WAEC is good, but should never have been the minimum requirement

“School is not scam” should already be part of our national pledge. “I pledge to Nigeria my country to be faithful, loyal….and to go to school to have the academic ability to be an indispensable part of society. So help me God.” Something like that.

To counter people who say Nigeria’s school system is outdated, we should be asking for an upgrade, not for the annihilation of the system. There is room for an upgrade, and possible changes in curriculum.

This change should start from the bottom, right up to the end. First of all, we cannot continue to use outdated and UK-oriented curriculum. Even the UK have moved on from what they transfered to Nigeria. This is a big conversation, but we’re not ready for it.

Thanks to the Federal House of Representatives, we’re ready for another big conversation – to stop WAEC-only graduands from holding top government positions like the Presidency, the governorship, and lawmaking.

A bill seeking to raise the educational qualification for election into the office of the president has passed the second reading at the house of representatives.

The constitution amendment bill, which passed first reading last Tuesday, also seeks to raise the minimum academic qualification for election as a governor, state and federal legislator.

The 1999 Constitution, now considered non-progressive, allows a person who “has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent” to contest an election, and win. You know, like the current president. Sections 65, 106, 131 and 177 of the 1999 constitution will clear your doubts.

But a new bill has been sponsored by Adewunmi Onanuga, a lawmaker from Ogun, Which is seeking to raise the qualification to at least a “university degree level or its equivalent”.

“This is not a bill targeted at stifling the interest of Nigerians in politics, rather it is a bill that will help Nigerians to sufficiently prepare for the humongous task of political leadership,” she said.

“If a managing director who holds an equally strategic position in a company within this country, cannot be employed without a university degree or its equivalent, why should the above political offices be held by people without a university degree or its equivalent?

“We all know that after a university degree or its equivalent in this country, comes the compulsory National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), without which it would be difficult to get into any employment especially within the public sector.

“Invariably, by leaving the qualification of this political offices to remain at school certificate level, we are implying that the NYSC is not a requirement to hold political offices but it is a requirement to secure a job in the public sector,” Onanuga says.

This WAEC conversation is not new, and President Buhari increased it’s volume. There is still the general belief that for someone to hold a position as important as the leader of a state or a country, an education gotten from a higher institution may prepare the person to face the challenges that office will bring.

President Buhari has had a stint at being a national leader before, and his second may not have been new to him, but how about candidates who have no experience?

Higher education – beyond WAEC – is considered a focal point of knowledge, and higher institutions, through it’s products, aid economic growth and development by fostering innovation and increasing higher skills. It is looked as a way to improve the quality of life and address major social and global challenges.

Universities promote lifelong learning; the professional skills acquired to help progressive development. We should have passed that law already. But, better late than ever.

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