Quality of Education in Nigeria: We need to do more

Qualitative education ranges from high academic standards; skilled and experienced teachers, updated curricula and textbooks, conducive environment for learning and strict discipline. This also refers to the ability of the school to provide the necessary facilities required to aid teaching and learning that can lead to the achievement of educational goals in line with prescribed […]

Qualitative education ranges from high academic standards; skilled and experienced teachers, updated curricula and textbooks, conducive environment for learning and strict discipline. This also refers to the ability of the school to provide the necessary facilities required to aid teaching and learning that can lead to the achievement of educational goals in line with prescribed acceptable global standards.

The need for quality assurance in Nigerian schools is highly desired in order to ensure quality of teaching and learning. Therefore, there is a need to sustain quality education in Nigeria, but the question is do we have  quality education  in Nigeria? I guess the answer is no, hence the need for ‘improving the quality of education and then sustaining it.

• ‘Nigeria will have enough warriors to defend cyberspace in 2026’
• Free train rides: NRC debunks ticket sales, records passengers’ surge

Quality assurance can be achieved through many ways. Firstly, educational managers – Government, Proprietors, Directors, NUT- must function effectively.

Secondly, the educational sector must be adequately funded; there is no doubt in any Nigerian mind that budgeting for the funding of schools in Nigeria needs serious inward looking and attention.

Thirdly, there is a high level of corruption in Nigerian schools and the system itself. These include paid-for certificate, ‘special centre’ examinations, sexual indictment, extortion and leaked questions.

There is also a need to improve teachers/lecturers training and skills. This will equip them for the job.

Insecurity is also a major challenge in achieving quality education. Most of Nigeria’s out-of-school children are in the North East and North West of the country that have been heavily impacted by the Boko-Haram insurgency and banditry for almost a decade.

There is also a need to improve inspection and supervision of schools, because it is quite sad that the level of inspection and supervision of schools has drastically reduced in recent times. In the days of missionary ownership of schools, inspection and supervision were among the best of quality assurance mechanisms employed to enhance discipline, dedication and adherence to curriculum.

Nigeria cannot continue to remain in this situation of low quality in education standard. There is a serious need for improvement in the quality of education. There is need to revive and re-enact the inspectorate division of various ministries of education if quality education is to be ensured

Abdulazeez Alhassan can be reached via [email protected]