Abstract

At virtually every academic graduation ceremony, the administrators declare that the graduands have distinguished themselves in Character and Learning. In the light of the degenerate condition of the moral standards of the contemporary human society, in spite of the numerous academics that adorn it, the veracity of this declaration becomes questionable. To what extent does this declaration correspond to reality? Is the award of distinction in character a fact or fancy? Are these two aspects of human formation mutually inclusive or exclusive? If our numerous graduates also have a distinction in character or moral formation, the question arises as to what accounts for the immoral and unethical practices rife in our society. A critical assessment of these issues constitutes the major concern of this discourse. The stance of this paper is that both intellectual formation and moral formation constitute a powerful mould into which the human person must be cast if a balanced personality must emerge. Unfortunately, the project of fostering the moral aspect of human formation has not been given the proper attention it deserves in our institutions of learning. Indeed, the frequently conferred awards of moral excellence by the institutions of learning are apparently purported. Character formation has evidently become a nominal appendage or at best ancillary to the intellectual aspect of human formation. Hence, this paper aims at establishing the imperative of proper integration of the moral aspect of human formation in order to justify the award in moral excellence