Exam Focus in History of Nigerian Education.

Exam Focus in History of Nigerian Education.

Content:

v  Relevance/Objective  of Indigenous Education

v  Inadequacies of the Missionary Education

v  Relevance of Islamic Education

v  Modern Education Policy…I nor know am o, nor vex

v  Nomadic Education/Education fr the physically challenged

v  Why Private Universities in Nigeria

v  Why study  the History of Education

Meaning of Education: Etymologically, the word education is from the Latin educere meaning to draw out or lead out. It is also from the Latin educare which could mean to nourish, to bring up or to raise up. More explicitly, education is defined by Nduka as the process of cultural transmission and the use of culture to enhance people’s arts, music and literature, etc. It is also defined as the culture which generation purposely gives to those who are to be its successors in order to qualify them for at least in keeping and raising the level of Improvement which has been attained.

Relevance/Objective/Merits of Indigenous Education

Indigenous Education is one that exists before the colonialisation of Africa. It is an informal education system that begins from childhood through adolescent to adulthood. There was no formal classroom and elders served as teachers and models.

The relevance of Indigenous education include the following:

1.      Character formation: Values are transmitted and acquired, good manners are promoted, and morality is upheld.

2.      Intellectual training: Skills are learnt for effective decision making, in critical thinking, in problem solving, in counting of numbers and months, in observing the moon.

3.      Vocational training: This entails agricultural training, training in crafts and trade- weaving, welding, mining, carpentry- and professional training- herbalists, witch doctors, clerks, lawyers.

4.      Physical training: Skills in jumping, running, dancing. Aim: To enable young ones properly fit in to their peer group.

5.      Community participation: Creates a sense of belonging for all. Promotes solidarity, compassion, empathy, selflessness and dexterity.

6.      Promotion of the cultural heritage of the community: This is not taught but caught. Young ones, by observation, get to know the culture of their land and work to perpetuate it.

7.      Respect for elders and those in position of authority: Young ones learn how to greet and respect their elders.

Demerits of Indigenous Education:

1.       It is a rigid system

2.       The training is unquestionable

3.       Too much secrecy surround the system

4.      The system instills fear

5.      The vocational training is time wasting,

6.      It is a closed system.

Inadequacies of Missionary Education in Nigeria

            Missionary education is the type of education introduced in the country at the advent of the Christian missionary endeavours beginning from 1515 when some catholic missionaries opened a school in the palace of the Oba of Benin. It however blossomed at the advent of the second missionary endeavor with the founding of the first known school in Badagry in the early 1840s by Mr. and Mrs. De Graft- “Infant of the Nursery Church”

The following are some of the inadequacies of missionary education in Nigeria:

1.      No uniformity in planning: The various missionaries running schools all has their own and sometimes conflicting modus operandi

2.      No official education policy: Every school was left to run her policy, this could at times be catastrophic

3.      No common or unified syllabus: This would definitely lead to a situation where students across the country learnt divergently.

4.      No standard textbooks: Students were not exposed to good and quality books; they rely on the mercy of teachers who may not be communicating adequately.

5.      No school buildings in some places: Church buildings were used for classes. These were not conducive environment for teaching and learning.

6.      No adequate teachers: The teacher/student ratio was poor. No effective education can go on is such situations.

7.      No uniformity of service of teachers: Every missionary group had their own condition of service. This would cause a migration of teachers to those schools with better conditions of service.

8.      Creation od a disparity between male and female education: The male was granted a superior education        

Relevance of Islamic Education

Islamic Education is the type of education aimed at transmitting the tenets and values of Islam to students, to the extent that the students become good Muslims. The Quran is at the centre of this kind of education. It came into Nigeria in the 13^th century through trade and commerce.

Some Relevance/Merits of Islamic Education include:

1.      A sense of piety: Students are trained to do good and avoid evil.

2.      Literacy: Students are taught are to read, write and communicate, especially in Arabic.

3.      Employment opportunities: They are trained to become teachers, administrators of Islamic establishments, and leaders of groups and communities.

4.      Provision of cheap and affordable education: The schools were readily available even to the poorest of the poor.

5.      A sense of fulfillment: Students become fulfilled to the extent that they are better exposed to the tenets if their faith.

6.      Community oriented: Everyone is involved in the training of the students

7.      Vocational/functional: Skills were taught and learnt.

8.      Respect for law and order

Demerits of Islamic Education:

1.      Limited organization (one mallam handles a school)

2.      Extreme discipline

3.      Restricted curriculum

4.      Poor teaching method

5.      Open to only children of Muslim families.

Nomadic Education

Nomadic education refers to the type of education provided nomads who wander from place to place with no fixed home, moving to satisfy their economic needs. There are three categories of nomads, namely, the pastoralists who take their herds around in search of pasture and water, the migrant fishermen found along riverine areas, and the hunters/food gatherers found along the rift valley around Lake Nyasa in Tanzania. The need for nomadic is due principally to the fact that the nomads too are human beings, and as such possess the fundamental human right to be educated. Thus, whatever benefits that are derived from education in general can also be derived from this form of education. The Nomadic Education Programme (est. 1986) and the National commission for Nomadic Education (est. 1989) were established make education accessible to nomads.

Barriers/constraints facing Nomadic Education:

1.      Government’s lack of awareness of the situation of nomads

2.      Nomads are always on the move

3.      Parents’ unwillingness to release their children for school

4.      Unsuitable school curriculum

5.      Inadequate finance

6.      Computer and general ICT illiteracy

 Approaches to Nomadic Education:

1.      Mobile schools

2.      2. Radio and Television Education

3.      The use of ICT, like phones

Private Universities

Private universities are universities owned by private’s individuals and religious bodies. Babcock University is the first private university in Nigeria, established in 1999.

Factors that led to the emergence of private university:

1.      Decaying and limited infrastructures in public universities

2.      Moral decadence in public universities Incessant strike actions, students unrest, and the reign of cultism

3.      Indiscipline in the part of lecturers

4.      Fall in the quality of university graduates

5.      Poor funding

6.      Limited space for students seeking admission into public universities

7.      For me, for the sake of money.

There is a past question on what the benefits of private universities are. You may want to attempt the question by transposing the above reasons for emergence to benefits. For e.g., you can say private universities provide effective and up-to-date infrastructural for teaching and learning.

The relevance of studying the history of Education:

1.      A study of the past helps to improve the future

2.      It also serve to influence both present and future education polices

3.      It equips us with the ability to analyse the present critically

4.      It also serve to improve the activity of teaching

5.      Enables us  examine how educational thinkers have responded to the social demands of their time

6.      Mistakes made in the past are avoided

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Success is yours in Jesus name. Amen.