CRISIS IN NIGERIA'S EDUCATION SECTOR: ADDRESSING THE CONNECT BETWEEN UNEMPLOYMENT AND INSECURITY

The challenge of unemployment and insecurity in Nigeria is the concern of every citizen in the country. People are in a state of uncertainty and suspicion that can only be resolved through education. In recent years however, violent conflicts have become a recurrent decimal in the country.Destruction of wealth and valuables worth billions of Naira and loss of thousands of lives in the last fifteen years has been enormous (Salisu 2014). The education system of the country is in serious disorder ranging from inadequate funding; unskilled and, or incompetent teachers; lack of facilities and infrastructure; low enrollment, poor transition; poor management; unemployed graduates that are lured into unnecessary hardship and thus become victims of circumstances. The paper therefore highlights the crisis in education which if properly addressed, can help in addressing unemployment among youths and via-a-vi tackle the insecurity situation of the country. This paper posits that education is the most important tool of development that can provide the desired personal growth and development for our teeming population to make them responsible, enlightened, and loyal to constituted authorities, tolerant of one another, in addition to developing mutual understanding and cooperation. The paper also teases out many recommendations for policy guideline which if implemented, can address the challenges of unemployment and insecurity in Nigeria. Specific reference is made to vocational education in an attempt to show its current situation and what has support to be put in place to make it relevant to the present situation and serve Nigeria in human resources development.