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Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in Nigeria5. OUTCOMES OF BASIC EDUCATIONOverall, <strong>the</strong> evidence base on <strong>the</strong> outcomes <strong>of</strong> basic education in Nigeria is weak. There is no nationallyinstitutionalised system for <strong>the</strong> regular measurement <strong>of</strong> learning outcomes. However, those measuresthat do exist suggest very low learning levels.Longitudinal tests (currently lacking) and surveys measuring individuals across time would improveunderstanding <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> progress (or lack <strong>the</strong>re<strong>of</strong>) that pupils/students are making, and in which years.There is an apparent disjunction between <strong>the</strong> evidence that shows that learning outcomes are generallyvery low for most pupils/students and that which shows o<strong>the</strong>r positive outcomes <strong>of</strong> schooling, in terms<strong>of</strong> labour market and health outcomes. It may be that <strong>the</strong>re is o<strong>the</strong>r learning going on in schools that isnot captured by tests <strong>of</strong> specific skills such as literacy and numeracy.In regard to <strong>the</strong> labour market, increased earnings come mostly from secondary and tertiary schooling,which can provide access to government and formal sector jobs. Schooling at primary level appears tohave a much smaller impact on individual productivity and wages.There are also no studies that explore <strong>the</strong> social impacts on schooling in terms <strong>of</strong> pupils’ wellbeing, selfconfidenceor ability to interact with o<strong>the</strong>rs.6. GOVERNMENT AND SCHOOLINGThe decentralised system <strong>of</strong> governance with overlapping responsibilities at federal and state level ismade more complex by <strong>the</strong> existence <strong>of</strong> numerous parastatals at both levels. This has resulted in sometensions between state governments and <strong>the</strong> Federal Government <strong>of</strong> Nigeria (FGN), as well asduplication <strong>of</strong> effort in some areas and a lack <strong>of</strong> focus on o<strong>the</strong>rs.Progress in <strong>the</strong> implementation <strong>of</strong> UBE has been uneven across states. UBEC’s impact assessment (UBEC2012a) suggests that states that have been able to fully or almost fully access funds have had <strong>the</strong>greatest success in implementation.There is no clear, up-to-date and comprehensive information available on spending on basic education,and actual spending deviates substantially from planned spending. The overall actual level <strong>of</strong> publicspending on education is relatively low.Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, spending is divided roughly evenly between primary, secondary and tertiary, despite <strong>the</strong>much smaller numbers <strong>of</strong> students at <strong>the</strong> post-primary levels.A deeper understanding is needed <strong>of</strong> public expenditure on education, <strong>the</strong> relationship betweenplanning and budgeting systems, and <strong>the</strong> constraints (political, technical, organisational and capacityrelated) to better planning and implementation <strong>of</strong> education budgets, as well as <strong>the</strong> relationshipbetween <strong>the</strong>se systems and pupils’ learning outcomes. Detailed state-specific research on this would behighly relevant.State governors have substantial control over policy and finances in <strong>the</strong> decentralised system. Localgovernment tends to be weak as it obtains <strong>the</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> its funding from <strong>the</strong> state government.Unclear delineation <strong>of</strong> responsibility and poor coordination between levels <strong>of</strong> government, combinedwith low capacity in some areas, means that service delivery is <strong>of</strong>ten ineffective and <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong>publically available data results in low levels <strong>of</strong> transparency and accountability and also hindersplanning.EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeriavii
Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in NigeriaMost accountability is upwards to higher levels <strong>of</strong> government ra<strong>the</strong>r than outwards towardcommunities, although decentralised school governance through SBMCs is attempting to address thisissue. Crucial to its success are consistent funding and LGEA support.There are wide variations in funding between states, LGEAs and even between individual schools.Interview evidence from several studies suggests that funding and appointments across <strong>the</strong> board maybe political or based on personal influence ra<strong>the</strong>r than on need or relevant pr<strong>of</strong>essional experience andqualifications. This has resulted in low levels <strong>of</strong> trust between different government layers and betweeneducational authorities and communities. Many stakeholders have expressed a desire for this culture tochange. Where LGEAs and SBMCs are now working well toge<strong>the</strong>r, however, matters do seem to beimproving.Although <strong>the</strong>re is currently very limited available information, education development programmeswould benefit from more in-depth political economy analysis (PEA) at <strong>the</strong> planning stage.The netmapping methodology used in Kano State underlines <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> ‘local resiliencenetworks’ to manage unpredictable resource flows, using informal connections to government agenciesto increase <strong>the</strong>ir resources. This can widen disparities in funding between better-connected schools thatcan access funds and those with weaker networks. This methodology could usefully be applied to o<strong>the</strong>rstates in order to capture <strong>the</strong> complexity <strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficial and informal power relations within <strong>the</strong> system andhow <strong>the</strong>y affect resource distribution and blockages in resource flows.7. NON-STATE PROVIDERS OF EDUCATION AND NON-FORMAL AND SPECIALEDUCATIONAcross Nigeria, a quarter <strong>of</strong> primary school students are enrolled at for-pr<strong>of</strong>it private schools, and manymore attend religious schools and schools for nomadic populations. Numbers attending private schoolsare higher in urban areas than in rural areas, and more prevalent in <strong>the</strong> south. The majority <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ‘out<strong>of</strong>-school’children in nor<strong>the</strong>rn Nigeria receive some form <strong>of</strong> Islamic schooling.Parents are increasingly sending children to low-fee private schools because <strong>of</strong> proximity to <strong>the</strong>ir homeand perceived better quality.Although <strong>the</strong>re is very little actual evidence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> teaching/learning on <strong>of</strong>fer in low-feeprivate schools (beyond <strong>the</strong> fact that teachers are more <strong>of</strong>ten in <strong>the</strong> classroom), <strong>the</strong> limited survey datado indeed suggest that learning outcomes are at least as good if not better on average than in publicschools, although <strong>the</strong>y are still low.Many Muslim parents in nor<strong>the</strong>rn Nigeria give similar reasons for sending <strong>the</strong>ir children to purely Islamicor Islamiyya, Qur’anic and Tsangaya Education (IQTE) schools, referring to <strong>the</strong>ir perceived better qualityra<strong>the</strong>r than to religious motivations per se. Some studies show that a small, although seeminglydecreasing, number <strong>of</strong> parents still consider government schools to be un-Islamic and too westernised.Not enough is known about <strong>the</strong> learning outcomes from religious schools, and how <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong>integration is progressing. If IQTE schools are doing slightly better, as suggested by <strong>the</strong> Early GradeReading Assessment (EGRA) and Early Grade Ma<strong>the</strong>matics Assessment (EGMA) results in Sokoto andBauchi, as well as in ESSPIN-supported IQTE schools, what is it precisely that leads to <strong>the</strong>se betterresults?More also needs to be known about <strong>the</strong> prevalence <strong>of</strong> Christian faith schools and <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong>teaching/learning in <strong>the</strong>m.Our understanding <strong>of</strong> how <strong>the</strong> growth <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> private school sector is affecting public schools andequality <strong>of</strong> access needs to be deepened.EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeriaviii
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