Educational System in Nigeria: Problems & Prospects

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Education is the foundation of national development. Look for a

country experiencing technological and economic advancement and you

will find one that pays attention to its educational system. Sadly,

education in Nigeria is plagued by a truckload of problems. If the

Nigerian government can find a means to begin tackling the problems of

the educational system in Nigeria, many other problems such as

poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, robbery, hooliganism, will be

reduced drastically.









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Educational System in Nigeria: Problems & Prospects







This article highlights problems and prospects of the educational

system in Nigeria, read on below:





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Poor Funding



The foremost and greatest challenges facing the educational system in

Nigeria is inadequate funding by the levels of government; federal,

state, and local government. Every sector needs money in order to

flourish. Learning equipment such as books, furniture, etc. need to be

bought, salaries need to be paid and other essential expenses need to

be catered for. The quality and standard of education in Nigeria is

poor because those in government do not place much value on education

and would prefer spending money on other sectors such as political

activities and infrastructures. According to UNESCO, the standard cut

for education in the national budget is 26%. During the Nigerian

military era, education received as low as 13%. Many democratic

governments after this have not done up to 13%. In 2001, the

government allocated 8% to education. In 2004, the Federal

Government’s allocated just 5.6% of the budget to education. In

2018, just 7.04% of the 8.6 trillion 2018 budget was allocated to

education. These cuts are not enough to cater to the needs and demands

of the educational sector.



Poor Governance



Poor governance and management of resources, including the educational

sector have contributed to the crippling of the educational system.

Most ministries are not properly governed to make sure workers do

their work rightly. The attitude of most workers as well as the

government to education is poor which thus affects the quality of

education.



Corruption



Corruption remains the root of all evils in Nigeria, and the

educational sector is not an exception. Corruption is not only found

at the level of government where funds often released for the

actualization of projects in the educational sector are used to serve

personal interests or where lawmakers are reluctant to pass budgets on

policies if they have not been bribed. Corruption is also found at the

grassroots educational levels where lecturers collect bribes from

students in exchange for good grades, admission seekers bribe school

administrators so as to get admission into universities, etc. Also,

funds meant for salaries of staff and maintenance of educational

infrastructures are mismanaged by those in charge. The corruption cuts

across all levels of education; primary, secondary, universities, both

private and public.







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Politicization of Education



The government especially at the state level attempt to run many

educational institutions than they can afford. The existing schools

then are below standard. Also, state governments give accreditation to

many private schools that are not up to standard, just so they can

make more revenue for their personal pockets.



Lack of Infrastructure



Many subjects and courses in schools require the appropriate equipment

so as to be taught well. Courses such as chemistry, engineering, or

music require practical exercises. Unfortunately, schools and other

vocational institutions in Nigeria lack the equipment needed to teach

such subjects well. Students who study such courses are not given

adequate training to compete with students from other countries. Some

other schools in Nigeria lack basic equipment such as a conducive

classroom, chairs, and tables, talk less of libraries and

laboratories. Many schools also lack teaching aids to facilitate

learning. Teaching aids are devices used by a teacher to help students

understand better. Teaching aids include audio, video, books, DVDs,

Projectors, and other materials. The unavailability of these aids

makes teaching difficult for the teacher and learning uninteresting

for the children.



Indiscipline



The educational system in Nigeria is now marked by much indiscipline

such as examination malpractices, cultism, etc. This has contributed

to the decay of the educational system as schools are no more

conducive for learning and students are no longer concerned about

academic excellence.



Poor Parenting



It is unfortunate that many parents also add up to the decay of the

educational system. Some do not value education and so do not provide

enough support and care for their wards. Also, some parents do not

encourage their wards to study hard. There are reports of many

examination centers in Nigeria where parents pay for their wards to be

awarded good grades in SSCE â€"WAEC /NECO/JAMB.







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Unstable Curriculum



The Nigerian educational system lacks a stable curriculum that will be

a standard for providing quality education to the learners. The

unstable curriculum owes to frequent changes in government policies as

regards education. Therefore, most teachers do not have a stable and

coherent plan and structure for teaching.



Unwillingness to Study Education at the Tertiary level



Sadly, the most important sector aspect of a nation, education is

often looked down upon. When you get to most Nigerian universities,

you will find that many never want to study educational courses. Most

youths are uninterested in the teaching profession. However, it is

very surprising that many graduates end up in the teaching profession.

We have many who are teaching and are not trained in the practice of

teaching and this also affects the quality of education.



Poor remuneration



Teachers in Nigeria are not well paid. In addition to the poor salary,

their salaries are delayed and they are not provided with basic

welfare packages. There is also the issue of divided commitment and

dedication because of poor remuneration. In higher institutions,

teachers go on strikes often, and when this happens, the students are

asked to go home which results in them spending longer years than is

supposed to be, studying for a course.



Unaffordable Education



The high rate of poverty in Nigeria also adds up to the problem of

education in Nigeria. Most homes can barely survive and thus find is

extremely difficult to send their children to school. Higher learning

is even much worse as most people cannot further their education

because of the high rate of school fees.

















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