EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

IN NIGERIA

By:
Cezar M. Barranta Jr.
Comparative Educational System
PhD in Educational Management
Introduction
Nigeria state is a creation of British colonial policy and
missionaries efforts culminated in modern school system.
The system of African training system was dismantled as
Western education was embraced in Nigeria.
3 Historical Dispensation of Curriculum Development:
Informal or Traditional Curriculum
Missionary Era
Period of Colonial Intervention and Post-Colonial Era
Informal Curriculum
Goals of Traditional African Education
To develop the childs latent physical skill
To develop character
To inculcate in the child respect for elders and those in position of
authority
To develop intellectual skills
To acquire vocational training and to develop a healthy attitude
towards honest labor.
To develop a sense of belonging and to participate actively in
family and community affairs
To understand, appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of the
community at large

Fafunwa (1974)
Informal Curriculum
Training Aims, Goals and Objectives
Physical Training They embarked on acrobatic display, drumming,
dance, wrestling etc. Their psychomotor domain was well taken care of
and open to the wider society.
Intellectual Training: Intellectual activities include counting, story-
telling, proverbs, poetry, legends, local and ancestral history, story-
relays, riddles, moonlight story-telling, etc.
Vocational Training: Functionalism was the guiding principle of African
education. The curriculum was justifiably tailored towards achieving
and mastering specific tasks. These include:
Agricultural training such as farming, hunting, fishing, animal rearing, etc
Trades and crafts such as weaving, carving, carpentry, building, barbering,
hair plaiting, palm wine tapping and selling, dancing and acrobatics.
Character Training such as respect for elders, table manners, toilet manners,
greetings, community participation and promotion of cultural heritage.
Ehindero (1986)
Missionary Era
Methodist Mission (1843)
First School
Nursery of the Infant Church

CMS, Wesleyan, The Catholic Mission, Baptist, and the

Church of Scotland (Activities)
Similar in content and method to the Quranic Schools
All are connected with the Bible.
Teaching Christianity
No common curriculum
Teacher Dependent
Missionary Era
Imperfections associated with the systems:
Lack of common syllabus, standard textbooks, regular school hours
Lack of adequate supervision of the condition of service of teachers
Lack of control in examination system
Lack of uniformity in the condition of service of teachers
Lack of adequate financial support and control
Education was restricted to the South
Acceptance in the North was a problem
Education did not meet the needs of Africans
Vocational opportunity
Career enhancement
Intellectual development
Colonial Intervention Era
Educational Ordinance put into place (1882) (serve as
regulatory tools)
Schools in British West African Countries
Gold Coast
Sierra Leone
Gambia
Lagos
Educational Ordinance Act (1887)
There was substantial improvement on the school over the
missionary era
Subjects introduced:
Scriptures, Greek, Latin, Reading, Writing, English, History, Music,
Mathematics, Philosophy and Recitation
Colonial Intervention Era
The Memorandum on Education Policy in British Tropical
Africa
Education should be adapted to the mentality, aptitudes,
occupations and traditions of the various peoples.
Complete Education
Primary Education
Secondary Education of Different Types
Technical and Vocational Schools and Institutions
University
Education
Medicine
Agriculture
Adult Education
Colonial Intervention Era
Examination Bodies
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate
Grammar Schools
London Matriculation Examination Boards
Private Students
College Preceptors of London
St. Andrew College
Wesley College
Hope Waddell Training Institute
Post Colonial Era
Examination Bodies
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate
Grammar Schools
London Matriculation Examination Boards
Private Students
College Preceptors of London
St. Andrew College
Wesley College
Hope Waddell Training Institute
Education Highlights
Nigeria is the most populous black nation with almost 175
million people, 30 million of which are students.

nairaland.com
Education Highlights
Christian missionaries
introduced the western
education system in
Nigeria in the mid-
nineteenth century.
This education system
was more readily
accepted in the south.

what-when-how.com
Educational Highlights
Nigerias literacy rate is estimated at 61%.
Nigeria has a large number of out-of-school children and
young adults with limited literacy and numeracy skills who
have little hope of ever joining the formal workforce.
Education indicators are poor nationwide, and the
greatest need for assistance is in the predominantly
Muslim north.
Education is a shared responsibility
of the Nigerian federal, state, and
local governments.
The formal education system in
Nigeria is the 9-3-4 system.
Almajiri Education
A key program for enhancing access to Basic Education
and reducing the high number of Out-of-School Children
launched in Sokoto by the President, Dr. Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan.
A total of 102 boarding and day schools are completed
across the geo-political zones in Nigeria.
Almajiri Education
It is a system whereby parents send their children to
prominent Muslim scholars, sometimes in faraway
locations, to be tutored.
The almajirai (itinerant
children under
Quranic instruction)
constitute the largest
group of out-of-school
children in Nigeria.
Almajiri Education
Back then, pupils were taught to be simple, strong and
disciplined.
Traditionally, boys are
sent to Quranic
teachers to receive an
Islamic education,
which includes
vocational or
apprenticeship
training.
Almajiri Education
Today, however, many say the practice has become a
curse, creating a potential breeding ground for extremist
tendencies and antisocial behavior.
The system has
become synonymous
with child destitution in
Northern Nigeria; a
complex form of social
menace that has
provoked widespread
concern and a mix of
equally complex
remedies.
Almajiri Education
The Almajiri system of education as practiced today in
the northern Nigeria is a completely bastardized system
compared to the form and conditions under which the
system was
operating and its
output during the
pre-colonial
period. (Prof. Idris A.
Abdulqadir, 21st
convocation lecture,
Bayero University)
Almajiri Education
Hardships
Begging
Menial Jobs
Easy prey for ambitious and
evil politicians
Other evil plots

Burdensome (Parents
upbringing)
Their male children throw
into the system
Little or no supervision
Little and no care.
Almajiri Education
The Ministry of Education estimated that there were 9.5
million almajiri children in the northern part of the country.
The number of almajirai in urban areas is estimated to be
rising.
Almajiri School Enrollment 2010
4,903,000

2,657,767

1,133,288
809,317

18,500 3,827
Formal Educational System

Jr. Schl Certificate

Jr Craft Schools and Trade

Junior Secondary (3yrs)
Centers

Primary Education (6 yrs)

Factors Influencing
Primary School Drop Out

Monetary Cost

7% 6% 4% Insufficient Interest
9%
Labor Needed
16%
32%
Unlikely / Unable to Join
26% JSS

Unfavorable Distance

Had Enough Schooling

Poor School Quality

 Formal Educational System

Natl Technical /
Sr. Schl. Certificate
Business Certificate

West African School

Certificate / GCE O Level Senior Secondary (3yrs) Technical Colleges

Secondary Jr. Schl Certificate

Jr Craft Schools and Trade

Junior Secondary (3yrs)
Centers

Primary Education (6 yrs)

School Enrollment (in millions)
25

20

15

10

0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Junior Secondary School Senior Secondary School
Primary School
 Doctorate

Formal Educational System

Masters Degree

WORK
Bachelors Degree

POST SECONDARY
Advance Natl
HND CERTIFICATE
UNIVERSITY (6yrs) Technical /
Business Certificate
Polytechnic Colleges of
GCE Level
Technology
Technical Colleges
NIC Monotechnics
ALEVEL (upper) (1yr)
A LEVEL (lower) (1yr) Sr. Schl. Certificate
Natl Technical /
Business Certificate

West African School

Certificate / GCE O Level Senior Secondary (3yrs) Technical Colleges

Secondary Jr. Schl Certificate

Jr Craft Schools and Trade

Junior Secondary (3yrs)
Centers

Primary Education (6 yrs)

Teacher Qualification and Recruitment Standards
Below Grade II
Primary Schools
Pivotal Teachers Certificate (PTC)
Employed in state primary schools and are only recruited for two years as
voluntary teachers.
Most are secondary school leavers with only six months of teaching training.
Paid N5,500
Grade II
Primary School
National Certificate of Education (NCE)
New teachers must have three-years attendance at an accredited college of
education.
Paid N6,000
Higher National Diploma Qualifications
Paid N7,500
Teacher Attrition

General Dissatisfaction
with the Profession
3%
Failure on the Job
34%
33%
Desired to do Another
type of Work
0%
9% Death
20% 1%
Voluntary Retirement

Compulsory Retirement

Study Leave
Source: Gbadamosi (2002)
Teacher Attrition

Teaching Profession: The Least Pain in Nigeria

by: Ignis (2012)
Funding
Federal and State governments
LGA
PTA
NGO
Local Communities
Some other Issues in Teacher Education that Need
Attention:
Shortage of primary school teachers
Low numbers of graduates going into the teaching
profession
Teacher quality throughout Nigeria is unequal.
Teachers minimum qualification (NCE) as required by the
National Policy on Education not yet attained
Courses offered by Colleges of Education not relevant
and not appropriate.
Leaders in colleges are not professionally qualified and
competent
References
A Qualitative Study on the Effects of Teacher Attrition,
Aminu Aliyu Wushishi, Faulty of Educational Studies,
Putra Malaysia, January 2014
Nigeria My Pride, Tasiu B. Abdulhamid, Government
Comprehensive Day Secondary School, Bauchi, Nigeria,
May 2010
Current Problems of Educational Development in Nigeria,
Prof. A.A. Adeyinka, University of Ibadan, 1971
Nigerian Education Sector Analysis: An Analytical
Synthesis of Performance and Main Issues, Teboho
Moja, Visiting Professor of Higher Education, New York
University, January 2000