Prof. Ajike Osanyin, Founder, Early Childhood Association of Nigeria (ECAN), said on Saturday that literacy is beyond book work, but ability to acquire skills that are beneficial to individual and the society.
Osanyin told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that a literate person should be knowledgeable in school work as well as acquire skill that is beneficial to him and the society.
She refereed to graduates these days as unemployable because they lack skill, ability and are being saturated with book work.
“If you look at the demands of employers they are not looking at your certificate but your ability.
“Do our educated product have the ability, No; instead we store them with books and are saturated.
“They can be referred to what I now call damaged disposition because they are not motivated and there is no challenge.
“Parents seem to have done the job for them because basic amenities had been provided for them.
“That is why we have adults, who should be self reliant, but are still living with their parents because they do not have skills,’’ he said.
The don, who described a literate as being functional to oneself and the society, said that there was need for a change of attitude towards emphasis on school work and concentrate also on potential.
She said that the society over the years had missed it because of the idea that only book work can make an individual.
The professor said that there were lots of things to be acquired outside the school curriculum.
Osanyin said there was no effort in place to make the education a child gets in school relevant besides memorizing which was not literacy because it was not part of them.
“Literacy should be beneficial to one which is not so in most cases; that is why we have examination malpractice.
“It is because people think the end product is just the certificate; it is not all about the certificate.
“If you have been properly educated, you have your skills, you know what you want to do that makes you literate and basically self reliant,’’ she said.
She said that the situation could be rectified if the society should have a change of mind set and value of what we want our children to be.
Osanyin, the founder as well as the president of ECAN said that the policy makers in the education sector should re-design the curriculum to meet the needs of the children.
She also advocated for parental education so that they would be informed on what is called literacy so as to effectively instill literacy in the society.
The don said that many parents were at loss because they were too much glued to academic drill and memorization and these were not necessary for development. (NAN)
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