Education, Social Issues and Lifestyle

                                                 Stocksnap/ Pixabay The school community is a place for learning and interaction and as such provides the necessary stimulus for individual development. The school community covers both staff and students and would require that everyone is involved in one way or the other to reduce or totally eliminate frustrating  experiences. For a new student, the school environment could seem strange,  boring and likely bring about frustration. Especially where such students had lived sheltered lives or are extroverts by nature.  This means  such a  student must muster up courage to mix with others, and participate in all the activities of the school. Dismal academic performance could result from not being able to meet up with the expectations of their teachers, while disciplinary issues could spring up f...

Corruption in the educational institutions ranges from embezzlement of funds to the many other sharp practices carried out in those institutions. Education which is looked upon as the foundation for development and modernization is no more given it's pride of place. While we know that the Nigerian system of education has undergone a lot of transformations, considering the instability of the economy and the rising rate of inflation, poor funding due to budgetary allocation, and bureaucratic bottlenecks, this monster tends to grow larger. The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) in an article published July 7, 2015 in Pulse Nigeria described the high volume of petitions alleging corruption in the academic community as worrisome. Speaking at a  workshop on academic integrity for Nigerian universities held in Abuja,  the ICPC, the National Universities Commission, (NUC), the National  Board for Technical Education  (NBTE), and National Commission for  Col...

                                       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 ...

Society develops when citizens are educated to drive its' growth and sustainabilty through right practices which ensures that, not only is their continuous development but, that the structures which would continually maintain such successes are preserved.  The school serves the all-important role of ensuring that the desired growth is actualized, regardless of whatsoever challenges and interferences that may likely arise from certain quarters such as culture.   The school plays the core function of knowledge, and/or skills transfer through generations for the active participation of individuals in society. Sociologists believe that the school is a microcosm of society, and inadvertently reflects the core values of society which it must continually propagate in order to remain relevant. Culture as an integral part of society is a well-established fact. For the most part, culture is a major part of the structure which holds a society, and in most cases, informs our decisions...

Women working in a rice field Literacy involves the ability of persons to read and write in the language of the society where they find themselves. As such, a person could be termed literate in a society and seen as illiterate in another.  With the present-day realities which put women and children at a disadvantage, and places limitations on the level of achievement in life, more and more of these women and children miss out on opportunities which would likely have made their lives better. While opportunities for growth abound in society, the chances for qualitative education whether formal, entrepreneurial or social which would have placed women at an advantage are limited by so many factors which work against them. Advancing literacy and quality education require the enforcement of strict guidelines to facilitate the pace at which people learn. For women and children, however, many factors come into play to ensure their continued limitation especially as it relates to ...

the burden associated with child abuse It is very true that most countries are made up a culturally diverse population. With this comes the attendant problem of culturally imposed ways and ideologies which translate in practices that are acceptable ways of doing things in these areas. However, some of these practices raise moral questions. How do we justify the pain a child goes through when he is beaten up by one who is obviously stronger than himself all because he or she erred when there are methods which can effectively be used to curb whatever vices we find these children in. Having found ourselves in a society that encourages a culture of dictatorship, should there not be any move to change the status quo? Should children not be allowed to speak their mind or say their opinions when necessary? How can the rise in the cases of Vessico Vaginal Festila (VVF), child molestations and other harmful practices continue unabated all in the name of discipline? Why do we tolerate the ...

Africa seems to be competing for her fair share of recognition especially in sales and use of smartphones with the older market players such as USA, Europe, and Asia. With incentives that continue to attract patronage being rolled out daily more people will likely continue to buy smartphones. That is to say that more children of school age will continue to have access to smartphones. The impact of the presence of these smartphones however on the teeming population of youths and adults in Africa is disastrous when not used properly. How different is the experience of Africa from that of Europe, Asia or America? Technically, the arrival of phones and in progression smartphones opened up a new window of endless possibilities to the African continent.  Providing easy access to job opportunities, a chance to see life outside of the viewpoint of Africans without actually traveling out of the shores of Africa are probably some of the reasons many plunged into the smartphone frenz...

The school is the birthplace of great minds in every society. It is the place where anyone who enrolls is enlightened and exposed to in-depth knowledge of a particular subject matter. This implies that just about anyone can be taught especially as learning is continuous and could be obtained through various channels.  For any society to build and strengthen its’ economy, there must be increased private sector participation which in most cases is composed of small and medium scale enterprises. Many small and medium scale businesses can be started with little or no capital at all. It is important that for society to continue to move and increase it’s GDP, considerably drop the level of unemployment and reduce crime, there must be a positive shift in favour of teaching entrepreneurship in schools. Who is an entrepreneur? An entrepreneur is a person who engages in business. He could sell an invention, product or provide a service. This places on him the responsibility of ensuring ...

Abused Child Child abuse practices is as old as time itself. It is not exclusive to a tribe, place, people or region. The relative differences which exist between societies however defines the limits and boundaries of child abuse. A major question to ask would be, who is a child? A child is a young human being below the legal age or a person with little or no experience in a particular area.  For the context of this piece, both definitions will be useful. Abuse on the other hand as defined by Miriam Webster dictionaries (online) is to treat in a way that causes damage. Combining both definitions, child abuse could be defined as the use of forceful or harmful practices in a bid to exert control, coerce or manipulate a child into submitting to the wishes of the one exerting such control. This individual could be a parent/guardian, caretaker, sibling or a more matured person. Lowenthal (1996) assert that child abuse could be physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse or co...

Over time, education has served as a basic channel for the establishment of members of society through the enlightenment of the mind which places individuals at an advantage in their daily activities. This education of the mind initially transmitted solely by mouth in the family and communities has evolved to western styled teaching, which is part of the package, of the evolution of societies. Western civilization is a product of evolutions from agrarian societies to information driven society and these evolutions have largely been supported and promoted by the education of the citizenry.  Education can thus be said to be a channel for the initiation of social change, when the creative abilities of citizens are harmonized to bring about a desired change. Smith (n.d) defines education as a process which comes with the realization of truth and the possibility of using such truth, to encourage people which, ultimately leads to discovery. This is supported by Dewey in Smith (n.d) ...