In analyzing educational issues, it must be borne in mind that there exist class and group structure,

where vital facts emerge regarding such concepts as power, status, prestige, life chances, life styles,
pattern of consumption, leisure activities and occupations.

There are also closely related issues of human development such as culture, education and socialization
which have implication for stratification. In all the ramifications of the literature on class as social
groupings, it is not easy for anyone, whether pundit or dilettante, to obtain any final and clear cut view
on social stratification.

However, the fact remains that people can be classified according to occupational prestige, income,
education or other closely associated indicators of social status and that such classification are not
merely statistical categories but reflect differences in values, goals, attitudes and behaviours within the
educational realm.

The children are not open to equal educational opportunity even with the compulsory and free
education provided for them. Some children from low socio-economic class with natural endowment do
not have equal access to qualitative education but rural and ill equipped schools.

The public schools which are free are not properly funded to reflect the right standard to deliver the
right tutelage to the students. Many of the students from this low social economic class are undermined
with poor health and malformed physique due to poor feeding, ignorance and carelessness which may
invariably give rise to poor performance academically.

There are wide differences inperformance between children. Some dropouts before completing primary
school, others have to repeat classes, majority of candidates fail the secondary entrance examination.

In the conduct of internal and commercial examination, children are not expected to perform equally
due to differences in intelligence quotient (I.Q), parents’ social status, infrastructural facilities in schools,
teachers’

attitude towards work, pupils’ attitude towards study and so forth.

All these demonstrate educational implications for stratification. Within the education system, there are
different streams which can be followed leading to a variety of qualifications and possible occupations.
These streams may be officially equal but are generally considered to be unequal.

For example, in Africa, technical education is generally considered to be inferior to academic education.
The teachers in the universities feel better laced than lecturers in Colleges of education and Polytechnics
with the same qualifications from the same universities, the pupils and students who attend private
schools like Nursery/Primary

schools, secondary and universities think they went through better school than those who attend public
schools of the same category.

There are also differences between the students who attend Unity schools and those who attend local
or state owned secondary schools. There is also a gifted secondary school established by the Federal
Government to cater for the needs of talented students which equally emphasizes imbalance in the
educational system.

Schools and colleges are theoretically equal following the same syllabus and leading to the same
qualifications. There is a vary wide assumption in status, quality and the market value of the
qualification obtained. Thus private schools may be of a higher or lower quality than government
schools, places in high statues schools will be more difficult

to obtain than places in lower statues schools, colleges and universities may be more marketable than
the same qualifications earned elsewhere.

In most advertisements, it is always stated that qualifications should be from a recognized university.
This is because some schools, colleges and universities are not duly registered with the appropriate
authorities as a result they are recognized as low status schools, colleges and universities.

There are a lot of those colleges and universities across the soil of Nigeria where people have obtained
qualifications and they are disregarded in Nigeria. In the same vein, many Satellite Campuses and study
centers are regarded as auctioning centre where certificates are been sold without adherence to laid
down procedures and rules for the award of such certificates, as such they are regarded as low status
schools.