ABSTRACT
It traces the
formulation of educational policies right from 1914 (when Lord Lugard
amalgamated the Lagos colony, Southern and Northern protectorates, and his wife
named the region Nigeria) up to 2004: the current moment. The British colonial
administrators introduced an indirect rule policy in her colonies in West
Africa. Indirect rule was an administrative system, which Lord Lugard
introduced into Nigeria.
It was a system of administration, which the tutelary
power recognized the existing traditional, structure and used such for the
administration of the Lagos colony and Southern and Northern protectorates. The
policy restricted the spread of both Christianity and Western education to the
Northern protectorate. This accounts for the gap in the level of educational
development between the North and the South. This has implications for both
planning and policy formulation in education. The colonial administrators
adopted British form of education in Nigeria. The colonial educational policy
did not address adequately the aspiration of Nigerians. Hence, the 6-3-3-4
educational policy was introduced. The policy sought to introduce a functional
technology – based education, which could sustain the economy. The Nigerian
experience has a lot of implications for planners, who should be conscious of
our local peculiarities, particularly the heterogeneous nature of the Nigerian
society and the gap in level of educational development amongst the different
segments of the society. It is essential for policy formulators to begin to
initiate policies that will promote unity, equity and even development of
education in the country.
INTRODUCTION
Planning is seen
as a peep into the future. It is an integral aspect of policy making which
helps decision makers and policy formulators function effectively. It is an
administrative strategy which makes conscious effort and attempt to control the
future in the desired direction through careful estimates and budgeting. It is
a continuous and on-going process concerned not only with where to go but how
to get there and by what best route.
It is as a
result of these fundamental issues about planning that makes it inevitable in
education and indeed in all human endeavour, a view that is also supported by
Adeniji (2003) when he asserts that, "planning is a crucial fulcrum in
every human endeavour". Meanwhile, education is a continuous process in life.
It begins right from one's birth and ends at death. It starts from homes and
continues even after school to adulthood. It is the process of training and developing
the knowledge, sk i l l , mind and character of people. It can as well be seen
as the process by which the latent abilities of individuals are developed so
that they may be useful to themselves and the society. Government and individuals
according to Babalola (2003) have seen education as beneficial and as such they
express their willingness, readiness and ability to participate in a given
educational programme through active supports for the system. It is also known
that education inculcates skills, imparts knowledge, provides job ethics and
social attitudes conducive to production and civilization, serving also as a
screening device for selecting or identifying talents in the most efficient
manner. Through screening, education ensures that the best people are made
available for the world of work and at times, politics and leadership. It can
therefore be seen that the functions performed by education towards development
of a nation in totality (especially in developing countries to which Nigeria
belongs) are multifarious and unique especially when it concerns touching
people at the grassroots. The focus of the paper is therefore to look at the
problems encountered by educational planning or planners in the bid to get the
local level through education or better s t i l l , to expose the constraints
militating against the effective planning of education at that level especially
given the high rate of illiteracy in Nigeria. This is necessary to avoid or
reduce some of the bottlenecks likely to be encountered in community
development.
UNDERSTANDING BASIC CONCEPT OF EDUCATIONAL PLANNING
Planning is the
process of preparing a set of decisions for action in the future. Dror (1973)
defines planning as a process of preparing a set of decision for action in the future,
directed at achieving goals by preferable means. Salami et al. (2003)
see it is the process of obtaining and analyzing statistics and systematically
using them to make projections of future development in particular estimates of
human, physical and financial resources needed to achieve proposed development.
From all these definitions, it could be understood that planning is
future-oriented; it has a focus-goal which is development and it has a process
which is continuous. Since planning in the general sense gives birth to all other
types of planning, educational planning can therefore be defined along the same
line with general planning. Educational planning is therefore a set of decisions
for future actions pertaining to education. According to Salami (2009),
educational planning is the application of rational and systematic analysis to
the process of education development with the aim of making education more
effective and efficient in responding to theneeds and goals of its students and
society. It involves the application to education of what educators seek to instill,
in an approach that involves identifying objectives and available resources,
examining the implications of alternative courses of action and choosing wisely
among them, deciding on specific targets to be met within specific time limits,
and finally developing the best means of systematically implementing the choice
made. Fadipe (2001) posits that educational planning can be described as the
logical response to the general trend towards planning for over-all
development. Educational planning or planning of education may be said to be as
old as education itself. A review of educational process of ancient societies
reveals that planning was embedded or entrenched in their educational system.
For example, the Spartans about 2,500 years ago planned their education to fit
their well defined military, social and economic goals and objectives. Also,
Plato proposed a well-articulated educational plan w hich w ould take into
account the political and leadership needs of the Athenians. Furthermore, John
Knox in the sixteenth century prepared a plan of education which w ould help the
Scots achieve spiritual salvation and possess material well-being (Salami et
al., 2003).
In addition, the
contributions of the great educators and many other philosophers to educational
planning in their own times and different societies are evident in literature
of education. To a great extent, therefore, educational planning of today can
claim an unbroken ancestry to those ancient great educators and philosophers.
It is evident from literature on education that education planning in the
ancient times was geared towards making education an instrument or a catalyst
for the achievement of national goals and development, the procedure and
methodology employed notwithstanding. And this still seems to be the aim of
educational planning today; educational planning for national survival and national
development. However, there are profound differences between ancient
educational planning and educational planning as it is today. The differences
are both in scope and methodology employed. Advancement in knowledge or
knowledge explosion in economics,business management and computers are great
assets to today’s educational planning. Babalola and Adepoju (1991), in their
arguments, conclude that planning has four in-built elements which are:
1. Orientation of the future
(future- oriented)
2. Orientation to action
(action-packed)
3. Optimization of the use of
resources for maximum output
4. Orientation to achieve goals
or objectives .
Olaniyonu, Adekoya
and Gbenu (2004) citing Coombs (1970) see educational planning as "the
application of rational systematic analysis to the process of educational
development with the aim of making education more effective and efficient in
responding to the needs of the students and the society". To Campbell
(1999): It is a specialized form of goal setting which entails a set of
purposeful and conscious activities believed to be vital for the educational
system and involves a controlled sequence of events relating lo growth in the
form of increases in quantity and size and development in the form of quality
and value of the educational enterprise. Educational planning according to
Longe (2003) "involves taking of decisions for future action with the view
to achieving predetermined objectives through optimum use of scarce
resources". From these, it can be inferred that there must be clearly
stated goals set for education; these goals are realized by making judicious
use available scarce resources; and the goals must be in line with the needs
and aspirations of the citizens and the society.
EDUCATIONAL PLANNING IN POSTIVIE DIRECTION
According to
Longe (2003), "educational planning process usually takes place at the
national, state, local and institutional levels". At the national and state
levels, the plans lay down broad objectives, strategies and targets while the
details are worked out at the local and institutional levels. Planning at the national
or state level is referred to as 'macro planning' and planning at the local or
institutional level is known as ‘micro planning'. Both macro and micro planning
are mutually complementary. By virtue of the nature of the paper, micro planning
is focused upon which is the educational planning at the local government
level. It is at this level that a diagnosis is made taking into account both the
general orientations of educational policy and the local geographic, economic,
social and cultural realities. Micro planning is often described as planning at
the grassroots because it is primarily concerned with an in-depth study of
educational problems as they are
perceived at the
local and institutional levels.
Moreover, micro
planning reflects a desire to improve the functioning of the education system
by reinforcing planning activities at the grassroots. Micro planning deals with
problems linked to access to the educational system. It looks into the problem
of acquisition and maintenance of teaching equipment, into the altitude of
parents, pupils and teachers to education and so forth. Micro planning seeks greater
equality in the allocation of educational services which suit the needs of the
local communities. The various areas involved in micro planning according to
Longe (2003) can be classified into three namely: school mapping, educational
disparity and internal efficiency. The objectives of school mapping cut across
all the functions in micro planning but principally, it is concerned with the
problems linked with access and accessibility to the education system (school location).
It seeks to satisfy effectiveness, and to minimize costs as much as possible
while taking into account the overall objectives. Educational disparity refers
to a situation within the education system whereby regions, state, or local governments
do not enjoy the same level of opportunities for educational development. In
this regard, the concept of equality of opportunity in education is closely
linked with the concept of educational disparity. Considering equality in education
in a society, the question is whether enough quality of educational facilities
in form of schools, teachers and funds are provided in the education system to
allow for equal access to education, and equal achievement in education. The task
of the planner is to supply statistical information which reveals the areas
which most need educational services. With reference to internal efficiency,
educational planning is not only concerned with the problem of allocation of
resources but also with the problem of efficient utilization of resources. The question
here is how efficient the education system is in terms of the level of quality
of output. Indicators such as the enrolment ratio, the dropout rate, the
repetition rate, the students-teacher ratio, the unit cost and so forth, show
the level of efficiency of the education system. The planner is inclined to
show justification for the size of resource allocation to the education system.
By implication, if any reform is to take place and
be sustained within the educational system, it must be planned for.
Need for
educational reform in Nigeria: Obanya (2004) regards educational
reforms as a rethinking of the role of education in nation building. This is
essentially a reexamination of the national goals and provision of answers to
the following questions:
1. What type of
society is envisaged and what would be the building blocks for such a society?
2. What society
form(s) of education will be needed to serve the specific development need of
the envisaged society?
3. What
necessary input (finance, infrastructure, physical resources, human resources,
curriculum, etc.,) should be envisaged for seeing the envisaged reforms
through?
4. What specific
educative act or processes should be actively and systematically promoted to
ensure that the goals of the educational reforms are achieved?
5. To what
extent are the input and the processes helping to achieve the intended outcome?
The Nigerian
educational system has in recent times, experienced series of scientific,
technological, economic, political and social upheavals such as the
introduction of computer education, literacy education, family life education,
the use of ICT in education and modern economic theories, ideas, techniques and
methods into the school curriculum. The rationale behind the involvement of
Nigerian educational system in reform programmes is an indication of a major
force in shaping the objectives and methods of the programme. The most common
reasons or needs for introducing reform and innovation or a change programme
into the Nigerian educational structure, curriculum and methods, according to Adepoju
(1998) are precipitated by the following:
Need to improve
on the standard: This
is perhaps, one of the most discussed issues in the Nigerian educational system
today. The standard of educational system has been generally criticized by many
people, both experts and non- experts. Since educational change is found useful
where the standard of the system is declining or where its existing state is
generating public outcry or conflict, its introduction is found to be relevant.
Future
expectations: Change
may be desired if there is an indication about the future trend or expectation
of the system. In Nigeria, education is said to be performing different roles
which may be expressed in terms of nation building and national development.
Therefore, in order to cope with such future demands, educational reformation
may be desirable.
Exogenous
factors: The
presence of some exogenous factors that may influence the system, and which may
also be the sources of educational change may justify educational change. For instance,
the public may advocate for a course that they believe will benefit their
children and the society at large such as moral education and entrepreneurial
skills. If they, therefore, demand a change, such change will be incorporated
into the system.
Achievement-inclined:
This
would always allow a positive change to take place wherever there is need for
it. In other words, an educational administrator w ould always like new
programmes that will improve teaching learning situation to be introduced in the
school.
Creativity: An educational
change may be precipitated by desire of the members of staff to be more
creative by introducing new ideas w hich may lead to the realization of the
school objectives and their own individual goal.
Planning for
reform in educational structure, curriculum and methods: Reform and
innovation are probably two major concepts that must be built into an
organization or system that is aiming at standing the test of modern
period when dynamism is vastly replacing conservatism. Change is,
therefore inevitable and major challenge which modern organizations face
is creating an atmosphere where rapid and meaningful improvement is possible
(Adepoju, 1998). There is no doubt that for growth and development to be
recorded, reform and innovations are pre-requisites. As a result of the
increasing complexities in modern organizations and the need to
optimize efficiency in the face of stiff competition from others, there
is increasing advocacy that reform and innovation be injected into major
facets of Nigerian educational system and more specifically in the areas
of
structure,
curriculum content and context as well as the methods of imparting knowledge by
the teachers in our schools and colleges. The need to bring about a revisit of
the educational structure, curriculum and methods became necessary in view of
the fact that it is extremely difficult to discuss educational development in
isolation without mentioning reform and innovation. There is no doubt that the
social context of education is ever-changing and at an increasing rate.
Educational
change is a prerequisite for educational improvement and the planned change is
likely to be more effective than unplanned change. Griffiths (1975) asserts
that when organizations are viewed over a long period of time, their
outstanding characteristic appears to be stability rather than change. However,
when one considers the rate at which reform and innovation take place in our educational
system today, one tends to conclude that the rate is not commensurate with that
of the society as a
whole. For
education to be move relevant and to ensure compliance with the societal needs,
it must be planned for reform and innovation, especially in the areas of
structure, curriculum and methods.
Management of educational
reform and innovation: This is perhaps the most critical and pervasive task
facing the world today. Society is undergoing a structural revolution
characterized by multiple and basic changes in economic, social and
political institutions. The new forms that emerge will be shaped, in
considerable part, by management skills in managing reforms or change
and its ability to master the process of innovation through which science
and technology are transformed into goods and services. For education to
achieve its required purpose, it must be tailored towards the needs and
aspirations of the community or environment. This is in agreement with the National
Policy on Education (2004), which states interalia in Section 1, sub-section 9;
‘efforts shall be made to relate education to overall community needs’. By implication,
therefore, embarking on education reform requires that such reform must be
precipitated by the need to yield to the demand of the community or environment
where such reform is taking place. This is to say in essence that the culture
of the community w ill determine whatever form the reform should take. In other
words, a community that is inherently conservative would make reform a
difficult task to achieve compared to a dynamic community.
Educational
reforms should also be well managed to ensure self- reliance. Many people would
agree about the importance of self-reliance in education. Self-reliance has a
very profound meaning. It is not merely that the child should be taught some
handicraft or some manual skills by which he may be supported. There must, of
course, be manual labour which assists everyone to learn how to use his hands
and be self-sufficient. It implies that education must be of such a quality
that it will train students in intellectual self-reliance and make them
independent thinkers. If this is to become the chief aim of learning, the whole
process of learning would be transformed. A student should be so taught that he
is capable of acquiring knowledge for himself. There is an infinite sum of knowledge
in the w orld, and each one needs some finite portion of it for the conduct of
his affairs. But it will be a mistake to think that this life-knowledge can be
acquired in any school. Life-knowledge can only be acquired from life. The task
of the school, however, is to awaken in its students the power to learn from
life. Most parents are anxious for boys to complete the school course so that
they can get a salaried job and live an easy life. This may, however, not be
the best way of
perceiving
education. Learning has value in its own right. The purpose of learning is
freedom, and freedom is another word for what we refer to as self-reliance.
Self reliance means freedom from dependence on others or any external support.
A man who has true learning is truly free and independent. The first and least
part of this self sufficiency is that the person must be educated and made skilled
in a craft. A second and very important part of this is ability to acquire new
knowledge for oneself. There is
a third
essential element in freedom, and this also is a part of education. Freedom
implies not only being independent of other people but also independent of
one’s own moods and impulses. The man who is a slave to his senses and cannot
keep his impulses under control is neither free nor self-sufficient.
Temperament and service therefore, have their place in education, for it is by
these m eans that this third aspect of freedom can be learned (Fadipe and Adepoju,
2006).
Self-
sufficiency then has three meanings. The first is that one should not depend
upon others for one’s daily bread. The second is that one should have developed
the power to acquire knowledge for oneself. The third is that a man should be
able to rule himself, to control his senses and his thoughts. Slavery of the
body is wrong. The body falls into slavery for the sake of the stom ach,
therefore, a free man must know how to earn his living through handcraft.
Slavery of the mind is wrong. If a man cannot think and reach an independent
judgment, his mind is enslaved; a free man must have acquired the power of independent
thought. Slavery of the emotions and the sense is also wrong, and it is an
essential part of education to overcome their tyranny. Nigerian government,
towards realizing the goal of self-reliance, decided that the quality of
instruction at all levels has to be oriented among other things, towards inculcating
the values of:
1. Respect for
the worth and dignity of the individual
2. Faith in
man’s ability to make rational decisions and acquisition of competences
necessary for selfreliance (NPE, 2004).
Government also
intended to vigorously implement the policy by emphasizing:
3. Life-long
education as the basis of the nation’s educational policy
4. Educational
activities to be centered on the learners for maximum self-development and
self-fulfillment
4. The education
system to be structured to develop the practice of self-learning.
This is entrenched in the national goals of
Nigeria as contained in the National Policy on Education (2004) as the building
of:
5. A free and
democratic society
6. A just and
egalitarian society
7. A united,
strong and self-reliant nation
8. A great and
dynamic economic
9. A land full
of bright opportunities for all citizens
Evaluation of
educational reform and innovation: Evaluation is a systematic process for
determining the extent to which instructional objectives are achieved by
students. It is also the process of determining the extent to which
actual experiences conform with objectives. Akinwumiju (1996) points out
that evaluation is the process of delineating, obtaining and providing
useful information for judging among decision alternatives. Some
forms of evaluation are inevitable in teaching and learning process.
Indeed, a major reform to be done in education sector must not
underscore the issue of evaluation before, during and after such reform
. This is inevitable because of what is being demanded by all stakeholders
in education industry.
In education,
the term evaluation often implies different things. Traditionally, to a
classroom teacher, it means testing, conducted at the end of the lesson or a programme.
Evaluation here is often aimed at the outcome. However, as it is widely known,
testing is only an aspect of evaluation and does not represent the wide range
of activities and roles played by evaluation (Isiogu- Abanihe, 1996). The
concept is often used interchangeably with assessment because of a considerable
overlap in their meaning. H ills (1982) posits that educational evaluation is
used more in a general way and often when the subject is the success of a
teaching or
method of
teaching or other than a person (or a group of persons). The main purpose of
evaluation is to assist decision makers at various stages, taking appropriate
action to ensure programme efficiency. It is very important to evaluate the
extent to which an educational activity (such as educational reform) achieves
the purpose for which it was designed or the extent of the performance of an educational
activity. The matter of performance evaluation concerns the measurement of
progress towards objectives, which have been established through prefect knowledge
of the total performance required to maximize results. The important place of
evaluation in educational reform and innovation cannot be underscored. Indeed,
it plays a major role on the scaling up process of reform and innovation. Evaluation,
as far as educational reform is concerned,
can
appropriately be carried out at three levels, viz: A. Before the reform i.e.,
Pre-reform evaluation B. During the reform i.e., Diagnostic evaluation C. After
the reform i.e., Post-reform evaluation Before the process of bringing about
major reform into the system, there is the need for evaluation to assess the
situation on ground so as to determine what must be put in place before the
reform is carried out. Similarly, evaluation can be done during the course of
reform. This is to take a diagnostic view of the reform. It can also be carried
out at the end of the reform which is to determine the extent to which the
outcomes agree with what was originally planned for before the commencement of
the reform. According to Fadipe and Adepoju (2006), educational reforms are
evaluated for the following reasons:
1. It helps in
setting, refining and clarifying realistic goals
2. It helps in
finding out the degree to which the objectives of reform have been realized
3. It helps in
determining and refining the strategies or techniques to use to bring about
expected changes
4. It helps to
have knowledge about the need for the reform.
Factors
militating against effective planning for educational reform and innovation:
The following
are some of the factors affecting effective planning for educational reform and
innovation in Nigeria:
Inconsistent
educational policies: Often times, policies are changed by the Nigerian
government. These are consequent of the fast changing socio- economic and political
factors but these affects the planning of education. Many plans have been
jettisoned before they were ready for implementation because of government directives
and counter directives. Besides, there is always
a wide gap
between policy formulation and execution which might have rendered the
educational reformation almost irrelevant.
Lack of accurate
statistical data: According
to Ajayi (1985), lack of accurate statistical data and unreliable national
census have tended to render most efforts relating to educational planning or
any other forms of planning in Nigeria unproductive. Yet, the success of the
various forms of planning rests on reliable data.
Economic
constraint: For
effective and adequate planning to enhance educational reform, there is the
need for adequate fiscal resources to develop it. In Nigeria, the percentage of
the government budget always earmarked for education is too meagre. Hence,
there is hardly enough fund for the planning unit of the educational sector to
embark on serious educational reform and innovation.
Poor planning
technique: According
to Adeyemi and Oguntimehin (2000), there are not enough experts in Nigeria in
the area of educational planning. There are small units in the ministries of
education, which are responsible for educational planning. These units are
often staffed with educational officers who rose from the rank. Almost all of
them have no formal training in educational planning and statistics. They can
rarely use the information gathered to interpret the educational situation of
the country for proper planning of educational reform to improve educational quality.
Towards
sustainable educational reform in Nigeria: To make educational reform
effective and sustainable in Nigeria, the following should be considered:
1. There is need
to base educational reform policy on attainable objectives
2. It should
conform with ethical standards
3. It should
have focus based on stability and flexibility
4. It should be
sufficiently comprehensive
5. There is the
need to control the rate at which policy changes to give room for continuity
and long term planning
6. Those to be
affected by a reform policy should always be involved at the planning stage
7. There is also
the need for well-defined and clearly stated objectives of the plan and reform
policy
8. There is also
the need for a centralized decision making structure to guide against
distortion or unnecessary diversion in the course of achieving the stated
objective(s) of the reform
9. There is the
need for the provision of monitoring, coordination, supervision and evaluation
machineries, which will serve as follow-up to a planned reform policy
10. There is the
need for disciplined and effective leadership to give the reform its vision and
ability to translate that vision into reality
11. There is the
need to train and use educational planners for the purpose of planning reform
policy in the interest of the educational system and the country in general
12. There is the
need for the stabilization of the economy by reducing the fiscal drags and
raising enough resources for educational reform that will be prudently managed
The study has attempted to highlight the need to make educational reform and
innovation effective and sustainable through effective planning and democratic
approach to decision making. The importance of effective planning in
educational reform and innovation cannot be over-emphasized. Educational reform
and innovation are crucial for consideration in order to meet the millennium
development goals as well as the stated vision of education. Having examined
the concepts of planning and educational planning, the paper identifies some
limiting factors to the successful planning of educational reform and
innovation, which are social, economic political and technical in nature.
Issues are also raised towards making educational reform sustainable in Nigeria.
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