Corruption Assessment and Underdevelopment of Nigeria Educational System (2015-2023)

Despite significant investments in education, the Nigerian educational sector continues to nosedive and grapple with debilitating challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, declining academic standards, poor funding and supervisory capacity by school-based management boards. Corruption is not just widespread but it is systemic and responsible largely for the country’s underdevelopment. The research critically examines the nexus between corruption and underdevelopment of Nigeria’s educational system from 2015 to 2023. The objective to this research is to investigate manifestation of corruption in the educational system in Nigeria, including embezzlement, nepotism, and bribery, and its impact on the sector’s performance. To guide this research, questions were formulated, and principal/agent theory was used as theoretical framework, while the study employed contents analysis through the use of qualitative secondary data. Some of the research findings responsible for corruption and underdevelopment of Nigerian educational systems includes low level of transparency and accountability, inflation of contract and kickbacks, poor remuneration leading to misappropriation or diversion of educational fund, over invoicing and false declaration, theft of intellectual property, piracy and plagiarism. The research concluded that Nigerian government should discourage excessive materialism and culture of “get rich quick” in Nigerian society; and properties of such persons proven to have accrue wealth dubiously should be forfeited to their government. The study recommends that a branch of anti - corruption boards should be established in all educational institutions and made functional so that cases of corruptions can be detected early enough and reported for prosecution.