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Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in Nigeriaschools. Moreover, <strong>the</strong> data collection process and subsequent discussions with stakeholders about<strong>the</strong> results have indicated a need to clarify many aspects <strong>of</strong> IQTE school administration, support, andtargeted pupil population.Source: USAID (2013a: 3)In <strong>the</strong> 2010 NEDS, 27% <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> school-age children from Muslim households surveyed attendedexclusively Qur’anic schools and ano<strong>the</strong>r 24% attended both Qur’anic and formal academic schools(which include integrated IQTE schools). Numbers were highest in <strong>the</strong> nor<strong>the</strong>rn states; in <strong>the</strong> sou<strong>the</strong>rnstates less than 5% <strong>of</strong> children from Muslim households only attend Qur’anic schools (NPC and RTIInternational 2011).However, <strong>the</strong> actual scale and nature <strong>of</strong> this provision is hard to establish. Antoninis (2012) cites anESSPIN school census from three out <strong>of</strong> 44 LGAs in Kano State, stating that 1,185 Qur’anic and Islamiyyaschools were identified – eight times <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> secular schools. In terms <strong>of</strong> inclusion in EMIS data,as highlighted in Chapter 2, this depends on whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> school teaches secular subjects. Even <strong>the</strong>n it isnot that straightforward: citing two ESSPIN surveys in Kano State, which has been particularly proactivein backing <strong>the</strong> integration programme, Antoninis (2012) reported how religious authorities vastlyunderestimated <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> religious schools by not including unregistered Qur’anic schools, whereas<strong>the</strong> secular school authorities overestimated <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> Islamiyya schools that had actually beenintegrated in practice. Like secular government schools, Islamic schools that are aiming to integratesuffer from a lack <strong>of</strong> capacity and funding to implement <strong>the</strong> integration (Antoninis 2012). In 2009/10,Jigawa State, for example, had only managed to integrate 27 out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 270 Islamic schools it had aimedto convert per year (Jigawa SMoE 2010).7.5.1 Reasons for choosing Islamic schooling over secular schoolingSeveral studies (e.g. Abd-El-Khalik et al. 2006; Antoninis 2012) suggest that <strong>the</strong> motivation <strong>of</strong>parents/guardians in enrolling <strong>the</strong>ir children in Islamic schools is not necessarily entirely religious;parents/guardians consider many Islamic schools to <strong>of</strong>fer a better quality <strong>of</strong> education too, with greatercommunity involvement and teachers that are more committed and responsive to <strong>the</strong> needs <strong>of</strong> parents(ESSPIN Briefing Note n.d.; see also Section 2.3). The 2010 NEDS data would appear to confirm this too,as religion was only chosen by around 1% <strong>of</strong> parents/guardians as <strong>the</strong> most important factor in schoolchoice, lagging well behind quality and school proximity (NPC and RTI International 2011).Although perceptions <strong>of</strong> low quality in government schools are substantiated by <strong>the</strong> limited research<strong>the</strong>re is on school quality (see chapters 3 and 4), religious schools are not necessarily substantially betterin terms <strong>of</strong> conditions and learning outcomes (see USAID 2013a). For example, although USAID’s EGRAand EGMA in Bauchi and Sokoto found that pupils in <strong>the</strong> schools had higher scores in both states thanchildren in government primary schools (particularly in relation to Hausa), <strong>the</strong>ir performance leveloverall was still low (USAID 2013a, b and c). ESSPIN’s report on <strong>the</strong>ir IQTE programme claims goodattendance rates (around 65%) and ‘impressive learning outcomes’, with a pass rate <strong>of</strong> 75% onstandardised tests administered by SUBEB and LGEA teams (ESSPIN 2013b). However, <strong>the</strong>se test resultsdo not appear to have been independently assessed.In addition, IQTE is also said to increase <strong>the</strong> participation <strong>of</strong> girls in school, where Muslim parents innor<strong>the</strong>rn areas in particular may be more willing to send girls to Islamiyya schools than to secular publicschools (FMWASD 2010; ESSPIN 2013b). One reason for this is that <strong>the</strong>y are considered to be safer(Okojie 2008). Half <strong>of</strong> public primary schools in Kano are now integrated Islamiyya schools, according to<strong>the</strong> 2012 ASC (Kano SMoE 2012), and <strong>the</strong> figures bear this out: whereas <strong>the</strong> enrolment ratios for publicprimary schools as a whole indicate more boys (51.6) than girls (48.4), <strong>the</strong> figures for integratedIslamiyya schools indicate a far greater proportion <strong>of</strong> girls (56.8) than boys (43.2).EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 75
Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in NigeriaAlthough some qualitative research has shown that that some more traditional Muslim communitiescontinue to not want to send <strong>the</strong>ir children/wards to secular government schools on religious or moralgrounds, believing <strong>the</strong>m to be un-Islamic, too westernised, and/or a corrupting influence (Chege et al.2008; Okojie 2008; Nyemutu-Roberts et al. 2009; ActionAid 2011; UNICEF 2012; Dunne et al. 2013), thiswould seem to be a small and dwindling minority. In <strong>the</strong> 2004 ESA survey <strong>of</strong> traditional leaders, mistrust<strong>of</strong> ‘western’ education came low on <strong>the</strong> list <strong>of</strong> possible constraints to <strong>the</strong>ir participating in educationalmanagement (4%); poverty was cited far more widely as a constraint (57%) (FME 2005). In fact, manymallams are now said to be active partners in IQTE in ESSPIN-supported states (ESSPIN 2013b).7.6 Early Childhood Care and EducationECCE began as a private sector initiative but came onto <strong>the</strong> government’s educational agenda in <strong>the</strong>2004 education policy (FME 2005), with <strong>the</strong> aims <strong>of</strong> effecting a smooth transition from home to schooland to provide care while parents/guardians go out to work (FME 2004a). In order to implement this,government wanted pre-primary provision to be established in existing primary schools so as toencourage private and community efforts to make up <strong>the</strong> shortfall (ibid.).Initially only covering children ages three to five, it now covers children from zero to five. As <strong>the</strong> care <strong>of</strong>young children has traditionally been a collective practice, many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> younger children were alreadybeing cared for informally in <strong>the</strong> community (FME 2005). A policy directive from <strong>the</strong> NCE in 2013 nowrequires all public primary schools <strong>of</strong>fer a compulsory year <strong>of</strong> pre-primary education.The 2004 ESA conducted a survey <strong>of</strong> almost 900 ECC/pre-primary/nursery education centres sampledacross all states and <strong>the</strong> FCT, including both formal and informal centres (FME 2005). The findings were:Almost two-thirds were located in urban areas and just over a third were in rural areas;Traditional non-formal childcare centres were primarily located in urban areas in sou<strong>the</strong>rn andcentral states;Three-quarters <strong>of</strong> formal pre-schools were located in schools; just over a tenth were in residentialhomes and a tenth were in churches;Over a quarter <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> sampled schools had children with special needs, albeit with no provision forthose needs;State curricula were generally being used, although <strong>the</strong> documentation was not widely available;English was <strong>the</strong> MOI for just under three-quarters <strong>of</strong> schools, with <strong>the</strong> language <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> immediateenvironment used for just over a quarter <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> schools;The main teaching methods included story-telling and ‘indigenous stimulation techniques’ such asgames, jokes and role play;Resources were lacking in most cases;The main health issues for <strong>the</strong> children were said to be malaria (affecting over a quarter) and coughs(affecting around a fifth);Well over half <strong>the</strong> pre-schools were privately owned and most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> informal centres wereunregistered; andAttendance or admission records were <strong>the</strong> most available pieces <strong>of</strong> documentation but only <strong>the</strong>re inunder a third <strong>of</strong> cases (FME 2005).One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ESA studies looked at <strong>the</strong> unit costs <strong>of</strong> schooling across <strong>the</strong> different levels <strong>of</strong> schooling andfound that pre-primary unit costs per annum were significantly higher, on average, than primary unitcosts, on account <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> greater financial commitment by government to <strong>the</strong> larger public primarysector (FME 2005). The comparison also <strong>the</strong>refore underlines <strong>the</strong> fact that formal pre-primary educationis <strong>the</strong> preserve <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> relatively better <strong>of</strong>f.EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 76
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