Implications for educational planning and policy - Concluded

This historical analysis of educational policy formulation in Nigeria has a lot of implications for both educational planning and policy. Most of the colonial educational policies had the shortcoming of not taking into account our local peculiarities and not involving Nigerians in their formulation. It is also essential to integrate all the good parts of earlier education policies, whether colonial or post-colonial, into any proposed education policy.

The participatory model of planning education and formulating educational policies is the most appropriate for a multi-ethnic nation like Nigeria. Nigeria has about three hundred and fifty four ethnic nationalities. Each of these groups strive to get the best and a fair share of the available educational services (Fabunmi, 2003). In order to minimize conflict and protest, it is good for both educational planners and policy makers to involve adequate representatives of the society, particularly stakeholders in education, in educational planning and policy formulation.

The education laws of 1999-2004 - Part 8

(a) The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Promulgation) Decree of 1999, chapter 11, Section 18 re-states the objectives of education in Nigeria as contained in the 1979 constitution of Nigeria and the third edition of the National Policy on Education (FRG, 1998) which states the following as the objectives of Nigerian education: the inculcation of national consciousness and unity;

(b) The inculcation of the right type of values and attitudes for the survival of the individual and the Nigerian society;

(c) The training of the mind in the understanding of the world around; and

(d) The acquisition of appropriate skills and the development of mental, physical and social abilities and competencies as equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of his society.

The Education Edicts of 1983-1999 - Part 8

Consequent upon the return of military administration in 1983, several decrees were

 by the Federal Military Government to guide and regulate the conduct of education. Such include, Decree No. 16 of 1985, which was promulgated on National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institution’s Decree No. 20 of 1986 which changed the school calendar from January to December to October to September, Decree No. 26 of 1988, which proscribed and prohibited the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for participating in trade union activities and Decree No. 36 of 1990, which revoked the proscription of ASUU, and many other decrees.

The Education Laws of the School Republic (1979-1983) - Part 7

The first era of military rule (1966-1979) in Nigeria was followed by the second republic, which had a presidential system of government. The 1979 constitution was the legal basis of education in the period. The objectives of education as provided in chapter II,

Section 18, Sub-Sections 1-3 of the 1979 constitution are:

(i) The government policy shall be directed towards ensuring equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.

(ii) The government shall promote science and technology,

(iii) The government shall strive as and when practicable, provide

(a) Free, compulsory and universal primary education

(b) Free secondary education, and

(c) Free adult literacy programme

The 1979 constitution put education in the concurrent legislative list. This implies that responsibilities and authority in the provision of education ought to be shared among the three tiers of government, that is, federal, state and local governments. Chapter 11 of the constitution gave the federal government more powers than the states in the areas of post primary, professional, technological and university education under its control. The states had total control of primary; post primary, technical, technological, university and other forms of education within their territories. In states like Ogun and Bendel, the organization and administration of primary education were transferred to their respective Local Government Councils.