Factors Responsible for the Rapid Expansion of pre- school Establishment in Nigeria

The Level of Awareness among Nigerians

We have just discussed the growth and development of preschool education in Nigeria before and after independence. We identified the factors that led to the expansion of pre- school education during the first two decades after independence. Some of the factors we identified include rapid industrialization particularly after the civil war, the establishment of more tertiary institutions, the improved financial ability of many Nigerians, and more married women taking up paid employment among others. All these factors and others led to the expansion of pre-school education in Nigeria up till the 70s.


The last two decades of the 20th century could be rightly described as the period of rapid expansion in pre- school education in Nigeria. In fact, the rate at which pre- school establishments sprang up in all part of the country during this period is unprecedented in the history of childhood education in Nigeria. In the urban centres, you will find them in every corner, however remote. While some were operating from uncompleted residential building, others made use of completed residential buildings, Only a few had what could be called permanent school buildings and other facilities that make up a good school What then could we say was responsible for the upsurge in the number of pre- school establishments in Nigeria during the periods 1980-2000? There are many factors responsible for it. We shall try to identify and discuss some of them.

First of all, we must acknowledge the fact that the level of awareness of our people was more than double during the period. As we have discussed earlier on, the UPE programme of 1976, the high rate of industrialization and its effect on the economic power of the people and the establishment of more universities somehow affected the people’s level of awareness with the free UPE programs. Many people had access to formal schooling which in a way affected their level of awareness generally. Many of the university graduates got good ideas about the importance of education at all levels. Therefore, with many people graduating from the various educational institutions, there was an increased awareness generally on all aspects of national life and the need to give children good education right from the early childhood period.


The generality of the people including even some illiterate men and women traders and artisans started patronizing the pre- school establishments. There was also the pride and affluence of our people. As we said earlier on, the improved economic situation with individuals encouraged many to show that they have made it. Therefore, as a sign of their status, many Nigerians in the 1980s started sending their children to the nursery schools. If you ask many Nigerians why they are sending their children to the pre-school establishment, they may not have any other reason than just to say they like it.

The Inconsistency in Government Programmes

One other important factor that was responsible for the upsurge in the number of pre- primary school has to do with the state of the public primary schools. You will still recall that the UPE programme of 1976 was financed by the Federal Government. However, with the coming of civilian government in 1979, there was a change in the method of funding. The 1979 constitutions placed primary education under the control of States hence the civilian government tried to follow the constitutional provisions. This was why in early 1980s, the States took over the responsibility for the funding of the schools. This actually led to the beginning of the problem encountered in Nigerian primary schools in the last two decades. You may now be wondering about how this affected pre- primary education in the country.

As the State Government could not adequately fund primary education, teachers’ salaries in some of the States were not paid for many months. This led to strike actions by the teachers. Primary schools in many States were closed for many months. In other words, the academic programmes of those schools were disrupted. This led to the withdrawal of many pupils from the public schools to the private schools. Parent who could not afford the fees paid in the private schools in many cases kept them at home to assists them in their business. Now, with the patronage of the private primary schools by children from the public schools, there was expansion in the private schools. Since the public schools programme were disrupted many parents lost confidence in them. This led to the withdrawal of their children to the nursery schools where they could later continue with their primary education. Thus, from the early 1980s, there has been a steady increase in the number as well as the enrolment figures of the private nursery/primary schools in Nigeria.

In 1988, the Federal Military Government through Decree 31 of that year established the National Primary Education Commission. (NPEC). The Commission thereafter took over the management, funding and supervision of primary education in Nigeria. This was widely regarded as a welcome development by many Nigerians. However, in 1991, the NPEC was scraped through another decree. The Local Education Authority was then established for each state. This arrangement gave the Local Government Chairmen control over the management and funding of primary education in their areas. It was indeed a disaster for primary education as funds were diverted or misused. The teachers’ salaries were not paid for months in many States and this led to long periods of strike by the teachers. So, what we experienced in the 1980s before the establishment of NPEC was repeated on a wider scale, that is, the mass withdrawal of children from the public primary schools.

In 1993, with another decree, the Federal Military Government once again re-introduced the National Primary Education Commission. It was aimed at restoring normalcy into the management of funding and control of primary education in Nigeria. Frantic efforts were made by the new NPEC to restore the past glory of primary education in Nigeria. Even with the efforts made to make things normal in the primary education system, many parents have up till now not returned their children to the public schools. This is particularly so in the urban centres. As we mentioned earlier on, the situation in the public primary schools have forced many parents to take their children to the private fee paying schools. Along the line, they go ahead to enroll their pre- school aged children in the nursery section of the private primary schools. Thus, when such children complete the pre- primary education there, they normally proceed to the primary school section. Many parents have therefore lost confidence in the public primary school system. The enrolment figures dropped in the public schools. Government in some of the States had to result to paid adverts on the radio and television asking or rather begging parents to send their children to the free public schools.

In an attempt to correct the situation, the Oyo state primary Education Board (SPEB) introduced a new idea. That is, by running pre-school classes as a section of the public primary school. This is to be in line with the National Policy on Education statement that there should be pre-primary classes in the existing public primary schools. This was an experiment aimed at catching the children young. You will remember that we said parents who sent their children to the private nursery school do not withdraw them to continue their primary education in the public schools. Since the Oyo SPEB nursery schools are free, it is hoped that parents will be encouraged to send their children there. Thus, such children will just continue with primary education after finishing their nursery education. Let us hope that the experiment will work.


From our discussion so far, you see that the demand for places in the nursery schools have been on the increase since the 1980s. As you will be aware, there is hardly a semi-urban town now where there are no private nursery/primary schools in the country. Therefore, we can say that the rapid expansion of pre- school establishments in Nigeria is due to many factors. Some of the factors discussed earlier on include, increased industrialization which not only brought in many foreigners but also provided job opportunities for many Nigerians. So, with many people now having enough money, they could afford to send their children to the nursery schools. We also mentioned earlier on the expansion of the tertiary institutions. With more universities, many people were employed thereby giving them the necessary economic power to send their children to the nursery schools.

Similarly, many of the products of these universities realized the importance of pre-school education and therefore send their children there. There was also the issue of married women who took up paid employment and looked for places to keep their children. In addition to these, the levels of awareness among our people improved considerably in the last two decades hence almost everyone now knows what is good for the children. The inconsistency in government policy and programmes as they affect primary education made people to loose interest in the public schools. Thus the demand for pre-school establishment has been on the increase. Even the illiterate market men and women as well as other categories of self employed people now send their children to the private nursery/primary schools. Is this not a welcome development?