ABSTRACT
The philosophy behind the combination of learning and character in the award of degree(s) in Nigerian Universities is not something that has been at stake. Many may applaud the philosophy underlying it. Some might ask if the University is not over-burdening itself by undertaking to build or inculcate morality in persons who are of appropriate age to determine right from wrong. Of course, one can ask for the umpteenth time if the Universities in Nigeria are achieving their goal of molding men and women of "learning and character". From the very beginning, (in chapter one), we did look into the notion of learning. Programmes have been in place to ensure that undergraduates continue to receive teaching in their various fields of interest. To determine if the students are grasping what is being taught, tests and examination are organized periodically. Even when these (tests, examinations) are what majorly determine promotion to the next level, we may ask whether examinations are the true test of knowledge.
We may ask how committed is the teaching crew. If it is the case that some members of the teaching staff have not been committed to their job, we may not have to look far to see why some students perform poorly. Poor performance can be attributed to student's lukewarm attitude to learning. Some students have formed the habit of absenting themselves from school. While in some schools, seventy-five percent attendance is a requirement for writing examinations, its implementation varies from schools to schools and from departments to departments. Moreso, poor students in basic education are also contributors to the problems.
Besides examinations that determine how students are faring academically, it will be observed there are no active examinations that test students' character. This has indeed raised a moral question: what justification exists empirically that the certificate or degree awarded is character oriented. Another question that arises from this observation is: if there is no empirical way of testing human character, how can individuals or institutions qualitatively lay claims of awarding degree based on character?
Infrastructure wise, our Universities ought to be epitome of emulation in terms of basic infrastructure. Most of the classes where lectures are received lack proper chairs and desks, air-conditioners, etc. for conducive learning. Most students find it difficult to concentrate in such atmosphere. In some classes, students have to stand to receive lectures because of non-availability of seats. What kind of learning, what kind of character could be inculcated in such atmosphere?
Most of the problems facing Nigerian Universities can be attributed to poor planning. If education is highly valued, then to achieve its objective, it should be adequately funded, and money budgeted must be judiciously used. The University should consider its capacity before admitting students.
In all, if the University is serious in instilling learning and character on its students, it is time for all the stake-holders to take stock. According to Brenna, "our goals can only be reached through the vehicle of a plan upon which we must rigorously act". In the course of this thesis, it has come to the realization the huge challenges facing the authorities in charge of instilling academic discipline as well as moral discipline on students in Nigerian Universities. These challenges are indeed enormous, bearing in mind the varied physical and psychological make-up of hundreds of thousands of students across Nigerian Universities. By physical and psychological, I mean the disposition and temperament of those aspects of an "individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion, that are regarded as innate rather than learned".
In the course of this thesis, attempts were made to investigate why moral decadence and attendant vices persists in University campuses as well as across Nigerian society despite the programmes put in place to curb them. More profoundly of the questions are can character (morals) be inculcated in adults? Is it the fear of punishment that deters people (students) from engaging in immoral conduct, or is it a case of cultivation, - a cultivation of a sense of value? Whatever the case, it appears that most students in Nigeria Universities are trapped in moral dilemma of satisfying their personal interest and that of the group as represented by the University community (with its rules and codes of conduct). Some students have found it difficult applying Kant's categorical imperative as characterized by duty.
This thesis has sort to discover why there exist poor academic performance among the Nigerian undergraduates. It was discovered in the process that poor academic performance has other factor(s) external in nature which is coupled with lack of proper planning, infrastructural provision, lack of commitment on the part of the authorities concerned and corruption among some of the teaching staff. At the core of these external factors is the glorification of corruption in the Nigerian society. There appears to what could be termed a paradigm shift in our sense of values. Excellence seems to be relegated to the background. Money seems to be highly extolled irrespective of how it is gotten. Most persons with ill-gotten wealth are revered. This mentality has crept into the University community.
Thus, most students are just in the University to get the certificate and not to learn. Most students see the University as a place to acquire certificate rather than character. One of the major things or issues that this thesis has been able to uncover is that in most Nigerian universities, some teachers don't encourage character training of students because most of them have already given up the hope that an individual student can be helped on the way to full autonomous virtue. Forgetting that no two people will progress towards virtue in exactly the same way, nor at exactly the same speed. All provisions in the field of teaching and learning education thus need to take account of contextual and individual differences and seek practical solutions that work for each individual school, class or student. Secondly, while the institutions or Universities award degrees on the notion of "found worthy in learning and character", there is no adequate quantitative or qualitative measures or programme(s) in place to deeply inculcate the said character. Questions have been further asked as to what measures should be put in place that could effectively address this. More so, it did not take long to observe that proposed suggestion would take time to have meaningful impact for the system has been abused for so long.
Corrective measures can only yield meaningful impact when the society in general redefines its values. It would thus be futile to expect that the academic community would be a "saint when the society (Nigerian society) is devoid of moral decorum. After all, students in Nigerian Universities as well as the teaching and non-teaching staff do not live in isolation without interaction with the society out there. Most students would readily agree that their role models or people that influence their outlook in life are hardly their lecturers. Most may point to the 'big man' making the big cash as their source of inspiration irrespective of how the 'big man' makes his money and how the society perceives him.
In the nutshell, the notion of "found worthy in learning and character" can have its true meaning and fulfillment only when the leaders in Nigeria society, and the leaders in academic community as well redefine their values. Values that are void of vices, mismanagement, of favoritism, of nonchalance, of misplaced priority, etc. When all these are replaced by noble ideals such as commitment, genuine patriotism, welfare of citizens, accountability, transparency etc, then a change that will be all-embracing can be achieved. Then also, there will be a new spirit in the society, cascading to the Nigerian Universities.
