Quality Education As A Critical Tool For National Development

There is a kind of Nigeria we want. We desire a Nigeria that has value for sound and quality education. Let me start by defining education.
Education in my little understanding means acquiring knowledge through learning. If I may ask, how can we acquire this knowledge?

The Nigeria that we want can make us (the children) to acquire this through the following:
Firstly, I want free education for all the children in Nigeria. It doesn’t matter whether they are from a rich or a poor family. It is a known fact that prevailing circumstances have made it difficult for many parents to pay their children school fees and this is preventing the children from acquiring more knowledge.
Secondly, we want qualified teachers capable of impacting knowledge into the children and also for the kids to do better.

Thirdly, we need a conducive environment because a school without chairs, tables, teaching boards, good classrooms, well-equipped computer classes and laboratory equipment will make learning difficult for the children. So, for effective teaching and learning, we need a pleasant environment.

Fourthly, we want security officers to be always available to keep the school environment from attacks and make sure that the children are safe because many children have either been kidnapped or raped. So, to prevent such acts in schools, we need well-trained and equipped security officers.
Fifthly, in Nigeria, schools should have good libraries where students can get books to read to get the necessary knowledge and information they need to succeed in life.

Also, there is a saying that “a hungry man is an angry man.” On this note, we want a Nigeria that will feed pupils and students in schools with good nutritional foods that will give them a balanced diet. This will make the children to have sound health and able to know what the teachers are teaching them.
Likewise, we want a Nigeria that values the sound health of students and that would provide good health centres and facilities in schools where students who fall sick will be treated freely by trained doctors and nurses.

More so, there is a proverb which says “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Hence, we want a Nigeria that will make learning fun by providing playing grounds in schools so that the students will not be bored with only classroom works.
Similarly, we want the nation to introduce moral teachings to the educational system to help in inculcating sound culture and discipline in children for a better future generation.

We also want a Nigeria that values the wellbeing of the children and their teachers by paying the educators good salaries and on time. By doing this, the teachers will pay more attention to the students and there will be no strike actions in our schools.

At this point, let Nigeria attend to the educational needs of the children by providing quality education to discourage Nigerians from travelling abroad for their studies and let it be the case of other countries coming to Nigeria to acquire sound knowledge.

These and many others will make Nigeria a proof that truly, knowledge is power and without good education, our country is powerless. In all, let’s remember that quality education remains a critical tool for national development and we can’t afford to toy with it.

Name: Ikeoluwa Emmanuel.
Age: 11 years.
School: JSS 2, Junior Secondary School, Karu, Abuja.
State of Origin: Iyara, Ijumu LGA, Kogi State.