EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH IN NIGERIA: SOME LOCAL FORCES INHIBITING PROGRESS, AND THE WAY FORWARD

Shehu Ahmed Jimoh, Ph.D. Department of Educational Foundations, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. ABSTRACT This paper opens with an examination of the place of research in advancing the frontiers of knowledge and enhancing national development: then highlights some of the major problems confronting research of all kinds in Nigeria, especially educational research. These include poor flouting, inadequate infrastructure, and the inhibitions placed on Nigerian research participants by socio-psychological and cultural factors. Among the recommendations proffered are the need to evolve a philosophy of national development to guide the activities of practitioners In the education Industry, the need to evolve a code of conduct for all research practitioners, and the need to ensure proper documentation and dissemination of the outcome of research activities conducted in different parts of the country. Background Educational research can be regarded as an activity designed to evolve theories guiding the principle and practice of education. It attempts to use the methods and procedures made popular in the physical sciences to find answers to problems facing the education industry. Educational research, and indeed research of all kinds, is almost as old as man on earth. All that has changed over the years is the approach or method employed in particular research activities. The need to carry out investigations and 'evolve new theories is one of the most fundamental functions of the corps of the intelligentsia of a particular society. Similarly, the place of such research activities in the developmental efforts of any society has also been recognized. This is why special attention has been paid to research and documentation by countries that have been eager to develop technologically. For instance, according to Nkwi (1992, p. 35), following the Meiji Restoration in 1968, the Emperor of Japan was required to take five oaths, one of which stated that "knowledge will be sought and acquired from any source with all the means at our disposal, for the greatness and security of Japan". Today, Japan is a great and powerful industrial nation. This empirical law, which has almost become a religion in Japan, is entrenched in many religions also. Islam enjoins Muslims to seek knowledge from anywhere even from China, perhaps because China was one" of the farthest parts of the then known world, with Mecca as the centre. This injunction made many of the earliest Muslims to travel to various parts of the world in search of knowledge, and these men were to establish themselves as a foundation of present-day civilization. In Islam, man is free to investigate not only the things on earth, but also to explore the regions in space. A verse of the Qur'an reminds the Muslim that "He (Allah) has made subservient to you whatever is in the Heavens and whatever is in the Earth". Islam enjoins man to explore and reflect on the phenomena of nature. Besides, several passages can be cited from the Holy Qur'an which show that, beside making it mandatory for the Muslim to seek knowledge, the Holy Qur'an itself bristles with all gems of knowledge. The orientation of this paper stems from the conviction that the search for knowledge in all its ramifications is an obligatory duty of man. Almost all religions, especially Islam, accord it a position of eminence. Most nations have faith in it and give it due attention. Unfortunately, it does not appear that research and documentation in general and educational research in particular, has enjoyed adequate attention in the Nigerian context. This paper attempts to highlight the present state of the art in Nigeria, the local problems facing educational research, and the way forward into the 21st century. The story of the development of research in education has been too well told by experts

to warrant a rehearsal in this paper, considering its limited scope. Some of these experts have attempted to focus on the entire field of research in education (e.g. Borg and Gall, 1979), while some others have attempted to examine the general issues of educational research from the narrow perspective of a particular discipline within education (Akinboye, 1986, Anastasi, 1961). The development of educational research hi Nigeria followed the same pattern as in other countries of the third world that once came under colonial domination. Much of the activity in the area of educational research has followed largely the colonial legacy which has survived even more than thirty years of post colonial experience in most African Countries. As has become common knowledge, the colonial masters influenced the system of education, the agenda, direction and the pattern of educational research. This influence was even more pronounced in the former French territories than in the British territories. Since independence, most African countries have only succeeded in perpetuating the colonial legacy with respect to the pattern and funding of research in education although other non-colonial powers like U.S.A., Canada and the USSR have since begun to influence the education and research programmes of African countries. In post-colonial Africa second only to defence, education has enjoyed an enviable position in the budgetary provisions of most countries. However, it does not appear that a significant pan of this budgetary allocation has been set aside for research in education and related fields (Nkwi, 1992) although government contribution to research on the continent still accounts for up to 70 to 80% of the fund available for research, with external funding constituting only about between 20 to 30%, given usually in the form of technical aid. The colonial governments in British West Africa paid little or no attention to "inconsequential" matters like the provision of sound education for the natives. That function was traditionally left in the hands of Christian missions in most of British West African. This lackadaisical attitude of die colonial government influenced the nature and quality of education available to the natives. This explains in pan why the Nigerian Muslim was slow in accepting "modern" education which to him was synonymous with Christian indoctrination, and why, today, a very wide gap still exists between the predominantly Muslim North and the South of Nigeria which first experienced the impact of missionary education. Muslims came late into the field of western-type education. The grammar school system of the home country was transplanted on the African soil without any attempt to adapt it to the realities of the receiving environment. Latin still featured prominently on the curriculum of most secondary grammar schools till much after the attainment of independence in 1960. Religious instruction along Christian lines was compulsory in the secondary schools established and run by Christian missions. This situation remained till about the turn of the century when the colonial government began to show a little more interest in matters concerning the education of the natives. In the field of higher education, the Yaba Higher College was officially opened by the Governor, Sir Donald Cameron on January 19, 1934, although the college admitted its first set of students in 1932. This post-secondary non-degree awarding institution remained the only institution of higher learning in Nigeria until the University College, Ibadan was opened in 1948. In spite of its very stringent admission conditions, the certificates awarded by the Yaba Higher College were looked down upon within and outside the country. From elementary through university levels, the education provided for Nigerians remained for long dysfunctional and irrelevant, having been patterned after the colonial system and influenced by Christian missions. Before independence, there were only few institutions of University status to serve the needs of the British colonies in Africa, namely Ibadan in Nigeria, Makerere in Uganda, and Ghana in Legon, along with Fourah Bay and Achimota colleges in Sierra Leone and Ghana respectively. At independence in 1960, only the University College. Ibadan operated as a degree-warding institution, with its degrees being awarded by London University. Today, Nigeria has over 30 Universities with a very active scientific community. Research activities in Nigeria, mostly within the Universities, are sponsored by various individuals and groups. These include the individual departments or units, faculty grants (both of

which are few and far between). Senate grants, endowments, foreign aids, fellowships and so on. Outside the University campus, a number of arrangements have been put in place to stimulate research in various fields of endeavour. Notable among these is the Nigerian Educational Research Council (NERC) which later had other bodies merged with it to become the Nigeria Education Research and Development Council. There is the Nigeria Academy of Science and mere are numerous professional associations, such as the Nigerian psychological society, whose objectives include research and dissemination of knowledge. Funding is still largely from grants made available to individual universities through the National Universities Commission although there is now some amount of private sector participation. Except for a few research activities, most of them are still conducted on small scale levels within each institution or organisation and these do not seem to bear immediate relevance to the here-and-now problems of the larger society outside the respective institutions. Test materials are being developed, laboratories are being built and equipped, journals are published, and other provisions are made for research and documentation. However, considering the number of universities in Nigeria, and considering the yearning needs of Nigeria as a developing country eager for rapid industrialisation, research hi Education does not seem to have progressed fast enough. There is a total absence of a conducive environment for research and overall academic excellence. Several factors could account for this, and these form the issues highlighted in the next section of this paper. Problems Facing Educational Research in Nlgerisu One of the major problems militating against scientific research in general and educational research in particular is the complete absence of a clear cut philosophy of national development, a philosophy which should spell out the direction in which Nigeria wants to channel its development efforts, a philosophy that should not change no matter how frequently political power changes hands. With the frequent changes of political power in Nigeria and the attendant instability, inconsistency and incoherence in governmental policies and programmes, the practitioner in the education industry, including the researcher, is left confused. Before the researcher concludes an evaluative study of a particular programme or policy, it is either discarded or replaced with a different, sometimes completely divergent policy or programme. Political instability has also taken its toll on the educational and research institutes in Nigeria. The academic calendar is frequently disrupted: there are strikes, lockouts, closures and general social upheavals - and all these can influence the orientation, timing, process and quality of any research activity in the field of education. And yet, the politician or policy maker out there is waiting, with his characteristic suspicion of, and impatience with the education researcher. A consistent, coherent and comprehensive philosophy of national development is essential for concerted research effort. Similarly, until recently, not much was done to set up appropriate policy making bodies to guide activities in the area of educational research. The ministry of science and technology dates back less than one decade and there is no separate ministry in charge of higher education. Even the NERDC is a relatively recent creation. And until 1977, no clear-cut policy statement on functional education was evolved. As pointed out in passing earlier, the resources available for research are grossly inadequate just as is the case too in many other African countries. Even when special funds are provided for research, they are too inadequate to meet .the research needs of Nigeria. Consequently, developing African countries still depend on all forms of foreign aid to support research, such as those provided by the U.S.A.I.D. and the U.N.E.S.C.O. The fear and uncertainly in certain quarters today is whether the 20 to 30% funding level accounted for by foreign aid would be maintained, in view of the ongoing restructuring in the global political and economic order, and, especially, in view of the implications of Nigeria's suspension from the Commonwealth. And there is the rapidly dwindling national economy which makes it doubtful if Nigeria herself can continue to maintain 70 - 80% share for research and development activities. The problem of inadequate infrastructure dates back to the colonial era and has remained ever

since. Today, there is a gross shortage of equipment for experimental research, especially hi education. Surveys are much less demanding by way of back-up equipment, and these are the more common types of .research In Nigeria. After independence, the corps of the new administrators and intelligentsia was not attracted to research, nor were the professions of science or science-based technology made attractive and respectable. Researchers do not enjoy any respect in the Nigerian context. All these factors formed some of the reasons identified as militating against research activities when the Africa Ministers of Science and Technology met in Arusha in July, 1987. Problems identified as having prevented the achievement of the goals of the 1980 Lagos Plan of action included the failure of many countries to allocate adequate hinds to research, the shortage of well-trained personnel, and the lack of infrastructure and a special status for scientists. The Body also alluded to the political instability and the fragile nature of African economies, further worsened by the burden of debt servicing. Apart from these major forces, mere are other socio-psychological problems that also inhibit research efforts in Nigeria. There is the factor of ethnic heterogeneity. Except care is taken in planning and conducting research, wrong conclusions about the incidence of some condition could sometimes be drawn through basing the observation on a section of the population which is not representative of the whole. Certain socio-cultural factors indigenous to the Nigerian scene could also combine to impede research efforts in Nigeria. For instance, it has been shown elsewhere (Jimoh, 1986), that the average Nigerian does not like to reveal his true intention or belief or identity to other people, especially those considered to be outsiders, for fear they might harm him or stand between him and progress. Among the superstitious beliefs still current among some groups of Nigerians is the belief that children are not to be counted. Similarly, Nigerians do not seem to have acquired a scientific concept of causality. They see themselves as helpless animals being moved around and worked upon by forces outside of themselves, such as their dead ancestors. Research hi education is a scientific activity which has no room for superstitious beliefs. Again, as a result of cultural factors, Nigerians still largely regard certain concepts, issues and topics as taboo subjects that should not be discussed in public or openly. And although the Nigerian undergraduate might discuss sex, family planning, politics, AIDS with his coevals, he might feel too shy or otherwise uncomfortable to let an adult (and a stranger at that) into the secret of how he feels about any of these subjects. Upon the whole, it does not appear that the culture of research, whether in education or in any other area, has been properly developed yet in Nigeria, with the result that policy makers and even human participants are very skeptical about educational research. Research is time consuming and requires full time of total commitment. In Nigeria, the conditions do not permit researchers to be fully committed to their calling. There is economic hardship; people spend long hours on queues to buy fuel into their vehicles; there is general insecurity (of life and tenure of office); researchers are not given due recognition; there is economic depression; systems of transportation and communication are inadequate, and several man hours are lost everyday; there is a general resistance to innovation and change among those who would utilize the theories evolved from extensive research endeavours; record keeping is so inadequate in many institutions that the researcher spends much longer time retrieving relevant pieces of information. Even if, as a Nigerian, the researcher decides to devote himself entirely to research endeavours, the demands of the extended family system would make this almost impossible.

The Way Forward For an art that is still less than 100 years old, the prospects of research in education would appear to be very bright. A lot has been done by government and non-governmental agencies, but a lot still remains to be done. The following suggestions are put forward.

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A philosophy of national development must be evolved and everything must be done to give appropriate legal backing to bodies concerned with research and research-related activities. Policy-making bodies should be set up to guide research activities. Appropriate government agencies should also ensure that research activities are backed up by adequate infrastructure, adequate personnel and adequate funding. Over-reliance on foreign aid would only reduce the relevance of research activities to the Nigerian situation. In order to sustain scientific and technological impetus, and notwithstanding the general depression, subSaharan nations must inject huge amounts of funds into initiating and expanding training and research facilities. In 1984, Cameroon promulgated a decree establishing a Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to coordinate and organise higher education and scientific research, supervise all research activities, and actively reorient the populace in the adoption and promotion of a science culture in the country (Nkwi, 1992). Such an arrangement is long overdue in Nigeria. There is need for practitioners to come together and have a register of educational researchers. Such a body would men evolve a code of conduct to guide members and Ethics Committees should be established at national, state and institutional levels. In preparing its constitution or priority list, such a body of practitioners would need to emphasize practical, action-oriented research that can easily be applied in solving particular problems facing education. Such problems as examination malpractice, education standards, staff morals, AIDS, indiscipline, corruption, rising wave of crimes, etc. could be given priority attention. Part of the function of such a body would be to ensure proper and adequate dissemination of information, like the Dissertation Abstracts published regularly in some other parts of the world. As at now, practitioners have no way of knowing what their colleagues in other research institutes are doing, and this can lead to unintentional replication or wasteful duplication of efforts. Through such a national body of research practitioners, syndicates can be formed to examine particular topics from their respective cultural perspectives in order to arrive at conclusions that can be valid for the very diverse groups that form Nigeria. The publishing culture is virtually dead hi Nigeria. Publishers now only accept materials suitable for use as school texts which attract ready market. Highly scholarly materials do not appeal to publishers. Journals now charge authors heavily to publish their articles. Something needs to be done about this and foreign non-governmental bodies would still need to play a major role in this respect. The Nigerian private sector could also be encouraged to contribute to these efforts.

Conclusion The proper environment for research is not yet available in Nigeria. A conducive environment is needed for growth and utilization of research. For this to happen, many things have to be considered. These include adequate infrastructure, trained manpower, institutional capacity, and adequate financial support. It also involves motivating the entire population to adopt a science culture as a pattern of life. These and other matters call for the urgent attention of practitioners and policy makers hi Nigeria.

REFERENCES
Akinboye, I. O. (1986). 'Research Methodological Basis for Applied Psychology in Nigeria,' Nigerian Journal of Applied Psychology, 1, 1-21. Anastasi, A. (Ed) (1961). Psychological testing (2nd edition) New York: The Macmillan Co. Borg, W. R. & Gall, M. D. (1979). Educational research: an introduction. New York Unwin Ltd. Jimoh, S. A. (1972). "A Critical Appraisal of Islamic Education with particular reference to relevant happenings on the Nigeria Scene" Nigerian Journal of Islam, 2 (1). Jimoh, S. A. (1986). 'Nigerians' Concept of Death and its Implications for counselling in Nigeria" International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 8, 7583.

Jimoh, S. A.. (Ed) (199S). Research methodology in education an interdisciplinary approach, florin University Publications Committee. Nkwi, P. N. (1992) "Funding Research hi African" Chicago AAAS Publication based on the of Science pp. 25 - 42. symposium organised by the American Association for the Advancement