THE EFFECT OF GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION ON INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

THE EFFECT OF GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION ON INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the Study

Economic development and underdevelopment is one aspect of the uneven spatial distribution of economic activity. Geography has a huge impact on infrastructural development. Studies have shown that geography education has a direct effect on infrastructural development especially in developing countries such as Nigeria.

Education is an important variable in augmenting productivity of the existing and potential labour force of an economy, a catalytic agent for raising the level of income, a key to the access to resources, both private and public, and a channel of income distribution, through which gains from increased growth can be filtered down to the lower income groups. Education is regarded as a productive investment, as well as an all-pervasive activity of human welfare (Rahman and Hossain, 2006). They added that, as education is continuously developing, it becomes increasingly clear that only well-informed research may contribute to enhance our knowledge on what is happening inside the system, and thus enable decision makers to take corrective measure.

The contributions of education in achieving the modernization of the country Nigeria since the early 1960 when the country gained her independence cannot be overlooked. Recently, the interests of countries abroad have centered on the role of education in achieving the economic and infrastructural development in Nigeria. Political, social and cultural factors undoubtedly contributed to the economic growth of the country, but the effects of these factors varied between countries in both kind and weight. The country Nigeria has achieved rapid economic growth. However, it has one factor in common: namely, the important role of the educational institutions. A common basis for the economic development of Nigeria has been the introduction of a modern educational system, especially the spread of general elementary education to farm families who constituted the major part of the labour force in the beginning period of modernization. Thus, the role of modernization in achieving economic development in Nigeria may be said to have been very important.

THE EFFECT OF GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION ON INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA