A retired Don, Professor Folayan Ojo, has bemoaned the dwindling standard of education in the country, saying over manipulation of perfect scores and first class degrees are major causes.
He made this assertion at the launch and review of his second autobiography at the University of Lagos, titled "A Dream Fulfilled", five years after he wrote the first one, "My Biography".
Highlighting his educational journey from birth as well as his experiences as a father, husband, scholar, traveller and academic who has taught in several higher institutions within and outside the country, the professor of economics said education is no longer what it used to be.
Prof. Folayan said compared to the current crop of lazy students and lecturers, first class honours used to be harder in his days as an undergraduate when students were more studious.
He said: "In our days, to have a first class was like (being) a perfect human being; second class upper, also. But today, you have ten first class from a university... Most times, you have 33 to 73, it is nonsense! Who are the teachers and who are the students?
"Is it the teachers who don't want to teach or the students who don't want to learn? How do they get the first class? That is a problem."
The former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos, having taught in Swaziland for nine years, also said that there are too many tertiary institutions in the country which is unnecessary.
He advocated for the merging of universities saying this would reduce running costs and still afford more individuals the opportunity to get university education.
Citing an example, the retired academic said South Africa has more fund, more teachers, and more facilities than her counterpart, Nigeria.
"That is why today, we Nigerians, both staff and students, rush to that country because of that innovative merging of universities", he said.
Meanwhile, Professor Emeritus, Olorunfemi Adeniji, while delivering the opening remarks, said Nigeria is losing its values, institutions, and history.
He said in order to salvage the situation, history should not be an option in our primary and secondary schools, adding that the documentation of the author's life is a right step in the right direction.
Showering encomiums on the author, Professor Kayode Oguntuase, who reviewed the book, said since the author founded the Folayan Ojo Foundation in 2003, he has continued to reward very bright students and those not so bright through his scholarship scheme.
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