The Need for Open Schooling in Nigeria

Gidado Tahir Alabi
Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Nigeria

Tony Alabi
Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Nigeria

Salihu G Bakri
Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Nigeria

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     Last modified: October 18, 2006
     Presentation date: 11/02/2006 10:00 AM in NT Portland A
     (View Schedule)

Abstract
Nigeria has been committed to the objective of universalizing primary education since signing the Jomtien Declaration in 1990. The achievements in this direction towards attaining the goals do not seem to match the enormous challenge with up to seven million children that are not benefiting from basic education provision if the country must achieve the MD and EFA goals. What is required is the utilization of unusual strategy which is the use of Open Schooling, the application of ODL to pre-tertiary education. The potentials of this can no doubt transform the education terrain of Nigeria as it is becoming increasingly glaring that the traditional method of formal conventional education will not deliver the goals come 2015.

The challenge of this paper is to briefly examine the EFA and MD goals vis-à-vis the efforts of government as it attempts to implement its basic education program through the conventional delivery system. This is where the role of Open Schooling will be examined as an unusual strategy for reaching the unreached in classless informal settings. The paper will give the highlights of the Open School proposal.