NATIONAL TEACHERS INSTITUTE, NUHU BAMALI POLYTECHNIC,

SAMARU KATAF STUDY CENTRE, KADUNA STATE.

COURSE TITLE: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

COURSE CODE: 707

NAME: OKOTIE GODWIN EWORITSE

REG NO: NTI/PGDE/2023/0253

ASSIGNMENT

IS EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL POSSIBLE IN

NIGERIA? DISCUSS

SUBMITTED TO

MR. DANIEL ADAMU

AUGUST, 2023
Introduction
Education in any given society has always been regarded as a strong
weapon for nation building. It has a role to play in the economic, political
and social growth and development of any nation. The importance of
education to any society, Nigeria inclusive, cannot be over emphasized.
Equality of education means that educational policy in a state or nation
should have one measure reaching all the territorial integrity of the state,
for all the citizens of the state to receive equal educational opportunity. It
implies that any two children of the same abilities shall receive equivalent
forms of assistance in developing those abilities. Equality of educational
can only exists when a child’s educational opportunity does not depend
upon either his parent’s economic circumstances or his location within the
state.
Equal educational opportunities for all in Nigeria can not be possible even
though the government have made several efforts towards it’s achievement
but still all to no avail. Below are some of the reasons why equal
educational opportunities for all in the country is difficult to achieve.

Obstacles to Equal Educational Opportunity in Nigeria

 Socio-economic Inequalities: This is a common problem in every
society. In Nigeria too, there exist the people of upper, middle and
lower classes. The inequality in income and status among these
individuals in the society make the whole idea of equal educational
opportunity almost impracticable. “The socio-economic differences do
not only determine an individual’s level of mental development but
also determine access to any level of education” (Enoh, 1992).

 High tuition fees: Demand for and payment of school fees in

whatever form is another obstacle to the realization of equal
educational opportunity in Nigeria. In this, it is only the children of the
rich ones that are able to meet the demand of schools fees which
eventually gives them advantage over their counterparts who could
not pay such fees.
 Differences Between Urban and Rural Areas: There is inequality in
the distribution of certain essential and basic infrastructure by the
government in this country. In the urban areas, there are usually
abundant social amenities including standard and well equipped
schools compared with scanty social amenities and poorly equipped
schools in the rural areas. Children studying in schools in the rural
areas are at disadvantage and yet, they have to compete with the
children in urban areas in several public examinations and qualifying
tests before being admitted into higher institutions.

 Level of Intelligence: Intelligence is both the product of heredity and

environment. In this case, two individuals with identical innate
intelligence will not necessarily have the same level of general
intelligence development if their environment is different. The
improved environment of one gives him an advantage to succeed in
school over his counterpart who grew up in a poor environment. To
these two, there can hardly be equality of educational Opportunity.

 The Quota System of Admission: The application of the quota

system of admission involves the principle of discriminating against
prospective university candidates, simply because they happen to be
citizens of certain states of the federation.

 Gender Discrimination: Girls in Nigeria face sets of barriers to equal

educational opportunity. These include child marriage, early
pregnancy, domestic labour and human trafficking. Parents are seen
reluctant to send their female child to school to acquire a formal
education which is mostly seen in the northern part of the country
making them not to be opportune to have equal educational
opportunities as citizens of the country unlike their male counterpart.

 Limited Admission Spaces/The Problems of Carrying Capacity: A

major barrier to access to universities in Nigeria is carrying capacity
of the universities. There is a surging demand for university education
in Nigeria. As a result, the universities need to be expanded in terms
of infrastructure, facilities and manpower to meet the teeming
students population seeking admission. Since this has not been met
by the government, it leads to people trying at all cost to find their
way into the available ones which could result to even paying huge
 amount of money for such opportunity making gaining admission into
higher institute of learning in Nigeria now is not in all cases by merit.

Conclusion
Nigeria needs to improve on her equality of educational opportunity,
therefore there is need to recognize the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic
formation of the people of this country. The country should be able to offer
her citizens educational programmes to cater for their different interests. To
make the equal educational opportunity a reality the government should
design the curricula, and programmes as well as teaching methods and
instructional materials to facilitate learning and increase students’ chances
of achieving success.

Recommendation
 To ensure educational equality in Nigeria, it is necessary that all
inequalities and discrimination based on sex, state, religion, tribe,
language and certain traditional and cultural practices be abolished.
 Government should reduce the tuition fees for it’s schools to allow all
learners of all class have equal and affordable access to quality
education.
 Government should base admission policy entirely on merit.
Reference
Adesulu, B. (2014). Limited Admission Spaces: Way Out of Admission
Problems by Stakeholders. In Vanguard Newspapers Ltd, Thursday, Nov.
13, 2014.
Obanya, P., 2009, Dreaming Living and Doing Education. Ibadan:
Education Research and Study group.
Amaele, S. (2003, June). Equality of man and equality of educational
opportunities in Nigeria. Ilorin Journal of Education.
Onah J.O. (1998). Balancing the Increase of Access to Education with
Upliftment of Academic Standard in Nigeria. A Paper Presented to the
Nigerian Academy of Education. Ikeja, Lagos.