Educational Policy Formulation and Implementation in Nigeria: The Way Forward

Abstract

The paper examined educational policy formulation and implementation in Nigeria: the way forward. Education is instrumental to the achievement of national development. This believe necessitate the formation of the curriculum conference on educational development in Nigeria in 1969. The outcome of the conference led to the evolution of the first indigenous policy on education, christened “National Policy on Education” published in 1977. This policy document; was subsequently reviewed in 1981, 1988, 2004, 2008, and 2014. Other education policies include; the Child Right Act (2003), Universal Basic Education Act (2004), National Policy on HIV and AIDS for the Education Sector in Nigeria (2005), National Gender Policy (2006), National School Health Policy (2006), the Safe School Initiative (SSI) in Nigeria (2014), National Policy on Inclusive Education in Nigeria (2016) and National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (2016). The intention of government is to strengthen and improve the quality of education in the country for national development. In spite of these efforts, it seems much is yet to be achieve as reverse is the case, which is evidence in the backwardness experience in all sectors of the economy as a result of the declining quality of education in the country. Scholars have attributed this pathetic development to the problem of poor implementation of educational policies in the country. This paper therefore, suggests the way forward that, government should ensure that robust synergy exists between policy planners and implementers during the formulation stage. Adequate resources, especially, funds should be committed to the actualization of educational policies, through increase in budgetary allocation to the education sector. Lastly, implementation of educational policies should be closely supervised and monitored as to checkmate the diversion and mismanagement of funds released for the overall development of education in Nigeria.