Education in Eastern Nigeria
EDUCATION IN EASTERN NIGERIA: Being a Summary of an Essay Paper. BY Leechichi Okpechi
Introduction The high performance of people from eastern part of Nigeria in areas of business, trade, farming and handiwork seem to trigger a curiosity to explore into its primary reasons. Some admirers have come up with the explanation that their traditional education coupled with great level of efforts and unconditional devotion to customs make the difference. This is because education for the people of eastern Nigeria is broader than the domain of school system, for education is more than schooling. For them education is traditional; traditional because it is a gradual passing on of the process, aims, traditional methods, and contents of their culture from one generation to another. The term “Education” does not have a strict unanimous definition as it depends on the perspective from which one views it. Though education varies from place to place and even from time to time; but education still remains an important tool for developing a nation.
The body of the work
Every society, culture and ethnic affiliation, has its own peculiar system of educating its people; this system is rooted in the people’s tradition and norms, which can be handed on from generation to generation (Fafunwa, 1974). Although, the underlying principles of education may be different in many society due to cultural and traditional differences; but in general education is fashioned to give every individual the opportunity to live normally in a society, no wonder the traditional education in eastern Nigeria focuses on character formation, physical fitness, moral uprightness, mental broadening, political participation and reverence for God. Moreover the emergence of Western education sidetracked the focus of education to Bible Knowledge, Christian Ethics, Christian moral instruction, and Christian literatures; all geared in the direction of producing well to do individuals.
Introduction The high performance of people from eastern part of Nigeria in areas of business, trade, farming and handiwork seem to trigger a curiosity to explore into its primary reasons. Some admirers have come up with the explanation that their traditional education coupled with great level of efforts and unconditional devotion to customs make the difference. This is because education for the people of eastern Nigeria is broader than the domain of school system, for education is more than schooling. For them education is traditional; traditional because it is a gradual passing on of the process, aims, traditional methods, and contents of their culture from one generation to another. The term “Education” does not have a strict unanimous definition as it depends on the perspective from which one views it. Though education varies from place to place and even from time to time; but education still remains an important tool for developing a nation.
The body of the work
Every society, culture and ethnic affiliation, has its own peculiar system of educating its people; this system is rooted in the people’s tradition and norms, which can be handed on from generation to generation (Fafunwa, 1974). Although, the underlying principles of education may be different in many society due to cultural and traditional differences; but in general education is fashioned to give every individual the opportunity to live normally in a society, no wonder the traditional education in eastern Nigeria focuses on character formation, physical fitness, moral uprightness, mental broadening, political participation and reverence for God. Moreover the emergence of Western education sidetracked the focus of education to Bible Knowledge, Christian Ethics, Christian moral instruction, and Christian literatures; all geared in the direction of producing well to do individuals.