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The Nigerian tertiary institutions are already on the verge of losing their excellence, both in character and technology. This is as a result of several lacks, lapses and ineptitudes perching on the tenet of applying intelligence in the proper conduct of lecturers to students relations. If this persists, I am afraid, this academia will be proud of its status quo in the coming years. Perhaps, they will be breeding the opposite of their core responsibilities.
Psychologist Robert Sternberg, in his bifocal mindset, defined intelligence as “the mental abilities” that is “necessary for adaptation to,” and “as well as shaping and selection of, any environmental context.” In other words, intelligence is the ability to make meanings out of practical knowledge. It uses logic. Uses rational mind. As arts, intelligence is an art. There must be a staged act that will give birth to its art.
In the same vein, Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary (10th edition) cited that intelligence is “the ability to learn, understand and think logically about things; the ability to do this well.” In other words, it is the ability to think reasonably and apply those reasonable thoughts rightly. It is determined after mental is a plus with physical engagements and it brings out logical results.
By this, intelligence is practical. it is discovered through the application of testing, analyzing, observing, experimenting and of course researching. Perhaps, this is the purpose, I believe, intended to fish-driven students, why they are usually mandated to write projects towards the lapses of their final year in tertiary institutions.
Peradventure is an avenue for students to show their expertise, to test their garnered knowledge and put all, at least into practice for once. But, in Nigerian Institutions, this intelligence is for sale. It is a piece of cake. Sold for 35,000, 30,000, 20,000 and even 10,000—a sum of token taking a bribery grip at the pockets of lecturers/supervisors.
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Students have been robbed of the opportunity to put their knowledge to the test. They have been robbed of their opportunities to put their mental abilities to adapt and as well shape any environmental context or subject of discourse.
Though some students are lazy to do the work, I believe this abound, this is why supervisors are there to power them back to work and shave them off indolence. Yet, this is not the case.
I have seen, heard and of course read, how some supervisors in some departments and some Institutions don’t even bother to allow any students to do their project works. They will not supervise, nor allow them to do anything. They will rather bill them, 30,000, 50,000 naira respectively to balance up their project works. Once paid, every other thing doesn’t matter.
I have seen, heard and read, how some supervisors in some departments may not do like the above. They will allow their students to do the project works. But, in the end, they eventually know, the students are just playing their scripts. When it reaches the threshold for defense, the supervisor will request for their National Cake. What I tagged are their necessary alms because it is always requested, solicited and can sometimes be coerced. It is usually tagged commendation. For sure, the students may not be freed until he/she give to their needy appetites.
Mind you, there are other means where this intelligence is always up for sales. These means are visible to the blind, and audible to the deaf. They are the clandestine engagements behind the scenes of some varsities members of the staff. It’s just as students, bribed me with your substance.
Bizarrely, today’s project works truly done accurately as they ought to are only those of ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS’ students. In Nigeria, across all institutions, only they own the kudos of truly applying the intelligence as they ought to. They usually do the work and it is perpetually worth it.
Recently, Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Electrical and Electronics students developed an Electronic voting machine, many others have developed grinding machines, while some have been on the road constructing them and putting their mental abilities into a test, many others are always out there planning the lands survey and doing it as it were. But, come to other departments; students are subjects of scam as much as how project writing is always seen as the altar of extortion. Students are just stressed for nothing. Made to print papers that are later meals of decadence. Get them to defend what they don’t know and then at the end, demand needy alms and successfully championed their exorbitant extortionist minds.