degrees one of  the private universities announced at its convocation ceremony last year stunned guests. A relatively new university with less than 2,000 graduating recorded over 30 students in the first class category.

It is a paradox of sorts that while complaints about the falling standards of education are on the increase, the number of first class graduates is increasing too. Schools appear to be in competition with each other over who would award more first class certificates at its convocation. It seems like a fad.

Everybody must produce first class graduate, better still in high numbers to burnish the image of the school as a first class institution.

Years back, academic excellence in Nigeria resonated around first class graduates, most of whom the schools made every effort to keep for themselves as the next generation of great minds that would sustain the faculties of those schools. First class degrees were very rare. It was not even easy for hard working students to make the second class upper division.

Those who got them earned them. They were a special bred who excelled wherever they went. They were great image-makers for their schools. They stood out with their contributions. Their intelligence was no surprise.

Defenders of the surge in the number of first class degree laureates argue that more students now sit for degree examinations than years back when there were few universities.  Information Communication Technology has placed many learning aids at the disposal of students.

They add that many parents can afford to buy highly priced computer gadgets that afford access to e-libraries and learning resources, which even averagely endowed but well taught students, can leverage upon to excel in examinations.

Plausible as these may seem, they cannot explain the phenomenon that is spreading to more schools. Do these certificates reflect what these students were taught and what they know?

Degrees should be more than mere paper certification of learning. They should say something about the quality of the knowledge acquired, or students’ ability to apply it. Classification of performance should indicate students’ intelligence. A holder of a first class degree should be able to tackle challenges that task knowledge and test intelligence. These reasons are why most blue-chip businesses prefer first class degree holders when hiring fresh staff.

Officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC,  made a startling discovery when they interviewed the brightest and the best among Nigerian youths to hire them as entry-level staff — 80 per cent of the supposed holders of the first and second class upper division certificates scored less than 20 per cent! Could this explain why thousands of graduates remain unemployed?

The results of the plummeting standards of education are showing. Stories about malpractices at examination centres are too many to get more space. Scandals now trail our examinations whether it is West African Examination Council, WAEC, and school certificate or university matriculation.

Government should show more interest in the quality of education Nigerians get. It should extend the interests to those who award these first class degrees. The involvement of teachers, students, and even parents make them active collaborators in the commission of the crime.

A nation of hundreds of thousands of unemployable graduates is worse than a one with low literacy rate because in the latter case you know where to start the job of ameliorating the situation.  We must arrest the rot and return our schools to true citadels of learning.

Unless Nigeria quickly tackles the many ills of our educational sector, it would still go through the 2020 without making any meaningful change. Without addressing education, Vision 2020 will never be able to meet our national aspiration to enter the big economic league.