Proprietorship: A Major Determinant of Control, Funding and Management at All Levels of Education in Nigeria

The Nigerian education system has grown at all levels since its independence on 1st October 1960. This significant expansion of access to education, however, has not been met with corresponding needed resources, especially funding. Using the eclectic approach based on observations, administrative and teaching experiences, exchange of ideas with colleagues in conferences, and extensive review, analysis and synthesis of contents of relevant literature and government documents, the authors disentangled the complex interplay of ownership, control, management, and funding perspectives at the different levels of education in Nigeria. The governments – federal, state and other proprietors of schools have been requested to take bold steps to provide adequate funds to the education sector in Nigeria. The point has been made that without quality and functional education system, the other sectors of the economy which are dependent on education cannot make progress, so also the nation.