FROM THE MAKING OF A SCHOLAR TO A VIRTUOUS PERSON: A PARADIGM SHIFT FOR THE NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
The central object of this philosophical discourse on education is to demonstrate the dichotomy between been learned and been educated and to establish that character formation is the pillar of the pillars of education. Ordinarily, it sounds apparently ironic to insinuate that there is a difference between been learned and been educated. However, it should be stated that a critical analysis of these terms reveals in principle substantive disparity between them; yet ironically the two states are intertwined because they represent two sides of the same coin. The most salient questions that constitute the problem of this study include:- where does this dichotomy subsists? Is it possible for an individual's intellectual prowess and powers to be developed, yet at the same time his moral powers remained undeveloped and uncultured? Is it possible for an individual to be exceptionally erudite, yet morally bankrupt? In view of these questions, the central object of this paper is to use John Locke's philosophy and theory to demonstrate that virtue education is the cornerstone and essence of education. The study interrogates the Nigerian system of education which breeds more great minds with questionable character. Locke emphatically stressed that the aim of education should be to instil what he calls “the principle of virtue”, namely the ability to subvert one's immediate appetites to the dictates of reason. Premised on this tokenism, the paper argues that to counteract the moral sleaze prevalent in the Nigerian polis, it is expedient that the Nigerian educational system consider a paradigm shift from the making of a scholar to the making of virtuous and human person. It further recommends that integrity, character social utility and productivity which collectively consists the hallmark of an educated person, should be considered the goal the Nigerian education. The expository analytic method and hermeneutical methods are adopted in this discourse.
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