Sociological Foundation of Vocational Education in Nigeria

This deals with societal attitudes and perception of vocational education, the society’s expectations of vocational education and the various implications as well as the way forward.

• It is important to remind you that society can be described as a group of people living together within a particular geographical location (for instance, within a country e.g. Nigeria) and share common laws, organizations, government, customs, etc. The society is made up of individuals, families, villages, towns, etc. We are going to look at the relationship between the Nigerian society and vocational education under the following sub-headings: 
• Societal perception and attitude towards vocational education 
• Societal needs/expectations from education 
• The implications 
• The way forward 

a) Societal Perception and Attitude towards Vocational Education

In the previous unit, (unit 2), we mentioned that prior to the colonial era, the Nigerian society had enthroned labour and valued the dignity of working and producing goods and services with one’s hands as the only way of surviving and living a useful life. Then, everyone was proud of whatever he/she could do or produce. Everyone worked. No one wanted to be lazy because wealth and success were seen as products of hard work. People’s vocations/occupations were responsive to societal needs in terms of goods and services the society needed or wanted in order to survive. Unemployment and unproductivity were strange phenomena. Crime rate was low; moral standards were relatively high and people generally lived in peace with one another. Traditional vocational education was the only and most valued form of education. In fact, we can say that societal attitude towards vocational education then was positive.

This beautiful scenario gradually but steadily gave way with the coming of western/liberal education which emphasized mainly book learning rather than the use of the hand. Education at this time meant mere literacy - ability to read, write, speak a lot of grammar and produce little or nothing. At that time, education and the needs of the society became inversely related. Going to school became apparently out of tune with meeting societal needs. During the period, the following perception seemed to have influenced societal values:

Vocations and vocational training was generally despised and neglected if not totally ignored
Jobs relating to vocational training were described as “menial” or “blue-collar” while others were glorified as “white-collar” jobs.

Vocational education was seen as inferior to liberal education. Education was not planned to help people serve the society better by becoming better farmers, goldsmiths, weavers, builders, etc.
People got duly certificated for studying Latin; philosophy, grammar etc. even when they could contribute little or nothing towards the solution/answers to the challenges and problems of life and living.

Vocational education was seen as education for the less privileged, less intelligent, physically challenged and maybe, women. People avoided “getting their hands dirty or soiled”; it was more
civilized to sit around, do nothing but be “clean”. Vocational education was seen as expensive and not worth spending so much on.

b) Societal Needs and Expectations from Education

According to the National Policy on Education (2004), some of the national goals which the society intends to achieve through education include the building of:

• a united, strong and self-reliant nation; 
• a great and dynamic economy;
• a land full of bright opportunities for all citizens; 

The national policy on education also states clearly that the society believes that:

1. education is an instrument for national development; 
2.  education fosters the worth and development of the individual, for each individual’s sake and for the general development of the society; 

The document further states the national education goals to include:

• The inculcation of the right type of values and attitudes for the survival of the individual and the Nigerian society; 
• The acquisition of appropriate skills and the development of mental, physical and social abilities and competencies as equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of the society; 

In view of the above we can then conclude that the society expects education to do the following:

• Equip its recipients with relevant, saleable, employable knowledge, skills, competencies and attitudes to enable them gain and retain meaningful means of livelihood. 
•  Be responsive and sensitive to the needs of the society rather than being “lofty and abstract”. 
•  Produce citizens who are problem-solvers and who can provide practical answers to the various needs and challenges of the society. 
• Be work and career-oriented. 
• Help in building a peaceful, stable and safe society free from various types of societal ills. 

c) The Implications

The implications of the regrettable neglect of vocational education which started from the colonial days and has eaten deep into the fabrics of the society can be summarized to include the following:

• General unproductivity or under-productivity because people lack “Technical know-how”. 
• Unemployment and under-employment at different levels 
• An ailing economy with generally low standard of living among the masses. 
• Disillusioned individuals who having realized their inability to become gainfully occupied; turn out to become deviants and misfits in the society. 
• High crime rate e.g. armed robbery, toutism, prostitutions, money laundering, murder, riots, kidnapping etc. 

In fact, Thurow (1994:50) sums it up in his statement that: Show me a skilled individual, a skilled company or a skilled country, and I will show you an individual, a company or a country that has a
chance to be successful. Show me an unskilled individual, company
or country and I will show you a failure in the 21st century.

d) The Way Forward

The national blue print on education (2004:6 - 7) states that:

(i) There is need for functional education for the promotion of a progressive, united Nigeria; to this end, school programmes need to be relevant, practical, and comprehensive, while interest and
ability should determine the individuals direction in education.

 (ii) Education shall continue to be highly rated in the national development plans because education is the most important instrument of change; any fundamental change in the intellectual and social outlook of any society has to be preceded by an educational revolution.

The document further called for a repositioning of science, technical and vocational education in the scheme of national education for optimum performance.

The above sums up all that needs to be done in principle. We can only hope and pray that it shall be so in practice. Expanding prisons, increasing the penalty for crimes, instituting more criminal laws and decrees should not be seen as a better option enough to free our society from the scourge of “wrong education”. All that is needed is indeed an “educational revolution” - vocationalization of education, i.e., making education career/work-oriented at various levels.

In order to achieve this, there is need for the following:

i. More financial commitment to vocational education from individuals, government and the society.

ii. Enlightenment campaigns from the grassroots to the apex of the society in order to eradicate the negative stigma on vocational education inherited from our colonial days.

iii. Effective guidance and counseling for the youth to enable them see the need to acquire functional education – vocational education; even in addition to whatever certificates they already have.

iv. Total support for various aspects of technical and vocational education.