Competence and certificate: acquisition and obtainment

Competence: more than just a certificate

Certificate is to be obtained as evidence of competence… One major challenge with Nigeria and Nigerians is the craze to acquire certificates. The problem is that we do not want to accept that it is competence that should be acquired, while certificates should be obtained. In Nigeria, we strive to acquire certificates, which is why even senior academics tell you that a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, in its true sense a research degree is reduced to Politics, Humility and Diplomacy (PHD). Educational value has deteriorated so much that graduates from competent foreign universities who spend 12 months on a Master degree are better than many of us in Nigeria who spend 18 months to 3 years on the same degree. It baffles me when we try to equate extended duration to quality. Sometimes, you hear university administrators and senior academics pride their schools as having quality, based on the length of period students use on campus as they argue that “our degrees are not cheap, you cannot just come here and go like that”. Many times, I am mouth agape at their level of mediocrity that all I see in them is folly. After all, there is no dedication to quality but an engagement with bureaucracy that delays students unnecessarily without any value-added. It is a pitiable condition that we find ourselves and I count lucky those who can afford foreign degree; I also crave a foreign degree. It is of no use trying to stay here and become an inferior quality graduate. That is all that is available in Nigeria, except for some few universities that strive for excellence or some few departments with dedicated staff. In some schools abroad, I see that the duration of completing a degree is a performance index and I can boldly assert that if that is used in many Nigerian universities, only 1% may pass. Assuming the extended duration significantly contributes to advancements in knowledge and competence, then I can say, it is a fair deal, but no, it has no value at all than a culmination into frustration of the student. No wonder our graduates find it hard to develop innovative systems, since all we know and learn is how to be frustrated, demand false humility and extortion. Another frustrating issue is the manner at which examination malpractices have eaten deep into students’ fabric and mentality. It is hard for students to think for themselves in examinations. They always tend to believe they cannot make it alone and on their own, so they seek help even in the examination hall, while confident ones take in chips and some even go on to offer bribes in cash and kind to lecturers to acquire certificate; this cannot translate to acquiring competence. If we must make progress in this country, we must re-orientate our minds to know the difference between certificate and competence and acquiring and obtaining. Competence is to be acquired, while certificate is to be obtained as evidence of competence.