The report of the Director of
Education who was appointed in 1944 to review the ten years plan and that of
Sir Sidney Phillipson on the procedure for assessing grants-in-aid for 1948 was
the basis for the promulgation of the 1948 Education Ordinance. The ordinance
decentralized educational administration. It created a Central Board of Education
and four Regional Boards, that is, those of East, West, Lagos and North. It also recommended the
establishment of Local Education Committees and Local Education Authorities.
The 1952 Education Ordinance
The 1952 Education Ordinance was
introduced so as to enable each of the three newly created (Eastern, Western
and Northern) regions to develop its educational policies and systems. The
ordinance became an education law for the country. The membership of the
central board and the regional boards were modified, while the Colonial Board was
abolished. All schools, whether public or private, were to be subjected to
inspection by the Regional Director or his representatives and the Inspector
General or his representatives. The ordinance emphasized the overall
responsibility of the central government.
The Regional Education Laws
In 1954, Nigeria became a federation of
three (i.e. Eastern, Western and Northern) regions and the Federal Territory of
Lagos (which was the Federal capital) as a result of the adoption of the 1954
constitution. Each region had the power of making laws for its territory and
citizens.
The constitution contained three
lists. These are:
(i) Exclusive legislative list, which contained
items upon which only the federal legislature or parliament could legislate,
i.e. make laws.
(ii) Concurrent legislative list, which consisted
of items upon which both the federal and regional legislatures could make laws.
(iii) Residual legislative list, which comprised
items which were within the exclusive legislative competence of the regions.
The regions quickly exploited this
constitutional provision and made regional laws.
The outcome of this exercise was the
Education Law of 1955 in Western Region, the Education Law of 1956 in Northern
Region and the Lagos Education Ordinance in 1957.
The Ashby Report of 1959 In April,
1959, the Federal Government of Nigeria constituted the Ashby Commission to
investigate and report Nigeria’s
manpower needs for a period of twenty years (1960-1980). The Commission led by
Sir Eric Ashby, comprised three Nigerians, three Americans and three Britons.
The Commission reported:
§ The imbalance between one level of education and the other
§ Limited admission opportunities for primary school leavers
§Few school teachers were qualified and certificated
§That the Nigerian education was parochial and literary
§Imbalance in the development of education between the North
and South.
The commission recommended the
expansion and improvement of primary and secondary education, the upgrading of
the University College
at Ibadan to a full-fledged university and the
establishment of three other universities at Nsukka, Ife
and Zaria. It
also recommended the establishment of University Commission in Nigeria so that
the universities will maintain uniform academic standard. The post-secondary
school system was to produce the post- independence high-level manpower needs
of Nigeria.
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