Most famous men like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford etc were labeled drop-outs just because they could not complete their formal education in a classroom setting.  What really is education?  Education in my view, is the knowledge in basic skills, academics, technical, discipline, and citizenship.  Education could be formal or informal. It is formal when there is impartation of knowledge through classroom learning.  It is informal when there is acquisition of knowledge through other means like learning a trade or skill in a workshop or other places.

The purpose of this hub however is to take another look at the education policy in Nigeria and how free it is in the real sense of it.  The focus is also on government owned schools i.e. public schools. In Nigeria, we operate a new system of education called the 9-year basic education programme.  Hitherto, Nigeria operated an education programme called the 6-3-3-4 system of education.  This implies 6 years in primary school, 3 years in junior secondary school, 3 years in senior secondary school, and 4 years in the university.  After the 6 years in primary school, a child is expected to take an entrance examination and if successful, he/she proceeds to 3 years each in junior and senior secondary schools before taking another entrance examination to the 4-year university programme.  This system has been operating successfully, though not without difficulties.  Part of the noticed disadvantage was the fact that some people choose to learn one trade or the other after completing the 6 years primary school.  This leaves them half-baked as most people could hardly obtain basic education at this level that will enable them to be able to read and write.

Recently, the Federal Government of Nigeria having considered the above disadvantage and many others, adopted a new system of education called the 9-year basic education programme.  The curriculum for the new education programme requires a child to go through a 9-year free, universal and compulsory school programme at the end of which he/she will either terminate his/her education for whatever reason or proceed to the next level i.e. a 3-year senior education programme.  In effect, the 1^st 9-year free, universal and compulsory school programme is compulsory and free and unlike the old system where the child is expected to take an entrance examination after the 6-year primary school, the new system encourages the child to continue to the 3-year junior secondary school without any entrance examination i.e. 1-9 years basic, compulsory, universal and free education.  This, in my view, is a good idea as a child is expected to have been able to read and write and even gain a good communication skill at the end of the 9-year programme.  He/she can proceed to the next level in the hierarchy of education or utilize the knowledge already gained and divert to another area of life, such as learn a trade.

The whole idea behind the 1-9 years compulsory and free education programme in Nigeria is indeed a welcomed development. What however borders my mind is government’s sincerity in providing free education and the sincerity of those at the implementation stage.  The free education policy should not only be seen to be free but must also be free in its application.  For the 1-9 years compulsory and free education to be effective, government should be able to provide free text books, exercise books, uniforms, pencils, biros, rulers and other writing materials and every other item needed to make life comfortable during the 9-year period of the free education.  The salaries of the teachers should also be paid as at when due.  The teachers and the school authorities should be discouraged from imposing any form of levy on the pupils and their guardians.  If it is free, it should be free in all ramifications.

With the above, I believe the government’s 9-year free education programme in Nigeria will be a success and receive the support of all and sundry.