Nigeria is by far the most populous country in Africa with approximately 120 million inhabitants, the majority of which are children. Some 56 percent of Nigerians are under the age of 15. With the improvement of the quality and capacity of basic education as one of its major development initiatives, schooling Nigeria’s children has become a daunting task. Our Nigerian classrooms are overflowing. Urban classrooms in public schools average approximately 65 students while those in rural areas average between 35 and 40. Schools lack sufficient numbers of teachers, particularly qualified teachers, and local governments cannot keep up with the teacher training that is so critical to their success. As a result, the quality of the children’s education is suffering: about half the students at the end of Primary six fail their common entrance exams, junior secondary and senior secondary school students fail their final exams. Governments are also overburdened in their efforts to administer school systems. Meanwhile, many communities are not getting involved with their local schools to help find solutions to this educational crisis. In 1999, President Obasanjo announced the Universal Basic Education policy that seeks to provide high-quality basic education to all school-age children but this educationis still forthcoming. I hope and pray that the educational part of Nigeria is carefully looked into by our leaders so that, we might reap the full benefits of our “Leaders of Tomorrow”.
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