222 Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment, 2021, 9, 222-227

The Impact of Covid-19 on Nigerian Education System

Vincent Okwudiba Anyika1, Ijeoma Genevieve Anikelechi2,* and T. D. Thobejane3

1
Department of History and Strategic Studies, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Nigeria
2
Department of Integrated Science, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Nigeria
3
University of Venda, South Africa
Abstract: At a time when the Nigerian schools are on a temporary closure following the outbreak of the COVID-19
pandemic, this paper looked inwards and reflected on the nature of the education system and revealed its myriads of
problems. The COVID-19 pandemic indeed had a huge impact on the educational system in Nigeria. It brought about the
cessation of all learning activities in Nigeria except for private universities and secondary schools that swiftly switched to
virtual learning platforms. It also illuminated the digital divide between the Nigerian student and his counterparts in other
climes. COVID-19 pandemic outbreak also offered an opportunity for the nation to realise the poor status of its
educational system. Some of the major problems that have confronted the Nigerian education system, as revealed by
this paper, include poor funding, inadequate and dilapidating infrastructure, inadequate teaching facilities, poor teachers'
welfare, poor research funding, poor quality of teachers, unconducive learning environment, and the like. The study
recommends for the exhibition of sufficient political will by the political leadership for the transformation of the education
system as well as the sustained commitment of other stakeholders such policymakers and educational administrators for
the transformation of the system to give it its rightful place in our national life.

Keywords: Education, COVID-19, funding, government policy, research, and development, technological divide &
Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION A CURSORY GLANCE AT THE NIGERIAN

EDUCATION SYSTEM BEFORE COVID-19
Whenever the thought of the Nigerian education OUTBREAK
system flickers on the mind, there is always a surge of
Education is a fundamental human right. It is also
ill feelings that inundates the mind owing to myriads of
an essential factor in development. It is the primary
problems that have buffeted the sector for decades
means of human capital development. No nation can
unmitigated. The realities of the Nigerian education
achieve sustainable economic growth and development
system no doubt show that the leadership and
without recourse to human capital development. It
policymakers of Nigeria have utter disregard for the
takes sustained substantial investment in the human
UNESCO precepts that education is a human right for
capital for economic development to take root.
all throughout life and that access to education must be
Education offers numerous social benefits to the
matched by quality. The quality of the Nigerian
individual and the society at large. It improves the
education system is despicable as the system is
quality of human life in every society. It enhances
characterised by ills such as poor funding, inadequate
peaceful coexistence by improving the understanding
and decaying educational infrastructures, insufficient
of individuals within a larger society. Education plays a
teaching facilities, poor remuneration of teachers,
very vital role in the life of every society as it secures
ineffective policy framework, the politicisation of
the economic growth and social progress necessary for
education, corruption, ineffective curriculum, lack of
sustainable development. Effective education has the
ICT facilities, scarcity and high cost of books, poor
capacity to transform the life of a nation as it enhances
research funding, lack of quality teachers, poor
creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and productivity
teacher's welfare and the like. These anomalies have
necessary for economic growth and development.
plunged the education system in Nigeria to a
Education is very pivotal to national development; its
despicable low and have left so many Nigerian public
very neglect is capable of derailing a nation from the
universities at the bottom rung in the global ranking.
path of development into an erratic array of confusion
This paper, therefore, sheds light on the Nigerian
and stultification. History is fraught with many stunning
education system in the wake of the COVID-19
innovations and technological advances owing to great
pandemic, which has led to the closedown of Nigerian
transformations in the human mind stirred up by
schools since February 28.
effective education. Education plays a very critical role
in the life of any nation. It has a direct link with the
*Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Integrated process of nation-building, economic growth and
Science, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Nigeria; Tel: +2348066163785;
E-mail: ijeomakc@[Link] development. The fact is a nation that fails to effectively

E-ISSN: 2292-2598/21 © 2021 Lifescience Global

The Impact of Covid-19 on Nigerian Education System Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment, 2021, Volume 9, No. 2 223

and functionally educate its citizens consciously sows citizens constituting over 30% of its population [3].
the seed of its very destruction. According to UNICEF, “too many Nigerian children and
young people are being left behind, especially when it
The woes of the Nigerian education system are comes to education” [2]. These embarrassing
quite doleful. The myriads of problems that have revelations show lack of commitment and political will
perennially characterised the system show that the on the part of political leadership as well and education
political leadership and other policymakers have policymakers who have failed to articulate implement,
undermined the place of education in our national life. effective and functional educational policies as well
Ekudayo described the educational system as “a mess exhibit the right leadership for effective educational
from top to bottom” [1]. According to him, the 6-3-3-4 transformation across the country.
system of education which Nigeria has adopted since
1989 has worked effectively in countries such as One of the major challenges besetting the Nigerian
China, Germany and China but the inability of education system is poor funding by the federal and
policymakers to provide the system with proper funding state governments. The education sector in Nigeria
support and effective policy implementation has left falls within the familiar territory of neglect in the
that Nigerian education system bereaved of its goals Nigerian budgetary space. A mere glance on the
and objectives [1]. The Nigerian education system is in Nigerian budgetary allocation Table 1 from 2009 to
a pitiable state as it suffers pitiable neglect, 2019 reveals the obvious.
infrastructural decay, poor conditions of service for
teachers at all cadre, lack of effective capacity building The budgetary allocations to the education sector
for educators, lack of basic learning facilities and the have for years remained below the UNESCO
like. benchmark of 26%. The UNESCO sees education as
an effective tool for peacebuilding, poverty eradication
According to a UNICEF report presented at the and achievement of sustainable development [5].
Silverbird Cinema in Abuja on September 5, 2019, to However, it is self-indicting that Nigeria, which is one of
mark the World Literacy Day, "Nigeria has the world the signatories to the UN Sustainable Development
highest number of out-of-school children. About 10.5 Goals has failed to be compliant by not doing the
million Nigerian children aged 5-11 do not go school needful to better its education system. The steady
and only about 61% of 6-11-year-olds attend primary increase in the national budgets was never extended to
school regularly” [2]. The report further stated that half the education sector. Poor funding has been the bane
of the school-aged girls in some states in Northeast of the Nigerian education system leaving the system
and Northwest Nigeria are not enrolled in school [2]. with inadequate and decaying infrastructures such as
This disturbing revelation shows that Nigeria is the classroom blocks, laboratories, libraries and lack of
highest contributor to the global illiteracy index. In the modern learning facilities such as computers,
st
21 century, Nigeria still has about 60 million illiterate projectors, interactive boards, e-libraries and other

Table 1: Federal Government Budgetary Allocation to Education (2009-2019) [4]

Year Budget Education Allocation % of budget

2009 ₦3.049 trn ₦221.19 bn 7.25

2010 ₦5.160 trn ₦249.00 bn 4.83
2011 ₦4.972 trn ₦306.3 bn 6.16
2012 ₦4.877 trn ₦400.15 bn 8.20
2013 ₦4.987 trn ₦426.53 bn 8.55
2014 ₦4.962 trn ₦493 bn 9.94
2015 ₦5.068 trn ₦392 bn 7.74
2016 ₦6.061 trn ₦369.2 bn 6.10
2017 ₦7.444 trn ₦550 bn 7.38
2018 ₦8.612 trn ₦605.8 bn 7.04
2019 ₦8.92 trn ₦620 bn 7.02
224 Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment, 2021, Volume 9, No. 2 Anyika et al.

learning enhancement ICT facilities. The school Poor educational policy implementation is another
teachers and tertiary education lecturers are poorly factor that has vitiated the Nigerian education. Taking
paid. Enough funds are not being provided for research on the Universal Basic Education Programme, for
and teachers training. The agitations of teachers for instance, it will be discovered that lack of political will
better pay have often disrupted academic sessions. on the part of the government and its agencies has
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) which made the programme unable to achieve its goals after
provides interventionist fund for infrastructural over twenty years of its establishment. The UBE
development and academic staff training and research programme was launched in 1999 to ensure free,
assistant is limited in its capacity. TETFund itself was universal and compulsory 9-year education for every
birthed in 2011 after prolonged agitation by Academic Nigerian child aged 6 to 15 years [6]. The UBE
Staff Union of University (ASUU) for the revamping and programme was intended at eradicating illiteracy,
overhaul of the public tertiary institutions. The body has ignorance and poverty as well as stimulating
a mandate of improving education tax revenue and accelerated development, political consciousness and
making such available for its interventionist programme national integration [6]. After over two decades of its
in tertiary institutions. Lack of proper funding of the establishment, the UBE programme has performed
education sector has led to poor quality of teachers and marginally. The was lack of political will on the part of
students. The standard of the Nigerian education some state governors, especially in northern Nigeria.
system has been a steady decline. Many Nigerian The governors did not exhibit sufficient political will to
students these days prefer to go to neighbouring ensure that millions of children are sent to school. They
countries such as Ghana and Benin Republic to study allowed the Koranic schools popularly known as
because they consider the education systems in such ‘almajirai’ school to continue to thrive. Under the
countries better than the Nigerian system. almajirai system children, mostly aged 6 to 14 are left
under the tutelage of Islamic mallams without attending
Lack of educational infrastructures is another major any form of formal education. This system continued to
depravity of the education system in Nigeria. The exist alongside the UBE programme with no policy
prolonged neglect of the education system has made it measures to assimilate the almajiri into formal
impossible for most schools to possess some basic education. It was in the wake of COVID-19 spread that
infrastructures and facilities necessary for effective and some northern governors perceived the dangers of the
st
efficient education. In the 21 century when the global almajiri system. These children became vulnerable to
classroom model has been significantly modified to the pandemic because they were street children. They
include technological facilities such as advanced and lived on alms obtained in the streets for survival. Many
ICT compliant laboratories, computers, projectors, of them were infected by the dreaded coronavirus. The
internet, interactive whiteboards, virtual learning realisation of the ills of the almajiri system made
platforms and the like, it is quite regrettable that these governors such as the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam
facilities are lacking in most public schools from basic El Rufai to outlaw the almajirai system. Before COVID-
to tertiary level. These lacks leave the Nigerian student 19 outbreak, the political leadership, as well as the
some decades behind their peers in other climes. UBE policymakers, did not make any serious move to
When other nation's educational system is advancing stop the almajirai system.
speedily, the Nigerian system oscillates if not tilting
backwards. The UNESCO in it assessment of the UBE
programme stated that “although enrolment in primary
Poor teachers' welfare is another factor that has and junior secondary schools have increased since
contributed to the eroding standard of education in 2011, transit from primary to junior secondary and
Nigeria. Teachers in Nigerian primary, secondary and completion rate remained below 70%” [5]. In many
tertiary institutions are poorly paid and are not provided states of northern Nigeria, enrolment in primary
with welfare packages such basic allowances, housing education is still low in comparison with the primary
loans, training grants and other incentives to motivate school-age population. Also, across the bounds of
them and enhance their productivity and effectiveness. states in Nigeria, especially in the north, there still exist
The incidents of corruption which have crept into the some social, cultural and religious barriers that hinder
educational system such as examination malpractices, female children from participating in basic education.
bribing of teachers for grades and the like can be Added to the above challenges of the UBE programme
traced to the long period of neglect and falling are the lack and dilapidated state of infrastructures
standard. such as classrooms, furniture, toilets, etc.
The Impact of Covid-19 on Nigerian Education System Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment, 2021, Volume 9, No. 2 225

Poor quality of teachers is another characteristic of NIGERIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM AND COVID-19
PANDEMIC
the Nigerian education system. There is presently no
proactive measure to ensure the training and retraining
By January and early February 2020 when
of teachers for higher and effective productivity. The
countries such as China and other European, American
Latin saying, ‘Nemo dat quod non habet' (no one gives
and Asian countries were battling with the nascent
what they do not have) is a very factual saying that
COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria appeared to be kept aloof
applies effectively to the Nigerian education system.
st from the Chinese disease. The reality of the disease
The 21 -century teacher is supposed to be a
was dawn on the country on February 27 when the first
sophisticated teacher that is abreast with current global
COVID-19 case was confirmed in Nigeria. On March
practices in the profession. This ability makes the
23, 2020, when the total confirmed case was 40, with
teacher able to keep the students abreast with current
one death, two recoveries and 37 active cases, the
realities in the process of learning using ICT enhanced
Federal Government of Nigeria temporary closed down
facilities. However, it is quite abhorrent that most
all schools in Nigeria in a bid to contain the spread of
teachers in primary and secondary schools are poorly
the coronavirus [8].
skilled in the use of ICT facilities. Most schools and
their teacher do not have the financial muscle to Unlike other countries where governments came up
purchase and install ICT facilities for teaching and with policies measures to feel in the gap created by
learning purposes. This reality has huge consequences school closure, Nigeria had no plan to keep the
for students taught in such schools and by such students engaged in academic activities. The ministry
teachers—teacher's key roles in the achievement of of education casually announced that pupils and
educational objectives of individuals and the state at student should tune to public media channels such as
large. When the teacher is ill-equipped for this task, the
radio and television for learning programmes. There
overall objective of education will be truncated. The
was no clear cut policy thrust to immediately tackle the
need for policymakers to ensure that teachers are well
disruption of academic activities to cater to over 45
equipped for the education of young minds is in line
million students affected by the closure of schools.
with global realities and cannot be over-flogged. The
Students were kept at home without any form of
position of Fafunwa that “no significant change in
academic engagement. The private universities swiftly
education can take place in any country unless its
switched on to virtual learning platforms and carried on
teaching staff is well trained and retrained” is
incontestable [7]; likewise, that of Obayan that "no with learning activities while the public schools
educational system can rise above the level of its remained shut totally. The Nigerian education system
teachers" is undisputedly veracious [6]. was indeed hard hit by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Second term examinations did not hold in primary and
Another problem of the Nigerian education system secondary schools, the second term was never started,
is an unstable and ineffective curriculum. An effective and junior secondary school and senior secondary
curriculum furnishes educational administrators, school certificate examinations, as well as university
teachers and students with a well-defined structure and examinations, were suspended.
measurable plan for delivering quality education. An
effective curriculum provides a road map for the Covid-19 pandemic laid bare the wretchedness of
realisation of educational goals and objectives. An the Nigerian education system. The system obviously
effective curriculum is a functional curriculum which lacked the capacity to migrate schools to virtual
serves the current educational needs of the state. learning platforms. There was no unified data; schools
Thus, for a country to have a clear cut plan for the were not linked up to any central information system or
realisation of its educational goals, it must have a well- portal. Some rich and middle-income households were
defined curriculum that addresses its developmental able to engage their children in remote learning
challenges from the cradle. Presently, there seems to activities via the internet, but so many households do
be no harmonised curriculum in the Nigerian education not have the facilities and resources to engage their
system, for instance, the public schools adopt that of children in such. Also, many households are located in
the ministry of education while many private schools places with limited internet access and unreliable
select for either or both from the Nigerian, American electric power supply, thus, making them leave their
and British systems. This keeps the education sector is children in the dark when their counterparts in other
disarray with no common trajectory. climes were making progress.
226 Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment, 2021, Volume 9, No. 2 Anyika et al.

So many countries in the wake of the COVID-19 over-focused on short term political goals with recourse
outbreak and its attendant lockdowns were able to to long term gains of the efficient and effective
adopt effective measures to curb the effect of education system.
disruption of regular schooling. The Chinese
government, for instance, provided computers for low- The Nigerian educational policy framework is
income households and offered mobile data and another aspect of Nigerian education that needs to be
telecom subsidies as well to enable their children to squarely addressed. With the changes in technological
participate in virtual learning [9]. In France, students advancement, labour market patterns, and general
who do not have access to computers were lent the global environment, there ought to be functional policy
devices they need. Portugal, on its part, partnered with responses to ensure that the Nigerian curricular are
postal services to deliver working sheet to a student imbued with the resources and strategies that would
who does not have access to the internet at home [9]. align the Nigerian education system with global
COVID-19 pandemic has clearly revealed that there is realities. The policymakers are the only stakeholders
a digital divide between an average Nigerian child and empowered to determine the pace and direction of the
his counterparts in most developing and developed Nigerian education system. It is therefore pertinent for
worlds. The ministry of education was a handicap to the policymakers to chart a new course that will move
play any interventionist role during the lockdown. The the system away from its current quagmire.
efforts of some state governor to adopt the use of local
CONCLUSION
media channels such as were grossly ineffective as
such programmes did not involve competent teachers
The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and its
and had no feedback mechanism.
attendant cessation of learning activities in schools
Nigerian political leadership has failed to give have provided an unprecedented opportunity for a
deeper reflection on the Nigerian education. The
education its rightful place. Since February 9, 2020,
COVID-19 pandemic revealed the embarrassing
before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in
loopholes in the Nigerian education sector as it did on
Nigeria, the Academic Staff Union of Universities
the health sector. The education system in the decade
(ASUU) has been on nationwide strike action in protest
has remained underfunded and is beset by myriads of
for non -implementation of its agreement with the
Federal Government by the same government. ASUU's problems such as inadequate and dilapidating
infrastructure, inadequate teaching facilities, poor
agreement with the Federal Government of Nigeria
teachers' welfare, poor research funding, poor quality
broadly borders on revamping and overhaul of the
of teachers, unconducive learning environment and the
public universities, improvement of academic staff
like. Without sufficient political will to overhaul and
welfare and the imposition of the Integrated Personnel
transform the educational sector for greater
Payroll System (IPPIS) by the Federal Government.
The sorry state of the Nigerian educational institutions effectiveness, the standard of education in Nigeria will
keep falling, and this spells doom for our national life.
which become more pronounced by the COVID-19
There should be a concerted effort by all stakeholders
pandemic seems to have vindicated ASUU's clamour
to redeem the Nigerian education from tilting beyond
for better funding and overhaul of the education sector
the precipice.
as government saw the loopholes in the education and
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Received on 05-06-2020 Accepted on 20-10-2020 Published on 30-04-2021

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