EDUCATION

THAT CAN RAISE

PRODUCTIVITY
IN NIGERIA

Joel Babatunde Babalola

Dean, Faculty of Education,
University of Ibadan, Ibadan,
Nigeria
Being a Faculty
Lecture Delivered
in the Faculty of
Education,
University of Ilorin,
Ilorin, Nigeria

16 December 2009
EDUCATION THAT CAN RAISE
PRODUCTIVITY IN NIGERIA

Joel B. Babalola

Department of Educational Management,

University of Ibadan,
Ibadan, Nigeria
Introduction

When people talk about increase in productivity, they generally mean increase in output per
person. To the farmers, for instance, increase in productivity might imply a boost in the
farming yields which may be as a result of better and/or more education and training of
farmers. Similarly, increase in productivity of those who are in the construction sector of the
economy might be measured in terms of more and/or better construction of structures ,
infrastructures such roads, bridges, buildings, furniture and equipment, dam for water and
hydro electricity supply. To manufacturers, increase in productivity might imply better or
efficient production process and highly-demanded products. To those in the commercial
sector, productivity might simply mean increase in the volume and/or quality of business
transactions brought about by so many factors including education of those who engage in
commercial activities. In the service sector like institutions of learning, increase in
productivity might be interpreted to mean more and better school leavers and graduates
who are morally, spiritually, physically, and mentally able to fit into the society as well as the
labour market.
As a general rule the standard of living and consequently, the happiness level of the
individuals in any country is fixed by the average output of each person. Since the
eighteenth century many countries in the world have achieved a rapid rise in output per
man and hence in their standard of living. However, there is a growing anxiety in Nigeria
about the low level of productivity. This conclusion is drawn from the NPC News [2007:1]
that:
The Nigerian economy, with its huge labour force and considerable capital factor
outlay, still shows symptoms of low productivity despite the various efforts by the
government at improving the situatio …It therefore becomes expedient to find ways to
e ourage high output i the do esti produ tio se tor …. I this ise, the go er e t is
[that is in 2007] restructuring the economy to enhance performance and improve
productivity. The issue of low productivity in the manufacturing, service sectors, public
service and others involve cultural, political and economic factors
http://www.productivitynigeria.info/npc_last_001.htm
As at 2007, the following seven major areas of intervention have been identified for
possible action in Nigeria:
1. Developing productivity mindset via advocacy and training;
2. Researching in SPAs to enhance competitiveness and growth;
3. Promoting Human Resource Development [HRD] to build a knowledge-based
society;
4. Promoting organizational excellence and best practices (Benchmarking) to
improve productivity and competitiveness;
5. Promoting the application and adoption of cutting-edge techniques and tools for
enhanced productivity.
6. Strengthening of SMEs via installation of Productivity Improvement Programmes
Scheme (PIP);
7. Networking other productivity institutions.
Although the NPC did not directly mention educational factor as one of the major
determinants of and interventions to low productivity in Nigeria, it is obvious that the level
and kind of education of the labour force are important in raising labour productivity. The
Joy of Knowledge Encyclopaedia identifies factors affecting productivity as efficiency of
management and workforce, hours worked, investment levels and degree of
industrialization. All these factors can be influenced by the level and type of education and
training. The next section of this paper dwell more on this.

Theoretical Background

It is generally believed that the relationship between education and productivity is not as
simple as it appears. Inferring from Lewin [1993], the relationships between education and
productivity are complicated by many intervening variables. Nevertheless, traditional
economic growth theory explains that growth in productivity occurs by employing more
basic inputs such as labour, capital [physical and financial], and material. As a rider to this,
the theory further explains that, when basic inputs become limited, one complementary
solution is to utilize the existing resources more efficiently. For instance, getting more done
each hour of work has the effect of increasing the labour productivity. Education and
training can increase the educated labour supply as well as quality of the labour force such
that productive efficiency becomes achievable.
The fact that good education can raise productivity and earnings is basically the
thrust of the human capital theory. Figure 1 is an attempt to show the link between
education and productivity. Figure one is divided into three layers. The topmost layer
represents the major concern of this paper which is how to raise the productivity of workers
in Nigeria through functional education. The box at the right hand side of the topmost layer
represents the general belief that productivity can be increased by employing more people,
increasing the hours worked and increasing wages. The middle layer of the diagram
represents the second belief that workers productivity can be improved through more
accumulation and better allocation of capital. One example of those who believe in
capitalism is Combs. According to Combs [2002], labour can be more productive if:
1. Physical capital [equipment, structures and infrastructure] employed per worker
increases
2. Human capital [health and skills of human beings] increases
3. Knowledge capital [Stock of accumulated abstract knowledge Research, Patents,
Copyrights, software, experience] grows
 Productivity Labour Supply
focus on working smarter focus on earnings

with high productive Hour worked

workers and more employment

Human Knowledge Organisational Social Physical

Capital Capital Capital Capital
Capital

Network
Formal
Research Designs
Informal Teamwork
Pesonal Patents ICT/Databases Equipment
Nonformal Synergy
Ability Copyrights Performance- Structures
Education based
Health Software Rewards Relations
Infrastructure
and experience
Training
Figure 1 Education-Productivity Link within the Human Capital Framework

Ark [2002] further adds the dimensions of organizational and social capital. Ark says that
labour can be productive if there are continuous improvements in the quality and allocation
of inputs, such as
1. A rise in educational attainment,
2. Creation of knowledge,
3. Organizational changes within firms or
4. Changes in the setting up of societal networks.
Figure 1 highlights human, knowledge, organizational, social and physical capital as
foundational inputs into the productivity system. Each of these inputs is further explained
inside each of the boxes at the lowest layer of the diagram. Human attributes that can
promote productivity include home or inborn ability, health, hands, head or memory, and
heart or mind. These attributes of man can be developed through education and training.
Holding the health status of workers constant by assuming that only those who are
apparently medically fit could engage in productive work, we shall be left with home, hands,
head and heart. This implies that the difference in productivity among two healthy workers
can be as a result of differences in inherited ability [home] and the acquired ability through
schooling and experience [cognitive or head, education affective or heart education and
psychomotor or hand education] embodied in them.
 There has been a long debate about the importance of inborn ability relative to acquired
ability. Sweetman [2002] argued:
Our great-grant-parents worked at least as hard as we do- certainly they worked
longer hours and far more strenuously on the average- but their material well-being
as lo er. This …is a result of produ ti it i reases, a d edu atio has pla ed a
e tral role. Worki g s arter i ol es…ho so iet is orga ized i stitutio s ,
governance, government policies and property rights. These societal factors interact
ith those at the i di idual a d fir le els. Edu atio …affe ts all le els a d is a
ru ial deter i a t of produ ti it gro th… p.
O e lesso fro “ eet a s assertio is that the differe e i produ ti it et ee the
traditional and the modern workers is not just as a result of having the innate ability to do
work or being available for work, it is as result of improvement in academic characteristics
of orkers. A ordi g to hi , Our great-grant-parents worked at least as hard [ability] as
e do… the orked lo ger hours a aila ilit … ut their aterial ell-being [happiness]
as lo er. It thus i plies that the o ser ed differe e i produ ti it et ee the past
and present generations of workers is mainly attributable to the difference in academic
achievement which produces high skills and in the recent times, high technology [Fig. 2]

• productive
workers

happy

• ability • availability • academic

hands hours head

Figure 2 Major workers-related factors affecting productivity

Lessons from Practice

Lesson One: Education should be well-resourced with physical and intangible capital

From the above theory, the main assumption that has led to this paper is that given the
present state of organizational, social and physical environment within which the Nigerian
schools, colleges, polytechnics and universities operate, the kind of education being offered
could have succeeded in raising only the number and earnings of the educated people
without a corresponding boost in productivity.
 Figure 2 summarises the theories discussed above. It indicates three major lines of
action, namely: [1] investment in physical capital such as Information and Commutation
Technology, structures and infrastructure, [2] Investment in intangible capital such as
human beings, knowledge and organization, and [3] Improving efficiency of factor use
through cost recovery, allocation shifts, public-private partnership and leakage tracking.
However, there are some specific ways of making education to raise productivity and these
will be discussed in the next section of this paper.

Investment in
• ICT Intangible Capital • Cost recovery
• Structures • Human capital • Allocation shifts
• Infrastructure • Knowledge • PPP
• Organisational • Leakage tracking

Investment in Efficiency of
Physical Capital Factor Use

Figure 3 Tripod of productivity improvement

Lewin [1993] reviews some studies on the relationship between educational

development and productivity. The review reveals that a minimum level of economic
development often appears as a precursor to the development of school systems. For
instance, there is need to invest on road network, telephone, internet, electricity and water
supply before a university can operate effectively. The situation where generator will serve
as the main source of power supply a university of technology is apparently not efficient for
production of technologists. Moreover, Information and Communication Technology [ICT] is
a necessary antecedent to development of any school system in this age of digital
revolution. The situation where students do not have access to the Internet facilities as a
result of location [rural] and lack of electricity could be counter-productive in this age of
cross-border education, distance and open learning. However, as an educational system is
established, it may begin to catalyse further labour productivity. It is important to point out
that the worth of increased schooling as an instrument of labour productivity may be highly
erratic over time. Educational expansion may have substantial economic and developmental
pay-off at some stages and not at others. Some types of educational provision [at different
levels, of different orientations and qualities] may have much greater effects than others.
Lesson two: Pay special attention to functional rural education

Agriculture used to be the main economic sector in Nigeria in the early sixties. Today,
migration [owing to some environmental factors] has left the rural sector deserted and
undeveloped. Schultz [Lewin, 1993] studied the influence of environment [modernising and
traditional] o the o tri utio of edu atio to far ers produ ti it . He defi ed traditio al
environment in terms of primitive technology, traditional farming practices and crops, and
minimal reported levels of innovation. He defined modernising environments as those with
access to new varieties of seeds, innovative farming practices, control of erosion, the
availability of pesticides, fertilisers and farm machinery, access to extension services and the
existence of market orientated production. The results show that four years of primary
education increased productivity by a mean value of 1.3% in traditional environments and
9.5% in modernising ones. When regressions were undertaken the average gain in
modernising environments was consistently 10% greater than in traditional environments.
An update by Jamison, Lau, Lockheed and Evanson in 1992 reaffirms this general picture
[Lewin, 1993]. This implies that extension education that would directly help farmers
require greater attention of the government and other stakeholders. It is not that these
extension services are not available in rural areas in Nigeria, the problem is how these
services could be better organized in a sustainable manner.
Haddad [Lewin, 1993] reported five studies on education and agricultural
productivity. Four of these show positive and significant effects of education under
differe t o ditio s. The re ie supports the “ hultz s ie that the effe ts of edu atio
are greater in modernising environments. The evidence from developing countries such as
Thai indicates that market efficiency may depend more on factors other than increased
educational levels. In developing environments like Nigeria, results indicate that farmers
with more years of schooling did not achieve higher prices for their outputs and lower costs
for their inputs than those with less years of schooling. This means that where the
environment is not conducive for productivity and effective learning, there could be no
difference in market efficiency irrespective of the educational level of farmers.

Lesson Three: Education should be made to be productivity conscious in terms of

administration, admission, instruction, examination, supervision and graduation

Education of the labour force has a way of sieving potential workers in such a way that
those with high ability will eventually enter the high productivity sector of the economy. In
the first instance, qualitative education is capable of screening low-ability people from
acquiring high-academic achievement. Secondly, education and training can make
somebody is not able to become able at the same time make those who are born able to
become skilled and therefore, more able to handle problems and issues. Figure 3
demonstrates the usefulness of education and training in developing productive workers.
The two upper quadrants are for high-ability people, while the two lower quadrants are for
low ability. On the other hands, the two quadrants to the left represent low academic
achievers while the two quadrants to the right represent two categories of high academic
achievers respectively.
Quadrant 1 contains the high-ability and high academic people. Under normal
condition, education is expected to screen the entrants in such a way that more of those
who have high aptitude or ability are allowed to gain admission into the educational
institutions. When the admission and the examination systems are thorough, responsive
and responsible, there is the high probability that the education system would turn out
products that would be highly productive in the labour sector. Quadrant 2 contains those
who have low ability but were admitted into educational institutions. This option is possible
when the admission process is lenient thereby allowing those who are not qualified to gain
admission in a large number.

4] High-ability but low academic 1] lhigh-ability and high

achievement academic achievement
[high-low productive workers] [high -high productive workers]

productivity

3] low-ability and low academic 2] low-ability but high academic

achievievement achievement
[low-low productive workers] [low-high productive workers]

Figure 4 Four categories of workers that mix of personal ability and education can
produce. Go er e t s poli a e e per it such a liberal admission process for many
reasons including widening of access to education. Nevertheless, it is better to train those
who have low aptitude so as to improve their skills for self employment and other jobs. For
this calibre of people, skill-oriented trainings and entrepreneurial education are required.
The third quadrant represents those with low aptitude and therefore could not make it
academically. The admission process as well as the examination mechanisms have a way of
screening out candidates with low aptitude so that they will not eventually pass through the
system and become political leaders, medical doctors, and engineers and so on.
Nevertheless, the education system might not able to completely screen out this category of
people, the quality assurance system and mechanisms are always in place to ensure that
such low-low candidates are reduced to the minimum. Quadrant 4 contains those who have
high natural ability but are not intellectually good. This category could go through vocation
and technical education. The problem in Nigeria is that this vocation and technical track is
not culturally favoured and parents do not usually want their children to enter vocational
and technical institutions.

Lesson Four: Emphasize the education of the heart through the inculcation of affective
skills

Table 1 reveals that as far as number of undergraduate produced is concerned, the

University of Ibadan, Ibadan experienced a marginal increase in productivity between 1990
and 2003. When weighted by the postgraduate quantitative production, the productivity
index increased by a point over the time period. When the quantitative measure of output
was weighted by the economic value of graduate [earnings], the productivity decreased
between 1999 and 2003. At this same period, when the moral aspect of graduates was
considered, the productivity index seriously decreased. From this analysis and judging by
the apparent increase in materialism, corrupt practices, criminal and antisocial activities
among students in Nigerian schools and colleges, there is need to pay formal attention to
moral education through the inculcation of values that are well cherished at work and in the
society. Servant-hood attributes such as obedience to authority, sincerity, truth,
faithfulness, responsibility and accountability should be rewarded among staff and students
so as to prepare them for public service and the world of work.

Table 1: Productivity Trends in University Education Nigeria

UNIVERSTIY OUTPUT 1990-1999 1999-2003 1990-2003

Un-weighted +0.60 +0.10 +0.61

productivity

Weighted with NUC +0.53 +0.09 +0.62 (increasing

ratings emphasis on
postgraduate)
Weighted with +0.65 -0.06 +0.59 economic
(economic) average value increasing at
earnings a decreasing rate
Weighted with +0.58 -0.04 +0.59
Cultural output
Total weighted +0.56 +0.03 +0.59
productivity
Aiyelari, T.E (2005)

The recent global economic meltdown coincides with an intent search for spiritual
capital: In this perilous time, several researchers are now probing the link between spiritual
capital and scholastic achievement, creativity and innovation. The world of business is not
left out in the search for spiritual solutions to business problems. According to Kouzes and
Pos er : ii , hether ou all it spiritualit , religio , faith, or soul, there s learl a
trend toward a greater openness to the spiritual side ithi the alls of usi ess. Dra i g
on the literature on spirituality and education, Tisdell [2007] assumes that spirituality is
about: (1) a connection to what is discussed as the Life-force, God, a higher power or
purpose, Great Mystery; (2) ultimate meaning-making and a sense of wholeness, healing,
a d the i ter o e ted ess of all thi gs; the o goi g de elop e t of o e s ide tit
i ludi g o e s ultural ide tit o i g to ard hat a authors refer to as greater
authe ti it ; how people construct knowledge through largely unconscious and
symbolic processes as suggested by Fowler (1981), manifested in image, symbol, music, and
other expressions of creativity which are often cultural. (5) In addition, spirituality is not the
same as religion, though for some people who are religious, there are elements in
spirituality that overlap with religion; (6) spirituality is always present though often
unacknowledged in the learning environment; and finally, (7) spiritual experiences happen
by surprise.
Nigerians respect spirituality but the curriculum of schools pretends to be devoid of
it. The National Policy on Education recognizes the use of indigenous language as a medium
of instruction especially at the lower levels of education in the country but schools and their
teachers do not implement this. Parents measure the mental development of their children
through fluency in English Language to the detriment of the development of the thought
process and enhancement of meaningfulness. The use of indigenous language enhances the
de elop e t of o e s ide tit i ludi g o e s ultural ide tit o i g to ard hat a
authors refer to as greater authe ti it ; ho people o stru t k o ledge through largel
unconscious and symbolic processes, manifested in image, symbol, music, and other
expressions of creativity which are often cultural. The challenge is how to train future
workers who would understand spirituality in its real sense and be able to promote,
preserve and propagate it in an environment where imperialism has made parents to
become ignorant of the cultural and educational values of indigenous language and
knowledge.

Lesson Five: Invest more in people than in physical capital

One important fact from theory is that building of physical capital as well as building of
people must go together to raise productivity. Both human and non-human inputs are
interdependent and interconnected in the process of raising productivity of workers. Marris
[1982] uses data from 66 countries to argue that the cost benefit ratio of investment in
human resources [based on primary enrolment ratios] ranges between 3.4 and 7.4
compared to ratios of 0.4 to 1.0 for investments in other types of capital. He also suggests
that general investment has less effect on growth rates when it is not accompanied by
educational investment. This is in agreement with Psacharopoulos and Woodhall [1985] that
suggests that investments in human capital have higher rates of return than those in
physical capital in many developing countries, whilst the reverse tends to be true in
developed countries. As earlier pointed out in this paper, inputs such as organizational,
social and physical capital must be available in the right quantity and quality for education,
training and knowledge to raise productivity.
 Physical capital

social capital

organizational
capital

knoledge
capital

Health &
Education

Produc
tivity

Figure 5: Overlapping relationship among non-human inputs, education and productivity

or workers

Table 2 shows the correlation between funding and contribution of education to

productivity in Nigeria. The table reveals that the contribution of university education in
Nigeria declines as its funding decreases. However, the reverse might be true since the
government might result to budget cut to the university owing to its dwindling contribution
to national productivity.

Table 2: Funding and Contribution of University Education to Productivity in Nigeria

Year Education as % public total University contribution to University as % of

budget National Productivity public recurrent budget
79/80 5.20 0.46 28.43

82/83 7.40 0.43 42.13

85/86 4.80 0.30 31.28

88/89 7.20 0.19 24.75

91/92 6.30 0.20 30.81

94/95 13.00 0.06 25.46

97/98 9.60 0.08 2.44

98/99 11.10 0.09 3.01

Source: Babalola [2007]

Lesson Six: Emphasise quality of education and how much is learned

The thesis of this paper is that for Nigeria to raise its labour and national productivity it
needs to move from the obvious emphasis on schooling and certificated head knowledge to
holistic education in which emphasis is placed on educating the head, the heart and the
hands. Thus, the focus of education is expected to shift from quantitative production to the
qualitative production of those who possess the ability to learn, think and become quickly
adaptable to tackle problems emanating from socio-economic changes in a post-modern
society. Table 3 reveals that in practice, education that raises productivity of workers is
characterized by how much is learned rather than how much is taught and cognitive and
reasoning skills are emphasised.

Table 3: Evidence on the kind of education that can raise productivity

Kind of education Evidence Sources

Reasoning skill Small labour market return to reasoning ability in Kenya and Knight and
Ta za ia as easured ‘a e s Coloured Progressi e Sabot [1990]
Matrices.
Cognitive skill In Kenya, cognitive skill accounts for 3 times more variance in Knight and
[numeracy and earnings [productivity] than do ability and years of schooling Sabot [1990]
literacy] combined.
Attainment A 1- ear i rease i the sto k of Afri a s HE ould oost Materu
[Tertiary] economic growth by 0.63 percentage points. [2007]
Quality of How much is learned in primary and secondary schools has a Knight and
Learning substantial influence on performance and income at work in Sabot [1990]
Kenya and Tanzania.
Sources: extracted from Lewin 1993

For quality of education to change, teaching and teachers must first change. The
digital revolution and globalization have brought a new business culture in which people
talk about doing business in an unusual manner, doing business as business, and making
sure that people are down to business. People talk about working smartly instead of
orki g hard. The “MA‘T theor e o es the order of usi ess su h that the hurr -up
ulture or the speed a d a ura ulture appears to e repla i g the slo a d stead
culture”. Today, we talk about smart classroom, smart board, smart objectives, smart
library, instant messages, instance response, instant tea, chalk-less classrooms, smokeless
engines, topless dresses, headless things, noiseless cars, fatless food, costless products,
backless dresses, wireless phones, etc. All these have their economic advantages but they
could also lead to having less quality time with teaching, learning and learners.
U fortu atel , these tea hers gro a d are groo ed u der this ulture of speed .
Moreover, the lear ers of toda usuall tur to the s art tea hers o the I ter et for
information and guidance. The issue is how teachers should be prepared to value speed
and accuracy in environment where parents and the society do not have quality time to
attend to the education and training of their children. Moreover, how do we train a teacher
to pay attention to unmotivated learners who do not have time for learning through the
face-to-fa e approa h ut are o sta tl i o ta t ith their We tea hers ?
Furthermore, how do we train teachers to customize teaching and learning to fit an
environment of speed where everybody is rushing up? Most importantly, how do we train
teachers to balance their time between child development and self development [including
economic development] in an environment where there is a mad rush for resources?

Lesson Seven: Pitch Curriculum around Lateral Thinking

Somebody described the core curriculum of the National University of Singapore as capable
of produ i g graduates, who are lateral thinkers ... IB‘D/World Ba k, : . Lateral
thinkers are capable of taking a concept out of its original context and applying it on all sides
and in different contexts. Lateral thinkers are skilful in all wisdom and astute in knowledge
and understanding of all concepts. It is important to draw attention of curriculum
developers to lateral thinking and the need to develop the curriculum of every Nigerian
university around the pedagogy of cognitive learning. Experience has shown that most of
the Nigerian university students have problems with application and adaption of knowledge
because they have not been exposed to cognitive learning pedagogy at primary and
secondary levels of education. Although, comprehension is one of the language skills being
emphasized in Nigerian secondary schools, most of these students only listen to their
teachers or read books, download relevant information, memorise with shallow
comprehension and recall verbatim during examinations. Consequently, most of our
graduates are more of literal or verbatim thinkers than lateral, imaginative or creative
thinkers. In fact, it is like Nigerian universities are graduating tankers instead of thinkers.
When these graduates encounter life problems requiring the creative use of the knowledge
they have acquired, many of them fail because they are not skilful in art of digesting,
transforming and transferring knowledge. Many of these graduates cannot interpret real
life situations in the light of the knowledge they have acquired. Once they are challenged
with problems outside their comfort zones, they are lost and become as if they have never
attended a university. This is certainly against the spirit of knowledge revolution.
Benjamin Bloom [UNESCO, 1998] classified educational objectives into three broad
categories referred to as cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. The cognitive
domain is concerned with behaviours related to thinking while the affective is concerned
with attitudes and the psychomotor domain is concerned with learned muscular response.
The cognitive or the thinking domain is divided into six sub-categories. These are
knowledge, understanding or comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and
evaluation. Knowledge is like timber of light and it requires seasoning to make it brighter
and more valuable. When a student acquires knowledge, it has to pass to the stage of
understanding or comprehension which comprises translation, interpretation and
extrapolation. It is like somebody who is exposed to light. The brighter the light, the
clearer the environment and the more one is able to see things that are hitherto hidden.
This experience leads to application or the use of knowledge to solve life problems. The
more a student understands a concept, the more he or she will be able to use it on all sides.
For e a ple, the k o ledge a d u dersta di g of the Ne to s la of otio helped so e
people to apply it to improve quality of production continuously in the business world.
Ne to s first la of otio states, roughly, that a moving body continues to move
providing that there are no external forces acting on it. In the light of this law, some
scholars have identified factors that help to drive production process forward and those
that inhibit production. As a way of moving production forward, management ensures that
the driving forces are reinforced and the resisting forces eroded. Lateral thinking pedagogy
concentrates on learning experiences that would make learners to discover light, stay with
the light until they see everything clearly, carry the light with them and use the light
everywhere they encounter darkness. The teacher is expected to guide the students to
switch on the light, transfer the light every side of life and to walk continuously in the light.
Today, there is a heavy attack on the lecture method in which teachers tell students what to
know instead of guiding students to know how to discover knowledge and apply it to solve
life problems on all sides.

Lesson Eight: Encourage and invest in functional literacy education

Hicks [Lewin, 1993] compared literacy level [as a proxy measure for educational levels] with
historic rates of economic growth in 83 countries. He concludes that the 12 developing
countries with the fastest growth rates also had levels of literacy above the average [68%
compared to 38% in 1960]. These countries had higher income levels and since income is
correlated to levels of literacy, this result might have been expected. However, when
income level is controlled, literacy rates were still 12% greater in the fastest growing
countries, suggesting that fastest growth rates were coincident with more developed
human resources. Wheeler [1980] uses 88 countries to study interactions between
economic growth and investment in human resources over time with the aim of finding out
the direction of causality. His findings suggest that literacy does have a strong effect on
output levels and that greater literacy influences fertility downwards. The study also
suggests that increases in average literacy rates from 20% to 30% are associated with
increases in GDP of 8% to 16%, with the strongest relationships in African countries.

Lesson Eight: Home training and basic education require special attention

Evidence from Nepal suggests that education does have an effect independent of family
a kgrou d. I esse e, there is o sig ifi a t differe e i the effe ts of far ers
education on their productivity irrespective of their family background. Nevertheless,
increased productivity is related to improvements in farmers numerical skills giving some
clue as to why the observed correlations exist.
 Family
background

joint effect Productivity

Schooling
bacground

Figure 6 Independent effects of family background and schooling on Productivity

Mingat and Tan [Lewin, 1993] analyzed 115 World Bank projects to investigate the economic returns
to Project Related Training [PRT]. The results show that high returns are concentrated heavily in
countries where the general educational base is well established, literacy rates are high and
educational participation rates are high. In countries where more than half the population are
literate, rates of return for PRT are more strongly positive for agricultural rather than non-
agricultural projects. This may be the result of diminishing returns to training [since non-agricultural
projects tended to have more than four times as
At the meso and micro levels, there is evidence of the effects of educational investment on
productivity in agricultural, modern and urban informal sectors. Agricultural productivity does seem
to have a positive relationship to the education of farmers. Lockheed, Jamison and Lau [1980]
reviewed 18 studies and concluded that four years of primary education increased agricultural
productivity by 8.7% with a standard deviation of 9%. When weighting was introduced to account for
variations in standard errors associated with various studies, the result was a 7.4% gain with a
standard deviation of 6.8%. As might be expected there are reservations. First, output which was
measured in terms of crop value in most cases is dependent on price structures that vary widely
between crops and countries. Second, different studies measured educational inputs in different
ways. For example, some used number of years of schooling, highest grade completed, achievement
of literacy, etc. Third, most of the studies associated the educational variables with different
individuals or groups such as head of household, an aggregate for all family members, or for all farm
workers. Fourthly, farming inputs were measured differently. Some used quantity or value of time
input while some used the type of capital available, technology used.

Lesson Ten: Entrepreneurial, vocational and technical education should be incorporated

into the curricula of institutions of learning in Nigeria in view of the fact that informal
training might not yield expected results

Studies reviewed by Lewin [1993] were unable to establish a clear relationship

entrepreneurship training and productivity. One of the studies suggests that gross output
and earnings of heads of enterprise did increase with educational level, but only up to
middle school level. In one other study, the level of education that made a difference to
income varied by employment activity being least in basic services and greater for repair
and maintenance work. King [Lewin, 1993] reviewed several studies of training for the
informal sector and the results show that the impact of education on productivity within the
areas reviewed is variable. Thus, there are likely to be circumstances where education has a
strong effect on productivity and cases where this seems improbable.

Lesson Eleven: There should be awareness campaign against over-education especially

university education in some popular courses

According to Lewin [1993], employers often conceive of the education-productivity linkage

in terms of minimum levels of education suitable for different types of employment, above
which other factors may become more important in the selection of employees. This
i trodu es the possi ilit of ur ili ear relatio ships, here it is possi le to e o er
educated and those with most education may produce less than those with more modest
attainments in particular jobs

4] Highly productive but lowly paid

workers 1] lhighly productive and hgihly
paid workers

Wage should reflect

marginal
productivity

2] lowly productive but hgily paid

3] lowly productive and lowly
worker as a result of over-
paide workers
education
.

Figure 7 Effect of Over-education on Wage-Productivity Nexus in Some Sectors of the

Economy

Table 4 is an evidence of over-education in Nigeria. Under normal condition, the

ratio of the unskilled labour should be more than that of highly skilled labour force. The
reverse is the case in Nigeria where manpower ratio
Table 4: Evidence of over-education in Nigeria
Manpower Level Graduates produced Manpower ratio

University 67,024 7
[High skills] (1999)
Polytechnic 9,344 1
(1998)
Craftsmen 37,376 4
[Low skills]
Source: FME, 2003

The side effects of a top-heavy manpower ratio are many. Firstly, the price of skilled labour
will bid down if supply increases [Fig 8]. Another side effect of this is that some highly
skilled workers will migrate out to where there is lower supply of, and higher wage rates for
educated workers. However exceptions are when: Unskilled work is risky or unattractive,
thus reducing the supply, and monopolistic tendencies prevent entry into less-skilled jobs.
Supply of skilled workers is high relatively to the demand; wages may not be significantly
higher for highly educated workers.

6
5 5
4.4
4
3 price 3
2.4
2 2
1 1
0 quan
tity
Figure 6: Wage level when there is more skilled than unskilled labour

Lesson Twelve: There is need for a strategic shift from nature study and conservation to rational
environmental education

Today, there is a strategic shift from conservation to rational management of natural resources. The
period of global economic meltdown coincides with a time when the world seems to be experiencing
natural disasters, depletion of the ozone layer, air pollutions, environmental degradation,
hurricanes, and conflicts. Schools in modern societies often have been called upon to solve various
social problems. As far as 1921, proponents of conservation education made concerted efforts to
infuse the idea and practices of conservation into the elementary and secondary school settings.
Above all, concerned educators made efforts to integrate conservation education and citizenship
edu atio i order to produ e a itize r that is k o ledgeable concerning the biophysical
environment and its associated problems, aware of how to help solve these problems, and
oti ated to ork to ard their solutio s. At the tertiar le el, the o ser atio o e e t
continued to shape the subsequent development of environmental educational programs such as
Environmental Management Education, Resources Use Education, and Environmental Quality
Education during the 1960s, which aimed at promoting rational management of natural resources
and assumed responsibilities for training environmental professionals. Since the Tbilisi
Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education held in 1977, there has been a
o se sus a o g edu ators that e iro e tal edu atio should o sider the e iro e t i its
totality (economic, political, technological, cultural-histori al, oral, a d aestheti . The Natio al
Environmental Education Act of 1990 in the United States represents an undiminished effort to
encourage postsecondary students to pursue careers related to managing the environment.
Furthermore, Huey-li [2006] argued that because rational management of environmental resources
can no longer be confined within national or regional boundaries in the age of globalization,
planetary management has emerged as a popular agenda of the contemporary environmental
movement. The question is how do we train the teacher beyond the traditional knowledge of nature
study to become informed and proficient on rational management of environmental resources for
the purpose of sustainable development?

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