CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF STANDARD OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The standard of education in Nigeria in reference to any educational system must be considered a cause for serious concern because of the significant impact of education in the life of people and the society and the nation at large. Education is considered as the key to economic prosperity and the potent instrument for combating diseases, tackling poverty and supporting sustainable National development. At the international level, “Education for All” {EFA} an initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization {UNESCO} was launched in 1990. Similarly, in 2000, Education was considered as one of the eight {8} Millenniums Development Goals {MDGs}, the target being to “ensure children of both sexes everywhere will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling”. Nigeria joined 189 other countries worldwide to endorse the declaration {Ademolekun 2003}. Back home in Nigeria, different systems of education were introduced. They ranged from the Universal Primary Education {UPE}, the 6-3-3-4 {JSS/SSC} system of Education to the current Universal basic Education {UBE} scheme. The pertinent question that readily comes to mind is, “ how have these different programmes impacted positively on the life of Nigerians?” The discourse undertaken in this presentation examines some of the key issues and challenges related to declining standards of Education in Nigeria and proffers measures to significantly improve the overall quality of education currently offer in Nigerian schools.