I was recently on a Television discussion program with the head of one the units an educational parastatal known as the EDUCATION MARSHALS on one of my state local television stations. Their job is to get children of school age off the streets into the schools. As the discussions continued, there was this question as to why children were more interested in street trading than they were in going to school. At a point, the host made mention of “education for the stomach” and the panel stayed a while on this issue. I want to look at it in this post, I believe that because of the poor economic situation in most African nations, most people get whatever certificate that can put food on their table and not something they are really passionate about. As I work with teenagers and I ask them what career they intend to pursue, the answers they give are a result of a profession they think can satisfy their needs or what their parents have imposed on them which is also something the parents think will secure their financial future. What really saddens me is the fact that a lot of contributions to the world stage are buried in graveyards all over the world due to this situation. Everyone is in a survival mode, creativity is therefore stifled and one wonders at what point the paradigm will shift from survival to invention. Until we realize that education is more than an avenue to satisfy basic needs we will continue to depend on others for our development as a continent. Let us train our youths to begin to turn the raw materials that abound in this continent into finished products that can serve her and the world at large. Let us start thinking of what we can contribute to the development of humanity and not just what we can acquire from others to prove that we have arrived financially.
Originally shared on Justina Kes-Agbosa's blog www.kabissa.org
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