PDE 701 ASSIGNMENT

History of Education

Name.KHADIJA AMINU

NTI/PGDE/2022/3761

QUESTION

★.Outline and explain five major threats facing the development of

education n Nigeria today.

The threats facing the development of education in Nigeria are

multifarious in nature.Educationists over the years have pointed that

the current National Policy on education was

conceived and hatched at a time when the country’s economy was

buoyant. But its real implementation started at a time of tight

economic situation. This, according to them, was the major factor

hindering the realization of the objectives outlined in the policy

document. It is equally true that there was an increase in population

and expansion of the facilities at all levels of education in the country.

The facilities became over stretched and more are required to make

the desired impact. It is equally true that the management and

maintenance of these facilities are capital intensive, which the

government alone can not bear now.There is the need therefore to

mobilize the various segments of the society to complement the

efforts of government towards realizing the goals set in the national

policy.
Many educationists have continued to question the sincerity of government in its
determination to forge the country’s education system ahead, viewing from the continued
decrease in government budgetary allocation to the sector over the years. Further misgivings on
the quality of supervision by the various tiers of government remained unclear and much is needed
to convince the public about the seriousness of government in this regard.
We’ll try to highlight the leading causes for poor state and quality of education in our country and
possible ways out.
Poor Funding
The first and possibly one of the greatest challenges facing education in Nigeria is inadequate
funding by the federal, state and local government. In the year 2017, Nigeria’s education sector
was again allocated much lower than the 26 percent of national budget recommended by the
United Nations.

The global organization recommended the budgetary benchmark to enable nations adequately
cater for rising education demands. But, in the proposal presented to the National Assembly,
President Muhammadu Buhari allocated only 7.04% of the 8.6 trillion 2018 budget to the
education.

The total sum allocated to the sector is N605.8 billion, with N435.1 billion for recurrent
expenditure, N61.73 billion for capital expenditure and N109.06 billion for the Universal Basic
Education Commission.

2. Poor Governance
Poor governance and mismanagement have crippled most sectors in the country not leaving
behind the education sector. Government’s attitude towards crucial problems of education,
especially its quality, is lackadaisical.

Governments at all levels are more concerned about issues that are not as important as education
and this is crippling the sector.

Corruption
Corruption is one of the major problems in the country and the educational sector is not an
exception. There are stories of lecturers collecting bribes from students in exchange for good
grades, university administrators demanding money from students to have their exam results
compiled and submitted to the (required) National Youth Service Corps, admission seekers paying
money to get admission into universities and so on.

Also, school funds meant for salaries, maintenance and so on are being diverted for personal use
and mismanaged. This cuts across all the level of the sector; universities, private and public
secondary schools.

4. Lack of Responsibility and Control

This is a problem not only affecting Nigeria but most countries on who exactly controls the
educational sector. Is it federal, state or local government, for example, the control of primary
education is neither fully in the hand of federal government, nor state or local government, this is
a great barrier for effective educational development at the basic level.

Works needed to be done are being passed around and no tier of government wants to actually take
any responsibility

5. Politicization of Education
Talking about politicization in the sector, the desire to compete with others, governments at all
levels, especially at the state level, attempt to run many institutions even when they are least
prepared to do such. This cause the general fall in the standard of the initially existing ones and the
available budget cannot cater for all their needs.

In addition, state governments give accreditation to private schools that they know are not well
equipped for teaching, all in a bid to generate more revenue for themselves.

6. Lack Of Infrastructure
In past years, schools and other vocational institutions have collapsed due to abject neglect by
governments. Our tertiary institutions having to fall into dilapidation and products of such schools
are not given adequate training to compete with other products of another country.

Many schools lack basic equipment for conducive learning, most especially for science practical
classes, and those that claim to have are managing the old ones. Hence, the students only learn the
theoretical steps rather than carrying out the practical aspect. Also, the libraries in schools are
lacking the needed books, journals and magazines.

7. Indiscipline
This is manifested in examination malpractices, secret cult menace, corruption etc. The
investigation revealed that some examination centers exist in this nation where parent are paying
money for qualifying their wards to pass SSCE –WAEC /NECO/JAMB.

Indiscipline is so endemic in the sector that we hear of cult’s killings almost every day in the
media, students are no longer concerned about academic excellence.

8. Poor Parenting And Guidance

Parents are meant to provide the basic needs needed to meet the challenges of life, but many
parents do not even show enough care or support. All they want is for their wards to excel
irrespective of the means.

This lack of proper guidance for their wards leads to encouragement on their part to engage in
exam malpractices and even going as far as paying for “special centers” for their wards.

We have also heard stories of parents following their wards to schools to fight or harass teachers
all because their wards were cautioned.

9. Lack of Teaching Aids

Teaching aids are objects or devices used by a teacher to enhance or enliven classroom instruction.
There is a wide range of teaching aids which can be audio, video, books, DVDs, Projectors,
computers etc. these are not provided for teachers thereby making teaching difficult.

10. Unstable Curriculum and Subject

An effective curriculum provides teachers, students, administrators with a measurable plan and
structure for delivering quality education. It acts as a roadmap for teachers and students to follow
the path to academic success.

There is no stable curriculum in the sector, because of changing policy, most schools cannot keep
up and you see most schools using the British curriculum.

11. Unwillingness to Study Education in Schools

Unlike other academic disciplines that are highly competitive, there are scanty applications into
faculties of education and colleges of education. According to research, in 2015, of the more than
1,700,000 applications for university admissions, less than five percent applied for courses in
education. These data point to the lack of interest of candidates for a career in the teaching
profession.

Most graduate teachers are not professionals and are inadequately exposed to teaching practice
while many of them cannot communicate effectively in english which directly affect the education
sector.

12. Unstable Staff

Unstable condition of teaching has made most professionals search for alternatives and because of
the meager salaries they earn, some of them have other alternative and they pay more attention to
these alternatives, this no doubt affect their effectiveness and dedication.

13. Lack of Good Teachers’ Welfare

There is poor teachers welfare in the sector, teachers are poorly paid and lack basic welfare
packages. In addition to the poor salary, they are not paid on time which is why we hear of strikes
often.
Once the teachers go on strikes, the students are asked to go home which often result in them
spending long years studying for a course, there are cases of student spending five to six years
studying for a four year course.

14. Unaffordable Education

The minimum wage in Nigeria is eighteen thousand naira and most homes survive on this. It will
be hard for such homes to send their children to school because of the high rate of school fees,
books and so on. Most people cannot further their education because of the high rate of acquiring
a university education.

15. Scarcity and Prohibitive Cost Of Books At All Levels Of Education

The necessary textbooks needed for easier learning are either scarce or ridiculously expensive,
making it hard for students or teachers to buy or use them

The above problems are just a few out of the many problems facing the education sector. So what
can be done to solve the problems facing the education sector in Nigeria? Find the recommended
solutions to the problems below.

Most of the problems are as a result of lack of funding, inadequate and proper budgetary
allocation. To solve this problem, the government should provide adequate funds for acquiring
quality training facilities, for renovating schools and also getting good infrastructure to ensure
there is a conducive environment for teaching and learning.
Furthermore, the funds should be maintained and properly monitored to avoid mismanagement
and embezzlement.

Governments at all levels need to be committed to delivering a competitive and high quality and
standard of education across the country.
Examination regulatory bodies need to work tirelessly to curb examination malpractices.
Teachers’ salaries need to be improved, this will serve as a motivation for them to be more
effective and dedicated.
Curriculum needs to be revised and improved upon. It needs to be more practical and researched
based rather than just theoretical and the inclusion of extracurricular activities.
Measures need to be taken to ensure stability in the teaching profession. Qualified and
professional teachers should be employed.
Teachers, lecturers need to be given periodical training to ensure what they are giving out is good
quality.
Teachers should be provided with quality and up to date materials, also quality teaching aids will
help to improve the education sector.
Students should be admitted based on merit only.
Penalties should be laid out for unlawful collection of money from students for any reason.
 REFERENCE
Fafunwa,A.(1974)History of Education in Nigeria,George Allen &Unwind Ltd.,LondonOzigi,A.
& Ocho. L.(1981) Education in Northern Nigeria,George Allen &Unwind Ltd.,London.
Wikipedia.