A STUDY ON THE PROBLEMS FACING SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION IN NIGERIA, A CASE STUDY OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AGEGE LOCAL GOVERNMENT

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND STUDY

Education is the process of bringing desirable change into the behavior of human beings. It can also be defined as the process of imparting or acquiring knowledge or habits through instruction. Education, for any nation, whether developed or developing, is to help solve the problems that aect that nation. This is why according, is to National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004:4), “Government has stated that for the benefit of all citizens, the country‟s educational goals shall be clearly set out in terms of their relevance to the needs of their relevance to the needs of the individual and those of the society, in consonance with the realities of our environment and the modern world”. Therefore, many nations aer political independence had to turn their attentions to nations building by looking up to education as the tool to this end hoping that what is did to the “great power” it can also do for them (Williams/1970, in Omede and Omede, 2004). Education is obviously known to be an indispensable tool for national development (FRN, 2004). For education to be potent and useful, it must have to be indigenized that is, designed according to the prevailing needs of that particular society. This explains why Nigeria educational system had since independence gone through series of reviews to commend it to the prevailing needs of the society.

Yusuf and yusuf (2009) noted that the first serious attempt at reforming the educational program of the country took place in 19659 through a curriculum conference that was held in Lagos, and that the conference‟ recommendations led to the first post independent educational policy, tailored to meet the local needs of the nation. From independence till; now, the national policy on education, the documents that serve as the “ten commandments” for the nation’s educational practices had been reviewed for more than three time- 1977 (first dra),then revised in 1981, 1998 and 2004. The revision is necessary but suggests one thing that our educational system is yet to meet the needs of the society satisfactorily and expected. There are glaring cases of underdevelopment due to lack of technological and industrial advancements, poor and inadequate infrastructural provision, unemployment as well as low and erratic electricity supply. When the issue of Nigeria educational system today is raised, the first sets of thoughts that comes to mind are: decline in standard, deterioration of facilities, examination malpractices, mass promotion syndrome and the like before any other thing else. This calls for an in-depth study and analysis aimed at tutoring each and every stakeholders in the education system on how their actions and in actions have individually and collectively contributed to the collapsing state of education in Nigeria. In any case, knowledge and skill acquisition which education is all about cannot be over emphasized. According to the World Bank (1999: 25), “successful development entails more than investing in physical capital, or closing the gap in capital. It also entails acquiring and using knowledge as well as closing the gaps in knowledge”. So this study focuses on the problems facing secondary school education in Nigeria, using secondary schools in Agege LGA as a case study.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The education system of Nigeria is gradually deteriorating, there are some many ignored challenges facing the secondary school education in Nigeria. As for teaching staff in Nigeria primary and secondary school today, the problem is no longer that of unavailability, but that of instability. This does not help the development of the education system. Because of the comparatively poorer conditions of service of teachers in the Nigeria society, the tendency for many teaching in the nation’s school today, as was the case with their predecessors in later colonial and independent Nigeria, is to use the teaching profession as a stepping stone to other highly esteemed and more attractive jobs. In consequence, teaching is gradually becoming a profession for fresh graduates of universities and colleges of education who are ready to call it quit, without provocation, as soon as they find greener pasture elsewhere. Experts in the education sector has been able to identify examination malpractices with poor preparation of students for an examination, and lack of self-confidence. In view of the rising costs of education (school fees, enrollment fees, cost of books and other materials) students and even their parents will not ordinarily want to be held back by any form of deficit or failure in any of the required subjects, hence will go to any length to ensure success. A close assessment of activities in schools have revealed that, students are made to suffer undue amount of exploitation by school heads at both private and public schools in the name of enrollment fees and assurance of success in their examination and this they do in collaboration with the ministry officials who are suppose to inspect and monitor activities in schools to ensure standard compliance. All these problems make it glaring that there is a need to carry out a study on the problems facing secondary school education in Nigeria, using secondary schools in Agege LGA as a case study.