EFFECT OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY ON IMPLEMENTATION OF NIGERIA POLICY ON SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION
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EFFECT OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY ON IMPLEMENTATION OF NIGERIA POLICY ON SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION
ABSTRACT
The researcher chose the topic “the effect of political instability on the implementation of the Nigeria policy on secondary school education,” which aims to identify the impact of political instability on education.
The research issue inspired five research questions that intended to answer the following:
– To what extent does political instability effect Nigerian educational policy?
– To what extent does political unrest disturb the academic calendar of teachers?
– To what extent does political instability effect teachers’ output in Nigeria?
– To what extent does political instability contribute to student indiscipline and examination malpractice?
The researcher chose to employ a single set of study questionnaires, which were prepared and distributed to the principals and teachers of ten (10) Akoko-Edo Local Government Area secondary schools.
In chapter four, the information gathered from the respondents was analysed using the basic percentage approach that the researcher found most convenient. The findings demonstrated that political instability has a negative impact on the execution of Nigeria’s secondary school education strategy.
The researcher summarises the important findings, conclusion, and recommendations for further research in chapter five. One of the recommendations was to remove education from politics.
CHAPITRE ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of The Study
The problem of political insecurity in the implementation of Nigeria’s secondary education policy cannot be properly understood without briefly outlining the circumstances and context in which the education system operates.
Education cannot be separated from politics because one of the key issues characterised in the relationship between education and politics is the potential for political powers to use the educational system as the primary instrument for promoting the political interests, values, and beliefs of the government in power.
This is why any political party that gains power rapidly attacks the educational system by promising massive expansion and support for education, dictating what schools should and should not be.
It is possible that in some situations, the goals and interests pursued by political powers may or may not be optimal for society. However, due to its political background, the educational system must adapt to the new demands of the ruling party.
Regardless, Mrs. Flora Shaw, the wife of Frederick Lugard, established Nigeria as the atmosphere in which our educational system operates today. This entity known as Nigeria now began with John De Craft’s merger at Lagos in 1951.
Nigeria is viewed as a colony from the early twentieth century that obtained independence in 1960 and became a republic in 1963. That is a country without a monarch as its ruler.
Furthermore, Nigeria is widely regarded as a multi-ethnic society due to the presence of many ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups inside its borders. There are three prominent ethnic groups in Nigeria: Hausa in the north, Yoruba in the west, and Igbo in the east. Minor ones include Ijaw and Ibibio.
According to Ikelegbe (2004), the British established Nigeria-colonial state through conquest, force subjugation, and domination. It did not come from the people who were forced to be Nigeria, and they had no say in it for a long time. As a result, it was an alien contraption.
Sir Frederick Lugard, the first Governor of Nigeria as a nation, forcedfully united the Northern and Southern protectorates in 1914. This coercive merging has caused a slew of issues in the governmental and educational systems, as people with disparate ideas and values were forced to coexist as one nation state.
Historically, no attempt was taken in 1914 to construct a Nigeria state that is coherent and capable of carrying everyone along. This will now result in a system whose education is distinct from that of the government. It was clear that the purpose of the schools founded during this time period was to provide clerks and inexpensive labour for colonial government.
Nigeria clearly has a viable and diverse economy with tremendous development potential given the breadth of its markets and substantial resources.
Furthermore, in December 1991, the Federal Capital was relocated from Lagos to Abuja in order to put its capital in a central location that was not associated with certain ethnic groupings.
In the same year, Babaginda was elected President of the OAU, boosting his role as a mediator. He visited with the Prime Ministers of Chad and Niger, as well as the President of Cameroon, to discuss border issues between Nigeria and these countries.
Soon after, Nigeria passed many constitutions to realise national aspirations and principles, such as the transition to democratic administration and various educational issues. The following are some of the constitutions:
i. The 1999 Constitution, which indicates that the Federal Government should prioritise education due to limited resources; it also states that the Federal, state, and local governments bear equal responsibilities. This constitution also gave the Federal Ministry of Education the authority to supervise and monitor education.
Similarly, Education Decree No. 16 of 1999 acknowledged the Education Acts of 1983. A committee was also formed to advise the government on the process of funding education by different levels of government.
ii. The order supported the creation of four management levels: federal, state, district, and village. The decree also specified the statutory allocation in three terms: federal 65%, state 20%, and local government 15%. To mirror the present trend, all federal states passed related edicts. Each state has its own board of primary education.
There was also the adoption of the 1989 constitution. The constitution was drawn from the federal system of the United States as part of the process of transitioning to democratic administration,
while the 1979 constitution, widely known as the Second Republic Constitution, was also observed. Education ordinance became conceivable in this country as a result of this constitution.
The British colonial authority split Nigeria into three districts in 1946 in accordance with the Auther Richard Constitution. Northern, Eastern, and Western regions were designated. At the core of each region was its own legislative body. The regions were granted internal self-government, and in 1963, one area, the midwestern region, was added to the old three regions at independence, making it four regions with the introduction of more states in 1967 by Gowon Yakubu.
The Northern People’s Congress (NPC), the National Council of Nigeria Citizen (NCNC), and the Action Group in the Wet (AG) were the three major political parties in the regions at the time. Unlike other African republics, they all inherited and adopted the western type of parliamentary democracy and educational system.
She was engulfed in a thirty-month civil war in her first year of independence. Unfortunately, forty-seven long years after her independence, Nigeria had not figured out the ideal means to alter its government.
Election results in the country have been cancelled over the years due to rigging and other electioneering vices. Furthermore, politicians who were defeated in elections sometimes carry their hangovers into the corridors of power and governance rather than seeking restitution through the normal channels. Unconstructive criticism of the government in power can sometimes lead to a downward trend in our educational policies.
There is no doubt that frequent changes in leadership and government policy, along with an ongoing military coup de tat in Nigeria, have had a negative impact on the educational system.
After defining the above circumstances and surroundings in which the educational system operates, let us critically review the problem statement, research question, purpose of the study, importance of the study, delimitation and definition of terminology.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Inadequate resources have hampered the successful execution of Nigeria’s secondary education strategy due to political instability.
A difficulty arising from the foregoing is that many pupils or students whose parents are not financially secure may have attended schools because they were free but may now have to drop due to the reinstatement of fees by another regime.
The staffing and financing of schools is political in character, as persons who served made it impossible to realise the goals and objectives for which it was established. Some schools may be sufficiently funded in terms of infrastructure, regular teacher salaries, and so on because they are affiliated with the government in power.
A party that believes in free education will establish schools and run them accordingly, but if another party that does not believe in free education comes to power, the former free education programme will face problems,
such as some schools being closed or many students who attend school for free being required to pay fees by the new government. These can sometimes result in educational crises.
On the premise of political balance, the three major languages, Yoruba, Ibo, and Hausa, have been placed on the curriculum. Secondary school students are required to learn a language. This is likely to be a problem because colonial masters regionalized Nigeria.
As a result, it is difficult for a Yoruba man to learn Hausa or a Hausa man to learn Yoruba. How can we persuade students and parents to agree? If their interests are not there or they are unwilling to do so,
Nigerian politics is that of regionalism; so, regionalism is a problem that works against the goal of studying the three major languages, which were initially included in the curriculum for political reasons.
1.3 Research Questions
The following questions evolved in order to collect the relevant information for the study:
1. Does Nigeria’s educational policy suffer as a result of political instability?
2. Is political unrest causing disruptions in the academic calendar for teachers?
3. Does political instability contribute to student protests and riots?
4. Does political unrest in Nigeria have an impact on teacher productivity?
5. Does political instability contribute to student indiscipline and exam malpractice?
1.4 Objectives of The Study
This study was undertaken to look briefly at the impact of political instability on the implementation of Nigeria’s secondary education strategy. The study also investigates how political instability has hampered Nigeria’s educational growth. Finally, the report makes recommendations for how to reorient our educational system and free it from the tyranny of politics and politicians.
1.5 Significance of the Research
Education is our future, as well as a wheel base that can transport each nation to its development centre. As a result, countries all over the world use education as a tool for national development. As a result, the importance of it cannot be overstated.
If correctly applied, the results of this research are predicted to be of enormous benefit to educational practitioners because they are poised to help identify some of the obstacles that stand in the way of the successful implementation of educational policy.
Delimitation (1.6)
This study focuses on secondary school pupils to see how political instability affects the implementation of Nigeria’s secondary school policy.
The study was limited to five secondary schools in Edo State’s Akoko-Edo Local Government: Eweka Grammar School, Immaculate Conception College, Eweka Community Secondary School, Queens Ede Secondary School, and Technical College. These schools were chosen from the Local Government’s five wards.
1.7 Definitions of Terms
The following terms were used in the course of this investigation and are defined:
Coup d’état: A military-led, rapid, illegal, and often violent change in government.
Amalgamation: The joining of two or more entities to establish a larger entity for easier administration.
Electioneering Vices: The unethical act of delivering speeches and visiting people in order to urge them to vote for a specific politician or political party in an election.
Adversely: A negative impact effect that is unlikely to yield a positive or pleasant result.
Control: The power to establish control over everything.
Enshrined: A significant written document that is respected and officially stated.
Promulgated: To openly declare a new legislation or order.
Laws from the previous regime were deemed unsuitable.
Dwindling: A condition in which a certain party’s popularity gradually declines.
Alien Contraption: A peculiar way of viewing a specific condition or situation.
Turbulent: A political environment in which there is a lot of confusion, dispute, and sometimes violence.
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