EDUCATION SECTOR : SOLVING THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM (FIRST PART)

Unemployment is a big issue in Nigeria, the country has the largest human population on the African continent with an estimated population of about 165 million and youths represent over 55% of this population. A 2013 statistics released by the National Population Commission indicate that youth unemployment stands at 54%. So disturbing is unemployment rate that the 2014 National budget was tagged by the government as " budget of job creation and inclusive growth "
 

The unemployment problem is strongly tied to the type of economy being operated in the country, which is largely dependent on oil export. Despite large revenue generated from the oil industries, limited jobs are created from it. In addition, much of the revenue is lost to corruption in the public offices. Previous efforts to diversify the economy such as investment in agriculture and solid minerals so as to create more jobs for the teeming population has most often suffered set backs largely due to corruption. However, one sector of the economy that has yet to be extensively explored in job creation is the education sector. The education sector comprising of schools, ministries, commissions, agencies, publishing houses and educational material industries are manpower intensive. With the appropriate strategies and investment in education, several millions of Nigerians would be gainfully employed.
 

Manpower deficiency in the education sector - particularly in the rank of qualify and trained teachers - is well known both by the government and the larger public. This problem was also highlighted by the recent strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (A.S.U.U) and the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (A.S.U.P) strike. Among its demands, the unions pray government to recruit more lecturers to compliment the available ones, who in their arguments are over stretched. Labour deficiency isn't confined to the tertiary education system alone, the ordinary level is suffering similar problem. Public (primary and secondary) schools are notorious for having a low teachers to students ratio. In some rural and remote areas, schools are all but names.
 

Labour deficiency in the education sector is certainly a dire problem that requires urgent attention. Direct investment into the sector through the recruitment and training of graduates as teachers would greatly impact youths unemployment rate. Thousands, perhaps millions would be taken off the street and ultimately employed. But not only the recruitment of teaching staff, also of non-teaching staff that are badly lacking, from administration, through security, works, maintenance, sports, transportation, cleaners, gardner to library. Staffing of these essential and non-essential department would create jobs and job opportunities that will greatly depress unemployment rates.
 

Another job opportunity in the education sector lies in schools infrastructural development through governments investment. Since the adoption of Structural Adjustment Programs (S.A.Ps) by the government in the 80s, at the time of economic downturn and fall in oil revenues, infrastructural development in schools have been in decline while the available ones deteriorates. The trend has continue till date, and with the growing number of students admission, classes are now overcrowded, office blocks are dilapidated and libraries and laboratories are either obsolete or non existence in lots of schools. The challenges of infrastructure are just enormous due to decade of neglect.

However, the trend could be reverse with short and long term investment in infrastructure, in this way, massive jobs and job opportunities would be created, exactly the feat of every administration. Myriad of direct and indirect jobs would be created in building and construction industries, furniture, laboratory equipment, electronics, automobile and printing industries among others. Such investment holds great promises in tackling unemployment.
 

Through this efforts, several industries tied to education, in particular, the publishing houses would be revitalized, thereby creating more jobs and indirectly solving the nagging unemployment problem.
While this essay has so far focus on the economic gains and job opportunities inherent in investment in education sector, several other gains abide. Asides massively creating jobs, investment in education also serves the complimentary role of improving education standard towards achieving the goals and objectives of the National Policy on Education. In addition, high literacy in the population is achieved and the prospect of a national development through education gets plausible.
 

Graduates recruitment as teachers in schools as described above have been selectively used by some states governments to tackle unemployment albeit wrongly. Thousands of youths are recruited into the teaching profession in various states as a strategy of both solving the problem of unemployment and inadequate teaching staff in schools. However, the pitfall to this approach is corruption. In Niger State for instance, the government yearly recruit thousands of graduates into its schools - in a popular scheme called " Talba Program "- and most recruits are deployed to the rural areas where teachers are in bad supply.

But due to poor motivation, incentives and salary, most teachers have devise a means to beat the authority and system by simply collecting the monthly salary without ever visiting class or knowing their students. For most people, the scheme is simply a state benefit and support for the unemployed. Thus, if this pitfall is addressed and corrected, the number of youths out of job or actively seeking employment in the labour market would be drastically reduced.
 

In summary, the education sector is a promising platform on which both state and federal government could directly and indirectly create jobs for its teeming unemployed youths. This would not only compliment other government's efforts at reducing unemployment but also raise the standard of education in the country. However, stringent regulation and monitoring mechanisms has to be put in place to prevent such effort becoming a state benefit scheme for the unemployed.
 

In conclusion, anyone reading this and thinking, why not investment in industries, health, roads, agriculture or mining, any of which would equally yield substantial jobs and job opportunities. Of course, investment in all these sectors would be good for the economy. However, its people who drives all these sectors and without quality education, all the investment would be a waste. In addition, its education that drives innovation and the development of any nation in today's world is a measure of its investment in education.
 

According to G.K Chesterson "education is simply the soul of a society ..." and in fact, only education brings true development and progress.