INTRODUCTION
Education is a systematic procedure for the transfer and
transformation of culture, through formal or informal training of people in a
society. It deals with the mental, physical, psychological and social
development of the citizens in a given society. In general terms, education is the process of teaching and
training of the child. It can also be described as the imparting or acquisition
of skills for a particular trade or profession in which applicable methods are
used.
According to Fafunwa (1983), education is all positive efforts,
conscious and direct incidental and indirect, made by a given society to
accomplish certain objectives that are considered desirable in terms of the
individual's needs as well as the needs of the society where the programme is
based. Education is a powerful instrument for the
development of man and the society.
GOALS OF EDUCATION
Generally, the goal of education is manpower development, aimed at
national growth and development. Growth is increase in size without scientific
and technological advancement. Development means growth integrated with
economic, scientific, political and home based technological expansion. Kindleberger and
Herrick (1977), defines economic development to include improvements in
material welfare, especially for persons with the lowest incomes; the
eradication of mass poverty, illiteracy, disease and early death.
An economy that has productive employment among the working - age
population rather than the situation of a privileges monitory and a
correspondingly greater participation of broadly based groups in making
decisions about the directions, economic and otherwise, in which they should
move to improve their welfare.
Other specific goals of education include:
·
To
develop the child's latent physical skills.
· To develop character.
· To inculcate respect for elders and those
in position of authority.
· To develop intellectual skills.
· To acquire specific vocational training
and to develop a healthy attitude towards honest labour.
· To develop a sense of belonging and to
participate activity in family and community affairs.
·
To
understand, appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of the community at
large. These cardinal goals of traditional education prepares individual for
self-reliance, political and economic stability.
FUNCTIONS OF EDUCATION IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
This section of this work will trace the roles of education in
national development by showing its functions. Education is essential for every
society and individual. It is life itself but not a preparation, for life. Man
has various qualities. These qualities of the individual should be developed
for the improvement of the country. So education plays a complementary role for
overall individual, social and national development. It enables an individual
to realize his highest self and goal.
The major role of education is manpower development. Apart from
this, the manpower developed must be able to help solve major issues our
country faces. As a result education must be relevant to these issues, not
separated from them.
The goals of Nigerian education, in terms
of reward in naira, programme priorities and personnel, must be spelled out in
such a way that the Nigerian public can understand how these goals speak
directly to the major issues of today. Discrimination or unequal opportunity.
Common in housing, education recreation health and social mobility. Education
must deal with unequal concepts of individual worth and the failure of many
schools to be concerned about the problem Grant Venn (1970: 13). The generation
gap or non- involvement of youth. Continuous riots in communities, schools and
colleges, drug abuse, dropping out of society, defiance of social institutions
and the noninvolvement of youths in contributing activities related to
society's problems, and the economic liability of youth and so on are evidenced
of the generation gap in Nigeria, especially in the Niger Delta Area. The
schools should help in bridging the gap between the youth, elders and
government in Nigeria.
There are numerous functions of education
in the development of any nation. Education is the greatest force that can be
used to bring about change. It is also the greatest investment that a nation
can make for the quick development of its economic, political, sociological and
human resources.
It was in realization of this that a National Policy on Education
was formulated for the country. The policy seeks the inculcation of national
consciousness and national unity; the inculcation,of the right type of values
and attitudes for the survival of the individual and the Nigerian society; the
training of the mind in understanding, of the world around; and the acquisition
of appropriate skills, abilities and competence both mental and physical as
equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of
his society.
Education unquestionably plays a vital
role in national development in terms of economic and social freedom that
higher education is a central performer within the overall education of a
country. It is worth noting that any progress in education contributes to
successful national development. On the other hand, any shortfall brings about
its destruction. Thus, if any specific part of education, educational policy,
management, governance or quality of education forms a barrier to national
development as a whole, then the education of the country will be regarded as
declining, and the decline of education is a threat to national development. Education is essential for every society and
individual. It is life itself but not a preparation for life. Man has various
qualities. These qualities of the individual should be developed for the
improvement of the country. So education plays a complementary role for overall
individual, social and national development.
In order to preserve the culture of the people, government of
Nigeria encourages the learning of at least one major Nigerian language -
Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba in schools. In addition to the English language, which
is the official language in Nigeria and the medium of instruction in Nigerian
educational institutions, students are encouraged to learn the French language
as a matter of policy.
It has been argued that high rates of
education are essential for countries to be able to achieve high levels of
economic growth. Empirical analyses tend to support the theoretical prediction
that poor countries should grow faster than rich countries because they can
adopt cutting edge technologies already tried and tested by rich countries.
However, technology transfer requires knowledgeable managers arid engineers who
are able to operate new machines or production practices borrowed from the
leader in order to close the gap through imitation. Therefore, a country's ability
to learn from the leader is a function of its stock of "human
capital". Recent study of the determinants of aggregate economic growth
have stressed the importance of fundamental economic institutions and the role
of cognitive skills.
At the individual level, there is a large
literature, generally related back to the work of Jacob Mincer, on how earnings
are related to the schooling and other human capital of the individual. This
work has motivated a large number of studies, but is also controversial. The
chief controversies revolve around how to interpret the impact of schooling.
Individuals purposes for pursuing education can vary. However in
early age the focus is generally around developing basic Interpersonal
communication and literacy skills in order to further ability to learn more
complex skills and subjects. After acquiring these basic abilities education is
commonly focused towards individuals gaining necessary knowledge and skills to
improve ability to create value and a livelihood for themselves. Satisfying
personal curiosities (Education for the sake of itself) and desire for Personal
development, to "better oneself" without career based reasons for
doing so are also common reasons why people pursue education and use schools.
Because of its important in national
development, today, education is becoming increasingly international. The most
represented case is the spread of mass schooling. Mass schooling has implanted
the fundamental concepts that everyone has a right to be educated regardless of
his/her cultural background and gender differences. The system has also
promoted the global rules and norms of how the school should operate and what
is education. Though the system can have variations in local, regional, and
country level, the similarities, in systems or even in ideas, that schools
share also enable the exchange among students at all levels which are also
playing an increasingly important role in globalization process.
Many job opportunities are opened up
because of education. A proper education teaches people skills and knowledge
they will need in their careers. As people become more educated, more job
opportunities will be opened to the educated individuals who process the
qualifications to succeed in those jobs. Therefore, education serves a key to
unlock job opportunities.
CONCLUSION
Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which
knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one
generation to the next through teaching, training, research, or simply through
auto-didacticism. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a
formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts.
In all parts of the world today, education is milestone of every
type of development. Education provides all knowledge to do any work with
systematic way. With education any country develops his economy and society.
Well-educated population lives with silence and calm.
The role of education is very important in a nations economic and
national development. The possession of an educational degree provides many
opportunities for an individual. A person with a college education has the
chance to enter a professional work force, with the sufficient amount of
knowledge to be successful at their job.
Summarily, the progress of a society can
be judged by its educational institutions. A country that wants to develop
nationally must possess people who are sufficient and knowledgeable to bring
the country forward.
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