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Introduction

This paper reviewed as its introduction and highlight of Nigerias traditional education and the
advent of western education to the western coast of Africa and subsequently Nigeria. It
highlights the British educational ordinances of 1882-1959 as the early education reforms.

The Educational Ordinances of 1882


The monopoly of the development of education by the Christian missionaries was broken by the
colonial government when it enacted the first education ordinance in 1882. This marked the
emergence of education reforms in the pre-Nigerian independence era. This ordinance was meant
for all British West African territories, including the colony of Lagos. Shortly after this was the
enactment of the first Nigerian education ordinance in 1887 which came at the heels of the
establishment of the colony and protectorate of Lagos. There were some similarities in the
features of both the 1882 and 1887 ordinances. Apart from the fact that both ordinances marked
the beginning of a defined relationship between the missions and the government (Ajayi, 2011),
other features included the provision of a Board of Education, an official inspection of schools as
well as the introduction of the payment of grants by results.
The failure of the 1887 Ordinance as a result of its ineffectiveness led to the promulgation of the
1916 Education Ordinance. One of the major reasons why the 1887 Ordinance failed was its
inability to curb indiscipline in the school system. Therefore, as an education reform, the 1916
ordinance emphasized among other things, the inculcation of discipline in the students, the
adaptation of teaching to the needs of the students and the exercise of control by the government
over all schools. The 1916 Ordinance also made allowance for proprietors to establish schools
alongside the government schools. A separate board of education was provided for each of the
provinces. The ordinance required that 40 percent of the assessment in examinations should be
met before grants were given to schools.
In spite of everything however, the 1916 Ordinance also failed. To some extent, the failure of the
1916 Ordinance to achieve its aims arose from the fact that it failed to take account of the needs
of the country in general and the locality in particular. Subjects like history and geography of the
British Empire were frowned at. The post-1916 Education Ordinance period showed that the
number of unassisted schools had increased. This unhealthy situation led to ineffective
supervision and lack of control on the part of the voluntary agencies in charge of these schools.
There was no supervision of these schools by the government and a lot of money needed to be
spent on them for improvement. All these led to the drafting of the 1926 Education Ordinance
which, among other things, increased the composition of the Board of Education from two non-
official people to four. It was this Ordinance that truly laid the foundation of Nigerias
educational system (Adesina, 1977; as cited in (Ajayi, 2011). The Ordinance placed emphasis on
the following aspects of the educational system: government control over the expansion of the
school system and over the establishment of new schools, the registration of teachers, the
appointment of supervisors and a new grants-in-aid system whose criteria were the level of
efficiency and the tone of the school.
Education Ordinance aimed at providing a better quality of education through:
Increased direct government control and supervision;
Cooperation with voluntary agencies by means of increased subsidies to schools and
training institutions; and
By an attempt to improve the quality and status of teachers.
As a result of the fall in international trade, during that period, the 1926 Education Ordinance
also failed to achieve its aims in reforming the educational system in British West Africa.
The Elliot Commission of 1943 was another reform that was significant in the Nigerian
educational system in the pre-independence era. The Commission was established to look into
the organization and the facilities of higher education in British West Africa. Two reports (a
majority and a minority) were submitted by the commission. While the majority report
recommended the establishment and upgrading of three higher institutions in West Africa, the
minority report recommended only one. The British Parliament however accepted the majority
report and paved the way for the establishment of then University College at Ibadan, affiliated to
the University of London.
Another milestone in the development of the educational system of Nigeria could be found in the
enactment of the 1945 Education Ordinance. Among its features were the introduction of
education boards in the three regions, the appointment of a deputy director of education for each
of the regional boards and the establishment of local educational authorities. The 1945 Education
Ordinance did not permit the establishment of schools without the consent of the deputy director
of education. It also allowed the award of financial assistance based on usefulness and efficiency.
One of the greatest reforms in the history of Nigerian education was the report of the Ashby
Commission of 1959. The task of the commission was to advise the Nigerian government on her
needs in the field of post-school certificate and higher education in the country over the next
twenty years. The report of the commission showed that the estimated needs for both
intermediate and high-level manpower in the next decade outstripped not only the actual supply
rate but also the estimated capacity of the existing institutions. The Commission made far-
reaching recommendations which did not only cut across the length and breadth of the Nigerian
educational system but which have also had great impact on the development of education in the
country today. Among the recommendations were the production of an output of 2,000 graduates
a year by 1970, a proposal on the establishment of a National Universities Commission and the
fact that enrolment in the universities should reflect national needs in terms of technical and non-
technical fields. The commission also recommended teacher certificate grades one and two crash
programmes for teachers in order to meet the acute shortage of qualified teachers, an enrolment
of 7,500 students in the universities by 1970 and a substantial growth beyond this figure by 1980.
The Dike Committee/Commission (1958-1961)
In 1958, a committee was set up to review the educational system in the East. The committee
headed by Kenneth Dike recommended a focus on quality education provision instead of
quantity. Another committee, the Ikoku Committee on the review of the educational system in
the Eastern region recommended the consolidation of primary schools and the discontinuation of
nonviable schools. Also the committee proposed, government control of all primary schools, the
involvement of local government council in primary education and reducing the length of time
spent in primary schools from 7 years to 6 years.
In the Eastern Region, the Dike committee was also set up to review the problems faced by the
government in implementing UPE and make appropriate recommendations. The committee
observed that initially the government was spending one-third of its total revenue on education
and to implement free primary education, all the revenue would be spent on education.
Dike committee made some recommendations. These include:
Organization of education on provincial basis;
Increase in the number of inspectors in the ministry of education;
Opening of more secondary schools and admission of students should be through
common entrance examination;
Introduction of foreign language into the curriculum of secondary schools;
Establishment of a college for teachers education in Enugu; and
More aid to local authority schools in form of special grants, staffing and equipment.
The Old man Commission was set up in the Northern Nigeria to look into the financial and
administrative problems that would arise in implementing UPE in the region. The commission
realised that substantial foreign aid would be needed to carry out the capital programme and that
a much greater burden than hither to would fall on local resources to meet the increasing
recurrent expenditure. The recommendations of the Old man Commission include:
Separation of administrative and inspectorate duties;
Establishment and organization of education authorities;
The setting up of a course to train educational administrators to staff the new education
authorities
References
Ajayi, I. A. (2011). Topical Issues in Educational Administration. Department of Educational
Foundations and Management Faculty of Education, University of Ado-Ekiti, Ado-
Ekiti.
Lawal, A. (2006). A cybernetic appraisal of reforms in the Nigerian educational sector (1999-
2006). A lead paper presented at the 3 rd National Conference/Seminar of the School of
Education, Kogi State College of Education, Ankpa.
Ifenkwe, G.E. (2013). Educational development in Nigeria: Challenges and prospects in the 21st
Century. Universal Journal of Education and General Studies Vol. 2(1) pp. 007-014
Oduwaiye, R. O., and Etejere, P. O (2008). Education Reforms in Nigeria: The Need for a Legal
Framework. Published Thesis Submitted to the Department of Education of Educational
Management, Faculty Of Education, University Of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.

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