Towards Promoting Community Participation in Education in Nigeria

One of the major problems affecting educational development in Nigeria is the common belief that providing education for all and at all levels is the exclusive responsibility of Government The Government on the other hand is surrounded by many other competing demands such as water supply, electricity supply, provision of health care services and road network. Hence, the sector of education suffers untold hardships in terms of quality and quantity. It is in view of this that this paper presents a discussion on the phenomenon of promoting community participation in education in Nigeria. Accordingly, the paper explains the concept of community participation and the rationale for community participation in education and also traces the historical background of community participation in education in Nigeria. Furthermore, the paper identifies some of the problems militating against community participation in the country which include, among others, poverty, ignorance and attitudinal problems. The paper advanced some suggestions on how community participation in education can be enhanced in Nigeria and these include intensive public enlightenment to create grater public awareness on the need for supporting government's effort, involving community in educational policy formulation and all matters relating to the development of education in their respective community and in the country as well as intensification of People Empowerment Programme. The paper was rounded up with a conclusion that government alone cannot shoulder the total responsibility of providing education for all. This is so because the resources are limited are surrounded by so many competing demands as previously mentioned.