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Are Educational Institutions in Nigeria Truly Corrupt?

                                       Image source: Geralt from www.pixabay.com

In contemporary society, funds are needed to effectively run the educational sector. This is because cash among others is a major driver of the economy. Human resource is another important driver that cannot be overlooked. The interplay between the two results sometimes in the promotion of unwholesome practices among key players in the educational system. 

Subconsciously, people tend to act out what they have learnt by the process of imitation. In the same manner, corrupt practices tend to be imitated and perpetuated in our educational institutions while being presented as the norm, and promoted as the hidden curriculum. 

Corruption, a word that has its root in politics, and no universally agreed upon definition is as old as government itself. Triesman in Alt and Lassen (2003) defined corruption as misuse of public office for private gain. Transparency international, on the other hand defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power. It further categorizes corruption into petty, grand and political depending on the amount of money lost or the sector where it occurs. 
 
In Nigerian educational institutions, corruption ranges from petty as seen in our classrooms to political as exemplified in the disbursement of finance to that sector by the ruling government of the day. It is a well known fact that education as an established institution with customs/practice. 

One aim of education is to develop character, morals, integrity and to replicate good virtues. Whether this aim is achieved in current time remains a subject of debate. One universally accepted fact is that education is a thriving institution which brings us to the issue of institutional corruption a major challenge facing the Nigerian educational
institution. An issue so commonplace that the society practically looks the other way. 
Major questions that need to be addressed are
  • What constitutes corruption? 
  • At  what point does a seemingly right action become tagged as corruption?  
  • How does the economy and politics affect its rate? And 
  • What  role does our national policy on education play in the in the control or promotion of corruption.
Every institution of government is guided by it's philosophy. The nation's philosophy of education, (FGN, 2016:4)  states that "education is an instrument for national development;  the formulation of ideas, their integration for national development,  and the interaction of persons and ideas are all aspects  of education".
Nigeria’s philosophy is based
on
●  The development  of the individuals into a sound and  effective
citizens.
●  The full integration  of the individual into the community
●  The provision  of equal access to educational opportunities  for all citizens of the country at  the primary, secondary and tertiary levels both inside and outside  the formal school system.

Using Transparency international’s definition of corruption which 
the abuse of entrusted power.  We can say that those who have been
entrusted with the power of running the educational system have
abused the powers entrusted to them. 


The yearly budget allocation for 2014  saw the education sector getting 585,139,210 naira. Of this amount, 89.96% was spent as recurrent expenditure. That is used to pay
staff salaries and 10.04%  was used for capital expenditure. 2015 budget allocation was 492,034,000.  

Over the years, federal allocation to education has continued to hover between 5-7%. Focus continues to be placed on salaries of which many on the payroll are ghost workers. Instead of focusing on expanding the infrastructures on the ground meet an increasing number of students admitted as the country seeks to fulfill her philosophy of education. 

From the amounts earmarked for capital projects, contracts are awarded to friends and relatives who do not do a good job right or abandon it halfway. According to a world
bank document, roughly USD 210 million has been spent on the Nigerian Educational sector. With the amount of money spent on the sector, one would expect to see a smooth-running system that is working in line with the united nations' sustainable development goals. 
Instead, attention is drawn to strike actions by academic and non-academic staff demanding pay increase with no thoughts to the several problems affecting the educational system.

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