CORRUPTION AND THE ACADEMIA
BY
MA’AJI CALEB ZONKWA
PG/MED
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENT
THEORIES OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF VOCATIONAL TEACHER EDUCATION.
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
AUGUST 2003
Since we had independence, there has been no peace. It is very sad that things are getting worse and corruption is thriving daily. It is going to be difficult to eradicate corruption. People say if you want to go the conventional way, you will wait a long time ….
Chief (Mrs) Abinbola O. Mulele on correct education is way out of our problems –Vanguard Newspaper Sunday July 13, 2003.
Ours is a world in which corruption is rife – from the traffic police who demands cash from a motorist he stopped, to the politician who awards contracts in return for a sweetener. The effects are so damaging that the Academia has stepped in the ban wagon at a very high rate of racketing – experience.
INTRODUCTION
From the past to the present, the major problem observed plaguing the giant of Africa, acknowledged by its citizens, government and the world at large is that of corruption. It is like corruption has been accepted in Nigeria, where by one has to bribe his way all through life to exist in the country i.e. bribe before you get a job, admission, house to rent etc. or else you miss out.
To conceive the point in issue of corruption in the Academia, three examples are worth mentioning on corruption. In Kenya, if a poor man needs a job, He is told that a US $65 bribe to a prison’s Chief Officer will get him one. He scrapes together the money and pays but he is not added to the list of new recruits (BBC London News August 2003). He is a victim of corruption.
In Brazil, the city of Londina has a mayor called Antonia Belnati who, over three terms of office, embezzles US $45 million in a series of procurement deals. These include contracts with non-existent firm paid for services that were never performed (reported London, Weekly Guardian July 2003). The 450,000 citizens of Londina were robbed of their taxes because of corruption. In Nigeria, the state governor was in the middle of crisis in view of God-father phantom menace of political abracadabranism (Vanguard August 6, 2003 Newspapers). The people of Anambra State have been a long standing – worst – of political corruption. In Rome, eighteen people, students, University administrators, Lecturers and Professors on huge degree – trading racket at a cost of 3,500 euro without educational training, at Lasapienza University (Guardian Weekly, London July 24-30, 2003). These are political danger to employers (where having the abilities are prized most and these are said to be general transferable’ skills such as problem-solving, communication, team-work and critical thinking), especially in private and government organizations that will be lacking from professional stand.
Ours in Nigeria is a world in which corruption is rife. It might take many forms and is not always, easy to define. Perhaps the best description of corruption is that it is the abuse of office whether in government, academia, administration or business. Corruption is about the giving and seeking of favours, it is about buying political influence, taking kick backs, bribing official (in this our case Higher learning institution and other educational processes). It is about subverting the public good for private gain – as it affects the academia, especially certification. Because of the level of corruption at high places today, has live the common Nigerian on abetted. This, the President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on May 29, 1999 through the television (on his inaugural speech) state, corruption is the greatest single bane of Nigerian society. Now how does this function in the academia circle of the Nigerian society?
THE ACADEMIA
From medieval history of education from most scholars, “the first academy was a public park of ancient Greece in the city of Athens. It was derived at from a name of a great Greek warrior, Academus , about, 2,347 years ago, as an athletes who used the park. However, it was deduced that, the philosopher Plato, the wisest man of his time in Greek used to stroll in the grove with his pupils, teaching them. Because of this, they called Plato and his followers “the Academy” and ever since that time the word has come down to our present generation as to mean a school or other institution of learning or a group of learned men who form an association for study.
To clarify our point in issue this word Academia is connote to be from Academy. Also, for the purpose of this study, academia will be considered as those institutions of which our National Policy on Education 1998 refers to in section 1 as a pursue of an worth while activities in schools. In which today it has been crossly corrupted in:-
1. Corruption in Admission into schools
2. Corruption among staff and administration.
Finally, causes of corruption in the academia will be highlighted and their predicaments.
CORRUPTION IN ADMISSION
From experience it is observed that in Nigeria today the first instant of corruption start to manifest from admission into the school system. This is in view of the psychological preposition of being in school and the quest for paper qualification that has been bastardized for employment opportunities. Although, some genuinely have earned the requisite requirement for admission into school most don’t. for example, it was in the New Nigeria Newspaper of 1st October, 2003 we read how parents bribe principals of federal government College, Sagamu and Queens’ College, Lagos with N80,000:00 so that their children who score lower than 140 points and rejected for admission into the school can secure a place. While weeping parents with children that have the required points of 200 and above points being denied admission if they don’t exchange hands with the principal with the N80, 000:00 bribe. Also, the number of space available to accommodate both successfully qualified and unqualified candidates are lacking in most institutions.
Therefore, most Nigerians are ready and willing to do anything, pay anything, give anything and go any length into the academy. Like the case of admission fraud into the law school (which we read in the New Nigeria Newspaper of September 30, 2003) forms loaded out without acceptable criteria “since forms are distributed by the school authority only, to their cronies and wards” putting aside decency to bypass spill over of previous years. These example as proposition for admission has set the stage for all sorts of malpractices to secure an admission into the academy.
EXAMINATION
It is from most daily Newspaper in there pages we observed the many scandals in an effort to procure admission, into the academy, from sex scandals, bribes, names and figures being tampered with all in view of admission into the academy. The examination admission body like WAEC & JAMB has reported in most conferences of the incessant malpractices of candidates in examination hall. To buttress these facts the New Nigeria Newspaper of April 15, 2003 informed us of the “heat on exams cheat” were a syndicate involving a senior official of Lagos State University, Ojo and other supposed JAMB invigilators caught cheating having received N10,000:00 from each candidates for the last 2002 Universities Matriculation examination. However, it is being noticed that, that schools here, schools there, schools everywhere as private schools in bid to assure the society of their importance – especially the illegal ones – either in federal exams or state go to any length to look for the questions prior to examination date set it before their children or pupils said Sunday Agbo in New Nigeria Newspaper of June 21st, 2003.
However, most scholars and school inspectors have observed that, from the stand point to eradication of corruption in the academia the admission process must be addressed. Also the trend of examination malpractices would hit an unfavourable percentages that will lead to a famine of credible professionals and the collapse of the country’s intellectual structure.
CORRUPTION AMONG PERSONNEL’S IN THE ACADEMIA
Changing of any system overnight in government bureaucracy (military take over, unstable democracy processes) has brought high level of corruption. On this Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu said “the economic problems in the country are not due to insufficient resources but due to mismanagement of the available resources (New Nigeria Newspaper of 7th April, 2003). Also, Ayo Fasami of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) informed us corruption goes beyond the giving and taking of bribes, “to godfathers in nomination (even in the academic circles) of candidates and eventual outcome or elections” (New Nigeria Newspaper of 2nd October, 2003). Ugwui (2002) informed us that, those in authoritative position in the academia practice corruption through victimization, and has reached so high a stage that the student suffers the concomitant effect. This Pro. Thompson Okujago, the River state Commissioner of Education has appealed to Lecturers to stop exploiting students placed in their care “as it is unethical to sell instructional materials at exorbitant rates to students who were dependent on their parents (NNN September 30th, 2003).
WHY CORRUPTION PERSISTS IN THE ACADEMIA
A situation where an academician is compelled to resort to begging to afford the cost of medical care, send children to school, feed and clothe them does not help bring about a graft free academic pursuits. Also the exploitation of new technology (as gadgets) the desire and ambition for modern facilities. New technology has the tendency to make the academicians crave for pleasure; leisure and comfortable living in effect the students are not left behind. This makes many students not to study hard; hence they resort to examination malpractices, cheating, sexual immorality and the like. Of course, because of these trends of events a varsity don suggested, “to reduce and prevent corruption as well as examination leakages, learning in the universities should be seminar-oriented and advised students must be given all the examination questions which should cover the whole syllabus”. Each student according to Pro. Igna Gabriel of Jos University (reported in the NNN of September 30, 2003) is then asked to present papers on each and every topic for discussion….
CONCLUSION
Because of corruption, infrastructural development of the academia has been retarded to extent that the existence of the nation’s educational sector as an independent entity is threatened. A situation where an academician is compelled to resort to begging to afford the cost of medical care, send children to school, feed and clothe them does not help bring about a graft free academic pursuits. Changing of a system overnight in government bureaucratic settings by institutions has brought high level of corruption. In effect instead of getting a good result output, such result can not be achieved – because of the corrupt practices of teachers in institutions.
REFERENCES
New Nigeria Newspaper of April 7th, 15th & 20th ; June 21st, September 30; October 1st & 2nd, 2003.
Ugwuiko, T. (2002) A Book of Reading. Nsukka; Chuka Educational Pls.
Vanguard Newspaper 6th August, 2003.
London Guardian Newspaper July, 2003.
British Broadcasting Corporation August, 2003.
Others http://evatechs.blogspot.com/
http://technicalteacherdilemma.blogspot.com/
