BASIC EDUCATION: THE MOST CHALLENGING OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGs) IN NIGERIA

Basic or primary education is the foundation upon which all other levels of western education are built. It is considered basic as it is the first level of education a child receives before proceeding to the next level of education. In Nigeria, this type of education has been made a nine-year free and compulsory for all the school going age children with six years of primary and three years of junior secondary schools. Coincidently, it is the second goal of the Millennium Development Goals for development adopted by the United Nations in the year 2000. This paper examines the importance of basic education in achieving the Millennium Goals for development in Nigeria. The country has a robust and well-articulated policy on education but the major issue has been implementing the policy for desired progress in the education system. Problems such as indiscipline, inadequate access to schools, poor funding have been found to be affecting the provision of qualitative and accessible education in Nigeria. This is in addition to other internal and external challenges faced by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies responsible for the provision and monitoring of the system. The paper therefore recommends collective efforts by all stake holders in ensuring provision of quality education for all citizens through appropriate funding and effective supervision for achieved millennium goals for overall Nigeria’s development.