What's the purpose of a University anyway?

Below is an excerpt from ‘THE TRUE PURPOSE OF A UNIVERSITY EDUCATION’ by Boricua, and then my thoughts.

“The point of a university education is not academics. It is about the future of the whole person. The education gained at a university allows people to really think. It is about the quality of the mind and what you do with what you have. A university education brings the mind into form. The mind can be a very beautiful thing that a university education can really help develop. The lack of a beautiful mind is a true misfortune.”

Ideally, a university should aid the development of the human mind; make the individual a better thinker, so that he can add value to and change his world.

However, the reality of the situation is that, our universities have become issuers of Job search certificate. It is no surprise our certificates are not recognized in some parts of the world.



'…You don't need to think about changing or making any contribution to society; cram and pass, graduate with your certificate, get a good job, get rich, grow old and die..'

As a result, students are rewarded with first class degrees for displaying a high level of competency in the art of cramming large volumes of ancient texts a night before exams. Let's not forget to thank Google and Wikipedia for a successful completion of our final year projects.

Many professors would rather sell handouts than carry out any form of research. Can we blame them? How much are they earning? Why should they kill themselves to develop your mind when they will never be as rich as your daddy? How much research will they carry out to get the respect and recognition Wizkid gets?

Back in 100 level, 2nd Semester, in an Atomic and Nuclear Physics class, a student, eager to acquire knowledge, asked Mrs. Lecturer to explain to him an experiment involving the Cathode Ray Oscilloscope. Her response was

"Don't disturb me; I wasn't there when they performed the experiment".

Can you blame her? She hadn't implied in any way that she was Karl Braun’s research assistant when he invented the CRO in 1897. So why should eager student ask her such a question in 2006?

She was simply 'reciting' the same things her own lecturers told her as an undergrad. Besides, why should he be bothered about a CRO he probably would never see till he dies?

I would love to see a tomorrow where we realize that a University Education is not necessary for everybody.
Why invest 5 years getting your B.Eng degree if you will end up counting money in a bank, or as a marketing representative for a pharmaceutical company? That is if the employer does not require 5 years working experience from a fresh graduate. Why lecture when you neither have the passion to increase the body of knowledge nor develop the minds of young men and women?

Nigerian universities should engage and invest heavily in education and research to compete favorably with Universities around the world. The syllabuses in certain disciplines have become outdated; we might as well be students of History.

Constant revision and Introduction of a large portion of our present University work (100 & 200 level) at the secondary school level are needed. This will free up space for new knowledge to be introduced at the University level and improve the standard of secondary school education.

Upon leaving secondary school, a student who does not desire to go to the University should attend institutions where he acquires skills relevant to his career choice. And since we love certificates, certificates issued by these institutions should be recognized and respected as much as a present University degree is.