History Of Education In Nigeria Book
Marquetta Marteney
Nigeria is the most populated black African nation, with a population of 140 million from the 2006 population census. Medical education began with the establishment of the University College Hospital, Ibadan as a College branch of the University of London in 1948. Since then four generations of medical schools have evolved. The newer medical schools adopted the curriculum of the older schools with little modification. The subsequent introduction of changes and modification in the curriculum of medical education worldwide did not seem to affect Nigerian medical schools. Teacher training in educational methods for medical educators has not been introduced, nor has there been any curriculum planning or review. Efforts made regionally and nationally to change the medical curriculum and improve quality of medical training has not yielded the desired results. The regulatory bodies, the National Universities Commission and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria introduced separate curricula for medical schools, as a guide to minimum standards, but there has been so far a varying degree of compliance by the Universities. There is an urgent need to bring Medical Education and teacher training issues to the fore. Needs assessment of medical school faculty to determine their training would be seen to be a good starting point, as well as curriculum transformation and the introduction of newer assessment methods. It is suggested that the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) should take a leading role by collaborating with outside bodies concerned with medical education.
Education in Nigeria is overseen by the Federal Ministry of Education.[2] The local authorities take responsibility for implementing state-controlled policy regarding public education and state schools.[3] The education system is divided into Kindergarten, Primary education, Secondary education, and Tertiary education.[4] Nigeria's federal government has been dominated by instability since declaring independence from Britain, and as a result, a unified set of education policies is yet to be successfully implemented.[5] Regional differences in quality, curriculum, and funding characterize the education system in Nigeria.[6][7] Currently, Nigeria possesses the largest population of out-of-school learning youths in the world.[7] The educational systems in Nigeria are divided into two the public[8] where the student only pays for PTA while the private [9] where students pay school fees and some other fees like sports, exam fees, computer fees etc. and they are costly[10]
Education in Nigerian schools takes place in English. In November 30, 2022, the education minister Adamu Adamu announced a government plan to abolish instruction in English on primary schools in favour of Nigeria's local languages.[11]
Primary education begins at around age 5 for the majority of Nigerians.[12] Students spend six years in primary school and graduate with a school-leaving certificate. Subjects taught at the primary level include Mathematics, English language, Christian Religious Knowledge, Islamic Knowledge Studies, Agricultural science, Home economics and one of the three main indigenous languages and cultures: Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo.[13] Private schools also offer Computer Science, French, and Fine Arts. Primary school pupils are required to take a Common Entrance Examination to qualify for admission into the Federal and State Government Secondary schools, as well as Private ones.[14]
Before 1976, education policy was still largely shaped by the colonial policy of the British Colonial Period.[15] In 1976, the Universal Primary Education program was established.[16] This program faced many difficulties and was subsequently revised in 1981 and 1990.[17] The Universal Basic Education (UBE) was formed in 1999 and this came as a replacement of the Universal Primary Education and intended to enhance the success of the first nine years of schooling.[18][19] The UBE involves 6 years of Primary School education and 3 years of Junior Secondary School education, culminating in 9 years of uninterrupted schooling, and transition from one class to another is automatic but determined through continuous assessment. This scheme is monitored by the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, and has made it "free", "compulsory" and a "right" of every child.[20]Therefore, the UBEC law section 15 defines UBE as early childhood care and education.[21] The law says a 9-year formal schooling, adult literacy and non-formal education, skill acquisition programs, and the education of special groups such as nomads and migrants, girl child and women, Al-majiri, out of school and disabled people (Aderinoye, 2007).[22]
Secondary school is a link between the primary and tertiary levels of education.[23] It is the form of education children receive after primary education and before tertiary stage(Solomon, 2015). Students spend six years in Secondary School, which is 3 years of JSS (Junior Secondary School), and 3 years of SSS (Senior Secondary School).[24] During the 3 years of Junior Secondary School education, students are to take subjects such as Mathematics, English, Social Studies, cultural and creative arts, basic science and technology, pre-vocational studies, French, business education, Home Economics, Computer Studies or Fine arts.[25] Senior Secondary curriculum is based on 4 core subjects completed by 4 or 5 elective subjects. Core subjects are: English; mathematics; Economics; Civic Education; one or more electives out of Biology, Chemistry, Physics for science class; one or more electives out of English literature, History, Geography, Agricultural science or a vocational subject which includes: Book Keeping, Commerce, Food and Nutrition, Technical Drawing amongst other 17 subjects.[26]
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is made up of thirty-six States and the Federal Capital Territory and there are about two Federal Government Colleges in each state.[28] These schools are funded and managed directly by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Education.[29] There are also Command Schools run by the Nigerian Army and other military schools run by the Airforce and Navy. Teachers who want to teach in Nigerian schools must have either a National Certificate in Education, bachelor's degree in education or a bachelor's degree in a subject field combined with a postgraduate diploma in education.[30][31] These schools are supposed to be model schools carrying and maintaining the ideals of secondary education for Nigerian students. Admission is based on merit, determined by the National Common Entrance Examination taken by all final year elementary school pupils.[32] Tuition and fees are very low, approximately twenty-five thousand naira ($69.08) because partial funding comes from the Federal Government.[22]
State-owned secondary schools are funded by its state government and are not comparable to Federal government colleges.[33] Although, education is supposed to be free in the majority of the state-owned institutions, students are required to purchase books, uniforms and pay for miscellaneous things costing them an average of fifty thousand naira ($130) in one academic year.[34] Teachers in state-owned institutions usually have a National Certificate of Education or a bachelor's degree, but this is not always the case as many secondary schools in Nigeria are filled with unqualified teachers who end up not being able to motivate their students, these schools are often understaffed due to low state budgets, lack of incentives and irregularities in payment of staff salaries.[22] Some state-owned secondary schools are regarded as elite colleges because of the historically high educational standard and alumni who have become prominent citizens and successful in various careers. However, the college ranking of these institutions have since dropped because of the arrival of some privately owned institutions.
With the introduction of the 6-3-3-4 system of education in Nigeria, the recipient of the education would spend six years in primary school, three years in junior secondary school, three years in senior secondary school, and four years in a tertiary institution.[36] The six years spent in primary school and the three years spent in junior secondary school are merged to form the nine in the 9-3-4 system. Altogether, the students must spend a minimum period of six years in Secondary School. During this period, students are expected to spend three years in Junior Secondary School and three years in Senior Secondary School.[22][37]
The Federal Government policy on education is agreed to by all secondary schools in Nigeria. Six years of elementary school is followed by six years of secondary school. Junior Secondary school consists of JSS1, JSS2 and JSS3 which are equivalent to the 7th, 8th and 9th Grade while the Senior Secondary school consists of SS I, SS 2, and SS 3 which is equivalent to the 10th, 11th and 12th Grade. The Senior Secondary School Examination (SSCE) is taken at the end of the SS 3. The West African Examination Council (WAEC) administers both exams. Three to six months after a student has taken the SSCE examination, they are issued an official transcript from their institution. This transcript is valid for one year, after which an Official transcript from the West African Examination Council is issued.[38]
Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) is an advanced level education programme, which is designed for students intending to go to university without going through JAMB Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board exams either undergraduate or direct entry.[42] The IJMB examination is primarily for Advanced Level subjects for Direct Entry into 200 level in the Universities. The syllabus for the IJMB Examination is compiled in line with international standard educational requirements and admission requirements of various Universities, Nigeria and overseas. It runs for 9 months and has 2 semesters.
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