Winners in educational competitions in Nigeria have been poorly rewarded, compared with those in entertainment competitions. Entertainment competitions receive more coverage, attention, and sponsorship while participants of educational contests languish in misery.
As the Big Brother Naija reality TV show, 6th edition kicks off today with a N90million grand prize for the winner, many Nigerians have asked why the attention given to the entertainment sector by government, brands, and individuals is not extended to the education sector. Some educationists have asked why such huge sums of money are not channeled to the educational sector or used to fund the various innovations by students in secondary and tertiary schools.
Awkward educational awards
Some best graduating students in Nigerian universities have been rewarded with some bizarre items, ranging from a tuber of yam, trophies, plaques, and as low as N200. A photograph of a best graduating student from the Chukwuemeka Odunegwu Ojhukwu University (COOU) with a tuber of yam and a chicken as rewards for his achievement captures the treatment meted to Nigeria’s future leaders.
There are many reported cases of awards given to the best graduating students, including Bamisaye Tosin, who got N200 as the best student of the Department of Civil Engineering in the Ekiti State University (EKSU).
At the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Oluwole Hikmat Ibrahim-Buruji got N2,000 as the best graduating student from the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies in 2016.
A best graduating student from the Mass Communication Department, University of Ilorin, Durowaiye Gbemisola, unlike numerous students that got a ‘handshake’ only, said she got N10,000 as prize money, but added that while her focus was not on the money, a better remuneration plan should be devised to encourage scholarship.
Best graduating students in schools and winners of educational contests get claps, counseling, and computers.
Read More: https://dailytrust.com/how-govts-others-prioritise-entertainment-over-education-contests
