The primary aim of education goes beyond literacy. Education aims to provide individuals with knowledge, skills and values; necessary to lead productive, fulfilling lives and contribute positively to the society. Therefore the need for education cannot be overemphasized. It is imperative that education should be open to everyone at all basis regardless of their gender, social class, ethnicity and race.
A society’s level of development is determined its level of education. Education focuses on holistic development by nurturing critical thinking, problem- solving, and creativity. It should also promote the development of social, emotional and ethnical capabilities, enabling individuals to be responsible citizens who can contribute positively to the society. “It is erroneous to think that only those who went to school, i.e. acquired formal education are educated. An educated person is one whose eyes have been opened to rational ways of solving his or her own problem…”. There are different reasons why people get educated: To some, acquire knowledge and to others, impact knowledge.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with over 200 thousand inhabitants, faces enormous challenges in its education sector. “Education in Nigeria is based on a 6-3-3-4”, which involves three levels of educational processes: at the primary school level, the secondary school level and the tertiary school level. The nursery education comes before the primary school level but unfortunately, a lot of families can not afford it. Basic Education also known as Primary school includes six years of primary education and three years of Junior Secondary Education.
Meanwhile, Secondary Education covers three years of Senior Secondary Education for senior secondary school students. Tertiary education includes post-secondary schools such as polytechnics, colleges of education, and universities, where students can earn a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctorate’s degree. A Senior Secondary School(SSS) student requires 5 credits out of the subjects they entered for the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination(SSCE) to be able to get into the tertiary institution.
A country without education cannot be imagined. Education is essential for the growth and development of any nation and Nigeria is no exception. However, the state of education in Nigeria has been a major concern for decades. Nigeria as a third world country despite being the most populous country in Africa and having the largest economy, Nigeria has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world, with only 59% of the adult population able to read and write.
The educational sector in Nigeria has been fraught with numerous challenges, ranging from inadequate funding and infrastructure, low-quality teaching, insufficient teacher training, non-implementation of policies, corruption and the widening education gap between urban and rural areas. These challenges have causes past and present effects in the country.
Poor funding is a major cause of inadequate infrastructure, insufficient teacher training, low quality teaching and they are linked by corruption and poor financing accountability; the only reason why funds would not be released is as a result of unavailability of finance. Also, non-implementation of policies is as a result of government not taking good measures in the educational sector of the country.
The effects of these challenges has brought more damages to Nigeria’s Educational Sector. The first and major challenge of the educational sector in Nigeria is inadequate funding and infrastructure by the different levels of government. The Nigerian government allocated only 7% of its annual budget to education in 2021, despite the recommendation by UNESCO that recommends 26% average budget allocation towards education for developing countries Inadequate funding and infrastructure have had a significant impact on Nigeria’s educational system, affecting access, quality and equity of education.
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/07/educational-sector-in-nigeria-today
Our education sector is messed up and needs total restructuring.