Review <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>literature</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>basic</strong> educati<strong>on</strong> <strong>in</strong> Nigeria7.3 For-pr<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>it private schoolsAccord<strong>in</strong>g to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2010 NEDS, around a quarter <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> primary school pupils attend private schools, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>gboth secular and religious private schools (see Table 7.1). This is c<strong>on</strong>siderably higher <strong>in</strong> urban areas(44%) than rural areas (17%) and <strong>in</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> sou<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>rn states (NPC and RTI Internati<strong>on</strong>al 2011). Thepercentage <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> children attend<strong>in</strong>g private schools is also <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g, up from 20% <strong>in</strong> 2004 (ibid.). This isparticularly true for Nigeria’s major cities. Most <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> evidence <strong>on</strong> private school<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> this secti<strong>on</strong> isbased <strong>on</strong> research carried out <strong>in</strong> Lagos State.Lagos State has a particularly high number <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> low-fee private schools – around 10,000 primary schoolsmeasured by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>ficial 2011/12 Lagos School Census, compared with just 1,000 public primary schools(Lagos SMoE 2012). This may be an underestimati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> private schools if small, unregistered schools arenot counted. The census counts 54% <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> primary students as attend<strong>in</strong>g private school while an earlierESSPIN study (Härmä 2011a) <strong>on</strong> Lagos State found closer to 60% attend<strong>in</strong>g private schools, and an evenearlier 2003 school census estimated this number as be<strong>in</strong>g up to 75% <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> children attend<strong>in</strong>g privateschools, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g unregistered schools (Tooley et al. 2005).Table 7.1Distributi<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> primary school pupils by school type% at public schools % at private schools TotalGenderFemale 72.7 27.3 100Male 75.6 24.4 100ResidenceUrban 56.4 43.6 100Rural 83.1 16.9 100Regi<strong>on</strong>North West 90.8 9.2 100North East 91.3 8.7 100North Central 73.2 26.8 100South West 55.6 44.4 100South South 69.6 30.4 100South East 61.5 38.5 100TOTAL 74.3 25.7 100Source: 2010 NEDS (NPC and RTI Internati<strong>on</strong>al 2011)7.3.1 Why do parents choose private schools?The ma<strong>in</strong> reas<strong>on</strong> for choos<strong>in</strong>g private over public school<strong>in</strong>g is that parents/guardians perceive privateschools to be better quality (Urwick and Aliyu 2003; Tooley and Dix<strong>on</strong> 2005; Adebayo 2009; Härmä 2011aand 2013; NPC and RTI Internati<strong>on</strong>al 2011) and have become disenchanted with <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> quality <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> school<strong>in</strong>g<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fer <strong>in</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> public sector (FME 2005; Härmä 2013).Certa<strong>in</strong>ly, low-fee private school<strong>in</strong>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fers several advantages over public school<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g: a greatercomb<strong>in</strong>ed provisi<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> pre-primary with primary school<strong>in</strong>g (Urwick 2002; Tooley et al. 2005); generallylower PTRs; and greater teacher accountability to parents (Tooley et al. 2005; Härmä 2011a, 2013),although <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> percentage <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> qualified teachers is likely to be lower (FME 2005; Härmä 2011a). An additi<strong>on</strong>aldraw <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> private educati<strong>on</strong> is that it <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>ten <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fers English as <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> MOI throughout primary school (thusEDOREN – Educati<strong>on</strong> Data, Research and Evaluati<strong>on</strong> <strong>in</strong> Nigeria 71
Review <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>literature</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong> <strong>basic</strong> educati<strong>on</strong> <strong>in</strong> Nigeriaignor<strong>in</strong>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ‘mo<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r-t<strong>on</strong>gue’ policy for years 1 to 3) (Onuka and Arowojulu 2008; Salami 2008), with <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>social advantages that that is perceived to br<strong>in</strong>g.7.3.2 QualityA survey <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> parents <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> children <strong>in</strong> private sec<strong>on</strong>dary schools by Adebayo (2009) explores <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> reas<strong>on</strong>sfor <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se parents’ choices, f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g that parents perceived private schools to provide better qualityeducati<strong>on</strong> because <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> better motivated teachers and better facilities.In an exam<strong>in</strong>ati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> factors that determ<strong>in</strong>e parents’/guardians’ patr<strong>on</strong>age <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> private primaryschools <strong>in</strong> Ogun State, Abeokuta et al. (2009) found <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> follow<strong>in</strong>g c<strong>on</strong>siderati<strong>on</strong>s to be most important:teachers’ perceived dedicati<strong>on</strong> to work; <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> high level <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> discipl<strong>in</strong>e am<strong>on</strong>g teachers and pupils; <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> earlyopportunity to tra<strong>in</strong> a child; good physical facilities; and teach<strong>in</strong>g and use <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> English as <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> MOI. Cost didnot deter parents from enroll<strong>in</strong>g <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir wards or children <strong>on</strong>ce <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> above factors were present.Tooley and Dix<strong>on</strong>’s (2005) survey <strong>in</strong> Lagos State found that teachers spend more time teach<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> privateschools, and that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> schools <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fered comparable or better <strong>in</strong>frastructure. Their survey also foundsubstantially better pupil test scores at both unregistered and registered private schools.The ESSPIN study (Härmä 2011a), also <strong>in</strong> Lagos State, likewise explored <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> reas<strong>on</strong>s beh<strong>in</strong>d parentchoice, c<strong>on</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g that, although government schools are cheaper, parents perceived governmentschool teachers to be lack<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> motivati<strong>on</strong>, to deliver poor learn<strong>in</strong>g outcomes, and to be unresp<strong>on</strong>siveto parents and children as customers. Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, proprietors or head teachers <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> private schools <strong>in</strong><str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> study expressed very little c<strong>on</strong>cern about <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> quality <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> teach<strong>in</strong>g (Härmä 2011b).The 2011/12 Lagos ASC shows that class sizes are substantially larger <strong>in</strong> public than <strong>in</strong> private schools(Lagos SMoE 2012).Larbi et al. (2004) found that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> private schools visited <strong>in</strong> Lagos and Enugu were less affected byteacher absenteeism due to mo<strong>on</strong>light<strong>in</strong>g and strikes, and un-uni<strong>on</strong>ised unqualified teachers arecheaper and easier to fire for poor performance. Even so, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>y c<strong>on</strong>cluded that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>re was very littleevidence <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> actual quality <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> teach<strong>in</strong>g and learn<strong>in</strong>g, which, even if better than public schools, ‘maynot be good enough’ (Larbi et al. 2004). This view is endorsed by parents/guardians <strong>in</strong> Härmä’s Lagosstudy <strong>in</strong> which 95% <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> parents thought private schools needed to improve despite <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir greaterpropensity to choose private school<strong>in</strong>g (Härmä 2013).More classroom-based research still needs to be d<strong>on</strong>e to evaluate <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> actual quality <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> teach<strong>in</strong>g andlearn<strong>in</strong>g across <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> range <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> private schools.The midl<strong>in</strong>e survey carried out <strong>in</strong> Kano, Lagos, and Nasarawa for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> USAID COMPASS project (Keat<strong>in</strong>g2007) found that private schools were much more likely to have <strong>basic</strong> <strong>in</strong>frastructure and furniture thanpublic schools, although fewer than 10% <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> both public and private schools had any <strong>basic</strong> <strong>in</strong>structi<strong>on</strong>almaterials. The argument that private schools generally have better <strong>in</strong>frastructure is backed up morebroadly with results from <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2010 NEDS. Parents/guardians were questi<strong>on</strong>ed <strong>on</strong> whe<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>yperceived primary schools to have big, small or no problems with school build<strong>in</strong>gs and facilities,classroom overcrowd<strong>in</strong>g, and pupil safety. Parents/guardians <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> children who went to private schoolwere four to five times less likely to c<strong>on</strong>sider <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se issues serious than parents/guardians <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> children <strong>in</strong>public schools (NPC and RTI Internati<strong>on</strong>al, 2011). With<strong>in</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> private sector, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>re is said to be an overlap<strong>in</strong> quality between <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ‘lower end’ <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> approved schools and unapproved schools <strong>in</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se studies (Larbiet al. 2004; Tooley et al. 2005).In terms <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> actual learn<strong>in</strong>g outcomes, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2001 UBEC MLA study found that private primary schools hadbetter scores than government primary schools <strong>in</strong> both Ma<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>matics (40% <strong>in</strong> private vs. 34% <strong>in</strong> public)and English (48% <strong>in</strong> private vs. 38% <strong>in</strong> public) (FME 2010). The same was true at JSS level <strong>in</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2003EDOREN – Educati<strong>on</strong> Data, Research and Evaluati<strong>on</strong> <strong>in</strong> Nigeria 72
- Page 1 and 2:
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON BASICED
- Page 3 and 4:
Review of
- Page 5 and 6:
Review of
- Page 7 and 8:
Review of
- Page 9 and 10:
Review of
- Page 11 and 12:
Review of
- Page 13 and 14:
Review of
- Page 15 and 16:
Review of
- Page 17 and 18:
Review of
- Page 19 and 20:
Review of
- Page 21 and 22:
Review of
- Page 23 and 24:
Review of
- Page 25 and 26:
Review of
- Page 27 and 28:
Review of
- Page 29 and 30:
Review of
- Page 31 and 32:
Review of
- Page 33 and 34:
Review of
- Page 35 and 36:
Review of
- Page 37 and 38:
Review of
- Page 39 and 40:
Review of
- Page 41 and 42:
Review of
- Page 43 and 44:
Review of
- Page 45 and 46:
Review of
- Page 47 and 48: Review of
- Page 49 and 50: Review of
- Page 51 and 52: Review of
- Page 53 and 54: Review of
- Page 55 and 56: Review of
- Page 57 and 58: Review of
- Page 59 and 60: Review of
- Page 61 and 62: Review of
- Page 63 and 64: Review of
- Page 65 and 66: Review of
- Page 67 and 68: Review of
- Page 69 and 70: Review of
- Page 71 and 72: Review of
- Page 73 and 74: Review of
- Page 75 and 76: Review of
- Page 77 and 78: Review of
- Page 79 and 80: Review of
- Page 81 and 82: Review of
- Page 83 and 84: Review of
- Page 85 and 86: Review of
- Page 87 and 88: Review of
- Page 89 and 90: Review of
- Page 91 and 92: Review of
- Page 93 and 94: Review of
- Page 95 and 96: Review of
- Page 97: Review of
- Page 101 and 102: Review of
- Page 103 and 104: Review of
- Page 105 and 106: Review of
- Page 107 and 108: Review of
- Page 109 and 110: Review of
- Page 111 and 112: Review of
- Page 113 and 114: Review of
- Page 115 and 116: Review of
- Page 117 and 118: Review of
- Page 119 and 120: Review of
- Page 121 and 122: Review of
- Page 123 and 124: Review of
- Page 125 and 126: Review of
- Page 127 and 128: Review of
- Page 129 and 130: Review of
- Page 131 and 132: Review of
- Page 133 and 134: Review of
- Page 135 and 136: Review of
- Page 137 and 138: Review of
- Page 139 and 140: Review of
- Page 141 and 142: Review of
- Page 143 and 144: Review of
- Page 145 and 146: Review of
- Page 147 and 148: Review of
- Page 149 and 150:
Review of
- Page 151 and 152:
Review of
- Page 153 and 154:
Review of
- Page 155 and 156:
Review of
- Page 157 and 158:
Review of
- Page 159 and 160:
Review of
- Page 161 and 162:
Review of
- Page 163 and 164:
Review of
- Page 165 and 166:
Review of
- Page 167 and 168:
Review of
- Page 169 and 170:
Review of
- Page 171 and 172:
Review of
- Page 173 and 174:
Review of
- Page 175 and 176:
Review of
- Page 177 and 178:
Review of
- Page 179 and 180:
Review of
- Page 181 and 182:
Review of
- Page 183 and 184:
Review of
- Page 185 and 186:
Review of
- Page 187 and 188:
Review of
- Page 189 and 190:
Review of
- Page 191 and 192:
Review of
- Page 193 and 194:
Review of
- Page 195 and 196:
Review of
- Page 197 and 198:
Review of
- Page 199 and 200:
Review of
- Page 201 and 202:
Review of
- Page 203 and 204:
Review of
- Page 205 and 206:
Review of
- Page 207 and 208:
Review of
- Page 209 and 210:
Review of