In another perspective, while we understand that education, just like business, in Nigeria may be suffering from a number of inadequacies, there should be an understanding that there are some 10 serious factors affecting quality of secondary education in Nigeria.
Just when the primary education is solid and contributorily instructive in the formation of the child’s character, the secondary education must also be better at both preparing the growing mind of the students for greater challenge. This must be with the same energy as it develops it into maturity. In a situation where this essential is lacking, the future of such a child, by extension, his attendant society, too, is bleak.
The unfortunate part of this is that, though secondary education is an integral part of the process of mental, emotional, social, spiritual, political, financial, and academic growth for the child, it is not without some debilitating factors that seem poised to run its chips down against the major goal.
Several countries have dynamic situations to explain this regrettable reality. Nigeria, for one, is an almost perfect example of a society where secondary education is daily faced with challenges that are quite alarming and destructive in function.
10 Problems Facing Quality of Secondary Education in Nigeria
Attempting to dissect 10 factors affecting quality of secondary education in Nigeria, it is discovered that the challenges are diverse. Below are the many examples of these problems or difficulties often serving as snags in the path of the sustenance of secondary education in Nigeria:
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Poor Funding
College or Secondary education in Nigeria is inadequately funded. This is reflected in the terrible condition of the schools. While educators believe that education is woefully underfunded, the government typically declares that education is a top priority in its annual budget. Nigeria’s education is funded by the federal government through the Ministry of Education.
On April 16, 2018, the federal ministry of education reported that Nigeria’s education funding at all levels is below the threshold suggested by the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). While this organisation recommends supporting education at 15% to 20% of the national budget and 6% of GDP, Nigeria has allocated 7% of the national budget to education funding.
Since 1999 when democratic governance returned, the annual budgetary allocation to education in Nigeria has been between four percent and 10 percent. In the year 2015, Nigeria’s education sector was again allocated much lower than the national budget recommended by the United Nations.
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Lack of Qualified Teachers
Teaching is a deliberate and comprehensive profession. It is not supposed to be an all comers affairs that politicians have turned it to. The major reason is political because governors what to please and settle their supporters without minding its implication.
A qualified and skilled teacher is someone who has received professional training at an institution of education or university to do a specific teaching position. Colleges, universities, and educational faculty teach this person in methods, skills, and subject area mastery. The rate of incompetent teachers in Nigeria is quite high, owing to the political class’s belief that the best place to dump their political cruelty is in the classroom.
Throughout the enrollment, the majority of instructors engaged are bachelor of science holders in other fields such as engineering, law, and medical laboratories, which has a negative impact on the educational sector. It is also consistent with the statement made by the Teacher Registration Council of Nigeria on May 5, 2020, that 300,000 instructors in Nigerian schools are unqualified to teach.
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Inadequate Infrastructure
Another one of the factors affecting quality of secondary education in Nigeria is inadequate infrastructure. Many of secondary schools in Nigeria lack good buildings, classrooms, playgrounds, libraries, laboratories, and other educational equipment. These infrastructure constitute the learning environments in schools, where there is inadequate of infrastructure learning is affected. High quality infrastructure facilitates better instruction, improves student outcomes, and reduces dropout rates. School infrastructure is a very significant component in ensuring successful education.
Poor building conditions, such as leaking toilets, stinky cafeterias, damaged furniture, overly hot or cold classrooms, moldy walls, and crumbling ceilings, annoy pupils about their school’s standards and expectations. This negative assessment of the school environment leads to excessive absenteeism and poor academic achievement. A well-maintained and visually appealing school building can foster a pleasant environment for interaction and increase student attendance.
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The Insufficiency of Motivation
Lack of motivation has an impact on instructors’ efficacy and efficiency in the classroom. Motivation is what drives, guides, and maintains positive behavior in the classroom. In contrast to other professions who take pride in being recognized as authorities in their domains, many workers in educational institutions, particularly teachers, conceal their identities while they are in public. Many educators also like to leave their positions as soon as feasible in order to take ones that are more well-known and fulfilling.
Low motivation is a big contributor to this mindset. It is recommended that managers and employers implement motivating tactics aimed at improving teachers’ job performance and standing. Teachers want to enjoy their earthly rewards, just like their colleagues in other professions.
The majority of educators are dealing with a crisis in motivation, which has so far had detrimental effects on students. Since the teacher is the focal point of instruction and their happiness ensures strong academic performance, secondary school teachers face many difficulties that have an impact on student performance through teacher dissatisfaction. Among other things, inadequate pay, a shortage of supplies, and educational policies are some of the main causes of demotivation in teachers.
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Overpopulation in Classrooms
Overcrowded classroom does not allow teacher to have enough personal office space for lesson preparation, teaching in a small space is stressful for the teacher, making the teacher to focus more on the work students can complete at their desk instead of group work or team projects that require more space.
Overcrowded classrooms also prevents students form concentrating on the lessons, this is because when students seat chose to each other attention is distracted making them have difficulty focusing on the lessons which leads to low academic performance. Overcrowding is one of the most significant issues facing secondary schools and teachers today.
This problem is a combination of an increase in population, a shortage of teachers and a decrease in funding which has caused class sizes to soar. Teaching in an overcrowded classroom brings stress sand frustration for teachers and students.
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Bad Management and Supervision
The management and supervision of secondary education in Nigeria is done by state ministry of education and its school’s board in various state. The school boards are responsible for the management of primary and secondary schools in the state. To provide quality education requires effective management of the human and material resources in the sector, supervision which is a part of education administration is important if the goals of education will be realized.
The supervisors have deviated from the work of correction to victimization of teachers by collecting bribe without correcting the abnormal unethical and disparity in the school system.
In our secondary education, supervision is needed to ensure that individual teacher within the school system had been performing the duties for which he was employed and to improve the effectiveness of teachers so that they could contribute meaningfully to the attainment of the system’s goal. The aim of instructional supervision is to improve teaching and learning process for the benefit of the student, teacher and society.
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Dilapidated School Facilities and Equipment
These school facilities includes science equipment, machineries, furniture, (chairs, tables and book shelves) modern educational hardware and software in the form of magnetic tapes, firms, and transparent stripes. All these school facilities are needed for effective teaching and learning to take place. They are made to enhance the process of teaching.
In Nigeria, most public secondary schools today have these facilities in obsolete or old fashion which is affecting the learning conditions in the schools, therefore the dilapidated nature of these facilities is so alarming that most parents prefer sending their children to private schools where they can be expose to newly facilities in school.
The dilapidated facilities in public secondary schools are demoralizing students who want to study some science courses in high institutions and special education structures. For example students are admitted to study science courses without good laboratories no computer no workshops center no maps charts and cardboards.
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Improper Placement of Teachers
In most secondary educational institutions, teachers are assigned to schools and classrooms without regard for their subject area of specialisation or discipline, and juniors are recruited to head older teachers without regard for the administrative and management challenges that would arise.
For instance, a university-rained primary education will be assigned to a secondary school to teach kids senior secondary topics such as Biology, Chemistry, and other certificate subjects. This end up creating a vacuum and misconception of subject matter because no teach will give what he or she do not have.
Seniority is neglected in appointment of school principals and vice which lead to truancy among the teachers and most times teachers develop negative attitude that impede their administrative and instructional duties which in turn after students in their overt and covert behavior.
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Lack of Professional Training
A key component of creating a productive learning environment for students is teacher professional development. This involves giving teachers, new and experienced alike, the tools they need to do their jobs well. When teachers are well-prepared for their roles, they will perform well.
For example, a teacher with training is probably going to do better than a teacher without training in the same field. Apart from the training acquired during university programme, there are various ways of training teachers to improve their methodology, skills and knowledge.
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Poor Knowledge of ICT
When it comes to using technology, ICT students frequently run into issues like not having access to computers or other ICT tools, not having government support, not having an alternate power source available, not having enough money to maintain the ICT facilities that they already have, not having enough training, not knowing how the equipment works, not being proficient in ICT teaching methods, and not having enough teacher training.
Extras
Other areas where the secondary education is confronting challenges are listed below and in the order of which they need immediate attention and solution:
- Nepotism in Teacher Recruitment
- Politicization of Education
- Insufficient Instructional Materials
- Curriculum Deficiencies
- Poor Parental Upbringing
- Varied Educational Systems
- Staff Instability
- Low Teacher Morale
- Lack of Guiding and Counselling Functions in Schools
- Poor Classroom Management
- Prospects
- Recommendations for Improvement
