development of primary education in nigeria
TRANSCRIPT
DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: THE MILITARY AND CIVILIAN REGIMES COMPARED (1966-1983)
Udochukwu Ogbaji Lecturer, Department of Political Science,
Nwafor Orizu College of Education,Nsugbe, Anambra State.
E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: +234(0) 8033486531, +234(0) 7082729455
ABSTRACT
Education has been a means of transmitting one’s culture from one generation to another. It is a process of bringing about a relatively permanent change in human behavior. As the oldest industry, it is the main instrument used by society to preserve, maintain and upgrade its social equilibrium. This paper draws a comparative analysis of the military and civilian regimes in Nigeria as regards to primary education development during the period 1966-1983. The study is based on the political economy framework which provides us the use of holistic approach and permits us to look at primary education development in both the military and the civilian regimes in Nigeria in its entirety. It was found that the multi-variant approach of the military which requires and involves the contribution of force plus persuasions, pressure plus consultation and diplomacy enabled the military to record the achievement of the period. Another lesson from the period under study has to do with leadership style provided by the military at that time. The military demonstrated that hard work and commitment to a cause they believed in was bound to yield positive results. They did not waiver in their policy that Nigeria was capable of development up to the same level as non-Africans. The Nigerian leadership and political experience under the military-civilian eras taught the country that multi-variant strategies are crucial to rapid educational development. The paper finally stated that responsible leadership facilitates educational process while bad leadership ruins education. In conclusion therefore, for sustainable and substantial educational growth in Nigeria, only the right leadership can save the system from retrogression and absolute dwindling.
1
INTRODUCTION
In all human societies, education is meant to pass on to the new generations the
existing knowledge of their physical environment, to introduce individuals to the
organization of society, give them skills for performing their daily jobs and enjoying their
leisure, as well as inculcate sound morals in them for their own benefit and that of the
society. In other words, education is a process by which the society assists the younger
generation to understand the heritage of their past, participate productively in the
society of the present as well as contribute to the future (Esu and Junaid, 2010). Based
on these reasons, education draws inspiration and nourishment from a society but in
turn, it contributes to the growth, renewal and development of that society.
The period, 1966-1969 were initially years of crisis in Nigeria, followed from 1970
by years of reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation. In these years, the military,
in seeking a way out of the complexities of interethnic rivalries and geopolitical
disequilibrium, set its eyes firmly on educational diffusion throughout Nigeria (Jorre,
1972). The immediate post-independence period was marked by the problem of fear.
The South was afraid of political domination by the North, the North was afraid of
educational and economic domination by the South. The military came into solving
these problems by breaking up the country into small units which no one entity was in a
position to threaten the corporate existence of the nation. The military therefore, within
this period, placed education at the forefront as a major tool in bringing about
reconciliation in the nation (International Labor Office, 1980).
However, the period preceding the era under study was the traditional education
system. Educational systems existed in African Societies prior to the coming of the
Europeans. Such education was for the induction of members of the society into
activities and mode of thoughts that were considered worthwhile. African societies were
noted for their rich culture heritage which was preserved and transmitted from
generation to generation through a system of traditional education (Esu and Junaid,
2010).
2
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
From history we infer that development, economic growth, youth empowerment
and stability of Nigeria have been largely determined by two pre-dominant factors.
These are the military and the civilian regimes which incessantly influenced the politics
of Nigeria especially as it relates to education and educational development. Both the
military and the civilian regimes have made far-reaching attempts at revolutionalizing
educational system in Nigeria. Several educational policies and reforms have been
introduced by different administrations and regimes; all aimed at properly structuring the
educational sector and place it at a balance.
This paper therefore seeks to look into the various activities of both regimes
(military and civilian) towards the development of education in Nigeria from 1966-1983,
in comparative perspective. From the foregoing, the following research questions are
advanced to guide the discussions of this study.
1. To what extent have the military and the civilian regimes gone towards the
development of education in Nigeria?
2. Is there any relationship between the pattern of leadership or policy formulation
between the military and the civilian regime that accounts for the success or
failure of the educational sector?
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE
This study is based on the political economy framework. This is because an
analytical and comparative approach to social problem is often seen as a solution to the
study of the phenomenon. As a theory, political economy focuses attention on not only
the production and management of society’s material wealth but also its distribution
among the various segments or classes and conflict which arises from these processes.
As Ake (1981) has observed,
“When we understand what the material assets and constraints of
a society are, how the society produces goods and meet its
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material needs, how the goods are distributed and what type of
social relations arise from the organization of production, then we
are trying to understand the culture of that society and its politics”.
This theory provides us the use of holistic approach which permits us to look at
Educational Development in both the military and the civilian regimes in Nigeria in their
entirety looking at the problems, consequences and prospects.
Above all, this approach grants us the leverage to delve into social dynamics
such as hegemony of power on the polity, ideology of the various regimes, the
leadership patterns as well as the essence of law which Marx said is for the protection
of private property.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL PICTURE
The following statistical data demonstrate the commitment of the military in
addressing the dichotomy and diffusion of education nationwide.
TABLE I: Estimate of Primary School Enrolment in Nigeria 1965-1974
YEARS NORTH SOUTH NIGERIAN
1965 492510 2418913 2191423
1966 578864 2507117 3025981
1967 506818 Nil Nil
1968 545237 Nil Nil
1969 601032 1722732 2345764
1970 669637 2846190 3525827
1971 768666 312 5873 3894539
1972 854466 3536731 3894539
1973-74 1024602 3865251 4889853
Source: Statistics of Education in Nigeria in www.unilorinedu.ng/unilorinjournals/education/ijeee/deo2002/military%20and
%20civilian%20civilian%20Regimes%20IN%Nigeria%201966%20to1983.
4
As can be seen in table I, the total aggregate primary school enrolment in Nigeria
in 1966 stood at 3,025,981. Four years later, the figure had risen to 3,525,827 by 1973,
this figure later further jumped to 4,889,853. Even more significant were the enrolments
in the period 1975/76 and 1979/80 during the military administration of Murtala and
Obasanjo.
Table II. Number of Primary Schools by State:1975-1984
1975/76 1977/78 1979/80 1981/82 1983/84
Anambra 1,708 1,900 1,931 2,054 2,084
Bauchi 1,086 2,235 1,869 1,805 1,830
Bendel 1,562 1,594 1,665 1,754 1,736
Benue 1,200 2,667 2,688 2,703 2,700
Borno 1,526 1,854 1,886 2,088 2,090
Cross Rivers 1,505 1,620 1,478 1,690 1,660
Akwa –Ibom - - - - -
Gongola 1,564 1,868 1,849 1,864 1,857
Imo 1,880 1,925 1,939 1,958 2,011
Kaduna 859 2,821 2,857 2,875 2,885
Katsina - - - - -
Kano 679 3,028 3,050 3,063 3,063
Kwara 539 1,123 1,215 1,487 1,365
Lagos 244 1,033 725 863 962
Niger 245 1,033 1,033 1,067 1.164
Ogun 1,161 1,203 1,222 1,262 1,288
Ondo 1,159 1,389 1,471 1,595 1,627
Oyo 1,955 2,318 2,445 2,701 2,907
Plateau 685 2,422 2,455 1,661 16,687
Rivers 595 870 946 1,001 1,119
Sokoto 732 2,692 2,865 3,939 4,038
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Abuja - - - 184 198
Source: (1) Statistics of Education in Nigeria 1980-84(2) National School Statistics 1987 (3) Report on Primary Education in Nigeria 1991
TABLE III: PRIMARY SCHOL ENROLMENT BY STATE 1975-1984/85
1975/76 1977/78 1979/80 1981.82 1984/85
Anambra 641,725 902,252 961,503 1,019,718 1,008327
Bauchi 126,300 329,611 399,092 538,118 310,038
Bendel 606,115 751,243 835,740 921,403 1,057,516
Benue 256,747 629,243 866,400 921,801 1,015,150
Borno 136,964 369,052 693,294 769,226 829,135
Cross River 597,182 768,292 850,884 892,567 962,083
Akwa-Ibom - - - - -
Gongola 158,200 322,313 473,092 592,560 585,494
Imo 739,031 1,003,824 1,025,110 1,151,718 1,269,762
Kaduna 218,204 613,0091 845,125 1,025,747 1,105,636
Katsina - - - - -
Kano 160,340 472,340 842,928 1,025,910 1,549,966
Kwara 181,050 394,030 588,388 701,888 834,170
Lagos 355,645 400,405 465,140 524,803 628,950
Niger 55,377 181,781 319,755 424,570 491,500
Ogun 240,701 299,015 350,423 408,088 439,872
Ondo 332,611 428,119 478,154 576,985 667,700
Plateau 147,873 365,554 536,546 626,652 712,593
Rivers 275,591 430,388 510,488 601,070 710,390
Sokoto 138,138 301,542 423,592 642,680 930,030
Sources: (1) Fourth National Development Plan 1981-1985.(2) National School Statistics 1987.(3) Report on Primary Education in Nigeria.
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ANALYSIS
PRIMARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: 1975-1983
1976 constitutes a high water mark in primary education in Nigeria. It signaled
the first direct Federal Government involvement in primary education in the country.
This was of course, the fulfillment of a promise made by General Yakubu Gowon, the
then Head of State in 1974 (Kosemani & Orubite, 1995). On a visit to Sokoto, the then
Head of State had promised to start the Universal Primary Education scheme in the
nation in 1976. Despite the changes of government and in spite of the advice of experts,
the Murtala/Obasanjo regime went ahead and launched the programme on September
6, 1976. Thus, a dream which was hazy in 1952 in the Western House of Assembly was
actualized nationally in 1976 by the military regime.
To many, the announcement of the scheme in Sokoto was unplanned,
unprecedented and targeted at securing political legitimacy. However, as Bray (1981)
indicates, Gowon maintained that he initiated the UPE principally as a welfare scheme
and in recognition of the dangers regional educational inequality constituted to national
stability. The choice of Sokoto for the announcement was to encourage educational
backward areas and not a political strategy. That notwithstanding, one of the most
important aims of the UPE was the reduction of educational disparities in the country.
The Third National Development Plan (p.246) was emphatic on that point when it states:
Universal Primary Education is a pre-requisite for equalization
of opportunities for education across the country in all its known
facets. Since equalization is a major governmental objective
one of the most far-reaching policy decisions in the plan is
therefore the introduction of a free universal and compulsory
primary education throughout the federation. This scheme will
start in September, 1976 at the beginning of the 1976/77 school
year. From that date, primary Education will be free and
universal throughout the country while from 1979, it will become
compulsory. Under the scheme primary schools will admit
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children aged six or who will be six before the end of the
calendar year.
To achieve this objective of equalization of educational opportunities all over the
country, primary education following the provisions of the third National Development
Plan, was technically transferred from the residual to the concurrent legislative list. This
is reflected in the fact that the Federal Government assumed full financial
responsibilities for primary education in all aspects. First, the federal government
became responsible for the expansion and renovation of existing school buildings.
Second, the construction of new schools and the provision of infrastructure became sole
federal government concern.
In tables II and III, it shows that Nigeria has recorded massive increases in the
number of primary education institutions nation-wide. Taking the entire nation into focus,
it is indicated that in terms of expansion and even enrolment, it increased at an average
of 11% immediately after the civil war, for the year statistics were available, only to
skyrocket by 38% in the 1975-76 school year with the launching of the federal
government sponsored Universal Primary Education Scheme. There was a decline in
expansion in the following four years to an average of 14% per annum. This fall was
reasonably consistent throughout the period 1977/79-1979/80.
THE POSITION IN NORTHERN NIGERIA
The tables II & III clearly show that enrolment figures for the North increased at a
very fast consistent rate up to the first half of the 1970s, only to experience a fantastic
leap forward of about 85% in the 1975-76 academic year. Somewhat consistent with the
national trend, the Northern expansion rate dropped sharply to an average of 33.6% in
the following two years. This rate of progress declined further to an average of 11% in
the North in the dying years of the military regime.
The Northern quota of children enrolled in all Nigerian schools rose from 17% about
1966 to an average of 22% in the early 70s. This record was sharply improved upon as
from 1976-77 with an average enrolment of nearly 36%.
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THE POSITION IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA
The position in Southern Nigeria was as follows: enrolments which were at
2,507,117 in 1966 had risen to 3,865,251 in the 1973-74 academic year (table I). This
trend was dramatic after the year 1975-76, in contest to the overall average rate of
expansion in enrolment which stood at 4,373,109 (73.49%), in the North, same period,
recorded 1,577,188 (26.51%) pupils (table II & III). During the period under review, the
1975 figures for educationally advanced states stood at 3,144,690 (52.85%) while the
educationally less developed states recorded 2,805,607 (47.15%) (tables II & III). This
rate fell to an average of 8% per annum during the last four years of the military. The
years, 1975-76 was a milestone in the South just as it was in the North, although for
different reasons which will be explained shortly. The Southern quota began to
experience a down slide from 73% that year to an average of 58% during last four years
of the military.
NATIONAL ASSESSMENT
From the foregoing, it is clear that throughout Nigeria, there was an upsurge in
enrolments during the period 1966-83. This trend was particularly more pronounced in
the North when compared to the South. The South, having experienced its own
Universal Primary Education (UPE) some twenty years back, had relatively less backlog
of children of school age to cater for. The military in other words, moved nearer
achieving the goals of redressing the problem of education imbalance between the two
Nigerian geo-political zones. Of relevance is the National Primary School aggregate
total which was only 19%, a figure that had swung up to as high as 47% in 1979-80
(tables II & III). Indeed, the gap had not been narrowed down to the extent that for the
first time in several years, the North appeared set to run the educational race neck to
neck with the South (Tables II & III).
FACTORS ACCOUNTED FOR THE EDUCATIONAL GROWTH 1966-1979/80
Several factors were responsible for educational transformation of the 1966-1979-
80 years. The most important, probably was the nature of government in power. Military
rule by nature is characterized by single command structure where authority flows from
9
the top to the other ranks, without question. Based on this, policies could be formulated
and implemented without delay or acrimony (Ogunlade, 2002).
It should also be noted that the military operated a diachical system by which non-
military, highly influential and credible civilian leaders and the intelligentsia, formed the
advance guard of the rule of “the men of Khaki”. This made it possible to implement
educational plans of the regime, combining power from “the barrel of the gun” with
diplomacy and concern for the delivery of social Welfare (Ogunlade, 2002). Though the
regime decreed and ensured that schools were planted in nooks and crannies of
Nigeria.
However, other factors may be summarized as follows: Traditional rulers ranging
from the highest to the lowest not the least among who are the Sultan of Sokoto, the
Emirs of Nupe, the Emir of Ilorin and the Attah of lgbira and that of Igalla, joined forces
in propagating the ideas of educational development in their respective areas.
Particularly, in the Muslim North, the involvement of these notables paved the way for
the integration of the Koranic school system into the “Makaranta Bokko” (foreign or
white man’s school). In this set-up, secular subjects like English and Social Studies
were injected into the curriculum, though they were administered essentially by the
Mallamai (New Nigerian, 1966-1969).
Moreover, a factor that should not be overlooked is the political and administrative
reforms which led to the creation of six states initially out of the “giant” North in 1967
(Ogunlade, 2002). The number of states in the North further increased to ten in 1976.
Corresponding with this was the creation of Local Government Areas and Districts. All
these entities put education as a top priority issue in order to produce the necessary
manpower for the services of those areas (Panter-Brick, 1978, Oyediran, 1979).
Finally, whichever rationale used the fundamental question of availability of funds
and the prudent management of such funds was a sine qua non to the programmes of
the massive expansion of education during the period. In this case, the sharp increase
in the oil revenue made it possible for Government to confidently embark upon such a
revolutionary and gigantic enterprise (Panter-Brick, 1978).
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THE CIVILIAN ERA: 1979-80/1983-84
The second republic spanned the period 1979-1983. This era, under the leadership
of Alhaji Shehu Shagari is used to represent development. In the first place, the
revenues accruing to the Federal Government as a result of the “petro-naira” were more
than those available in the first civilian government of 1960-1965. Secondly, by 1979,
not only had the Federal Government become more centralized than it was in the days
of the West minister-type parliament system, the constituent units had become relatively
more dependent on the largesse from the federal coffers. It is against this background
that a comparative analysis of the performance record in educational development of
the civilian administration of 1979 to 1983 is examined.
NATIONAL ASSESSMENT
A careful look at the table II and III at the commencement of the civilian
administration in 1979-1980, the total national enrolments stood at 12,749,403, a
pattern that did not appreciably increase for the rest of the period, when enrolment in
1983-1984 stood only at 14,383,487 (Ogunlade, 2002). At the inception of the civilian
administration, the rate of expansion nation-wide in enrolments stood at 7.9%, dropping
precipitously for the next two years until enrolments began to slump or diminish.
The Northern enrolment pattern in this period was similar to the national pattern
whereby the initial increase at the onset of the civilian regime in 1979-80 slumped at the
end in 1983-84 to the 1981-82 level (see tables). The rate of expansion witnessed a
similar grounding in the pace of growth from 7.5% in 1982-1983 year, rounding up with
a negative growth rate of -3.5% (see tables).
However, it was in these circumstances that one finds the Northern quota of the
national total enrolment oscillating between 47% in 1979-80 and 46.9% in 1983-84 (see
tables). Primary school enrolments were obviously going through a period of near-
stagnation.
As far as the South was concerned, enrolments in the years of civilian
administration had evidently come to a plateau, with the figure standing at an average of
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about seven million (see tables). The rate of expansion has practically also come to a
halt at the end of 1982-83 when it began to suffer a slight but similar negative growth
trend, as in the North (see tables II and III). This stagnation is reflected in the Southern
proportion of the national total enrolment, which stood almost unwaveringly at 53%.
EDUCATION IN CIVILIAN ERA: AN ASSESSMENT
In contrast to the military era, educational expansion at the primary school sector
had come to the doldrums during the civilian era, not only for the overall national
picture, but at the level of the two, geo-political zones. It is pertinent to note the fact that
unlike in the military era, the expansion rate in the North had experienced a relatively
complete reversal during the civilian years (Ogunlade, 2002).
However, it is unnecessary to repeat the reasons advanced above in relation to the
expansionist trend during the military era. But it is relevant to highlight some factors
impacting upon the development during the civilian era. Reference had already been
made to the nature of government, the availability of funds and careful management of
the funds. In this case, the civilian regime was characterized by one, different political
party with different philosophies and outlook, controlled different state. Two, the central
government did not completely enjoy an overwhelming support of the electorates and,
therefore, was weak in articulating policy positions and implementation strategies when
compared to the one-shot command structure of the military. The party or parties set
individual priorities and targets from the funds available (William, 1982).
The federal government for instance, rationalized its inertia in the educational
sector in the following ways: firstly, emphasis was placed on Agriculture as evidenced in
its Operation Feed the Nation programme (OFN). Secondly, it projected the ideals of
qualitative as opposed to quantitative education, which tended to de-emphasize radical
expansion. Perhaps, this posture may have been due to not being seen or being
accused to have adopted policies and programmes of its major rivals, which tended to
exhibit a disposition to mass education (Tijanni and William, 1981).
Another possible explanation for the slow-down in enrolments in the North was due
to the federal government withdrawal of subsidies to the primary education sector, a
12
decision that had more far-reaching implication in the North, where reliance on
Government services in the North, had been a tradition in contrast to the Southern
pattern of self-reliance and community-based development. A further observation was
that in the South, in the civilian era, educational expansion seemed to have reached a
saturation point at the primary level which was not, really, the case (Ogunlade, 2002).
What seem to have happened is that the South, having built up its educational base
for the upward of thirty year was now focusing on secondary and tertiary education. This
did not mean an abandonment of the primary education sub-sector. Government
energies were directed more to producing high-level man power, leaving the lower
levels of the system more-or-less, to parents and the respective communities. The
government, however, continued to pay teachers’ salaries (Abernethy, 1969).
IMPLICATIONS OF THE MILITARY-CIVILIAN EFFORTS IN EDUCATION FOR THE NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.
The paper is a comparative analysis of the Nigerian education situation over a time
scale. It is undertaken with a view to drawing an interconnection between the past and
the present and to indicate areas where the present and the future can profitably learn
from the past.
In this respect, therefore, what deductions can be made from the Nigerian political
and leadership experience under the military and civilian regimes for present day
Nigerian education system? Are there lessons for Nigerian education?
Taken as a whole, what happened in Nigeria between 1966 and 1983 offers some
valuable lessons from which the present and the future can profitably draw. Take the
case of centralized control under the military. Top among the determinants of rapid
educational advance was not a unitary affair but multi-variant enterprise, requiring and
involving the contribution of force plus persuasions, pressure plus consultation and
diplomacy. It was the delicate balancing of these influences that enable the military to
record the achievement of the period. The Nigerian leadership and political experience
under the military-civilian eras taught the country that multi-variant strategies are crucial
to rapid educational development.
13
Another lesson from the 1975-76 period in particular has to do with leadership style
provided by the military at that time. The military demonstrated that hard work and
commitment to a cause they believed in was bound to yield positive results. They did
not waiver in their policy that Nigeria was capable of development up to the same level
as non-Africans. The military, who were in helms of affairs at the time, were achievers
who surrounded themselves with assistants such as Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji
Aminu Kano, Chief Anthony Enahoro, and Dr. Okoi Arikpo etc. These prominent men
believed in the ideals of the military in the education sphere and were prepared to work
for their achievement. Responsible leadership facilitates educational process while bad
leadership ruins education. This is an important lesson the present day and future
Nigerian educational system can learn. In conclusion therefore, for sustainable and
substantial educational growth in Nigeria, only the right leadership can save the system
from retrogression and absolute dwindling.
14
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