Opinion: Practical Agriculture, Vocational Education, and The School Curriculum – By Daniel IGHAKPE
Agriculture was once the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. Before the
discovery of oil, commercial farms blossomed and farming was seen and
practiced as the main occupation. The North had cotton, groundnuts and
other products. The East had Palm Oil, while the Southwest had Cocoa.
Agriculture laid the foundation for Nigeria’s industrialization,
contributing the largest share to an economy that was experiencing
very boisterous growth.
However, after the discovery of oil, with its increased production and
the huge revenue which it attracted, less and less attention began to
be paid to agriculture. Nowadays, most people in Nigeria, particularly
the youth, are not interested and do not want to engage in farming any
longer. Most young people and unemployed graduates today are only
interested in white-collar office jobs. Unfortunately, there still
exists the misconception that farming is a profession for the poor and
illiterate, which entails grueling toil in the farmland, with a mere
pittance as returns.
These notions have been fuelled over the years by lack of proper
training for those who go into agriculture, causing them to demonize
and abandon the venture. This leads to an ageing farming population.
Nigeria’s population is currently growing faster than there are
farmers to feed the nation.
Nevertheless, agriculture still remains the largest sector of the
Nigerian economy. It employs two-thirds of Nigeria’s working
population. Agriculture accounts for approximately 22 per cent of
Nigeria’s GDP. Our priority now should be to get young Nigerians
acquainted with the nitty-gritty of agriculture at an early age,
introduce them to the business aspect of agriculture and also ignite
the interest of school students in agriculture and encourage them to
pursue agriculture-related occupations.
One such initiative that aims to accomplish the above-mentioned
objectives is the ‘Green Schools Initiative’ by Notore Chemical
Industries – one of Nigeria’s leading agro-allied company. This
initiative rallies stakeholders in the agricultural and educational
sectors to expand the secondary school curriculum with the intention
to get students more involved in the practical aspects of agriculture
within dedicated farmlands in their respective schools.
According to a Managing Director/CEO of the company, it involves
Notore partnering with secondary schools across Nigeria to establish
demonstration farms that will be used to teach students modern
agricultural techniques and best practices. The hands-on approach of
demonstration farms accelerates the adoption of international best
practices, which will give the students a competitive edge over their
counterparts in other sectors.
The initiative it has been said will start off with 120 unity schools
and top state-owned colleges across the country, with plans to
significantly increase the number of participating schools. This is
certainly a worthy initiative that should be highly commended and
encouraged indeed! Private schools, the private sector, other
non-governmental organizations, and other extension agencies can also
emulate such a novel initiative. This will help to inculcate the love
of agriculture and farming among the Nigerian youth.
Another important area of the Nigerian educational system that needs
to be given serious attention is the inclusion of Vocational Education
and Training in the school curriculum.
In Nigeria, there is too much emphasis on university education and
merely acquiring paper/academic qualifications, not bearing in mind
whether the holder possesses the required knowledge and skills.
Nigerians generally have this mentality that a university degree is
more important than technical/social/vocational training. We live in a
society that places a high value on white-collar jobs and
‘professionals,’ a society where blue-collar work is considered as low
status. Parents want their children to pursue careers that will enable
them maintain or even increase their high status. They want their
children to get high-paying professional jobs. They see Vocational
Education as ‘secondary’ and ‘not important.’ They just want academic
success for their children. Many schools even place a high premium on
college admissions and gaining admission into top ivy-league
universities. This has reduced the economic opportunities for those
who are more work oriented. It is therefore very necessary and
important that parents be re-educated and enlightened regarding the
value of occupations that are not high on the social status scale.
The inability of our educational system to provide youths with the
demands of industries has led to increased frustrations. This further
validates the fact that Vocational Education brings both immediate and
lasting economic returns for the country and its citizens. Schools in
Nigeria need to introduce Vocational Education and Training into their
curriculum. By doing so, it will assist students to develop skills
that can be of benefit to them in the future. Until Vocational
Education is taken seriously, only then will the economy become
better. Vocational Education and Training can contribute to the
reduction of poverty, hunger and unemployment. It can also help people
become self-reliant.
Vocational, entrepreneurship, or skill acquisition programs include
training in skills such as: agriculture/farming;
tailoring/sewing/fashion designing; cooking and baking; carpentry;
barbing; hair styling and making; photography; video editing; musical
instruments training; cobbling; make-up and gele tying; painting;
plumbing; and so on. It can help students to build up their talents
and also enable them to be self-reliant, or otherwise to secure
well-paying jobs that can help them take care of themselves and their
families.
There is a huge necessity for Vocational Education and Training in the
school curriculum. It is vital for educational institutions to provide
resources needed to teach Vocational Studies in schools. It is
significant for parents, educators and even the government to note the
relevance of scholars studying Vocational Education. It provides
students with life skills to become productive entrepreneurs, as it
breeds creative and innovative ideas. In the long run, it impacts on
the economy and increases personal freedom.
NB: Some of the content of this write-up (specifically on ‘vocational
education’) was sourced from the website of Greensprings School – with
oral permission sought.
Daniel IGHAKPE.
0817 479 5742; [email protected].
FESTAC town, Lagos.
