Education at the Eve of Independence (1951-

1960)
 Introduction

Today’s discussion centres on the major

educational development that took place in
Nigeria shortly before independence in 1960.
Majorly, the political activities that played a vital
role in the educational development during this
period will be discussed. The implementation of
the Universal Primary Education (UPE) Scheme
in each Region of the Federation of Nigeria will
be reviewed.
 Learning Outcomes/Objectives
Upon completion of today’s discussion, the
students should be able to:
– Describe the roles of political parties or politics in
educational development in Nigeria.
– Describe the activities of the various political
parties in each of the three regions and their
leaders.
---- Discuss the impact of UPE Scheme on the development of Education in
Nigeria.
 The Emergence of Political Activities

The foundations for expansion, having been

solidly laid in the two proceeding decades, the
1950s witnessed the most phenomenal
expansion in the history of Nigerian education
(Fafunwa, 2004). Shortly after the Second World
War in 1945, the Governor of Nigeria at that
time, Sir Arthur Richards came up with a new
constitution, popularly known as the Richards’
Constitution.
The Emergence of Political Activities Cont’d.

The constitution which was introduced in 1946,

divided the country into three regions namely,
East, West, and North. Each having its regional
assembly made up of civil servants and non-
official members chosen by the Regional
Governor and his Officials.
The Emergence of Political Activities Cont’d.

The regional boundaries were aligned with the

three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, i.e. the Ibo
for the East; the Yoruba for the West; and the
Housa-Fulani for the North.
The Emergence of Political Activities Cont’d.

In 1948, a new Governor, Sir John Macpherson,

succeeded Richards. The political climate at this
time had reached fever point and the major
political parties in the Southern Nigeria, the
National Council of Nigeria and Cameroun
(N.C.N.C) led by Herbert Macaulay and Nnamdi
Azikiwe, the Nigerian Youth Movement and
others, demanded a more democratic and a self
– governing status for Nigeria.
The Emergence of Political Activities Cont’d.

Fafunwa (2004) further indicated that by 1952,

two new political parties had emerged, the
Action Group (A.G.) headed by Obafemi
Awolowo of the West, and the Northern
People’s Congress (N.P.C) headed by Ahmadu
Bello, the Sardanna of Sokoto.
The Emergence of Political Activities Cont’d.

It turned out that each of the three major

leaders of the respective parties assumed the
premiership of the Eastern, Western, and
Northern regions and the three parties later
played a major role in the march to Nigeria’s
self-determination between 1950 and 1960.
 The Universal Primary Education (U.P.E) Scheme

According to Enueme (2006), the three political

parties, in their bid to perform “better than the
other, tried to provide needed amenities in their
regions. Among these amenities was education;
the Action Group and the N.C.N.C. considered
education their topmost priority.
 The Universal Primary Education (U.P.E) Scheme
Cont’d.

In the West, Chief Obafemi Awolowo (who won

the election to the Western House of Assembly)
reiterated his resolve to make education and
health his top priorities.
 The Universal Primary Education (U.P.E) Scheme
Cont’d.

A proposal was therefore presented by the then

Minister of Education for the West, Chief S. O.
Awokoya for a free, universal and compulsory
education to be introduced. The scheme was
called Universal Primary Education (U.P.E). He
also proposed an intensive teacher-training
programme, and building of more schools.
 The Universal Primary Education (U.P.E) Scheme
Cont’d.

He proposed 1955 to be the launching year.

Consequently, a lot of preparations were made
towards this. More teachers were trained and
large number of school buildings were erected.
The scheme was launched on 17th January, 1955.
The number of pupils that enrolled into the
schools increased tremendously.
 The Universal Primary Education (U.P.E) Scheme
Cont’d.

In 1954, the number of children attending

primary schools was about 457,000 but in 1955,
after the introduction of the scheme, about
811,000 came up for enrolment, in 1957 it was
982,755 and by 1959, a total of 1,080,303 pupils
were enrolled (Fafunwa, 2004).
 The Universal Primary Education (U.P.E) Scheme
Cont’d.

The above figures were astronomical compared

to the projected figures daring the planning
stage of the scheme. It created an initial
problem because the number of schools and
teachers were not adequate compared to the
number of pupils ready to get enrolled into
schools.
 The Universal Primary Education (U.P.E) Scheme
Cont’d.

The problem was however solved to an extent

when more teachers were employed, and
teacher training institutions were expanded in
order to produce enough teachers for the
programme. The programme turned out to be a
huge success.
 U.P.E. in the East

The three political parties in the three regions as

mentioned earlier were trying very hard to
perform better than one another. Therefore, the
successful launching and implementation on the
U.P.E. programme in the West was a big
challenge to the N.C.N.C - controlled
government in the East. The Eastern
government planned to launch theirs.
 U.P.E. in the East Cont’d.

The then minister of Education, Mr. R.I. Uzoma

proposed his government's free primary
education scheme in which the local
government authorities were expected to bear
45 percent of the cost for the junior primary
education programme. It was also proposed that
the number of teachers would be increased. The
end of 1956 or early 1957 was the tentative date
of launching.
 U.P.E. in the East Cont’d.

However, there were some crises in the party in

1953 which led to Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe becoming
the leader of the government while Mr. l.U.
Akpabio became the Minister of Education. The
new government rejected the previous proposal
and made its own proposal of an eight year free
primary education to be launched in January
1957.
 U.P.E. in the East Cont’d.

The time was short, therefore teachers were not

trained, buildings were not properly constructed and
the rented ones were not suitable for effective
teaching and learning. Though the programme was
launched in 1957 as proposed, it soon ran into
difficulties because of the inadequate preparations.
This led to the closing down of some of the schools
and many of the teachers were laid off. Moreover, the
Catholic Mission which controlled over 60% of the
schools in the East did not help matters.
 U.P.E. in the East Cont’d.

The Mission stiffly opposed the scheme because it

realised that if it was allowed to go on, it would lose
most of its followers. In summary therefore, the
U.P.E. programme in the east failed] due to the
following reasons:
• Inadequate planning due to the shortness of time.
• Scarcity of funds.
• Most of the teachers were untrained and
uncertificated.
 U.P.E. in the East Cont’d.

• The stiff opposition posed by the Catholic Mission.

• The buildings and other facilities were not enough
and those available were poorly constructed. The
government therefore reversed its decision and
announced a modest scheme of free universal
primary education for the first two years. Though the
scheme ran into difficulties, enrolment was still
short. For example, in 1956, 904,235 pupils were
enrolled, it increased to 1,209,167 in 1957 and by
1959 it rose to 1,378,403 (Enueme, 2006).
 U.P.E. Programme in the North

The Northern government was not in a hurry to

launch any form of U.P.E. scheme mainly due to
financial reasons. Government was more
calculative and believed more on qualitative
than quantitative education. It made sure that
before a new school was established, there
would be enough trained teachers.
U.P.E. Programme in the North Cont’d.

Moreover, they were still treading cautiously on

the matters of western education because of the
feeling that it would corrupt their children and
turn them away from their Muslim faith.
U.P.E. Programme in the North Cont’d.

Furthermore, the issue of free education was

not new to them because education had been
practically free. Where school fees were
introduced, they were very low and those who
couldn't afford them, but were willing to go to
school were exempted from paying, as almost all
the primary schools in the North were financed
by public funds.
U.P.E. Programme in the North Cont’d.

There was however, increase (though with a

slow pace) in the number of schools established.
For example, there were 2,204 primary schools
by 1958 compared to the 935 that were existing
by the end of the Second World War in 1945.
U.P.E. Programme in the North Cont’d.

Similarly, in the same period, there was only one

secondary school (in the North) but by 1958, it
increased to 31 (Fafunwa, 2004).
The Northern Government paid more attention
to the development of education in the rural
areas, adult literacy and crafts. (Enueme, 2006).
 Self Assessment Questions
• Define U.P.E.

• Describe the situations which led to the emergence of the three major
political parties in the 1950s.

• What contributions did these parties make towards the development of

education in Nigeria?

• Account for the failure of the U.P.E. Programme in the Eastern region in
1950s