SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL POLICIES IN NIGERIA AND THE UNITED
STATES: THE BENEFITS OF COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES
Sadiq A. Abdullahi, Ed. D.
Social Studies, Global Education, and School Improvement.
Homestead Senior High School
2351 SE 12th Avenue, Homestead, Fl 33035
Tel; 305-245-7000
Email: abdullahis@dadeschools.net
abdullah@fiu.edu
A paper presented at the 10th Annual AfriCANDO 2007 Hemispheric Summit on African
Cultures and Development of the Foundation for Democracy in Africa, Miami, FL,
September 19 -22, 2007.
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to discuss secondary education
policies in Nigeria within the context of school reform initiatives in
America. The paper uses the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) reform plan
in Nigeria and the No Child Left Behind Act in America as frameworks for
the comparative discussion.
Introduction
For almost 50 years of self-rule, through the process of nationbuilding, the transition to democracy, and several educational policies,
Nigeria continues to struggle to improve education in spite of the
technical
and
financial
assistance
given
by
the
United
Nations
Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the
World Bank (WB). In Nigeria and the United States, the federal
governments continue to be involved in education through the education
departments and other educational agencies. Two significant reform
plans are addressed in this paper: the Public Private Partnership (Federal
Ministry of education, 2006) and the No Child Left Behind Act (United
States Department of Education, 2001) America. The Miami-Dade
County Public School’s Secondary School Reform plan offers examples of
how
state
constitutional
provisions
and
federal
mandates
are
implemented at the school site. The local school boards have the primary
responsibility for overseing the formulation, writing, and dissemination of
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educational policies. The local teacher union plays a significant role in
the process.
Nigerian Education System
The Nigerian education establishment has failed to meet its state
constitutional obligations and the goals in the National Development
Plan (NDP) of the 1970s. The objectives of the NDP are to build (1) a free
and democratic society, (2) a just and egalitarian society, (3) a united,
strong and self reliant nation, (4) a great and dynamic economy, (5) a
land of bright and full opportunity for all citizens (Federal Republic of
Nigeria, 1981). This reform plan of the 1970s has guided the nation’s
educational policies through the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s with little or
no tangible results. This has made education observers of Nigerian
education to conclude that the major problem facing primary and
education in Nigeria is not the absence of informed, rational, and
thoughtful reform plan, but the lack of willingness on the part of policy
makers charged with the responsibility of implementing educational
policies. Others have questioned the cimmitment of state and local
governments officials running Nigerian schools.
For example, in 2006, the Federal Ministry of Education released a
major report on education. The report, Education Reform and Intervention
-Vision 2020: The Role of the Nigerian Education Sector, lays out the
rationale and agenda for the promotion and the implementation of the
Private Public Partnership (PPP). The PPP allows the federal government to
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restructure the 105 federal secondary schools across the nation. But it
allows the system to retain some of the vestiges of colonial education
policies (Abdullahi, 2007). Professor Aluko (2007) believes that the
“present PPP reform program violates both the economic and educational
objectives of the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State
policy enshrined in our present Constitution.”
The federal government also issued another significant reform
initiative called the National Economic Empowerment and Development
Strategy (NEEDS). This reform plan has implications for education. The
goal is to mobilize the resources of Nigeria to make a fundamental break
with the failures of the past. The aim is to create a new Nigerian citizen
who values hard work and who realizes that one cannot have something
for nothing. It is expected that the economic and development agenda
under NEEDS is complemented by other reform agendas, particularly the
education agenda.
As a result of these initiatives, the role of the federal government in
education has drastically changed. For example, the federal government
has moved from the management of education to an enabler and
facilitator of the education system (Federal Ministry of Education, 2006).
This means more federal government involvement in education. With a
new President and more money from the federal government for
education and the state government’s increasing the education budget,
the enforcement and implementation of educational reform and policies
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can given top priority. In many respects, the Nigerian education system
now mirrors the American education system, a gradual shift from the
British colonial education system. (Federal Government of Nigeria, 2006).
American Education System
Traditionally, public elementary and secondary education has been
the responsibility of the state government in America. The state
government delegates authority to the local school districts through the
school board. The federal government has always had an interest in
education because of national security and economic development
interests. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the federal government
has exerted more influence in education through executive directives and
legislative mandates. These directives and mandates from state and
federal governments have influenced educational policies at the state and
local levels.
For example, between 1950 and 1980, there has been a series of
major influential reports released by professional associations and
organizations. Some of the reports where sponsored by the American
national government. One of such report is A Nation at Risk. The authors
made several recommendations, one of which was to establish a common
core
curriculum
and
academic
standards.
Others
include
standardization of subject and content areas and school district reform
agenda. States and school districts that comply are deemed eligible for
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financial support. Sanctions are also levied when states and schools
districts failed to meet the objectives.
In 1994, Congress, working with President W. J. Clinton,
reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA).
This
Act
gave
the
guidelines
for
implementing
curriculum
and
performance standards, aligning standards to assessment and setting
accountability systems. Shortly after, Goals 2000: Educate America Act
was passed. The Act aimed at ensuring that all states have the tools to
aid all students to reach their full potential. The Act also gave the local
school districts the authority to establish performance and content
standards in order to ensure the increase in student achievement.
In 2001, Congress passed NCLB Act under President George W.
Bush. The Act reauthorized and amended federal education programs.
The purpose of NCLB legislation is to eliminate the achievement gap that
exists between groups of students within our nation’s schools (U.S.
Department of Education, 2004). The intent is to bridge the barriers of
ethnicity, wealth, religion, and race. It supports the theories of
standards-based education and the scientifically based research. The
goals are that (1) all students, including those with limited English
proficiency, will reach high standards by 2014, (2) all students will be
taught by highly qualified teachers by 2006, (3) all students will be
educated in learning environments that are safe, drug-free, and
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conducive to learning, and (4) all students will graduate from high
school.
The NCLB legislation has four main provisions: (1) Stronger
accountability for results by increasing school accountability through
testing. States will be required to implement a system of accountability in
all schools. Districts and schools will show annual progress and make
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). AYP measures the progress of individual
states toward the 100 percent goal of students achieving academic
standards. (2) Teacher quality- states have to guarantee that all teachers
of core-subjects are highly qualified by 2006. (3)
Parental choice. (4)
Increased flexibility for states, school district, and schools to. States have
the authority to design and implement programs and use up to 50
percent of the funds in areas of teacher quality, technology, safety and
drug-free environments, and promoting Title 1 program.
Furthermore, Congress has supported the creation of Small
Learning
Communities
Department
of
(SLC)
Education
reform
initiatives.
Smaller
Building
learning
on
the
Communities
recommendations and the reauthorization of SLC program, Congress has
allowed school districts to use the SLC funds to (1) study the feasibility of
creating smaller learning communities, (2) research, develop, and
implement strategies for creating smaller learning communities, (3)
provide professional development for schools staff in the teaching
methods that would be used in the smaller learning communities, and (4)
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develop
and
implement
strategies
to
include
parents,
business
representatives, community-based organizations, and other community
members in the activities of smaller learning communities (United States
Department of Education, 2007).
Secondary School Reform Plan in Miami-Dade County Schools (MDCPS)
The Superintendent of MDCPS, Rudolph Crew (2007), writes that
“a large urban district like Miami-Dade faces a flat world…poverty and
limited language skills conspire against many of our students.
As
educators and as a community, we have to lean hard against the trends
of the flat world for our students to make any progress at all in being
prepared to flourish in that world. The goal is a simple one – to ensure
that our middle schools and high schools deliver an education that will
assure our students graduate, ready for college and the careers of a
global
economy.” The
secondary
schools
M-DCPS
into
smaller
reform
effort
learning
involves
entities
called
organizing
“learning
communities” or “learning academies.” The goal is to fundamentally
restructure secondary schools to more effectively meet the needs of all
students (M-DCPS, 2007; UTD contract, 2006-2009).
The plan is aimed at engaging and restructuring middle and senior
high school to include career academies or small learning communities
in order to prepare students for the workforce. More parental and
business community involvement is expected. There are six core
principles guiding the plan: (1) personalized learning environment, (2)
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academic engagement of all students, (3) empowered educators, (4)
accountable leaders, (5) engaged community and youth, and (6)
integrated
system
of
high
standards,
curriculum,
instruction,
assessment, and support. For example, the 9th grade academy helps
students transition into high school. More honors and advanced
placement courses are offered. Senior either work in an internship
provided by a local business or enroll in college courses (MDCPS, 2007).
The MDCPS Implementation Plan: In Year 1- 2006-2007, eleven
senior high schools were initiated in the new reform plan. In Year 2, it is
that all senior high schools will be given the option to implement the
reform plan for the subsequent school year. Once 80 percent of all high
schools have elected to implement the reform plan, the plan will be the
school model for the District in subsequent years (UTD contract, 20062009).
Conclusion
There is data from other nations supporting sound educational
policy decisions. In order to support primary and secondary school
operations, the school site principal or supervising administrator has
been given the authority by the school board to enforce and implement
programs consistent with state board of education policy, federal
mandates, and the states statues. This is consistent with school
operational procedures in Nigeria. The secondary education curriculum
and administrative policy agenda should be aligned with the goals of
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NEEDS and the constitutional provisions in order to ensure humancapital, economic, and political development. This will enable the new
education President to strenghten the role of the federal government, and
this generation and future generations of Nigerians to demonstrate a
commitment to the fundamental principles of democracy and to the
political and economic goals.
References
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