EDUCATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The level of development in any given country is directly proportional to the level of education available to such country. This is evident in Nigeria where decline in the education sector is grossly affecting the country’s development. The argument that no nation rises above the level of its education holds true, because any nation that desires to achieve sustainable development must as a matter of priority develop its education sector, which is the foundation upon which other sectors derive their existence and sustenance. In Nigeria, the inability of the country to achieve sustainable development is as a result of series of challenges militating against the education sector. For instance, inadequate funding, poor infrastructural development, incessant change of education policies, corruption, politicization of the education sector and sometimes nonchalant attitude of the leaders are some of the problems confronting the education sector in Nigeria. These challenges have led to a steady decline of quality of education in Nigeria with far reaching negative consequences on the country’s developmental process. It is against this background that this paper argues that no meaningful development would be achieved if the education sector is not properly repositioned. The paper therefore, concludes that apart from providing the required human capital, education as an instrument of socio-political and economic change, is also capable of transforming and sustaining Nigeria’s development at all levels. The study adopts a historical research method.