THE CHALLENGES AFFECTING THE STANDARD OF SECONDARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This research work was carried out to investigate into the challenges affecting the standard of Secondary Education in Nigeria. Education is the bedrock of development. But unfortunately education in Nigeria is bisected with myriad’s of problems. This includes poor funding and thus poor educational infrastructures, inadequate classrooms, teaching aids (projectors, computer, laboratories and libraries), paucity of quality teachers and poor/polluted learning environment. For the standard of education improve, government need to re-address the issue of funding in education, parents, teachers and students should be reoriented towards achieving the goals of education. Also education must be made affordable for all and sundry. Technical education and innovation adaptation centers must be encouraged.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

When the issue of challenges affecting the standard of secondary education in Nigeria is raised, the first set of through that comes to mind are decline in standard, deterioration of facilities, examination malpractice, mass promotion syndrome and the likes before any other thing else. This calls for an in depth study and analysis aimed at tutoring each and every stakeholders in education system on how their actions and inaction have individually and collectively contributed to the collapsing state of secondary education in Nigeria. First, let examine the meaning of education. Education is derived from two Latin words: ‘Educare’ and “Educere” the first meaning “to bring out” or “to lead out” and the second meaning “to bring up” ‘to raise’ or elevate. According to Whitehead (2002) defined Education as “The process of transmitting the culture of a society from one generation to the other, the process by which the older members of a society bring up the young ones. Thus: to successfully confront the challenges affecting the standard of education in a developed country like Nigeria, there must be invest in technologies to facilitate both acquisition and absorption of knowledge.

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

This research is to make critical investigation on the challenges aecting the standard of secondary education in Nigeria. A case study of some selected secondary schools. In Odeda Local Government, Area, Ogun State. The meaning of education can not be over emphasized most especially in Nigeria schools. Therefore Education according to Castles (2003) “Is what happens to a man from the day he was born until the day he dies. Meanwhile Websler (2006) defines education as a process of educating or teaching to develop the knowledge, skill and character of students. Also according to Oxford Dictionary the 7 seventy edition define education as a process of teaching, training and learning especially in schools or colleges to improve knowledge and develop skills. There are different forms of education that exist in the human society. The most obvious one is the public education. The society offers the free public education to its citizens and citizens required to take proper education in order to become vital members of the society. By these definitions of education, in relation to the state of challenges affecting the standard of secondary schools education in Nigeria as well as attitudes of investors. One with interest will be compelled to ask such questions as what as actually gone wrong considering the enormity of its effect on the output from system in the area of productivity and the degree of acceptance in labour market and educational institutions, especially outside the country. However the militating factors stemming from the incidence of examination malpractice, poor facilities, indiscriminate mass promotion syndrome in schools.

The causes of these could e traced to government insensitivity to education needs, government and private institutions open encouragement to low productivity and the lack of the spirit of hard work among growing number of students. Tracing back from 1970s we discover that Nigeria standard of education is encouraging to the society even the country at large compare to standard of secondary education now. Challenges in the society always take the form of problems that need to be solved. The difference in education opportunities as well as the nature and allocation of education provision in relation to the needs and aspirations of society has generally been identified by development economist as constituting one of the main factors which account for the development gap between the rich and poor countries.