EDUCATION IN NIGERIA;
THE CONTINUOUS DECADENCE OF THE NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL SECTOR
DEFINITION OF EDUCATION
Education according to the Oxford dictionary can simply be defined as the system of training and instruction designed to give knowledge and develop skills. It is a major tool for national socio-economic development and for individuals’ socio-economic empowerment and poverty reduction (Omonkalo, 2014). It is the acquisition of not only knowledge but societal rules and regulations (Adeyemo, 2009). It is a key development index and plays complementary role for overall individual, social and national development (Clignet and Foster, 1964). From whichever point of view the topic of education is viewed, it can be seen that it provides for an individual to develop and gain special skills while contributing the growth of the society.
Over the years, the meaning of education has been lost in the sands of time. Early in the American history, when slavery was still very much in circulation, it was a law that no slave should know how to read and write. A slave who knew had to read or write or could do both had to fear for his very life. Education then meant liberation; liberation from ignorance, liberation from inferiority complex, and liberation from slavery. The form of education given then was of great value that just finishing from the primary school alone was worth getting a good job and a good pay, not because there were few educated people but because the level of education given then was eloquent.
They didn’t just teach the students to get out of school and find a good stable job. Earn big money, sit down and enjoy life. No; they imparted upon them the tools of liberation, wisdom to grow from their lowly state and the knowledge of the things around them. They taught them how to live in life and how to learn more from life. They taught them how to pass their findings and their acquired knowledge to the ones coming after them so they have a legacy. The quality of education then, taught the students about their origins and the values of the society and the worth of their assessments was standard. By standard I mean, world class standard because, a child who passed averagely then is sure to be a genius in our age today.
Dr. Benjamin Carson illustrated this when he had a breakfast talk in 2016 with the then President of the United States of America, Barrack Obama. He spoke on the alarming drop and still dropping rate and quality of education in the States and how the standards of examination to test the students have dropped drastically. Looking back at the last century and the one before; in the 1900’s and 1800’s, he was able to get a sample of the questions used them to test an high school student before promotion to college and he compared it with the questions asked now. The comparison was nothing to write home about. He stated that even if some of the questions asked in the former years to graduate to college were asked some university students in this century, they might fail the question.
This should point out that indeed the level of education has deteriorated since the last centuries, and it still is. But what can we say; if the United States educational system has gone down this low, how much more the educational standard of the African race. First and foremost, we never really had access to a good education and the one which we do get, we are fortunate to have. And now that the education system has dropped, one can’t help but wonder what the future holds for the younger generation.
Education plays an important role in any individual’s development and the national development as a whole. Education however needs financing to be able to bring about the required developments. In spite of the importance of education in national development, education has not been enjoying commensurate financing in Nigeria. Over the years, trends show how the budgetary provision (the only source of funding to education within the country) has been fluctuating and presently decreasing drastically. This trend even falls short of the recommendation of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that every developing nation should allocate at least 26% of her GDP to the education sector. Presently, Nigeria has a budget of 7% of her GDP allocated for education.
When we compare the responsibility of the government towards the educational sector before independence and after independence, we see that there isn’t much difference in what the colonial masters did and what the past and present administrations are doing. The Pre-Independence educational era was the period before Nigeria’s independence starting from when the Westerners first introduced education to Nigeria (1842) to just before Nigeria gained independence (1959). The Post-Independence Educational era was the period after the independence of Nigeria from her colonial masters (1960 – present).
Grants to Primary Education in Western Region of Nigeria (1955 – 1960)
| Year |
Total Expenditure
($) |
Expenditure on Education |
Expenditure on Education as % of Total Expenditure |
| 1925 |
6,509,244 |
116,301 |
1.8 |
| 1929 |
6,045,621 |
263,457 |
4.3 |
| 1933 |
6,898,816 |
237,732 |
3.3 |
| 1936 |
6,585,458 |
231,983 |
3.5 |
| 1939 |
6,576,835 |
282,820 |
4.3 |
| 1951/52 |
49,131,000 |
8,325,000 |
16.9 |
(Source: Central Bank of Nigeria (2013), Statistical Bulletin & Information from www.nigeria.gov.com)
After independence, the position of the education sector in budgetary allocation and the budget allocated to it dropped gradually. By, the time the military took over, they dealt a great blow on various sectors including the education sector leading to frequent labour strikes.
Federal Government Budgetary Allocation to Education in Nigeria (1960 – 2015)
| Year |
Allocation as % of Total Budget |
Year |
Allocation as % of Total Budget |
Year |
Allocation as % of Total Budget |
| 1960 |
6.02 |
1979 |
3.70 |
1998 |
10.27 |
| 1961 |
6.15 |
1980 |
4.95 |
1999 |
11.12 |
| 1962 |
5.19 |
1981 |
6.45 |
2000 |
8.36 |
| 1963 |
3.45 |
1982 |
8.09 |
2001 |
7.00 |
| 1964 |
3.65 |
1983 |
4.04 |
2002 |
5.90 |
| 1965 |
3.57 |
1984 |
4.49 |
2003 |
1.83 |
| 1966 |
4.23 |
1985 |
3.79 |
2004 |
10.50 |
| 1967 |
4.88 |
1986 |
2.69 |
2005 |
9.30 |
| 1968 |
2.84 |
1987 |
1.93 |
2006 |
11.00 |
| 1969 |
2.20 |
1988 |
2.40 |
2007 |
8.09 |
| 1970 |
0.69 |
1989 |
3.55 |
2008 |
13.00 |
| 1971 |
0.53 |
1990 |
2.83 |
2009 |
6.45 |
| 1972 |
0.62 |
1991 |
1.09 |
2010 |
6.40 |
| 1973 |
0.88 |
1992 |
3.86 |
2011 |
1.69 |
| 1974 |
2.96 |
1993 |
5.62 |
2012 |
10.00 |
| 1975 |
4.57 |
1994 |
7.13 |
2013 |
8.70 |
| 1976 |
8.71 |
1995 |
7.20 |
2014 |
10.60 |
| 1977 |
3.12 |
1996 |
12.33 |
2015 |
9.5 |
| 1978 |
11.44 |
1997 |
17.59 |
|
|
(Source: Central Bank of Nigeria (2013), Statistical Bulletin & Information from www.nigeria.gov.com)
FACTS; NIGERIAN EDUCATION
Pre-Independence (1842 – 1959)
1842 – 1871: Education was introduced to Nigeria in 1842 by the Christian missionaries as a means of converting the natives. The Mission solely funded the education it provided for the natives without any help from the colonial government. Up until 1952, the Mission and voluntary agencies funded the education mostly.
1872: The British government took interest in the education provided to the natives and funded the Mission with $1000 later reduced to $330 and further to $30. The money was shared equally among all the Mission schools that operated in Lagos then (Wesleyan Mission, Roman Catholic Mission, Church Mission).
1873: $300 was allocated for the funding of education to be shared among the Mission schools. The money was never paid.
1874 – 1876: $300 was released to the Mission schools yearly.
1882: The British government took more interest in the education sector and focused a lot more on its funding.
1887: The government increased the yearly fund from $300 to $600.
1926: The emergence of the Education Ordinance laid the foundation for Nigeria’s Education System
Post-Independence
1962 – 1966: The First National Development Plan; Education accounted for 10% of the total public sector investment and ranked fifth in the sectorial allocation.
1970 – 1974: The Second National Development Plan; Education accounted for 13.5% of the total planned public sector investment. Because much attention was on reconciliation, reconstruction, and rehabilitation after the Civil war, the financial allocation to education had little impact as enrolment at education level had doubled.
1975 – 1980: The Third National Development Plan; Education accounted for 7.5% of the National Capital Expenditure. The position of education sector allocation dropped to fifty.
1981 – 1985: The Fourth National Development Plan; Education had an increased in allocated funds which rose to 17.3% of the National Capital Expenditure.
7% of the national GDP was allocated to education in 2018. When compared with other African states, the percentage is one of the lowest coming from a nation described as the Giant of Africa.
45% of Nigerians population is of the age 15 years and below. 40% of the total population is between the ages 6 – 11years and do not attend any school. Girls from the Northern region comprising of the larger part of the 40%. The estimation amounts to about 4.7 million children eligible for primary education but are not enrolled in any.
Because of the large number of students against the thin budget allocated to education, the quality of education is dropping exponentially.
Reference: Matthew I.A. (2016). “Financial Allocation to Education: Trends, Issues, and Ways Forward in Nigeria”. Journal Plus Education, ISSN: 1842-077X, E-ISSN (online) 2068-1151, Vol. XIV, No. 1, pp.227-245.
Central Bank of Nigeria (2015). “Statistical Bulletin and Information”. Abuja Nigeria: Central Bank of Nigeria.
World Bank (2012). “World Bank selected 20 countries annual budgetary allocation to education.” Washington DC: The World Bank.
