Posted by Chester Morton / Tuesday, 23 January 2018 / No comments
English-speaking West African degrees, now to the dogs?
By
Austin Parker
A
few decades ago, university education in West Africa was provided mainly by the
governments of the respective countries. As a consequence, access was limited
to the few privileged ones who could make the cut off point, who were really
connected and probably, the children of some staffs of the universities
concerned, through protocol allocations. Today, English-speaking West Africa is
witnessing an unparalleled improvement in access to higher education. Many
universities have been opened and have been accredited to run programmes in
various fields of study.
Another
phenomenon, which has added a new dimension to university education in English-speaking
West Africa, is Private universities. They have trended a path which was
hitherto unknown. Until the entry of private universities, there were no
flexible hours such as organizing lectures in the evenings and during weekends to
cater for workers who might want to further their education but are constrained
by their work schedules. The Public Universities, not wanting to be muzzled out
of the market lived up to the competition by introducing distance learning
degrees and sandwich courses as well.
These
universities have churned out and continue to churn out graduates into the
streets of the individual countries. The result is that, over the years,
because the respective governments have not been able to adopt policies that
could absorb these graduates, and because the enabling environment was not
created for the private businessmen/women to create more jobs, a lot of the
graduates have remained jobless many years after school.
In
the English West African countries where the Private Universities outnumber the
Public Universities, there is a further fear that their proliferation has
diminished the quality in higher education. It is argued that the quest to go
into the provision of private university education is largely fueled by the
desire to make profit. For that simple reason, the motivation for profit
maximization could influence the players in the industry to sacrifice quality
for profit. Therefore, improved access to university education is detrimental
to English-speaking West Africa.
The
protracted civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, is argued to have created a
deep crater in the provision of university education. Even in these countries,
much has gone under the bridge after the war and normalcy has either returned or is
returning. Private Universities have emerged and are also churning out
graduates every year. They even have the added disadvantage of the fact that
the recovery efforts of the succeeding governments after the wars have not
taken them completely out of the woods. So jobs are not readily available for all
graduates that are minted from the universities every year.
The
fears that are raised above are not completely baseless. There is no way a
rapid change in any sphere of life can be free of issues. The problem of
graduate unemployment in English-speaking West Africa, where thousands upon
thousands of graduates are poured into the streets every year to look for jobs that
are almost non-existent is a huge problem to worry about. Secondly there is a
widely held view that, to a great extent, a country is as good as the
Universities that produce her future leaders. This being so, anyone would want
to question any developments that could throw degrees awarded by universities
in English-speaking West Africa to the dogs.
All
is not however gloom. One of the greatest assets of any nation is its people. Through
education and job training, the aptitude of all of the people can be improved,
and continually refined. We must therefore embrace any opportunity to improve
the human capital of the nations, no matter how negligible. There is a
lot to gain as a nation in West Africa if the training of our human resource goes
beyond high the school level. Though this might be just a drop in the
Ocean, we can still argue that the universities, so established, also provide
employment to some sections of the society. This is because, the universities that
are proliferated need both academic and administrative staff to keep them
running. Finally research has shown that the developmental challenges and the
kinds and number of manpower needed in West Africa are very huge. Therefore,
the number of graduates that are produced annually is highly inadequate.
For
all young people who are entering university, a few things are worth noting
however. Yes, the world has grown more competitive. Yes, jobs will not be
waiting to welcome you once you walk out the gates of a university waving a
brand new degree, but when employers go into the labour market; their shopping
lists include certain qualities which they want to see in prospective
hirelings. They look, for example, for people who are proactive and
resourceful, people who have drive, self-reliance, and are willing to learn.
They shop for people with good oral communication and presentation skills, the ability
to prioritize, ability to solve real problems, people who are flexible, loyal
and results oriented. They look closely at people with ICT skills and
knowledge of additional foreign languages (French, Spanish and Chinese, Arabic
among the most relevant). This cuts across all sectors.
As
a student in the university or in the senior secondary school about to enter
the university or aspiring to enter, you need to develop the qualities mentioned
about while you are schooling, especially in the university. When you do this,
your prospects in the job market would not be as bad as people would want you
to believe.
One
of the ways of getting ahead of your peers is to read. When you read you learn
in a matter of days what someone studied and researched and perhaps tested over
several years.
Do
not throw your hands in the air, when you put your head to it, success is
guaranteed.
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