Jacob BABALOLA (Staff Writer)

A University Don in the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Prof. Isaac E. Ukpokolo has enlightened on the difference between being literate and being educated.

Delivering an Inaugural Lecture on “Education, Common Belonging and Shared Destiny: The Role of Catholic Schools in the Saving Mission of Christ” at the Jubilee of Educators; held on Friday 10th October, 2025 at the Church of the Ascension, Bodija – Ibadan, Prof. Ukpokolo stated that to be literate is to know how to read and write; while to be educated means to be liberated from the darkness of ignorance, tribalism, racism, ideology, selfishness and other vices in the society.

The Guest Lecturer, who defined ‘education as a mode’, to involve some structured process of “learning” and “facilitating” that shape individuals and societies also defined ‘education in practice’ to mean the systematic process of acquiring knowledge, skills, values, and habits through guidance, training, research, and personal experience. In either way, the goal of education is not just intellectual development but also socialization, moral growth, and preparation for life and work. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), he added, affirmed education as a fundamental right even though today, education systems vary globally but share common goals: equity, access, and lifelong learning.

According to the Professor, someone can be literate and yet be selfish, proud, ignorant, and engaging in all forms of immorality, hence, such a person needs to follow up with education. The Lecturer added that the words ‘teachers and students’ are getting out of use and are being replaced by ‘facilitators and learners’ respectively; as he said facilitators have to guide the learners with the knowledge they (facilitators) have.

Going further, the Guest Lecturer said what the facilitators need most is competence rather than experience, for someone can have years of experience without an additional competence. The facilitators (teachers), according to the Don are to help the children or learners discover the knowledge in them. “In education, we want to discover knowledge and not information. Knowledge is discovered but you can produce information; which can be true or false, but knowledge is always true, while information are raw materials or data and need to be processed.”

The Lecturer stated that the process in education starts with thinking because from what we think comes what we speak. He therefore enumerated some aspects of human existence, (According to Prof. Anthony Akinwale) four characteristics that belong to human nature to direct search light of education to as: desire for truth by every human person, desire for good, desire for God and desire for love; even as he affirmed that the best educators are the parents and also shared his personal life experience while growing up with his parents.

Speaking on Catholic education, the Guest Lecturer described it as the formation of the person in his or her wholeness, involving spiritual, intellectual, moral and technical formation with the aim of leading the students who are better understood as stewards of hope to a personal actualization of their potentials by participation in the intersubjective task of collective actualization. “In more concrete terms, the goal of Catholic schools/education is to be identified in relation to cultivating in the human being authentic personhood so that he or she becomes an agent of fulfilling a threefold duty of reconciliation, justice and peace stewards of hope for his or her generation. For, in hope, "we are saved" (Rom. 8:24).”

He then listed some Common Good i.e. "the sum-total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily” to include: respect for life and human dignity, subsidiarity, solidarity and natural law; as well as the seven themes of Catholic teaching which include: life and dignity of the human person; call to family, community and participation; rights and responsibilities; option for the poor and vulnerable; the dignity of work and the rights of workers; solidarity and care for God’s creation.

Concluding with the Gospel of St. Mark 3:14 in which the Lord Jesus Christ appointed twelve ‘to be with Him’ and that He might send them forth ‘to preach the Gospel’, Prof Ukpokolo told the Catholic Schools Facilitators that the children have been brought to be with Christ in their schools and be sent out to preach, not with Bible but with their lives. “To be sure, the Catholicity or Universality of these values, norms, precepts and policies are fundamental to human flourishing. Our children and youth must be seen as stewards of hope, for the Church, for the world and for humanity.”

Earlier, there was an opening Mass, presided over by the Archbishop, Most Rev. Dr. Gabriel ‘Leke Abegunrin, who was represented by the Archdiocesan Chancellor, Very Rev. Fr. Anthony Omolade with other eleven priests concelebrating.

The homilist at the Mass was the Secretary of the Archdiocesan Education Committee, Very Rev. Fr. Julius Akinyode; who enjoined the facilitators to show themselves a model of good deed in every sense, with integrity in what they teach, for they are the salt and light of the world in Catholic Schools’ Communities as far as the Church faith is concerned. “Let us make authentic Catholic educators available. The difference we make must go beyond the schools’ gates to the society. Your roles are very important in shaping the lives of the young ones.” He stated.

Present at the event were Catholic Schools’ Management teams, Members of Staff and the Students. The Archdiocesan Chancellor, Fr. Anthony Omolade delivered the Archbishop’s message to the gathering, in which His Grace appreciated the facilitators and also urged them to do more. The Chancellor also gave a vote of thanks, while the Vicar for Pastoral Affairs, Very Rev. Fr. Richard Omolade gave a vote of thanks and final blessing after the lecture in the parish hall.

The next programme for the Educators in the Archdiocese is on 24th October, 2025 at St. Gabriel Catholic Church, Mokola, Ibadan, with an appeal that more participants should make it to the next programme.