By Ibrahim Daramy
A few weeks ago, I had a revealing conversation with a prominent academic who said something striking: some of our top universities are scamming their students. When I asked why, he explained that many institutions are still teaching courses that are long extinct — at least if global trends are anything to go by.
For over two decades, our higher education authorities have held countless workshops and consultations on reforming the system. Yet, apart from reports and communiqués, our core challenges remain unaddressed.
Recently, I saw a post on social media challenging African academics to move away from their obsession with paper publications and instead focus on solving real problems. We often blame the “white man” for his colonial education model, but even in his absence, we continue to supervise ourselves into conformity with his outdated agenda.
I still remember the first song I learned on my first day of school — how to spell John Bull and sing London’s burning. My class one teacher made me believe that my success in life depended on how well I could recite songs that glorified my colonial master and lamented disasters in his city. Today, I curse myself for ever signing up for that deception.
I am currently holding the result of a National Vocational Qualification Examination from 2017. The grades read: English (E6), Mathematics (D5), Accounting (C4), Information Technology (E6), Business Management (B2), Office Management (E6), Economics (C3), Commerce (F9), and Health Science (E6). The person who wrote that exam has not been able to progress further with her education — eight years on. She is a victim of government’s chronic indifference to the educational needs of its citizens.
Perhaps this is why Professor Philip John Kanu, Vice Chancellor and Principal of Milton Margai Technical University (MMTU), has emphasized transforming that university to meet the skills demanded by today’s job market. But even that vision is constrained by a system that moves at a snail’s pace.
Just last week, the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) capitulated when it announced plans to go hybrid — after the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) insisted on sticking to outdated structures, despite three years of preparation under the current syllabus.
Until our education system begins to liberate rather than limit its learners, we will remain hostages — to old syllabuses, old mindsets, and old colonial songs.
