Date Posted: 8/12/2017 2:28:24 PM
Posted By: chrispohmomanyi Membership Level: Gold Total Points: 2523
We train thousands of engineers every year and yet almost all the construction companies have their roots either in the United Kingdom, China or the other respected western countries for engineers. We train doctors, clinical officers, pharmacists and all other medical careers and yet our major surgeries and transplants are done either in India or South Africa. The chief mechanical engineer of the county cannot take care of his car which has developed a mechanical problem on his way home, but call for a class eight drop out artisan mechanic to see what the problem is.We pay obeisance to respected mechanical engineers, and yet they have never manufactured one vehicle of their own. Yea, not even a watch which a class three Japanese can do. What is wrong? Our education system must be fault and if not, then we ourselves must be foolish!The above questions are common for any free thinker; especially when the education system and curriculum is called to his/her mind. While in college training as a teacher, my micro teaching lecturer mentioned being humorous in class, but he was never humorous himself! All that is emphasized is more of mental knowledge and little of practical knowledge. The training i received while at college, I can say, was more of theories; yes, theories of Socrates, Plato the Ominde reports and their recommendations and the list goes on, but how best to transfer knowledge to students on a practical manner was never discussed. I remember in one physics course, Modern physics, I was asked to calculate the velocity of an electron! What a question. How on earth can this help me as a secondary teacher?If you’ve ever wondered like me, then you must already be having a glimpse of what I am talking about. In any good curriculum, enough time for content study must be allotted; enough time for practical and well supervised self-practice. In this good curriculum, the extent of comprehension is more valuable that the rank or even grade!The engineers I have mentioned before, struggle to cram so much theory within a short time and immediately after an exam, they forget it. Their interest is to receive better grades and ranks, when that is achieved, they forget everything. This is the evil side of the grade you’ve never thought of before, I guess.In Japan, technical polytechnics do better than universities. Their interest here, is to know how best to do things practically. They do not care of their rank or grade as to how much they understand. I do not mean that we are to score poorly, but it is true that if your comprehension is good, then your score is desirable. They do just a little of theory and more of practical and practice. And the best mechanical engineers are from japan.You are also able to join this world of technology if we change the order of things. Not sitting in class for 8 hours per day without practical work, but more of practical learning aided by explanation for the best understanding and the mastery of concepts. This is only possible if the whole system of education and curriculum is suitable.While the current emphasizes more on the grading more than understanding, the better curriculum must emphasize understanding than theories. When I consider this thought with the recent news of the new curriculum, then I think the 2-6-3-3-3 system will address this problem.
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