Educational Policy In Nigeria From The Colonial Era To The .
Educational Policy in NigeriaHauwa ImamEducational Policy in Nigeria from theColonial Era to the Post-IndependencePeriodHauwa Imam1Abstract: There is a widened western educational gap between the north and south ofNigeria with the predominantly Muslim areas of the north lagging behind due to somehistorical antecedents. In the colonial era the British educational policy did not addressthe aspirations of the people leading to a clamour for change in the post-independenceera resulting in the first indigenous National Policy on Education in 1977. Changeshave resulted in three revised editions of the national educational policy. This paperreviews the educational policy in the Federal Republic of Nigeria since 1944,highlighting specific issues on the disparity between educational policy and theimplementation in context of the wider socio-economic and political developmentprocess. This is a case study of the peculiarity of educational policy development in apluralistic society and developing country, with unity and developmental concerns.Keywords: Educational policy; colonial era; post independence period; FederalRepublic of Nigeria.1Department of Educational Management, University of Abuja,drhauwaimam@msn.comNigeria. E-mail:ITALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION, 1, 2012.181
Educational Policy in NigeriaHauwa ImamIntroductionEducational policy in Nigeria has passed through two significant stages, thecolonial and post independence eras. Prior to the British conquest of the areaand the subsequent establishment of Colonial Government, most of the area tothe northern and western parts comprised empires, kingdoms and somechiefdoms, while in the central parts and south eastern parts there were smallchiefdoms with some semi autonomous communities. In the northern parts,Islam was deeply entrenched both in the religious belief and educationalorientation of the people who had a uniform Qur’anic education policy (Ozigiand Ocho, 1981). In the southern parts, each ethnic group had its owntraditional form of education based on its own culture and tradition, whoseaims and objectives were similar (Taiwo, 1980). The curricula which isinformal comprises developing the child’s physical skill, character, intellectualskills and sense of belonging to the community as well as inculcating respectfor elders, and giving specific vocational training and the understanding andappreciation of the community’s cultural heritage (Fafunwa, 2004). This wasthe scenario in 1842, when the Christian missionaries arrived on the coastalarea of the southern part of Nigeria and introduced western education. Theaims of education as given by the missionaries were to enable recipients tolearn to read the bible in English and the local language, gardening andagriculture as well as train local school masters, catechists and clergymen.Ozigi and Ocho (1981) noted that even though the Christian missionaries’major objectives of establishing schools were the propagation of Christianity,their greatest legacy was their educational work and development ofindigenous languages into writing.However, it is the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectoratesof Nigeria in 1914, that brought people of different ethnic groups and faithtogether, as one country thereby creating a pluralistic society that necessitatedthe adoption of a federal structure for Nigeria. Also, British policy of indirectrule restricted the activities of the missionaries in the predominately MuslimNorthern protectorate thereby, curtailing the spread of Christianity and westerneducation (Fagbumi, 2005), leading to a considerable educational gap betweenITALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION, 1, 2012.182
Educational Policy in NigeriaHauwa Imamthe northern and the southern parts of Nigeria (Ogunsola, 1982). Also whengrants in aid were given to missions and voluntary agencies’ schools, theQur’anic schools were excluded because of their peculiar curriculum (Imam,2003). The colonial government needed vital personnel from amongst thenatives and thus, the responsibility for the provision of western education in thenorthern parts of Nigeria, shifted to the colonial government (Ogunsola, 1982).In this set up, three forms of education: Qur’anic, traditional and westerneducation co-existed side by side with the north and south each having adifferent pace of development in terms of western educational attainment. Thiswas the scenario by 1944 which heralded the advent of globalisation in the postSecond World War period that coincided with the processes of democratictransformation and national liberation from colonialism. Since then educationalpolicy in Nigeria has been shaped by the quest for national development basedon political, and socio-economic considerations.Conceptual FrameworkEducation policy issues continue to be a question of critical concern indeveloping countries in Africa (Tikly, 2001) as a tool for development. Therelationship between education and development has been established, suchthat education is now internationally accepted as a key development index andit is in recognition of this importance that governments all over the world havemade commitments in their countries’ educational policies for their citizens tohave access to education (Odukoya, 2009). However, it is essential thataccount is taken of political, economic and socio-cultural factors in examiningnations’ educational policies (Green, 1997). For instance, considerations ofconsolidating the nation state have pride of place among the origins andfoundations of contemporary educational policies (Hyland, 2000; and Green,2000). Colonialism and Post-colonialism is the conceptual framework whichmakes visible the legacy of British colonial educational policy, the closealignment of Nigeria’s educational policy’s philosophy of ‘the right of allITALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION, 1, 2012.183
Educational Policy in NigeriaHauwa Imampeople to education, material and cultural well-being by seeking to change theway people think, and the way they behave’, to reflect the dynamic process ofnation building that is continually being modified by new policy demands.Educational Policy from 1944 to Independence in 1960The phase of world-wide depression, which began during the second worldwar from the political perspective ignited the clamour by Nigerian nationalists’movement for self government and educational relevance which gainedmomentum in 1944. Thus from 1944 to independence in 1960 was a period ofself-determination and educational expansion in Nigeria. This developmentformed the basis for the promulgation of the 1948 Education Ordinance, whichdecentralized educational administration in the country. The Colonialgovernment additionally reviewed its ten years educational plan for Nigeria,and appointed a Director of Education as well as mapped out a clear cutprocedure for assessing grants-in-aid by mission schools (Fagbunmi, 2005). Atthe time the educational system in the southern part of Nigeria comprised afour year junior primary education, which was followed by a four year seniorprimary education and a six year secondary education, while in the moreestablished secondary schools, the School Certificate examination was taken inClass 5 (Taiwo, 1980).In the northern part of Nigeria, on the other hand, the school systemcomprised of four years of junior primary schooling, three-year middle schooland secondary classes 1 to 6 and in some places, middle school classes 1 to 6.The educational system was not uniform throughout the country. Thesedifferences notwithstanding, the 1948 Educational Ordinance was a mile stonein British colonial educational policy in Nigeria, because it was the firsteducational legislation that covered the whole country (Fafunwa, 2004).The creation of three regions (Eastern, Western and Northern) in thecountry, led to the promulgation of the 1952 Education Ordinance whichempowered each of the regions to develop its educational policies and systems(Taiwo, 1980; Fafunwa, 2004) and the Colonial Education Board wasITALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION, 1, 2012.184
Educational Policy in NigeriaHauwa Imamabolished. On the socio-cultural level, the clamour by Nigerians for selfgovernment resulted in two constitutional conferences which brought togetherNigerian political leaders and the British colonial government between 1951and 1954. The deliberations of the conferences resulted in the drafting of anew Federal Constitution in 1954 (Dike, 1980). By this constitution, Nigeriabecame a Federation of three regions (i.e. the Eastern, Western and Northernregions) and the Federal Capital of Lagos. The constitution gave each regionthe power of making laws for its territory and citizens as well as its owneducational policies.The outcome was the promulgation of the Education Law of 1955 in theWestern Region, the Education Laws of 1956 in the Eastern and NorthernRegions and the Lagos Education Ordinance in 1957 (Taiwo, 1980, Fabunmi,2005). However, the Regional Education Laws and Acts derived from acommon source, ‘the Education of Act 1944, of Wales and England’ (Taiwo,1980, p.121). There were some variations in the definition of components ofthe educational systems in the regions. Nevertheless, they had commonadministrative features and statutory system of education which comprisedthree stages: primary, post primary and further education. The duration ofprimary education varied from region to region; however, the secondarycomponents were similar (Sasnett & Sepmeyer, 1967, p. 463). The variants ofsecondary schools included the middle school/secondary modern school, thegrammar school, the technical college and the sixth form of the secondaryschool Technical education was offered throughout the regions through theDepartments of the Federal government and regional Ministries of Education(Odukoya, 2009). It must be noted that the Regional Laws and the FederalEducation Act were an advance of the Nigerian Educational Act 1952, adoptedto suit the prevailing local regional conditions (Taiwo, 1980).The 1954 Constitution of colonial Nigeria, emphasized the policy ofdecentralization. Thus, an initial experiment to give Universal PrimaryEducation was started in the Western region in 1955 and the Eastern region ofNigeria followed suit in 1957 respectively (Fafunwa, 2004). Considerableefforts were made to develop and expand educational facilities in the North(Ozigi & Ocho, 1981). On the other hand in the northern parts even thoughITALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION, 1, 2012.185
Educational Policy in NigeriaHauwa Imampupils did not pay fees in the government schools, the colonial government hadto encourage people to send their children to the schools. There was generalapathy towards western education by the people who mostly preferred to sendtheir children to the Qur’anic school and viewed western education withsuspicion. This problem was a fall out of the colonial governments policyrestricting the activities of the missionaries in the area thereby, curtailing thespread of Christianity and western education in the predominately MuslimNorthern protectorate (Fagbumi, 2005). The free enterprise which characterisedmissionary work in the Southern protectorate was not permitted in the Northleading to a widened educational gap between the northern and the southernparts of Nigeria. (Ogunsola,1982). Also when grants in aid were given tomissions and voluntary agencies’ schools, the Qur’anic schools were excludedbecause of their peculiar curriculum (Imam, 2003).In 1959, the Federal Government set up the Sir Eric Ashby Commission toidentify the future high-level manpower needs of the country for the nexttwenty years. The setting up of this Commission was a landmark in the historyof Nigerian educational system as it examined higher educational structure interms of the needs of the country and was the first official comprehensivereview of higher education in the country. The Ashby Report also prescribedthat education was indeed the tool for achieving national economic expansionand the social emancipation of the individual (Aliu, 1997). It also, gaveNigerians opportunity for participation in the deliberations that culminated inthe report. However, the policy of decentralization remained in force untilIndependence in 1960, with an unbalanced Federation made up of a Northernregion which was bigger than the Western and Eastern regions. The Federationprovided the institutional basis for political development. Invariably, theregional governments degenerated into political constituencies, with mutualdistrust and suspicion that plagued the first republic at independence. Ethnicityand religious differences gained a stronger foothold than that of nationalidentity. This is despite the fact that national stability and strength depend oneffective integration of plural traditions (Tikly, 2001, p. 151). Reviewing theeducational policy under colonialism, the period 1944 to independence in 1960it was a time whenITALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION, 1, 2012.186
Educational Policy in NigeriaHauwa Imam1. the role of state and that of Missionaries in the governance of educationwas defined;2. the school system was geared towards producing the desired manpower forthe civil service, thus the recipients of western education ultimatelybecame misfits in their own local rural setup and were suited for bluecollar or white collar jobs in the cities;3. integration of the plural traditions were not addressed by the policy andsowed the seeds of mistrust, hatred and suspicion amongst the variouspeoples from the different parts of the country and religious intolerance wasborn;4. introduction of universal primary education in the 1950s in western andeastern regions of the country further widened the existing education gapbetween the north and southern parts of the country; and5. the western, Qur’anic and traditional education thrived as parallel modeswith Qur’anic education being the preferred mode in the largely Muslimnorth amongst the rural communities.The National Educational Policy from 1960 to1977In Nigeria, educational policy at independence was most concerned withusing schools to develop manpower for economic development andAfricanisation of the civil service (Woolman, 2001). The legacies ofcolonialism underline the many problems of nation building facing the FederalRepublic of Nigeria since independence in 1960. This has led to a shakydemocratic foundation which resulted in the first military coup in 1966 andthree counter coups during the period in focus. Further, the educational policywas narrow in scope and did not meet the hopes and aspirations of Nigerians.Criticisms of the educational policy include irrelevant curricula, obsoletemethods, high drop-out and repetition rates, and the fact that many graduateswere dependent, and low on initiative (Rwomire, 1998). Similarly, UchenduITALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION, 1, 2012.187
Educational Policy in NigeriaHauwa Imam(1979) identified problems that included inequality of access, rural-urbandisparities, the educational gap between ethnic groups and differences in thecurriculum of mission and non-mission based education.In 1969 the National Curriculum Conference was convened which reviewedthe educational system and its goals, and identified new national goals forNigeria which would determine the future and direction of education in thecountry (Nigerian Educational Research Council, 1972). The conference wasthe first national attempt to change the colonial orientation of the Nigerianeducational system and promote national consciousness and self-reliancethrough the education process. Education as a social service and investment inmanpower was given top priority by the government (Taiwo, 1980). In order toconsolidate on the gains of the curriculum conference, in 1973, the FederalGovernment of Nigeria (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1973) instituted aSeminar of distinguished experts to deliberate on a truly Nigerian nationaleducational policy. This body also included a wide range of interests includingthe representatives of Muslim and Christian organizations in Nigeria. Thereport of the outcomes of the Seminar, which after due consideration by theStates of the Federation and other interest groups was presented as the draftNational Policy on Education.Furthermore, the period was marked by Federal Government takeover ofmission schools as education was regarded as a huge government venture andno longer a private enterprise. By 1976, when the states of the Federation wereincreased to nineteen, each state promulgated an edict for the regulation ofeducation, and its provision and management. Each state also amended theFederal education law when necessary, which resulted in all the states’ edictshaving common features, such as state take-over of schools from individualsand voluntary agencies, using similar curriculum and the establishment ofschool management boards as well as a unified teaching service (Fagbunmi,2005).In 1976, due to a substantially improved revenue position brought about bythe oil boom, the Federal Government of Nigeria, embarked on the veryambitious Universal Free Primary Education (UPE) programme and expandedaccess into tertiary education and increased the number of unity schools in theITALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION, 1, 2012.188
Educational Policy in NigeriaHauwa Imamcountry. The UPE was geared towards giving all children between age six totwelve years of age, free primary education, which was to bridge theeducational gap and reduce the rising levels of illiteracy in the country. Theprogramme which took off with much promise, failed to achieve its goals oferadicating illiteracy largely due to inadequate planning, which is aconsequence of lack of adequate data. When the schools were opened toregister the pupils, instead of the 2.3 million children expected, 3 millionchildren arrived to be registered (Fafunwa, 2004). This resulted in an underestimation in the provision of classrooms. In addition, there was dearth ofqualified teachers with the majority of the teachers recruited being trainees whounderwent a one year crash programme in the pivotal teachers’ colleges set upby the government of the time.The most significant changes of the period was the takeover of schoolsfrom the missionaries by the government resulting in a unified educationalsystem based on the 7-5-2-3 educational policy: 7 years of primary education,5 years of secondary school, 2 years Higher School Certificate Levels, and 3years of university education. This was in the stead of the 8-5-2-3 educationalpolicy: 8 years of primary education, 5 years of secondary school, 2 yearsHigher School Certificate Levels, and 3 years of university education. Atterminal stages, candidates sat for external examinations and were certificatedbased on their performances. In addition, the large-scale government financingof education included tuition free university education and the setting of thestage for a national policy on education that was relevant and suited to theneeds of the people.Viewing the educational policy in Nigeria during the first 13 years ofindependence, the following are pertinent:a) the influence of political change on the educational policy;b) the roles of the Federal and states government in the regulation andcontrol of education;c) the promotion of education to the level of a huge governmententerprise by expanding education access to raise enrolments andpresumably bridge the educational gap;ITALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION, 1, 2012.189
Educational Policy in NigeriaHauwa Imamd) the absence of consultation with local communities on children’seducation that was more suited to their peculiar circumstances resultingin the continued coexistence of two parallel education modes in thepredominantly Muslim north; ande) the overall policy approach of government which was geared towardsthe development of a
reviews the educational policy in the Federal Republic of Nigeria since 1944, highlighting specific issues on the disparity between educational policy and the implementation in context of the wider socio-economic and political development process. This is a case study of the peculiarity of educational policy development in a
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