The Social Science Academy of Nigeria, SSAN, has said that the recent comment credited to the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, who claimed that Nigeria has produced too many social science graduates, was not guided by facts.
The minister had, while presenting provisional licences to 11 newly approved private universities in Abuja, argued that Nigeria needs fewer social science graduates and more “problem-solving” graduates with technical and life skills.
But SSAN, in a statement issued Sunday by its President, Prof. Chike Okolocha, described the minister’s remarks as “a violent negation of the Universities Autonomy Law” and an example of “anti-intellectualism” by public officials.
He added that the problem is not the number of social science graduates, but the persistent failure of the government to invest in quality education and create meaningful job opportunities.
Okolocha noted: “The position of the Minister is not guided by facts. He was silent on the current number of social science graduates in the country and the quantum deemed desirable.
“Nigerians challenged a similar unproven statement on the surplus of medical doctors in Nigeria by Chris Ngige, former Minister of Labour. We verily believe that Dr. Alausa’s statement does not reflect public policy.
“Social sciences were birthed out of the quest and intellectual introspection to find solutions to the social problems that arose from the Industrial, American, and French Revolutions and, latterly, World War I and II. In the 21st century, these social problems have multiplied by leaps and bounds.
“Nigeria is currently in the throes of poverty, social and political exclusion, economic downturn, underdevelopment and unwieldy dependency, insurgency, terrorism, ethnic irredentism, gender exclusion and social inequality, crime and delinquency and violence, illegal migration and human trafficking, over-urbanisation and rural decay, agricultural atavism, religious intolerance, insecurity, and instability, among others.
“The social sciences were created to tackle these difficulties. Indeed, the subject matter of the social sciences and humanities is the foundation of societal development.
“We therefore require more social scientists, not less. A nation that has no social scientific and humanistic enquiries into its values, structures, political and socio-economic relations cannot achieve sustainable development and security.”
Okolocha stressed that while SSAN agrees that Nigeria should produce more graduates in the (pure) sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM), this cannot be exclusive of the social sciences and humanities.
“By the way, social science disciplines like finance, accounting, economics, marketing, and management are also classified as STEMM courses. Even so, STEMM alone cannot save us. In fact, knowledge is not classifiable as medicine versus the social sciences because it is an integrated, inter-disciplinary inquiry, explanation, and understanding applied to identifying and solving societal problems.”
The academy urged the federal government to distance itself from the minister’s comments, emphasizing that national development requires the contributions of both technical and social science professionals.
It said Nigeria must not repeat the policy mistakes of the past, such as the misguided ban on history in our curriculum.
