Abstract
The discipline of History is as old as modern educational curriculum. In the old Greek State of Athens, it was seen as a noble discipline meant for members of the Royal families and Nobles. This discipline was also adopted in Europe in the renaissance era where people were taught their roots. For this reason, seasoned historians have defined history as the mother of all disciplines because of its relevance in the development of man and the society. However, this all important discipline has become endangered in the Nigerian Society where the drive for money or material gains influences majorly the discipline one studies. In this light, most ivory towers where history is being taught were forced by the dictates of the time to affiliate the discipline with other “marketable” disciplines like diplomacy, international studies, strategic studies and the likes to attract students to study history. The impoverished status of the Nigerian society could largely be blamed for this development as economic gains now precedes academic gains. Educational pursuits are no longer for knowledge acquisition and societal development, rather, for the monetary benefits that will accrue to the certificates. Thus, the glory of history as a discipline is gradually going into extinction as most universities in Nigeria do not run pure history without affiliations to be in tune with the current economic dictates. This study is to analyse the concept and relevance of history in a financially induced and impoverished society.
Author Information
Enesi Prince Habib, Federal College of Education, Nigeria
Iyela Ajayi, Federal College of Education, Nigeria
Paper Information
Conference: ECE2015
Stream: Education and post-colonialism
This paper is part of the ECE2015 Conference Proceedings (View)
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