Chisom Ezeobi, PBA Journalism Mentee
By Chisom Ezeobi
Education, no doubt, remains the best legacy a society can possess. With the dwindling value of education in Nigerian society, experts have over time advised that all hands must be on deck to revitalize the educational system for a better future in the country. Not just the system, but also the students, parents, and teachers should brace up to the rescue of what might be the only hope for our beloved country.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe teenager, Kamsiyochukwu Umeh is celebrated for her exploits in the educational sphere. The 16-year-old student of Deeper Life High School, Mowe, Ogun State recently stunned the world with her astonishing performance in both the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). She emerged top-scorer in both UTME (360 out of 400 total score) and WASSCE (A1 in eight out of nine subjects), a rare feat in the contemporary world of youths heavily influenced by social media exposure.
READ ALSO: Mixed Feelings For WAEC, UTME Top Performer, Kamsiyochukwu Umeh
Looking into her background and environment to raise more persons like her could go a long way to better Nigeria’s educational system, say analysts.
In an interview with a Prime Business Africa correspondent, Dr Echa Jeremiah Ukeatabuchi, a Clinical Psychologist and lecturer at the Department of Psychology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, used the high achiever, Kamsiyochukwu Umeh as a case study to explain factors that could channel students to a high level of intelligence and academic success. He also pointed out several practical psychological issues students face that might have impeded their academic performance and possible solutions.
Dr Echa expressed concerns about a growing wrong perception that education is not a gateway to riches, especially being nurtured by those who now see wealthy influential figures who are dropouts and have no value for formal education, as role models, adding that such should be jettisoned as education is the bedrock of human development.
He said: “Kamsi is a good standard for her peers and individuals coming after her, even those who are ahead of her. With her achievements, youths can still hope for education in the country. For some years now, the saying, ‘school na scam’ has been going viral. This has painted a picture that there is no need to waste time on education because, at the end of the day, nothing will be achieved.
“A lot of people have lost faith in the educational system. There are graduates with no job, while there are dropouts who are doing so well in the eyes of society because they are influential, lodge in the best hotels, dress well, and have money to spray around. People see this as success, but it is not really so.”
“Education is one of the best things that can be given to an individual to make an investigation; education is a tool that can be used to fashion the future. People should go to school and aspire to perform above average and be motivated to be the best,” he advised.
The child protection advocate, Dr Echa, also pointed out the psychological issues that limit students’ performance and what could be done to remedy the situation.
“Kamsi may have been born intelligent but not essentially what made her succeed and arrive at this point. Imagine if she did not have any family support which is referred to as social support in psychology, she would not have made it this big. Social support is having the advantage of a family which measures stability, provision, a sense of safety, and protection.
“The right social support can make individuals excel academically. Also, students should be interested in and love the idea of education before exposing themselves to it. The idea of education is that schools can expose someone to something. They should cultivate the habit of early preparation for examinations with the aid of discipline and good knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses.
“It is important to point out the psychological issues impeding our students from excelling academically. Note that almost everything has a psychological undertone. These issues are: inability to take care of the physical well-being which can be due to lack of basic resources. Also, some students find it difficult to manage stress which can lead to depression, poor grades, and suicide.
“Low self-esteem or the feeling of inadequacy is another issue students battle with. Some students end up taking psychoactive substances to cope. This can lead to addiction to those substances.”
Highlighting the solution to the issues, he advised that students need to have reliable family backgrounds and social support systems with people they can easily and freely relate with.
Students, he advised, should also seek professional help from social services, psychologists, mentors, and experts in their schools. “With this, students can understand what they are experiencing and how to deal with it; the students are also allowed to participate in the experience.”
Commenting on the subject, another lecturer from the Department of Psychology, UNN, Prof. Philip Mefoh, also confirmed that stress is another major issue students struggle with. According to him, this includes financial stress and environmental stress.
He advised that the economy of the country should be made to work well and enabling resources should be provided for staff and students.
Dr Ukpai, an educationist recommended that the educational system in Nigeria should be adequately funded by providing the necessary facilities and required manpower to deliver quality education and to produce students that can compete favourably with their counterparts globally.
In a media interview after the news of her awesome performance reverberated, Kamsi revealed that she consistently studied hard, a minimum of six hours every day, and her school and family background also provided an enabling environment for her to excel.
With the turn of events in Nigeria, there is no doubt that the country needs the likes of Kamsi to have a promising future for its education system and good future leaders. However, all these would come with better investment in the education system.
