By Ebele Orakpo

‘Las las school na scam’; this is part of the lyrics of a song which became the slogan of many young people in Nigeria. Due to the high rate of unemployment among young graduates, many youngsters prefer to seek other means of survival rather than paying the price to get an education and in the end, have nothing to show for it.

Some Master’s degree holders are okada riders, some are traders, some are gatemen, while watching those who didn’t go to school make money and live big through fraud. Based on this reality, Xtra-Teacher Initiative in conjunction with New Era Girls Secondary School Lagos Alumnae Association, NEGSSLA-A, organised a symposium for graduating students of New Era tagged: “Beyond School Certificate: Is School a Scam?” for 229 graduating students of the New Era Girls Senior Secondary School, Lagos.

Addressing the students, an old student of the school and senior lecturer at the Lagos State University, LASU, Prof. Olawunmi Macaulay-Adeyelure called for proper funding of the education sector as that is the only way to turn around Nigeria’s situation for good.

Reeling out the benefits of education, she said: “Education makes the society a better place; it gives you freedom and makes you able to see things from divergent views. Cooperation and co-existence are the results of education. It emancipates one from mental slavery which could be religion or tradition and helps people to understand the law and why it was meant for them. It reduces lawlessness drastically in the society.”

She harped on the need for government to overhaul the education sector and ensure that people understand that getting an education is just so that they get white collar jobs.

“I choose to say that education is not a scam. Our youths are losing hope in education; many are regretting ever going to school but the importance of education cannot be over-emphasized, education is one of the basic human needs, it is important for any kind of development,” she added.

Mr. Adegboyega Oyinboade, a Health and Safety Manager for Africa Region at Bristow Helicopters, urged the students to make education a priority and strive for excellence. He said some of his classmates who wanted instant gratification rather than paying the price to get education, are today motor park touts.

He said he was able to attain the height he did because he was willing to delay gratification, noting that there is time for everything.

On her part, television host, Mrs. Morayo Afolabi-Brown advised the students to keep the right company because these are the people they will have to lean on later in life. She added that “right values and skills for the betterment of the society and individuals are inculcated in schools. Learning different skills is also safe because they will be useful in the future.”

The keynote speaker, Mrs. Olamide Akintolu, digital marketer, serial entrepreneur, and advocate for education said that education remained the key to development, hence the need to take it serious.

According to the convener, Victoria Abiola, she came up with the initiative when she saw the need to equip her students with ‘adaptability and survival skills beyond teaching core subjects in the four walls of the classroom.’

She said the philosophy is to change the thinking pattern of pupils through planned exposition, re-orientation, success modelling/mentoring, counselling and psycho-social support; adding: “Our society is turning into a mess and we refuse to watch things deteriorate further.

“The organisation has the vision to train 100,000 pupils in 20 years in competencies, life skills and others, to prepare them for the future.”

Vanguard News