CPATH :Education in Nigeria

Education in the broad sense is the entire process of socialization by which men and women learn to adapt to and where necessary conquer their environment. It is the process of developing the cognitive, affective and psychomotor faculties of individuals and groups in order to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to survive and make progress in the human society.

The teacher is regarded as the man or woman who has undergone some professional/academic training to prepare him or her for the task of facilitating the education of children and young learners in the school. The school on its own part is the structured environment organized to provide or encourage interaction between the teacher and the learner in the complex process of learning. In this presentation we shall do a brief historical survey of the plight of the educational enterprise and teachers in Nigeria, and after identifying the causes of the present rot in the system and the low esteem of teachers, we shall challenge the authorities and the civil society to embark on certain policy, legal and structural changes that will help to revamp the educational sector and restore the lost glory of the teaching profession.
Education in Nigeria is the shared responsibility of the federal, state and local governments. The Federal Ministry of Education plays a dominant role in regulating the education sector, engaging in policy formation and ensuring quality control. However, the federal government is more directly involved with tertiary education than it is with school education, which is largely the responsibility of state (secondary) and local (primary) governments. The education sector is divided into three sub-sectors: basic (nine years), post-basic/senior secondary (three years), and tertiary (four to seven years, depending on the major or course of study). Education in Nigeria is provided by public and private institutions.