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Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in Nigeria9.8 ConflictThere is scarcely any academic <strong>literature</strong> on conflict and education in Nigeria, although <strong>the</strong> explicittargeting and burning <strong>of</strong> schools and killing <strong>of</strong> students and teachers by <strong>the</strong> Islamist militant group BokoHaram (which loosely translates as ‘western education is forbidden/sinful’) in <strong>the</strong> North East hasbrought <strong>the</strong> issue into sharp relief. In an Amnesty International report (2013) based on newspaperreports and interviews with a range <strong>of</strong> government and civilian respondents, primarily in Borno State, itwas estimated that over 1,000 teachers have been forced to flee and up to 15,000 children have beenforced out <strong>of</strong> school. The NEI’s mid-term <strong>review</strong> noted <strong>the</strong> substantial increase in numbers <strong>of</strong> OVCs incommunities in Bauchi and Sokoto on account <strong>of</strong> displaced people resulting from <strong>the</strong> conflict inneighbouring states (Larcom et al. 2013).In May 2013, Borno SUBEB directed all staff to stay at home and many schools in <strong>the</strong> state capital,Maiduguri, were closed for several months and students could not sit exams. In addition, teachers havereported threats and intimidation, especially teachers <strong>of</strong> English, resulting in low morale and adverselyaffecting <strong>the</strong>ir ability to teach (ibid.). Teachers in Borno felt <strong>the</strong>y were not getting sufficient protectionand called on government to fence <strong>the</strong> schools and to investigate <strong>the</strong> abuses. The report went on to saythat <strong>the</strong> State <strong>of</strong> Emergency declared in three states in <strong>the</strong> North East (Adamawa, Borno and Yobe) in2013 had resulted in a lack <strong>of</strong> public transport, making it impossible for some pupils and students toreach school. Poor-quality education has also been linked to <strong>the</strong> violence itself: many militants in BokoHaram have been identified as young secondary school dropouts (Danjibo 2009).Box 9.5 The impact <strong>of</strong> Boko Haram on formal schooling‘I saw <strong>the</strong> gunmen walking towards <strong>the</strong> school compound, two <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m. I was shouting at <strong>the</strong> kids toenter <strong>the</strong>ir classrooms. I think he was trying to get some peanuts from <strong>the</strong> woman that sells outside<strong>the</strong> gate. All <strong>the</strong> children were <strong>the</strong>re. They parked <strong>the</strong>ir car a few yards away and came straight to himand shot him at close range. We all ran for cover when we heard <strong>the</strong> shot. It was scary. All <strong>the</strong>children were screaming. Mallam Yusuf has been a teacher all his life. Many young men and womenhave passed through him in this state. I wonder why anybody would want to kill such a peaceful andquiet person. He was just doing his job as a teacher.’A colleague who witnessed <strong>the</strong> killing <strong>of</strong> Mallam Yusuf Mohammad, a 44-year-old teacher in a primary school inGwange III, who was shot and killed by unknown gunmen outside his school in Maiduguri in May 2013 (p. 4).‘I was in my class when all <strong>of</strong> a sudden I heard a big blast. My sister (in class 3) was killed by <strong>the</strong> bombattack. I wanted to see what was happening...we ran away from Maiduguri and came to Kangere(Bauchi state) and I’m now living with my sister in Jos…I have not been able to go to school ever since.I miss a lot <strong>of</strong> my friends in school. I’d be happy to go back to school in Kangere where my fa<strong>the</strong>r lives,but not in Maiduguri.’S.A., a 13-year-old former pupil <strong>of</strong> Janjeri primary school in Maiduguri, Borno State, who witnessed a bomb attackon his school that killed his younger sister (p. 7).‘Last month [March 2013], two members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> group came to my house in <strong>the</strong> middle <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> night,with a machete and a gun. They put a gun on my head in front <strong>of</strong> my children. My wife was crying.They told me to ei<strong>the</strong>r stop teaching English and start teaching Arabic or close <strong>the</strong> school… I told <strong>the</strong>mI can’t. I don’t know how to teach Arabic. They said if I don’t, <strong>the</strong>y’ll kill me and my entire family.’H.H. aged 44, a community schoolteacher in one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> towns in nor<strong>the</strong>rn Borno State (p. 11).‘There were no schools operating in <strong>the</strong> town before I left. One was burned by unknown gunmen. All<strong>the</strong> pupils were transferred to <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r school. Now that school has stopped functioning. It’s agovernment school. The o<strong>the</strong>r teachers said <strong>the</strong>y can’t continue to teach because <strong>the</strong>y are afraid. Thechildren just stay at home now. In fact, many <strong>of</strong> my colleagues have run away and come toMaiduguri.’A teacher from a government primary school in a town in Borno State, April 2013 (p. 13)EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 111
Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in Nigeria‘At least 80% <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pupils in my school were taken away by <strong>the</strong>ir parents… In June 2013, Boko Haramwarned students not to go to <strong>the</strong> schools to take <strong>the</strong> National Examinations Council exams in Bamatown. The number <strong>of</strong> candidates who took <strong>the</strong> exams reduced drastically.’Former teacher from Borno currently hiding in Kaduna (p. 15).‘The entire town was locked down. No movement is allowed in or out. The army has banned <strong>the</strong> use<strong>of</strong> all forms <strong>of</strong> transportation even within <strong>the</strong> town. So teachers cannot go to school; parents cannotsend <strong>the</strong>ir children to school because you have to walk, regardless <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> distance.’A 25-year-old teacher from Old Bama primary school, commenting on <strong>the</strong> state <strong>of</strong> emergency restrictions. He fledBama in May 2013 and is currently seeking refuge in Kaduna (p. 16).Source: Amnesty International (2013)O<strong>the</strong>r notable conflicts in Nigeria in recent years have included <strong>the</strong> inter-communal violence in Plateauand Kano states, which at its height between 2001 and 2004 resulted in <strong>the</strong> deaths <strong>of</strong> between 2,000and 3,000 people (Human Rights Watch (HRW) 2005). There have also been long-running conflicts in <strong>the</strong>Niger Delta that have escalated since <strong>the</strong> late 1990s and are typified by violent armed gang warfare,some <strong>of</strong> it politically sponsored, involving young unemployed men who cite <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> educational andemployment opportunities among <strong>the</strong>ir reasons for engaging in such activities (UNDP 2006; HRW 2008;Bagaji et al. 2011). Many children are denied access to schooling as schools and entire villages havebeen destroyed and communities displaced over <strong>the</strong> years <strong>of</strong> conflict (ibid.). In UBEC’s impactassessment, stakeholders highlighted <strong>the</strong> fact that ‘inter-communal conflict in some states discouragedparents from sending <strong>the</strong>ir wards to school’, with nomads singled out as being particularly affected(UBEC 2012a: 286).Nigeria’s National Commission for Refugees estimated that around 3 million people were internallydisplaced because <strong>of</strong> strife between 1999 and 2006 (HRW 2007). Continuing low levels <strong>of</strong> governmentinvestment in infrastructure such as schools and health care fur<strong>the</strong>r contribute to <strong>the</strong> social conditionsthat sustain <strong>the</strong> violence (UNDP 2006; HRW 2008; Bagaji et al. 2011).Research from o<strong>the</strong>r countries reported in <strong>the</strong> 2011 EFA Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO 2011)indicates that in situations <strong>of</strong> armed conflict: <strong>the</strong> child mortality rate is higher; children are less likely tobe in school; children can be traumatised; gender and o<strong>the</strong>r inequalities are exacerbated; resources aredirected away from education; and poverty is increased – as crops and property are destroyed andaccess to markets is blocked, which inevitably affects <strong>the</strong> ability <strong>of</strong> poor families to send pupils to school.Studies specifically focused on <strong>the</strong> impact <strong>of</strong> conflict in Nigeria on education and/or <strong>the</strong> role educationmay play in fuelling or appeasing conflict are currently lacking.9.9 Issues arising and gaps in <strong>the</strong> evidenceThere is plenty <strong>of</strong> evidence that identifies out-<strong>of</strong>-school factors affecting access and retention in schoolbut <strong>the</strong>re is a lack <strong>of</strong> studies that explore how <strong>the</strong>se various factors interrelate (and relate to in-schoolfactors) with particular groups <strong>of</strong> children.While <strong>the</strong>re is some research about practices associated with Islam and <strong>the</strong>ir impact on education (e.g.kayan daki) very little is known about Christianity and ATR or about how ethnicity interacts with religionand relates to schooling in different rural and urban locations in Nigeria.Pupil tracking and spatial and time mapping would help to understand what pupils’ daily lives are likeinside and outside <strong>of</strong> school and <strong>the</strong> multiple constraints many face.Much more needs to be known about nomadic schooling in practice and how it fits in with nomadiclifestyles in particular communities. How do <strong>the</strong> lives <strong>of</strong> fully nomadic pastoralists compare with those <strong>of</strong>EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 112
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