The Need To Reintroduce Craft Education In Nigerian Schools

By Bernard Ushie Odey Esq

There was a time in Nigeria when primary and secondary schools paid serious attention to practical learning through subjects known as Crafts. Pupils and students were taught how to make baskets, brooms, mats, decorations, simple wooden works, clay objects, local fabrics, and other handcrafts. Creativity, hard work, neatness, discipline, and innovation were rewarded with marks and recognition. These practical lessons helped many young people discover their talents early and develop skills for self-reliance and productivity.
Sadly, over the years, this important aspect of education has gradually disappeared from most Nigerian schools. Today, many students complete their education with certificates but without practical skills, creative abilities, or technical knowledge that can help them survive independently or contribute meaningfully to national development.
This growing overdependence on certificates without skills has contributed greatly to unemployment, poverty, youth restiveness, and excessive dependence on imported goods and foreign technology. Many graduates today are unable to create jobs for themselves because the educational system focuses mainly on theory rather than practical problem-solving.
Countries that are now leading in technology, manufacturing, and industrialization did not achieve success overnight. Nations such as China, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and India invested heavily in vocational, technical, and practical education from an early stage. Their children were exposed to creativity, technical drawing, electronics, machine operations, fabrication, repairs, and innovation while still in school. This practical foundation later transformed into industrial growth and technological advancement.
It is often said that many simple electronics and household products manufactured in countries like China were developed through technical skills acquired from practical education introduced at early stages. This demonstrates the importance of exposing children early to craftsmanship, innovation, research, and technology.
Nigeria must return to that path.
The reintroduction of craft education in elementary and secondary schools across all states will help to:
•Develop creativity and innovative thinking among children.
•Reduce overdependence on white-collar jobs.
•Promote self-employment and entrepreneurship.
•Discover talents and technical abilities at an early stage.
•Reduce idleness, crime, and social vices among youths.
•Encourage local production and industrial development.
•Build a generation of inventors, creators, and problem-solvers.
•Improve students’ confidence and practical reasoning.
•Promote dignity of labour and productivity.
•Reduce excessive dependence on imported products.
Modern craft education should not be limited to traditional handcrafts alone. It should include practical and vocational areas relevant to today’s economy and technological realities, such as:
•Basic electronics and electrical works
•Woodwork and carpentry
•Metal works and fabrication
•Tailoring and fashion design
•Agriculture and food processing
•Recycling and environmental management
•Computer maintenance and digital creativity
•Graphic design and printing
•Renewable energy and solar installation
•Plumbing and building maintenance
•Automobile and mechanical repairs
Schools should be equipped with simple workshops, laboratories, and practical learning materials, while teachers should receive proper training to guide students effectively. Practical assignments, exhibitions, and innovation competitions should also be encouraged to motivate students.
Beyond primary and secondary education, tertiary institutions in Nigeria must also shift from producing mainly certificate holders to producing researchers, innovators, manufacturers, and technology developers.
Universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education should place greater emphasis on research and development (R&D), technical innovation, and industrial skills. Students should be encouraged and funded to design and build practical projects capable of solving local and national problems.
For instance, engineering and science students should be challenged to:
•Build small power generation systems.
•Develop campus radio and television stations.
•Produce simple communication gadgets.
•Construct agricultural machines and processing equipment.
•Develop renewable energy solutions.
•Create software and digital technologies.
•Produce local manufacturing equipment and tools.
Research institutes and tertiary institutions should collaborate with industries and government agencies so that students can transform ideas into practical products and businesses. Innovation hubs and technical centres should be established in schools to support creativity and inventions.
A nation cannot develop technologically when its educational system produces graduates who only seek office jobs without practical skills or innovative capacity. Nations that dominate global economies today are nations that invested in technical knowledge, creativity, research, and production.
Education should not only prepare children to pass examinations; it should prepare them to think, create, innovate, solve problems, and become productive members of society.
If Nigeria truly wants to fight unemployment, poverty, insecurity, and overdependence on imported goods, then practical craft and vocational education must return fully to our classrooms and tertiary institutions.
The future of Nigeria depends not only on certificates, but on creativity, skills, research, innovation, and productivity.
Barr. Bernard Ushie Odey is a Legal Practitioner and a Politician.

Fransiscus Nanga Roka is of the Faculty of Law University 17 August 1945 Surabaya Indfonesia