Falling Standard of Education in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges

Abstract

The educational sector in Nigeria, in the last one and half decades, has witnessed a sharp decline in its rating to the point that a standard seven certificate holder of 1960s can stand shoulder high with a university first degree holder of today on a level playing ground. Some years back, Nigerian certificates were being rejected abroad. No thanks to incessant industrial action embarked upon by lecturers in the Nigerian universities. That certainly, is responsible for the turnout of half-baked graduates who find it difficult to construct a correct simple sentence in the English Language. To worsen the situation, these half-baked graduates are employed to teach in both private and public schools. Budgetary allocation to the education sector continues to dwindle. 26 per cent budget allocations to education as recommended by UNESCO remain a hard nut to crack. Teachers are in no way motivated, just to mention but few. A survey of five categories of people 100 each per group were sampled to find out which among the eight identified factors contribute most to the falling standard of education in Nigeria. The bar chart clearly identifies under funding and poor remuneration of teachers as some of the major factors contributing to the falling standard of education in Nigeria. The analysis of the data using analysis of variance (ANOVA), table II, indicated that the contributions of these factors to the falling standard of education in Nigeria, varies from one factor to another. The paper recommended that, as a matter of necessity, government in its reformation agenda must include total overhauling of the education sector in order to redress the rot in the sector.