MODULE ONE History of Education (PDE - 101)

MODULE ONE: EDUCATION IN THE CLASSICAL ERA

Objectives for the whole module:

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. state how children were educated during the classical (Greek and Roman) period;
2. analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the type of education during those periods;
3. discuss the contributions of the great educators of those periods;
4. discuss what we in the present era can learn from the educational systems and from
the great educators of those periods.

The plan of this module

This module is made up of four units. In each unit, you will learn about the education
practices of a specific place and time during the classical period and/or the educational ideas
of great educators during that period. Each unit tries to spell out in as comprehensive a
manner as possible ‘the what’ as well as ‘the how’ of the system being discussed or of the
specific educator being presented. By ‘the what’ ‘the how’ we refer to how the system is
operated.
However, the whole essence of our looking far back into these distant periods is to enable us
deduce how the past has influenced or shaped the present, and indeed what we can still learn
from the past. Thus, in each unit, we examine closely what we owe to these ancient periods
and what we can still learn from them. We do this by leading you, mostly through questions
and suggestions, to identify from both ‘the what’ and ‘the how’ those lessons we can learn.

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MODULE ONE History of Education (PDE - 101)

UNIT ONE: EARLY EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. discuss the significant characteristics of early educational systems;
2. analyse their influences on later educational systems;
3. discuss what our own system has inherited from these early systems.

BACKGROUND
History as an academic discipline, is interested in looking to the back, no just for its sake, but
so that we can learn from the past, and how the past has influenced the present. In looking to
the past, history likes to dig to the very origin, to the earliest period that is relevant to the
issue at hand. In the present circumstances, we can say that education really started as soon
as man was created. This is because the business of bringing up a young person involves his
progressive education. Indeed, when we look at what we call education, we might not be
wrong in describing it as the system by which one generation imparts the ideals and cultural
practices of its society to the next generation in an unending process. In this first unit of our
module on history of education, we try to examine the very origin of what we have and
cherish today.

Characteristics of the earliest educational systems

The oldest known educational systems in history shared two characteristics in common: they
taught religion, and they promoted the traditions of the people. In ancient Egypt, there were
temple schools, which taught both religion and the principles of writing, the sciences,
mathematics, and architecture. Similarly, in India, the business of education was carried out
mostly by the priests. India was the source and fountain of the Buddhist doctrines that were
taught in its institutions to Chinese scholars. In turn, they spread the teachings of Buddha to
the various Asian countries in the Far East. Ancient Chinese education emphasized
philosophy, poetry, and religion, in accordance with the teachings of their great ancestors and
philosophers like Confucius and Laozi. Indeed, the Chinese invented a system of civil-
service examination, more than 2,000 years ago and which was found to be effective up till
the present era. It was used to select the best scholars for important positions in the
government.

ACTIVITY 1
1. What would you say is the purpose of this first unit?
2. What are the two major characteristics of the earliest systems of education?
3. In what ways are these characteristics applicable to Nigerian traditional systems?
4. What can we learn today from these earliest periods?

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EDUCATION IN ANCIENT EGYPT

In Egypt, the culture and education were preserved and controlled chiefly by the priests who
formed powerful intellectual elite in the Egyptian theocracy and occupied vital political
positions. The priests taught the humanities as well as such practical subjects as science,
medicine, mathematics, and geometry in formal schools. However, the professionals taught
vocational skills relating to such fields as architecture, engineering, and sculpture outside the
context of formal schooling.
Egyptians developed two types of formal schools for privileged youth under the supervision
of government officials and priests: one for scribes and the other for priests’ trainees. At the
age of five, pupils entered the writing school and continued their studies in reading and
writing until the age of 16 or 17. At the age of 13 or 14, the school boys were also given
practical training in offices for which they were being prepared. Training of priests began in
temple colleges, which boys entered at the age of 17. The length of training depends upon
the requirements for various priestly offices. It is not clear whether or not the practical
sciences constituted a part of the systematically organized curriculum of the temple college.
Method of teaching was rigid, and discipline was severe, the aim in most cases was to
achieve uniformity in cultural transmission – deviation from the traditional pattern of thought
was forbidden. Drill and memorization were the typical methods employed.

Education in Mesopotamia
The civilization in Mesopotamia developed at about the same time as that in Egypt. So,
Mesopotamia developed education quite similar to that of Egypt with regard to its purpose
and training. It was practical and aimed to train scribes and priests. It was extended from
basic reading, writing and religion to higher learning in law, medicine and astrology.
Generally, youth of the nobles were trained to become scribes, who later functioned either as
copyists, librarians or teachers. Schools for priests were said to be as numerous as temples,
indicating the thoroughness and the supremacy of priestly education. Very little is known
about higher education, but the advancement of the priestly work sheds light upon the
extensive nature of intellectual pursuit.
As with Egypt, the priests in Mesopotamia dominated the intellectual and educational domain
as well as the applied. The library formed the centre of intellectual activity, which usually
operated in a temple under the supervision of renowned priests. Teachers employed
memorization, oral repetition, copying of models, and individual instruction. The period of
education was long and rigorous and discipline was harsh.

ACTIVITY II
1. What similarities can you identify in the educational systems of Egypt and
Mesopotamia? What dissimilarities can you recognize?
2. Why do you think these educational systems were dominated by the priests?
3. Discipline
Education in Northwas rigid or harsh in both systems. How would you compare this with
China
the systems today?

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Civilization in North China began with the emergence of the Shang era. Thus, complex
educational practices began from a very early date. In fact, virtually every character (or
letter) of the Chinese orthography was already formed more than 3,000 years ago. Ancient
Chinese education was mainly secular in nature, although it at the same time, aimed to
improve the morals of the youth to develop a sense of moral sensitivity and duty toward
people and the state. Even in the early stages of civilization, harmonious human relations,
rituals, and music formed the curriculum. Formal colleges and schools probably existed by
1000 BC. Apart from the major centres in the provinces, there were less-organized
institutions, such as halls of study, village schools, and district schools. As for the methods
of education, ancient Chinese learned from bamboo books and obtained moral training and
practice in rituals by word of mouth and example. Rigid rote learning, which became the
norm in later Chinese education, did not seem to be used then. Education was regarded as the
process of individual development from within.
The Hindu tradition
India is the site of one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. From about 2000 BC
the Aryans entered, captured the land, and founded powerful kingdoms. Before long, the
Brahmans who were the intellectuals became priests and men of learning; the nobles and
soldiers constituted the next class, the agricultural and trading class was called Vaisyas; and
finally the dasas were absorbed as domestic servants. Such was the origin of the division of
the Hindus into four classes. By about 500 BC, the classes became hardned into castes.
Religion was the mainspring of all activities in ancient India. It comprised of both prayer and
worship as well as philosophy, morality, law, and government. Religion dominated
educational ideals, too and the study of Vedic literature was very important in higher classes.
There were clearly demarcated stages of instruction. During the first period, the child
received elementary education at home. The beginning of secondary education and formal
schooling was marked by a ritual, which was restricted to and compulsory for boys of the
three higher castes: at age 8 years for the Brahman boys, age 11 for boys of the next higher
class, and age 12 for the boys of the third higher class. The boy then left his father’s house
for his preceptor’s home. The preceptor would treat him as his own child, give him free
education, and not charge anything for his boarding and lodging. The pupil had to tend the
sacrificial fires, do the household work of his preceptor, and look after his cattle.
The study at this stage consisted of the recitation of the Vedic mantras, or “hymns,” and the
auxiliary sciences-phonetics, the rules for the performance of the sacrifices, grammar
astronomy, prosody, and etymology. The characteristic of education, however, differed
according to the needs of the caste. For a child of the priestly class, there was a definite
syllabus of studies. It was compulsory for him to have knowledge of the most ancient of
Hindu scriptures. During the whole course at school, or at college, the student had to wear a
simple dress, live on plain food, use a hard bed, and lead a celibate life. Learning normally
lasted for 12 years, but for those who wanted to go further, there was no age limit. After
finishing their education at an asrama, they went to a higher centre of learning or a university.
Advanced students also improved their knowledge by taking part in philosophical discussions
at an “academy”. Women were not denied education, but normally girls were taught at home.
The method differed according to the nature of the subject. Parables were employed in the

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personal spiritual teaching. In higher learning, such as in the teaching of “righteousness

science”, the most popular and useful method was catechism, with the pupil asking questions
and the teacher discussing at length on the topics referred to him. Memorization, however,
played the greatest role.

ACTIVITY III
1. What major similarities would you recognise between the Chinese and Hindu
systems?
2. Some that appears to be peculiar to the Hindu system is the class system. How do
you think this affected the system of education there?
3. How much of the education in each of the two systems was utilitarian and how
much of it was not.

THE JEWISH EDUCATION

As in virtually all traditional societies, education in ancient Israel was predominantly
familiar, that is, it is based on the family, with the mother playing a very significant role in
the education of the very young. In most cases, girls followed their mothers’ vocations while
boys followed their fathers’ professions. Thus, farmers brought up their sons invariably as
farmers, shepherds as shepherds, fishermen as fishermen (realise that the brother Simon and
Andrew were working as fishermen with their father when Jesus called them).
A very important aspect of the Jewish education involved providing moral and religious
education. Consider what God commanded Moses to tell the people: ‘These commandments
that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about
them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when
you get up.’ (Deut. 6:6-7) In this task of bringing up children in the fear of God, parents were
to regard their duty as never ending as they are to teach ‘their children and the children of
their children’ (Deut. 4:9).
Education was rigid and exacting, as teaching was usually accompanied with corporal
punishment. The book of Proverbs (13:24) indeed recommends this: ‘He who spares the rod
hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.’ This does not make the
parent or teacher a wicked person, rather discipline is out of love for the child, (notice the
wording of the last part of the quoted passage. The word ‘rod’ is the same used by the
psalmist (Psalm 23) where the sheep is supposed to say that the rod of the Lord comforts it.
Thus the rod is as much an instrument of discipline as it is of guidance and comfort.
Throughout this period, the discipline system was the norm. Each great master had a number
of disciples who learnt from him. Thus, Elisha learnt from and modeled his ministry on,
Elijah; Jesus Christ had his 12 disciples, each of whom later had his own followers etc. In
most cases, these groups were not stationary in a formal institution, rather they moved from
place to place, much like the Sophists, the itinerant teachers. The difference here was that
this time they peddled religious morals rather than abstract philosophy.

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ACTIVITY IV
1. From what has been presented here, do you think there was a formal school
system as in the previously discussed systems?
2. Corporal punishment was the norm during the period discussed. To what extent
did this differ from, or conform to earlier discussed system?

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UNIT TWO: EDUCATION IN SPARTA

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, students should be able to:
1. state clearly who the Spartans were and the era in which they lived;
2. discuss the type of education they gave their children;
3. analyse factors that made them adopt this type of education;
4. discuss what lessons we can learn from the Spartans.

THE BACKGROUND
Who were the Spartans?
Sparta was one of the ancient Greek city states. By ‘ancient’ we are referring to the era
before the present epoch, especially the period before the birth of Christ some two thousand
years ago. During the periods we are referring to, Greece as it exists today as a country did
not really exist. Rather, there were several city states, most of them rising to cultural and/or
military prominence. Among them were Sparta and Athens, two contiguous cities, but vastly
different from each other in several ways as we shall see from this and the next units.
Specifically, the era we are referring to is about 8 or 7 centuries BC, which was the period
that Sparta really reached the height of her glory as a military force.
Sparta believed so much in military exploits and cared less for beauty and culture. There is a
saying that Spartan parents owed their male children one thing: the shield, and that on
handling over this military tool, they usually accompanied the act with the saying, ‘Go, and
return with it, or on it.’ What does this terse saying mean? It signifies that the parent is
sending off the son into the wide world with the shield to defend himself against all sorts of
attack, and that he should either return in victory with it, or die and be brought home on it.
Such was the military disposition of Sparta that it soon became a force among other states.
Sparta subdued one after the other of the other states. First it was its neighbour, Messenia,
which lost its independence to Sparta in the 8th century BC and did not regain it until the
360s. Historians have asserted that it was this factor, of subjugating Messenia, ‘that
determined the peculiar development of Sparta, because it forced Spartans to adjust their
institutions to deal with a permanently hostile subject population’. Before long, Sparta
sprang out to other states, conquering one after the other including Athens too. However, it
was just this military might for which it was noted, but not for much else. So, there is not
much of poetry, drama, sculpture, etc., that we can learn from Sparta. What we can learn is
the type of education that prepared the citizens for warfare rather than for the arts, science,
governance, etc. So, what is this type of education?

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ACTIVITY I
1. In which part of the world would you find the ancient Sparta today?
2. How long ago was the rise to glory of Sparta?
3. What does the statement to the Spartan boy tell us about Sparta?
4. Why do we not hear of Messenia today? What impact did the conquest of
Messenia have on Sparta?

EDUCATION IN SPARTA
Education in Sparta began from age 7 to 20 years. Before then, mothers brought up children,
‘in an atmosphere of severity and harshness’. Throughout life, girls were given a type of
education that prepared them for their role as wives and mothers; howbeit in an atmosphere
of severe discipline. Sickly or deformed children were eliminated through death or by simply
throwing them away, since they would not be useful for the type of life that Sparta wanted.
Although in the beginning of the state, Sparta encouraged some form of arts, music and
culture as part of the education of children, these gave way almost totally to a type of
education appropriate to a warrior state.
Boys in Sparta were enrolled into formations corresponding to successive age grade. These
were divided into smaller units under the authority of comrades of their own age or of young
officers. It was a collective education, which progressively removed them from the family
and subjected them to garrison life. Everything was organised with a view to preparation for
military service. Thus they were lightly clothed, had to sleep on the bare ground, and poorly
fed. They were told to steal to supplement their rations, and subjected to rigorous discipline.
Hardening them to blows developed their virility and combativeness. Besides, they were sent
on nocturnal expeditions designed to train the future fighter in ambushes and the ruses of
warfare. They were also directly apprenticed to the military craft, using arms and
maneuvering in close formation. The sole norm of this puritanical education, proceeding in a
climate of austerity, was the interest of the state. The Spartan was trained under a strict
discipline to obey blindly the orders of his superiors. Curiously, the child was at the same
time trained to lying, to theft, and to dissimulation, (i.e. to conceal one’s real feelings, e.g.
pretending to be happy and contented when in actual fact one was acutely sad and in
discomfort). All these were virtues when directed toward the foreigner, toward whom
distrust and Machiavellianism (i.e. cunning, deceit, and duplicity) were encouraged.
This type of ruged education enabled Sparta to remain for long the most powerful city,
militarily and diplomatically, of the entire Greek world and to triumph over its rival Athens
after the long struggle of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC). However, this did not
prevent Sparta’s decadence. It was not that Sparta ever relaxed its tension. On the contrary,
in the course of centuries, the rigour and ferocity were accentuated even as such behaviour
became more and more unnecessary and out of date and without real use. Rites of initiation
were transformed into barbarous tests of endurance, the boys undergoing flagellation and
competing in enduring it, sometimes to the very death, under the eyes of tourists attracted by

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the sadistic spectacle. This occurred in times of complete peace when, under the Roman
Empire, Sparta was nothing but a little provincial city with neither independence nor army.

ACTIVITY II
1. For how long was the Spartan boy educated? How would you compare this with
the present system in Nigeria.
2. Mention at least three aspects of the education given to the Spartan boy.
3. Do you think the Spartan people had any respect for morality as it is known in our
world today? Give reasons for your view.
4. The word ‘Machiavellian’ should tell us much about the values cherished by the
people. Consult as many history books as you can to find out about the Italian
statesman called Nicholi Machiavelli and his ideas.

What is there to learn from Spartan education?

Education in Sparta promoted the city state to a position of military prominence. It was a
type of education that promoted discipline, both of the body and of the mind. Citizens were
brought up not to expect any life of opulence and of pleasure. In the process, the state grew
in prominence and was able to dominate others. To this extent, we can say that if any country
wants to make progress and achieve greatness, it has to train youths to undergo and imbibe a
life of discipline and indeed some degree of severity. Even today, countries which have
achieved military and/industrial greatness are known to engage their youths in a sort of
training that hardens the body and the mind.
But then, there is very little to show for all the sagacity of Sparta today. While we have a lot
of poems and drama pieces from ancient Rome and Athens, there is hardly any such thing
from Sparta. Indeed, archaeology cannot find anything of substance from the ruins of ancient
Sparta. We should learn from this that a nation that trains its citizens solely for war and for
nothing else can hardly survive. Certainly, we need military greatness if our borders are to be
secure against external aggression and internal dissension, but then, we need a calm
atmosphere in which to settle down, think of development, inventions and manufacturing.
These today are what make a truly great nation. Better a nation of thinkers and inventors than
one of boxers and assassins.

ACTIVITY III
1. In summary, state the major concepts of Spartan education.
2. Why does the writer stress that this type of education is not suitable for our
present world? Would you agree with him? If so, why? If not, why not?
3. From your own point of view, what type of education would you prescribe for
Nigeria of the twenty-first century? Give reasons for your answer.

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SUMMARY
• Spartan does not exist today as a country. Rather, it was just a city state in ancient
Greece, just as other city states like Athens.
• Education in formal schools as we know it today did not exist in ancient Sparta.
Rather, boys and girls were brought up to live a hardened life that prepared them for a
military-like type of life. Indeed, invalids were intentionally killed or left to die since
they were of no use to the state and might even be an encumbrance (an impediment, a
hindrance; a burden, a useless addition) to the state.
• Life in the military dominated all aspects of Spartan life. Beside this, it did not matter
if a boy grew up to be a robber. Indeed, boys were encouraged to imbibe those traits
we would consider as immoral today, e.g. stealing, lying, cheating, etc.
• As a result of this highly regimented type of life, Sparta grew to become a military
force among other city states. It was able to subdue all others and dominate them.
• However, this state of things did not really last, as the state experienced internal decay
and fell gradually. In the end, it was destroyed in the fourth century AD.

REFERENCES
Osokoya, I.O. (1989) History and Policy of Nigerian Education in World Perspective.
Ibadan: AMD Publishers.
Good, H., & J.D. Tellar (1969) A History of Western Education. New York: Macmillan
Publishing Co. Inc.
The CD edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc 1994 – 2001.

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UNIT THREE: EDUCATION IN ATHENS

OBJECTIVES
1. state clearly who the Athenians were and the era in which they lived;
2. discuss the type of education they developed then;
3. analyse factors that promoted this type of education;
4. discuss what lessons we can learn from the Athenians.

BACKGROUND
Who were the Athenians?
Athens was another Greek city-states, just like Sparta. Greece as we know it today as a
country did not yet exist then. Rather, small city states like Sparta, Corinth, Megara and
Athens were to be found in what is today the Greek peninsula. What bound these city-states
today was the common Greek language.

THE ORIGIN OF THE ATHENIAN EDUCATION

Originally, Athens was like Sparta in its approach to the education of the citizens, with a
heavy orientation towards the military training. However, beginning at a date difficult to fix
precisely (at the end of the 7th or during the 6th century), Athens, gradually renounced the
type of education oriented towards the future duties of the soldier. This did not mean that
military life was totally excluded from the life of the Athenian youth. Rather, it meant that
the military no longer dominated the life of the youth. ‘The Athenian citizen was always
obliged, when necessary and capable, to fight for the fatherland, but the civil aspect of life
and culture was predominant: armed combat was only a sport.’
This shift reflected to large extent the shift in the city towards increasing democratization.
More and more, the common people were being given a say in the affairs of the state; and all
free citizens would gather together at a common centre to take vital state decisions. In short,
democracy as we know it today was taking shape. This trend towards democratization,
although relevant to just a minority of the people, since about 90 percent of the people
remained disenfranchised, meant that the Athenian culture was continually oriented towards
noble life. Thus, apart from some indulgence in the elegant sports such as horsemanship and
hunting, military practices were drastically played down.

Aspects of Athenian Education

Athenian education was mainly for boys, as there was no specific type of education for girls
who were entrusted to their mothers for moral and domestic training. So, unlike boys, girls
did not attend school as such.
For boys, however, the whole educational system was structured. There were three types of
schools for boys. These were:-

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(a) the letters school for reading and writing, analogous today’s primary and secondary
schools;
(b) the music school for lyric, poetry and lyre, including learning and recitation of poems;
(c) the gymnastic school for physical training.
The foregoing did not mean that a boy would attend just one type of school and specialize in
it for life; rather, what obtained was that learners attended the letters and music schools in the
morning and the gymnastic school in the afternoon. Thus, it was like having different
institutions for different aspect of the same curriculum. From this explanation you would see
that our schools today have merely combined all these functions under the same institutions.
However, whether in a letters school, a music school or a gymnastic school, the moral aspect
of education was held in high esteem. ‘The Athenian ideal was that of the kalos k’agathos,
the “wise and good” man. The teachers were as much preoccupied with overseeing the
child’s good conduct and the formation of his character as with directing his progress in the
various subjects taught him.’ Besides, much of the morals were learned through poetry, as
the content of the poems contained a lot of the intended moral lessons. Thus it was that the
poetry of two great Athenians, Solon and Homer, became standard texts in the schools.
Solon’s poems had much to do with statecraft while Homer’s poetry concerned itself with
competition and heroic exploits.
Teaching was much more difficult than, and very different from what it is today. There were
no texts as such, and only the teacher had his manuscript to teach from. The teacher in most
cases dictated his lessons while the pupils wrote the notes down on their wax tablets for
memorization. Meanwhile, apart from the teacher, there was the pedagogue, a man-servant
employed by each rich parent to escort the boy to and from the school, and stay around to
keep him from any mischief. In case the boy was disobedient or wayward, the pedagogue
applied the whip.
There were no distinct subjects as we know them today, but much of what we learn today was
beginning to emerge and take shape. The curricu8lum consisted of reading, writing, music,
poetry, mathematics and gymnastics. Such subjects as religion, social studies, government,
etc., did not exist separately as they were taught in embedded form in writing, poetry, music,
etc.
Schooling continued till the age of eighteen. Between that age and twenty years, the boys
received military training, after which they were free to choose which career to specialize in.
However, in most cases, the Athenian boys preferred a career in state affairs. This seemed
logical enough since there were very few free educated people to start with, and since most of
the students were the children of the noble who could afford such luxury as formal education.

ACTIVITY I
1. What were the factors behind Athenian preference for civil rather than military
education?
2. Describe in as precise a manner as possible, the curriculum in Athenian schools.
3. Why did most boys end up in politics rather than in other careers?
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THE COMING OF THE SOPHISTS

The word ‘sophist’ means a wise person, and is from the Greek word ‘soph’, meaning
wisdom. Realising that the word ‘philosophy’ contains this word ‘soph’, i.e. ‘wisdom’, and
other Greek word, ‘philo’. The latter word, ‘philo’ means ‘lover of; so the word ‘philosophy’
actually means ‘lover of wisdom’. So, what or who were the sophists and what significant
role did they play in the education of Athenians?
The Sophists were itinerant teachers, mostly from outside Athens, who went about dispensing
their knowledge to whoever was it that cared to listen and pay for such. In most cases,
however, these were the nobles who had the time to listen, money to pay, and the knowledge
to engage such itinerant teachers in discussions. Many authorities claim that the Sophists
were few, but there are evidences that they numbered more than 30. For about 70 years, they
until about 380 BC, ‘they were the sole source of higher education in the more advanced
Greek cities. Thereafter, at least in Athens, they were largely replaced by the new
philosophic schools, such as those of Plato and Socrates.’
Looking back, most authorities would tend to deride the type of education given by the
Sophists, since these were like ‘hungry authors’ going about to sell knowledge. The
exception of course is Socrates, of whom we shall learn more later, since this great
philosopher did not sell his knowledge and taught out of genuine interest in the truth and
knowledge. There is also the question of how these Sophists were trained, to start with.
There are some evidences that some of them really underwent rigorous and genuine training,
but there are also enough reasons to regard some of them as self trained and perhaps ‘fake’.
As most of the Sophists were not Athenians, how come they made Athens their centre of
activities? There are three major reasons for this. First, Athens served as a geographic
central point, through which most of the routes passed. It was thus a commercial focal point.
Second, Athens was the most liberal of the city-states, the place where you could express
your views without let or hinder. In other places, trying to express an opinion might land one
in trouble. Third, there were many nobles there who were prepared to listen to, and engage in
philosophical arguments and pay for these.
The Sophists taught men how to speak and what arguments to use in public debate. Most
people, especially youths who needed skills of public speaking, increasingly sought after a
Sophistic education. This was mainly because the changing pattern of Athenian society made
merely traditional attitudes in many cases to be no longer adequate. Criticizing such attitudes
and replacing them by rational arguments held special attraction for the young. Plato
admitted that he learned at least one thing from the Sophists: that if the older values were to
be defended, it must be by reasoned argument, not by appeals to tradition and unreflecting
faith.
The Sophists left an enduring mark on the education of youths. It was the Sophists, for
instance, who pointed attention to the grammar of the language. They taught such items as
genders, tenses, moods and the like. In short, they established the fact that the language has
structure which has to be mastered in order to speak, write, and think well. Besides, they
improved the study of prose and thus helped the use of rhetoric as an art of public speaking.
Remember that because of the development of democracy, public speaking was getting more

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and more essential to intending politicians and practitioners in the courts. Thirdly, they
developed the use of logic, the science of proper reasoning. When you think of these three
contributions – grammar, rhetoric, and logic – you would realize that these early lovers of
wisdom perhaps deserve their name.
This is not to say that they did not delve into some other areas. Of course, they engaged in
the nature of vietue (arête) and the bases of morality; in the history of society and the arts; in
poetry, music, and mathematics; and also in astronomy and the physical sciences, even
though individual Sophists may specialize in one area and not in the other. In general, it is
the general view today that these itinerant teachers initiated a method of higher education that
in range and method anticipated the modern humanistic approach.

ACTIVITY II
1. From the analysis of the words ‘philo’ and ‘soph’, try to think of some other
words in modern English which have these root words. Then try to work out their
meanings in the light of the explanations given.
2. Discuss factors that made the Sophists acceptable in ancient Athenian community.
Suggest factors why they might not be equally acceptable to present day society.
3. Discuss the major contributions of Sophists to education.

SUMMARY
The main thrust of this unit centres on the Athenian education. In the process, we learnt that:
• The Athenian education is drastically different from that of the Spartans. For former
is more liberal and oriented towards the civil society, while the latter is fashioned for
the development of military life.
• Girls are mainly educated at home for roles as wives and mothers, although their
training also imbibes a lot of moral upbringing.
• For boys, education lasted till the age of 18 years, after which they received military
training for two years.
• They received training in three types of schools: the letters school, the music school
and the gymnasium. The curriculum of course included far more than is suggested by
the mere names of these schools.
• The Sophists, itinerant teachers, influenced the education of youths greatly in that
they contributed to the teaching of grammar, rhetoric, logic; and in the process they
helped youths to develop their skills in public speaking and thus their preparation for
public life.

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MODULE ONE History of Education (PDE - 101)

REFERENCES
Osokoya, I.O. (1989) History and Policy of Nigerian Education in World Perspective.
Ibadan: AMD Publishers.
The CD edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 1994 – 2001.
G.W. Bowersock, Greek Sophists in the Roman Empire (1969)

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MODULE ONE History of Education (PDE - 101)

UNIT FOUR: EDUCATION IN SPARTA AND ATHENS

COMPARED

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. enumerate similarities and differences between the educational systems practiced in
Sparta and Athens;
2. discuss the strengths and weaknesses inherent in each of the systems;
3. analyse what we can learn from each of the two systems.

BACKGROUND
It is perhaps instructive to discuss the background factors responsible for the educational
system in each of the two states. We can recall that Sparta aimed at military superiority over
its neighbours. The pertinent question we need to ask is ‘Why was there a need for such an
ambition?’ We can further ask if after achieving this ambition, Sparta was much happier for
it. This should be a good starting point for the present exercise.
We should also recall that the Athenian city-state was the first to steer away from an over-
emphasis on military superiority and military education. The instructive question here is
‘What motivated Athens to deviate from what had become the age-old philosophy of life?’
We should also further ask what the consequences of this type of new orientation were.
Finally, we should like to ask why, in spite of its defeat and subjugation by Sparta, it is
Athens as a state that survived while Sparta the conqueror was obliterated from the face of
the earth.

FUNDAMENTAL BASES FOR THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO

CITY-STATES
Sparta chose the path of militarism as a way of life. Buy why? To start with, we should
realise that it was not alone in doing this. Most other states did so because it was on that type
of life that they could survive. The practice in those days was for each state to attack and
conquer those they could. The conqueror could loot and plunder the conquered that were
consequently turned into slaves. Life at that time was akin to ‘survival of the fittest’.
Doomed were those states that did not develop their military forces, in time they would be
attacked, conquered, and subjugated. To a great extent, the states that survived were those
that conquered others and extended their boundaries to cover areas they had defeated, making
the subjugated people part of their new states. So, Sparta was not doing anything much
different from what was the norm in most states.
But then Athens chose the path of civility. Why? The fact is that Athens itself was not much
different from others originally. Athens chose a new path only when it had sufficiently
achieved military glory for along time and thus had built up a large number of noble men
who had fed fat on the returns from looted areas. The arrivals on the scene of many nobles

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created a need for a peaceful epoch so as to enable them enjoy their wealth. You cannot
enjoy your riches if there is an unending war. Realise too that nobles who have more slaves
and attendants could have more time to think, to develop ideas. And one of the vestiges of
this is thinking of governance. Thus, the seeds of democracy had been sown.
So, we had these two city states existing side by side, one believing so much in military
exploits without thinking of morals, and the other believing in culture, morality, ideals, etc.
Almost inevitably, there was a clash in which, after a lot of dingdong results, Athens was
finally defeated. One would have thought that Sparta the victor would bestow a more
enduring legacy for mankind. No, it has been the other way round. Sparta itself was later
defeated by some other forces, and indeed was utterly destroyed. There was not much to
learn from it since there were no moral lessons worth bequeathing to mankind. Athens, on
the other hand, survived the holocaust.
The first thing we can realise about the two is that hardly can we refer to any great scholar or
philosopher from Sparta today. There are no great writings, no great plays, no great poems
from Sparta. On the contrary, there are countless scholars from Athens some of whom we
shall be learning about in the next units. Think of poets, and there are those like Homer and
Simonides; think of historians, and there are those like Thucydides and Melesias and when
we think of mathematics, we reckon with people like Pythagoras and Euclid. Though some
of these men may not have been Athenians as such, in most cases, they functioned as
Athenians or were influenced by Athenian culture and life. Most of these men left writings
or at least theories which are still cited today, almost three thousand years after they lived.
What do all these connote? It stands to reason from these that no civilization can thrive and
survive for long on militarism alone. This is a sense in which we can assert that knowledge is
superior to force, that the pen is mightier than the sword. Also, it shows that morality it is
that can build up a nation, not lack of ideals. Robbers can thrive for a while, but their doom
is certain.

ACTIVITY I
1. Why did Sparta choose the path of militarism?
2. What factors influenced Athens to deviate from militarism and choose the path of
civility?
3. What were the immediate and distant results of the two different ways of life?

LESSONS FOR OUR PRESENT DAY EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS

Imperfect as the Spartan educational system was, it has some messages for us today. First,
we need to learn that for excellence in athletics, there must be constant training and the
earlier the youths are identified for such physically demanding roles, the better. For, in
ancient Olympic competitions, Sparta usually defeated all other city-states, winning more
than half of the laurels. Today, most families frown on letting youths fend for themselves,

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MODULE ONE History of Education (PDE - 101)

whereas there may be a point in letting youths try it if only to realise that survival depends on
it.
However, there are very many things we should never learn from the Spartans. Lack of
morality destroys society, as it finally did Sparta. Lying, cheating, stealing, etc., are vices
that should be recognised for what they are. Besides, today, we know that killing or
abandoning deformed or invalid children is evil. Good a thing today that rather than destroy
or throw them away, our society caress for them in special institutions, for we now realise
that some disabled children are indeed very useful to society.
From Athenian education, we have learnt and can still learn a lot. To start with, the
development of subject areas is indirectly owed to them. Secondly, moral education which
was the centre of Athenian education has influenced our own system today. Perhaps, we still
need to stress more of this since our school subjects like literature, history, government,
religious studies, etc., could still contain more of moral lessons.
Besides, we need to learn to be more accommodating of other people’s ideas. Recall that the
Sophists who greatly influenced Athenian education were not Athenians themselves. But
because they were accommodated, they contributed to the glory of Athens. We should learn
to be more tolerant of others’ ideas, though we need not swallow them hook, line and sinker.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we need to learn from the Athenians that it is only
under a free atmosphere that education and civilization can thrive. An administrative system
that gags the press and the school system cannot sow the seeds of growth.

ACTIVITY II
1. What lessons can we learn from the educational system in Sparta? Which should
be not learned?
2. What lessons can we learn from the educational system in Athens?
3. If you are to summarise the lessons learnt from the two city-states, how would
you do it in just one sentence?

SUMMARY
The main thrust of this chapter has been that:
• Force cannot build up an enduring civilisation.
• Morality is essential for the survival of any society or nation.
• Ideas are best nurtured under a free, democratic dispensation.
• A state that builds so much on militarism cannot produce great thinkers such as
philosophers, writers, scientists, etc. On the other hand, these are the types of
products we can expect under a civil society.

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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

UNIT ONE: GREAT ATHENIAN EDUCATORS: SOCRATES,

PLATO AND ARISTOTLE

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, students should be able to:
1. discuss who each of the three philosophers, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, is;
2. analyse the contributions of each of these three to education;
3. identify what our own educational system can learn from each of the three.

BACKGROUND
In the annals of history, the three great Greek philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle,
stand out gigantically. The simple reason is that they made so much contribution to the
development of human thought that they continue even today to be relevant to our world.
Indeed, it is not just to the development of education that they made significant contributions,
but indeed to so many other areas of human endeavour. For instance, Aristotle is considered
one of the first biologists. Besides, both Plato and Aristotle wrote books which are still
studied today. Finally, when you think of ideas and methods of logical thinking, it would be
difficult to beat these three.
So, who are these idealists? In this unit, we devote each of the three sections to each of them.
In each case, we first address ourselves to who the person is, and then go further by
discussing what their ideas and contributions are. We start with Socrates, the teacher of Plato
and end with Aristotle the student of Plato.
Socrates and his ides
Born 469 BC, in Athens, the son of Sophroniscus, a sculptor, and Phaenarete, a midwife,
Socrates was reportedly short and unattractive, but extremely hardy and self-controlled. He
was to live till 399 BC. He was educated in literature, music, and gymnastics, and later in the
rhetoric and dialectics of the sophists, the speculations of the Ionian philosophers, and the
general culture of Periclean Athens. Initially, Socrates followed the craft of his father. He
also served with the other male citizens of Athens in the Peloponnesian War with Sparta,
acting bravely as an infantryman at several battles.
Unlike the Sophists, he was an Athenian, and he did not sell his services. There are various
evidences that he was very close to Pericles, the ipso’facto ruler of Athens, and those in
authority in the city. So, it is logical to deduce that had he wanted power, he would have
acquired sufficient power for himself. He had a brief stint in politics but soon withdrew to
concentrate on philosophy and discussions. His wife was Xanthippe, an Athenian, with
whom he had three children.
Socrates left no writings; we know of his ideas through his pupils’ work, but the
characteristic approach of the “Socratic dialogues” and his critical application of logical
enquiry ensure his importance in later philosophy. The central idea of his philosophy was the

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attribute of arête – usually translated as “goodness” or “virtue” – is an innate human quality

and that virtue is self-knowledge.
Although Socrates claimed only to know that he was ignorant, he developed a number of
distinctive ethical views in the form of paradoxes. These included the ideas that virtue was
knowledge; that no one does wrong willingly, but only out of ignorance; and that it is better
to be wronged than to wrong someone else. Socrates emphasized rational argument, concern
with one’s soul, and the search for definitions of ethical ideas. Also important was his
method of engaging in argument, which often involved an ironic stance towards the claims of
his interlocutors, known as Socratic irony. This method has come down to us as the ‘Socratic
method’ which involve posing a series of questions through which the partner in argument
gets to realise the weakness of his stand and gradually accept that he is wrong and to accept
the more correct notion.
Most of these were strange to most Athenians. Almost inevitably, he ran foul of the
authorities’ interests and was arrested, charged with impiety and corrupting the morals of the
youth of Athens. At his trial, he presented a justification of his life. He was convicted and
sentenced to death unless he would admit that he was wrong in his ideas. He refused to do
this and preferred to die. So, he accepted the hemlock poison that he was given.
Perhaps his greatest contribution to education is the use of the Socratic Method. With this
method, the teacher can make the student sharpen his reasoning faculty, improve his own.

ACTIVITY I
1. What would you think is the significance of the reference to Socrates as a short,
ugly person in the light of his contributions to knowledge?
2. What does ‘arete’ mean and what is the important of Socrates’ use of it?
3. Discuss Socrates’s real contributions to education.
4. Why do you think Socrates was arrested and finally killed?

PLATO AND HIS LEGACY

Plato, another Greek philosopher, was born at about 428 BC and lived till about 347 BC. He
was one of the most creative and influential thinkers in Western philosophy. He was the first
to use the term “philosophy”, meaning “love of knowledge”. He dwelt on a wide range of
topics, chief among which was the theory of forms, which proposed that objects in the
physical world merely resemble or participate in the perfect forms in the ideal world, and that
only these perfect forms can be the objects of true knowledge. He held that the goal of the
philosopher is to know the perfect forms and to instruct others in that knwoeldge.
He was born to an aristocratic family in the Athenian democracy. His father, Ariston, a
descendant of the early kings of Athens, died when Plato was a child, and his mother
Perictione married Pyrilampes, an associate of the statesman Pericles. Young Plato had
political ambitions, but he became disillusioned with the political leadership in Athens. He

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eventually became a disciple of Socrates, who had pioneered the search for ethical truth
through dialectical questions and answers with anyone claiming to have knowledge. Plato
witnessed the execution of Socrates by the Athenian democracy in 399 BC. Perhaps fearing
for his own safety, he left Athens for a time.
In 387 BC Plato founded in Athens the Academy often described as the first European
university. It provided a comprehensive curriculum, including such subjects as astronomy,
biology, mathematics, political theory, and philosophy. Aristotle became the Academy’s
most prominent student. The concluding years of his life were spent lecturing at the
Academy and writing. He died at about the age of 80 in Athens in 384 or 347 BC.
Plato’s surviving writings are all in the form of dialogues, sometimes framed by a narrator.
They depict philosophical ideas being advanced, discussed, and criticized in the context of a
conversation or debate involving two or more people. The earliest ancient collection of
Plato’s work includes 35 dialogues and 13 letters. The dialogues are conventionally divided
into the early, middle, and late dialogues. The earliest dialogues depict Socrates as Plato saw
him at work, questioning leading citizens of Athens about their beliefs. Socrates,
encountering someone who seems to know much about a particular ethical topic, professes to
be ignorant and seeks enlightenment from the person claiming knowledge. As Socrates
questions their definitions, however, it becomes clear that the one reputed to be wise does not
really know what he claims to know, and Socrates emerges as the wiser person because he at
least knows that he does not know.
Of all his several writings, The Republic is Plato’s longest, most complex, and most
ambitious. It is on the nature of justice in the soul and in the state. In it Plato tries to give a
theoretical account of the perfectly just state. Many of the book’s fundamental ideas are set
forth through analogies. Consider for instance the analogy with the mathematical entity, the
circle. A circle, he says, is a plane figure composed of a series of points, all of which are
equidistant from a given point, yet none of which itself occupies any space. An ideal circle
would be perfect, timeless, and the model for the circularity of all ordinary circles. In the
same way, abstract concepts – such as Beauty and Good – are perfect, timeless entities.
The Republic is concerned with the question of justice. Starting with the question “Does
justice pay for the individual, apart from any external rewards?” It argues that justice in the
soul is linked to justice in the city. Both soul and city have three analogous parts: the id, the
ego, and the super-ego – a desiring part, a spirited part and a rational part. Justice directs that
each part should carry out its own function. Plato argues that this means that the two non-
rational parts must be ruled by the rational part. Far from being a mere analogy, the relation
between soul and the city turns out to mean that the two lower classes in society must be
ruled by the highest class, the philosophers, who alone can use their reason to acquire
knowledge of the forms.
The political structure of the just city would thus depend on a thorough educational
programme, which selects the potential philosophers on the basis of merit, and trains them
thoroughly. His scheme is such that education should be almost life long. The most brilliant
pupils should be trained to become philosopher kings, i.e. the rulers, while those less gifted
should be trained for the armed forces and other menial professions, depending on their
capabilities. Throughout, the state should be responsible for the education of all citizens.
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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

This would sound as a communistic policy in which the state runs everything and all citizens
seem to exist for the interest of the state.
Once the philosophers are selected, their autocratic rule in the light of reason must be
safeguarded from corruption. Therefore, they are to be deprived of private property and
families, and forced to pay attention to civic affairs. Such drastic measures alone can ensure
that their rule is for the sake of the city as a whole and not for their private interests.
Plato’s influence on the later history of philosophy has been monumental. His Academy
continued in existence until AD 529, when it was closed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I
for conflicting with Christianity.

ACTIVITY II
1. Plato invented the word ‘philosophy’ although he was not the first philosopher.
How would you reconcile these?
2. The academy of Plato is regarded as the first university, and it existed for about
800 years. Discuss what this tells us about the figure of the founder.
3. How would you sum up the real import of the philosophy of Plato?
4. What are the main educational ideas of Plato?

ARISTOTLE AND HIS LEGACY

Aristotle (384-322 BC), the third of the trio of Greek philosophers, was born at Siagira, in
Macedonia, the son of a physician to the royal court. An outstanding philosopher he was also
a scientist. He moved at age 17 to Athens to study at Plato’s Academy, remaining there for
about 20 years, first as a student and then as a teacher. He shared his teacher’s reverence for
human knowledge but revised many of Plato’s ideas by emphasizing methods rooted in
observation and experience. Aristotle surveyed and systematized nearly all known branches
of knowledge and provided the first ordered accounts of biology, psychology, physics, and
literary theory. In addition, Aristotle invented the field known as formal logic, pioneered
zoology, and discussed virtually every known major philosophical problem.
When Plato died in 347 BC, Aristotle moved to Assos, a city in Asia Minor, where a friend of
his, Hermias, was ruler. After Hermias was captured and executed by the Persians in 345
BC, Aristotle moved to Pella, the Macedonian capital, where he became tutor to the king’s
young son Alexander, later known as Alexander the Great. In 335 BC, when Alexander
became king, Aristotle returned to Athens and established his own school, the Lyceum.
Upon the death of Alexander in 323 BC, strong anti-Macedonian feeling developed in
Athens, and Aristotle retired to a family estate in Euboea. He died there the following year.
Aristotle was a prolific writer who wrote a vast number of works on a wide range of topics.
He was credited with having written more than 170 separate texts, although it is likely that
many of these might be false attributions. Like Plato, Aristotle published philosophical
dialogues, apart from summaries of the works of other philosophers, and is credited with
works on topics as diverse as music and optics, and a book of proverbs. Of these, only a few

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brief excerpts have survived. Still in existence, however, is a substantial body of unpublished
writings, usually taken to be the material on which courses in the Lyceum were based.
The range of Aristotle’s interest was vast, covering most of the sciences and many of the arts.
He worked in physics, chemistry, biology, zoology, and botany; in psychology, political
theory, and ethics; in logic and metaphysics; in history, literary theory, and rhetoric. His
greatest achievements were in two distinct areas: he invented the study of formal logic,
devising for it a finished system, known as Aristotelians syllogistic; and he pioneered the
study of zoology, both observational and theoretical, in which his work was not surpassed
until the 19th century.
Even though Aristotle’s zoology is now out-of –date and his thought in the other natural
sciences has long been left behind, his importance as a scientist is unequalled. But it is now
of purely historical importance: he, like other scientists of the past, is not read by his
successors. As a philosopher Aristotle is equally stupendous; and is still very much consulted
today. Although his syllogistic is now recognised to be only a small part of formal logic, his
writings in ethical and political theory as well as in metaphysics and in the philosophy of
science are read and argued over by modern philosophers. Aristotle’s historical importance is
second to none, and his work remains a powerful component in current philosophical debate.
As for his contributions to education, Aristotle was in agreement with his master Plato on the
division of education into stages, from the lowest to the highest. However, he clearly
disagreed with the communistic stance Plato proposed. He thought that Plato’s ideas were
too ideal to be practical since it would involve indoctrinating both parents and children in
order to make the system work. As a departure from Plator’s ideas, he proposed freedom in
education, that everybody should be given the opportunity to develop his talents to the fullest
of his capacity.
He believed that the mind of the child was like pliable clay, which could be molded into any
desired shape. Education it is that should do this. The ultimate goal of human existence
should be individual happiness and this education should aim at. Education should enhance a
person’s reasoning capability, making him a wise individual that lives a good moral life.
Teachers should thus strive to enable a learner achieve all these ideals in a person. We could
end this section by asserting that Aristotle was one of the great thinkers who believed in the
importance of teachers in society.

ACTIVITY III
1. How would you justify the claim that Aristotle was a great generalist?
2. In what significant ways did Aristotle depart from his teacher Plato?
3. Discuss the main educational ideas of Aristotle.
4. How would you rate the contributions of Aristotle among the trio of Socrates,
Plato and Aristotle?

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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

SUMMARY
In this unit, we have examined very briefly the lives and contributions of the trio of the Greek
philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. In the process, we found that:
• Socrates was the teacher of Plato, who himself was the teacher of Aristotle.
• While not being a typical Sophist, Socrates adopted the techniques of the Sophists to a
large extent. He adopted a style of engaging his listener in argument from the stance
of one who is ignorant. But in the process of the argument, using a series of
questions, he led his listener to realise that he (the listener) was really ignorant and
needed to find out more. Thus, today the questioning technique is referred to as the
Socratic Method.
• Plato wrote profusely, in most instances referring to the experiences and teaching of
Socrates. Through his writings, especially through the greatest of his books, The
Republic, we gather that the state, like a person, is constituted of three parts: the id,
the ego, and the super-ego. He affirmed that the super-ego should rule the id and the
ego, and at the state level that the philosophers should rule the state while others
should be channeled into vocations for which their ability is suited. He thus
advocated a state-run life-long education scheme through which the various
individuals could be prepared for their roles in the state.
• Aristotle in his monumental contributions to learning wrote very many books, many
of which are still consulted. He agreed with many of Plato’s principles but disagreed
with a communistic type of state-run education. He was the first great biologist and
contributed to virtually all other science disciplines.

REFERENCE
Bowel, J. & p. Hobson (1974) Theories of Education. London: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.
The CD version of Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. – 1994 – 2001.
Microsoft Corporation. The CD version of Encarta Reference Library 1993 – 2001
Microsoft Corporation.
Osokoya, I.O. (1989) History and Policy of Nigerian Education in World Perspective.
Ibadan: AMD Publishers.

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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

UNIT TWO: EDUCATION IN ANCIENT ROME

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, students should be able to:
1. discuss the significant phases of the Roman system of education;
2. analyse the influence of Greek education on Roman education system;
3. discuss what our own system can learn from the Roman system of education.

BACKGROUND
In the ancient Mediterranean world, the two civilizations that dominated others like
colossuses were Rome and Greece. In military terms, these two civilizations swept through
the Mediterranean world, although not at the same time, imposing their culture and ways of
life on countries they subjugated. The first to so dominate others was Greece, under
Alexander the Great, the young Macedonian king who, on discovering that there were no
other states to fight and conquer, burst into tears. He died at the age of 33 years, leaving the
immense territories to other less militarily competent leaders. In time, the empire
disintegrated like a pack of cards. Shortly afterwards, the Romans under great military
leaders like Pompey and Caesar, swept across the whole of the then known world, including
the present Great Britain.
With Rome now as the masters of the world, i.e. with Greece as one of its subject states, one
would have thought that Rome would be in a position to impose its civilization and
educational system on Greece. But the reverse was the case. Rome, it turned out, had no
educational system as such to pass on to Greece. Rather, it was Greece that had to pass on its
system to Rome.
Roman education before the advent of the Greeks
We need to understand a few fundamental things about the traditional Roman sequel to the
coming of the Greek influence. The first significant fact was that traditional Romans were
predominantly agrarian, mostly farmers. Thus, much of the education for boys was geared
towards farming. This involved learning about farming itself as well as farm management
and direction of slaves in the farm work.
The second is that the family was the centre of life to the Roman. To this extent, the father
and the mother matter much and they it was that handled the education of the youth, at least
up to the age of 16 years when the boy was considered to have become a man. As the head of
the family, the father was held in very high esteem and therefore had a great role to play in
educating the child. Indeed, as Osokoya (1989), himself quoting Barclay (1959) claims, the
father had the power of life and death of the child, and indeed, when a child was born, it was
laid at the feet of the father. If the father picked up the child, he was demonstrating that the
child was truly his; but if he turned away he was claiming that he had no hand in its
conception and so the child was taken away to be killed. Both the father and the mother had
a hand in the education of their child and indeed, the role of the mother extended beyond the

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early years and was indeed life long. In most cases, boys followed the vocations of their
fathers while in rich families boys went to important functions, including state affairs, with
their fathers. This way, a senator’s son, for instance, started to take interest in and indeed
learn the affairs of the state.
Third is the fact that as opposed to the Greek education that was oriented towards the
chivalry, as extolled in the poems of Homer, Roman education was geared to extol an
unquestioned respect for the customs of their ancestors. We should bear it in mind that the
traditional Romans were worshippers of very many gods, many of them family gods. Thus,
the Roman child was brought up to respect and learn about these ancestral figures. At the
larger level, the youth was taught to give this loyalty and devotion to the state and were
taught to revere great national ancestors. The interests of the state were supreme. The ideal
set before youth was that of the great men of history who, in difficult situations, had by their
courage and their wisdom saved the fatherland when it was in danger.
Fourth, and perhaps as carry-over from the last point, ‘education had a strong moral aspect,
aiming at inculcating rural virtues, a respect for good management of one’s patrimony, and a
sense of austerity and frugality. Even sons of nobles were taught to live a prudent life rather
live like young lords, while those of commoners were taught to make the best of whatever
they had.
Finally, although Rome was a nation of small farmers, it was equally a nation of soldiers.
Physical straining was very much a part of the boys’ education. This was oriented not
towards self-realization or competitive sport but towards military preparedness. Boys were
trained in the functions and use of arms, while exercises meant to tough of the body and the
mind were embarked upon, e.g. swimming across cold and rapid streams, horsemanship,
involving such performances as mounted acrobatics and cavalry parades under arms.
The education at home for boys ended at 16. This was when the youth was regarded as
having come of age. He had become a man, and a ceremony was held for this. Henceforth
he would wear an adult’s dress, the pure white woolen toga virilis. Thereafter, he would
devote one year to an apprenticeship in public life, no longer at his father’s side but under the
care of an old family friend, an elderly man advanced in politics and highly respected.
Then followed service in the military. Military service commenced, first as an ordinary
soldier during which he learnt to be commanded and to obey orders. He was in the process
introduced into real battle, thus given an opportunity to distinguish himself by courage. Soon
thereafter, he functioned as a staff officer under some distinguished commander. Real career
has commenced.
Whether in civil or military life, however, the Roman was to regard the family as the focal
point of his life. When he had fully weaned himself from his parents, he had his own family
which now constituted the centre of his life.

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ACTIVITY I
1. Discuss the major differences between traditional Roman education and that of the
Athenians.
2. In what ways are the traditional Roman education and that of Nigerian traditional
communities similar?
3. Discuss the statement that it was possible for the Roman citizen to rise to the
highest position in society without being able to read and write.
4. There is a slight inference in the write-up that the average Roman family had
slaves. Discuss where these slaves were likely to have come from, and the
circumstances that made this possible.

ROMAN EDUCATION UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE GREEKS

Rome grew in military might, conquering one nation after another around it. The more
nations Rome conquered, the larger the empire became. Slaves were brought to Rome in
large numbers, made to work for families, communities, and the state as a whole. In process,
Rome was developed at a very rapid rate and many of the roads and physical structures many
of which are still found were constructed. One of the nations conquered was Greece.
However, we should bear in mind that the Greece we are referring to is not exactly the
country called Greece today. Rather, there were various Greek states like Macedonia,
Athens, Sparta, etc., which were just coalescing into a nation. By the year 146 BC, the whole
of the east Mediterranean countries were under Roman rule.
Here then was the Roman nation without a formal school system, now having to rule a nation
like Greece with its highly structured educational system and high civilization of the
conquered Greeks and stamp out is educational system (as the Barbarians did in some later
ages), or accept this new educational system and its civilization, perhaps a case of the
conquered becoming the conqueror. Happily for the Greeks and for the world today, the
Romans chose this latter course. As the Roman poet, Horace, stated, ‘Captive Greece
captivated her rude conqueror and introduced the arts to rustic Latium’.
In a rather large-hearted, matured manner, the Romans, according to the Encyclopedia
Britannica, ‘quickly appreciated the advantages they could draw from this more mature
civilization, richer than their own national culture. The practical Romans grasped the
advantages to be drawn from a knowledge of Greek, an international language known to
many of their adversaries, soon to be their Oriental subjects, and grasped the related
importance of mastering the art of oratory so highly developed by the Greeks.’
The process of adaptation was very gradual; it did not come as an instant phenomenon. What
happened was that as some slaves, many of whom were well educated, Roman nobles who
bought them found them useful and made them to educate their children. As such children
displayed their knowledge and skills, more and more families realised the worth of the Greek
teachers, so more people went in for them, brought them to Rome and made them teach their
children. Realise that before then, the Greek language was widespread in the whole of the
Mediterranean area because of the previous military might of the Greeks. So, these new

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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

teachers actually taught in Greek, which had become a sort of an international language.
Indeed, it was claimed that some Roman children were able to speak the Greek language
before being able to speak the Latin language, that is, in homes where the Greek
slaves/teachers actually brought up the children. In time, there was another development –
children were actually sent to Greece to lean! It was light going abroad to receive
enlightenment.
In time, Rome fully adopted Greek education. Thus, a Roman was considered truly refined
only when he had the same education, in Greek, which a native Greek had. On the other
hand, there progressively developed a parallel system of instruction that transposed into Latin
the institutions, programmes, and methods of Greek education. Of course, as we can expect,
only the children of the nobles had the privilege of receiving the complete and bilingual
education. The result of the bilingual education was that an enlightened Roman could
operate in the two leading languages of the world, and indeed many educated Romans wrote
well in the two languages.
There were of course significant modifications and adaptations. For instance, the Romans,
rather shocked by Greek athleticism, did not adopt this aspect without serious modification.
Thus, while gymnastic exercises entered into their daily life, it was under the category of
health and that of sport – so it was like studying the theory but not practicing it. Similarly, on
moral grounds, music and dance were not adopted totally, they being reserved for slaves and
not for freeborn.
With time, what had blossomed at the level of individual families soon became a state affair.
Schools were soon started on a formal level, mostly for sons and daughters of the nobles.
This was a result of social pressure, since most families wanted education. Thus, as in
Greece, public education developed at three levels: elementary, secondary and higher,
although these did not emanate at just the same time.
Osokoya recognizes these as ludus, grammaticus, and rhetoric schools. The ludus, meaning
‘play’ in Latin, is like an infant school where children learn mostly through play. It is the
equivalent of our own primary school, and specializes in the teaching of the 3R’s, i.e.
reading, writing and arithmetic, whose teaching relied very much on the abacus.
The grammaticus, is the equivalent of our own grammar school, or the secondary school.
Children entered at the age of 12 and attended school for about three or four years, learning
reading, writing, poetry, arithmetic. The grammar taught was that of Greek. The subjects
taught were most utilitarian, not liberal. The dominance of Greek remained for a long time
until Cicero, the famous Roman poet and orator, advocated that Latin should be used for
educating Roman children.
Higher education was available in rhetoric schools. Here, mature learners studied history,
philosophy, literature, science and some other subjects. Most of these were geared towards
producing orators, since statecraft which was the ultimate aim of most people required a lot
of oratory. Rhetoric schools were run mostly by Greek teachers in Rome or were available
by sending learners straight to Greece.
Is this system not similar to what obtained in Nigeria for a long time, where for so long a time
we had teachers from abroad for both the secondary and tertiary levels and many people

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simply went abroad to receive higher education? This is just one of the areas of comparison;
you should be able to recognize many other areas.

ACTIVITY II
1. Discuss the real meaning and implications of the statement credited to Horace.
2. Why did the writer claim that the Romans were large-hearted in adopting Greek
education after having conquered the Greeks?
3. Trace the development of Greek education in Rome from the family level to the
state level.
4. Describe the three levels of education in ancient Rome.

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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

UNIT THREE: GREAT EDUCATION THINKERS: QUINTILIAN

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, students should be able to:
1. discuss the significant phases of the Roman system of education;
2. analyse the influence of Greek education on Roman education system;
3. discuss what our own system can learn from the Roman system of education.

BACKGROUND
It is significant that Rome, which readily embraced the superior educational system of Greece
after overcoming the latter, should produce a number of intellectuals whose works have
continued to influence the shaping of ideas over the ages. One of these is a man called
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, known to the present world simply as Quintilian. Who was this
man? What were his ideas? In what ways have they been of importance over the ages?
These, and some other related issues form the focus of this unit.
Quintilian’s contributions
A great man of letters, Quintilian left to posterity a voluminous book publication in 12 books.
Entitled Insstitutio oratoria, (or, ‘The Training of an Orator’) it was published shortly before
the end of his life. The Institutio was the fruit of Quintilian’s wide practical experience as a
teacher. According to him, his purpose was not to invent new theories of rhetoric but to
judge between existing ones. He stressed that he was conscious of the fact that theoretical
knowledge alone is of little use without experience and good judgment. Although not
primarily a book on how to bring up and educate a child, that in effect is its main import. The
main basis of his argument through the book is that the entire process of a child’s education
was the determining factor for his training and career as an orator. (Realise that the word
‘orator’ by then meant more than just a good speaker but also a statesman). In Book I, he
dealt with the stages of a boy’s education before entering the school of oratory. In Book II,
he discussed the boy’s career through the school of oratory. These two form the foundation
of the long work. They also contain his general observations on educational principles, some
of which are still valid today.

ACTIVITY I
1. According to the writer here, what does the fact that Quintilian was able to
produce such a significant work tell us about the attitude of Romans to education
borrowed from the Greeks?
2. Quintilian was trained as a legal practitioner, not a teacher; yet he was able to
write about the education of a youth. What does this tell us about the system of
education in that era? What does it also tell us about the man himself?
3. The meaning of the word ‘orator’ has changed over the time. What does it mean
then and what does it mean now?
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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

The greatest part of the work, from Books III to XI are on the five ‘departments’ of rhetoric;
these are invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. He also dealt with the nature,
origin, value, and function of rhetoric as well as with the different types of oratory. He gave
far greater attention to forensic oratory, the type used in legal proceedings than to other types.
This should not be surprising, given that he was a legal person. In Book X, he discussed the
great Greek and Latin authors, praising their contributions and recommending them to
younger orators. Finally, in book XII, he dealt with the ideal orator in action, after training:
his character, the rules that he should follow in argument, the style of his eloquence, etc.
The main import of the work to educational practice is the emphasis on the moral training of
the orator. Throughout, his purpose was to mould the student’s character as well as to
develop his mind. He held that, first and most important, a good orator must be a good
citizen, who lives a virtuous life. This is the most crucial, no matter how eloquent he might
be. Second, he stressed that the orator should be a thoroughly professional, competent and
successful public speaker. To this end, the student should be carefully and thoroughly
prepared for this task. It would appear that he believed that the more careful the training of a
student was, the more successful he was likely to be as a practitioner.
He had some severe criticism for some of the teachers of his day for encouraging superficial
cleverness of style. This would seem to apply today to those teachers who were very clever
in looking competent without really mastering the subject matter, teachers who impressed
their learners without really contributing much to their mastery of the subject. According to
him, while this type of cleverness might give an immediate effect, at least in the eyes of their
pupils, he stressed that they in the long run did not help the future orator.
He believed that teachers should not unduly hasten their students. So, while teachers could
encourage their students to produce their best, they should at the same time let them go on at
their pace. He supported individuality and individual attention, and recommended that
students should be encouraged to find out on their own through self effort.
He was against corporal punishment, claiming that it was greatly counter-productive. He
stressed that the whipping a learner in effect generates fear in him, fear for the teacher as well
as fear about the subject matter. Besides, when a teacher has used the method, subsequent
recourse to it becomes ineffective – since the learner would have lost the fear originally
entertained. Against this, the writes, “Pupils,” he writes, “If rightly instructed regard their
teacher with affection and respect. And it is scarcely possible to say how much more
willingly we imitate those we like.” What does this imply? It implies that with the right
approach, a learner would develop a genuine and natural respect for the teacher whom he
would love to imitate.
In all, the greatest lesson we as teachers learn from Quintilian is that the student should be
brought up first and foremost as a law abiding, morally sound person, over and above his
intellectual competence although this too is very crucial.

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ACTIVITY II
1. Analyse the various characteristics of the young learner as specified by
Quintilian?
2. Which of these would you say are still valid to recommend today?
3. What is your own attitude towards corporal punishment as a teacher? Give
studied reasons for your stand.

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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

UNIT FOUR: EDUCATION IN THE FIRST CENTURIES OF

THE MODERN ERA

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, students should be able to:
1. discuss the development of education in the middle ages, i.e. the period 500 – 1500
AD;
2. identify Educational institutions in the Middle Ages and their role in the development
of education during the period;
3. trace the founding and development of Universities in Europe during the Medieval
period and beyond, spanning the modern period and their changing roles.

BACKGROUND
From early in the Christian era, the spread of education continued rapidly across the continent
of Europe. We would be correct to say that with the spread of Christianity and growing
trade, education also continued to spread across the length of the continent. But then, the
coming of the Barbarians reversed what would otherwise have been a positive development.
For the Barbarians destroyed most of what they found in the lands they occupied. The
Barbarian invasions started sometime around AD 259 in the present day Switzerland and
continued to spread progressively across the continent for about the next two hundred yhears.
During those dark years, (actually referred to in history as the ‘dark ages’) much of the
learning and scholarship that had been built up were destroyed or suppressed. The only
flickers of light were to be found in the Catholic monasteries, the Jewish temples and among
the Arabs. There it was that the monks continued to hold up the light of knowledge, passing
on whatever knowledge there was from one unsteady era to another. This way it was until
the beginning of the Middle Ages (usually referred to as the renaissance).

EDUCATION IN THE MIDDLE AGES

The middle ages is usually recognized as that period between AD 500 to AD 1500, a long
period of a millennium. During the early middle ages, knowledge was preserved by the
monasteries; and, although the monks did little more than copy Greek and Latin manuscripts
and especially of the Church Fathers, they educated the few people who were privileged to be
close to them. It is surprising that whereas the Greeks and Romans produced very substantial
amounts of literature some 700 to 600 years before this era, nothing of note came out
throughout the long period between the first and sixth centuries after Christ. Really, it takes
very little effort to destroy an edifice, but far more than double the effort to rebuild.
Perhaps, the slow but steady spread of Christianity during the first centuries after Christ
would have helped the spread of learning, but this was not really so since most of the early
adherents were poor and illiterates. St. Paul himself observed this (in 1 Corinthians 1:26).
However, during the second century AD and thereafter, it began to appeal to more and more

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members of the higher and educated classes. This group of people wanted as good a type of
education for their children as they themselves had. These obtained their education from the
few available, Greco-Roman, non-Christian, grammar and rhetoric schools.
This trend put the Christians in a sort of dilemma. Here were institutions that were purely
secular and which did not teach their ethics and whose teachings in some cases conflicted
with the stand of the church. Several Christian leaders were opposed to sending youths to
school, but there were others too who felt that there was nothing wrong in doing nso, and
some indeed who felt that there was no real conflict between the stand of the church and the
knowledge taught in the Greco-Roman institutions. In the vast majority of cases, the choice
was to seek knowledge wherever it could be found. Things became much better when the
Christians themselves started the catechetical schools, the most notable of which was in
Alexandria in Egypt. Others too followed, and with time, it was not just religious education
that was given as the curriculum was soon much broadened. However, during most of the
early centuries AD, up till the middle of the middle ages, there were no universities, which
would be surprising since Plato had founded one century earlier and which was destroyed
during this period. For the founding of the modern universities, the world had to wait until
about the end of the first millennium AD.

ACTIVITY I
1. How did the coming of the Barbarians influence the spread of knowledge?
2. In what ways did the Christian monasteries help to preserve and spread education?
Suggest why they did these.
3. Suggest reasons why the early Christians could not help the spread of education as
much as they would have liked.

THE COMING OF THE UNIVERSITIES

Just as it had sustained knowledge during the dark ages, Roman Catholicism equally was
responsible for the founding of the European universities. These came mainly after 1200.
These institutions were stimulated by the learning of Arabic scholars, through whom
Europeans became acquainted with the philosophy of Aristotle and produced the learning of
Scholastic philosophy and theology. The cultivation of literature and the arts in the 15th
century flourished under the patronage of the papacy and Catholic princes and prelates.
What we can safely call the earliest Western university was a famous medical school in
Salerno, Italy, in the 9th century, which had students from all over Europe. It however
remained just a medical school, not a university in the broad sense. The first real university
was at Bologna, founded in the late 11th century, rising to a highly respected school of canon
and civil law. The first university to be founded in northern Europe was the University of
Paris, founded between 1150 and 1170. It became noted for theology, and served as a model
for other universities in northern Europe such as that of Oxford, England, which had well
established by the end of the 12th century.

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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

The universities of Paris and Oxford were composed of colleges, which were actually
endowed residence halls for scholars. These early universities received their charters from
popes, emperors, and kings. They were free to govern themselves, so long as they taught
neither atheism nor heresy. Students and masters together elected their own rectors. As the
price of independence, however, universities had to finance themselves. So teachers charged
fees from students, whom themselves had a lot of power in the governance of the university.
Universities in those days had no permanent buildings, nor did they have substantial
corporate property. Besides, they could lose their students to other universities if the students
were for any reason dissatisfied. This was how the University of Cambridge began in 1209
when a number of dissatisfied students moved there from Oxford; and 20 years later Oxford
in turn profited by a migration of students from the University of Paris.
From the 13th century, i.e. from AD 1200, universities were established in many of Europe’s
principal cities. Thus, we had universities springing up in Montpellier (1220), Aix-en-
Provence (1409) both in France; in Padua (1222), Rome (1303), and Florence (1321) all in
Italy; at Salamanca (1218) in Spain, at Prague (1348) and Vienna (1365) in central Europe, at
Heidelberg (1386), Leipzig (1409), Freiburg (1457), and Tubingen (1477) in what is now
Germany, at Louvain (1425) in present-day Belgium, and at Saint Adrews (1411) and
Glasgow (1451) in Scotland.

ACTIVITY II
1. The writer states that the Catholic Church itself was stimulated in the founding of
the first universities by the contacts they had with the Arabs, presumably
Moslems. Discuss what this tells us of the nature of knowledge.
2. The medical school in Salerno is not given the full title of a university. Why?
3. Discuss what the writer means by referring to the Universities in Oxford and Paris
as being made up of colleges.
4. Some of the universities in Europe, according to this account are older than the
first university in Africa by about 1,000. What does this tell us about the
differences between the two continents?

For so long, till late in the 18th century, the curriculum in most universities included the seven
liberal arts: grammar, logic, rhetoric, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music. After the
initial studies, students then proceeded to one of the professional faculties of medicine, law,
and theology. Final examinations were arduous and taxing; so many students failed. During
the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century and the ensuing Counter-Reformation the
ongoing struggles affected the curriculum and administration of the universities in several
ways. In the countries which became staunch Protestants, the universities became Protestant
while some new Protestant universities were founded. In some cases, those nations which
remained Catholic resisted change, especially in the sciences. There, the new learning was
discouraged, and thus many universities underwent a period of relative decline.

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The founding of new universities continued during this time. Among these were the ones at
Edinburgh (1583), Leiden (1575), and Strasbourg (1621). The first modern university was at
Halle, founded by Lutherans in 1694. It was a progressive-minded school, the first to
renounce religious orthodoxy of any kind, preferring instead to pursue a rational and
objective intellectual inquiry. It was the first where lectures were in German (i.e., a
vernacular language) rather than in Latin. The innovations were later adopted in the
university of Gottingen, founded 1737, and subsequently by most German and many
American universities.
In the later 18th and 19th centuries, religion was gradually replaced with secular curriculum
and objective pursuit of knowledge, as the universities became institutions of modern
learning and research. Typical in these trends was the University of Berlin (1809), in which
laboratory experimentation replaced conjecture; theological, philosophical, and other
traditional doctrines were examined with anew rigour and objectivity; and modern standards
of academic freedom became the norm. The typical German university was thus one that
embraced several graduate schools specialising in advanced research and experimentation.
Across the Atlantic, in the new world, the first universities were established by the Spaniards.
These were the University of Santo Domingo (1538) in what is now the Dominican Republic
and the University of Michoacan (1540) in Mexico. The earliest institutions of higher
learning in the USA were in Harvard (1636), William and Mary (1693), Yale (1701),
Princeton (1746), and King’s College 1754; now Columbia). Most of these were established
by the religious denominations, and most eventually evolved into full-fledged universities.

ACTIVITY III
1. Consider the seven commonest subjects in the curriculum of that period.
Comment on this curriculum vis-à-vis that of today.
2. Discuss the ways in which the reformation and counter-reformation affected the
growth of universities.
3. Consider the fact that for along time, indeed for centuries, universities in Europe
continued to use Latin as the medium of instruction until the German universities
started a new trend of using their own national language. Discuss this in the light
of developments in Nigerian universities.
4. Discuss the roles which you would want to see Nigerian universities performing
in national development.

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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

UNIT FIVE: GREAT EDUCATION THINKERS

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. identify some of those great educators who have influenced the course of learning
over the centuries;
2. discuss their significant contributions to our present day educational practices;
3. discuss what each classroom practitioner can learn from each of them.

BACKGROUND
The practice of education has passed through several phases over the course of time. Each
theory of education did not just get there by chance; rather one or the other of the great
educators has proposed it, borne out of experience, and others have found it worth practicing.
Some of the educators had to work closely with young learners, observing them at play and at
work, and through this were able to formulate theories, which have stood the test of time.
Some of them were great psychologists, some great philosophers, and some in some other
walks of life which had to do with learning. What we can confidently say was common to
them all was their love for learning and for learners, their concern for human progress.
There are scores of them, but we cannot possibly take on all of them ina publication of this
nature. We have carefully selected just seven of them, selected not because these were the
greatest there were, but in a way to reflect a different age during the period from the 14th
century to the 19th century. As you read and learn about each of them, notice carefully how
each of them lived and developed, what theory each of them proposed, and with what result.
You have to read actively, i.e. you should read with your mind open, questioning each of the
educators’ viewpoints, asking yourself how valid that point is.
Vittorino da Feltre (1378 – 1440)
Vittorino was an Italian born in the town of Feltre in 1378. Considered the greatest humanist
schoolmaster of the Renaissance because of his dedication to the teaching profession, he was
educated in Padua University where he also became a lecturer. In 1423, he was asked to
become a tutor to the children of the wealthy Gonzaga family, the rulers of Mantua. He
accepted on one condition: that he would found a school for the children of the family as well
as for other children, away from the palace. He started that school and called it the ‘House of
Joy’. Apart from the royal children, there were some other 60 children.
He operated a fairly wide curriculum, which included the languages and literature of Rome
and Greece, arithmetic, geometry, music, physical education, introduced on the basis of the
Greek ideal of the development of the body and mind. He believed in education as
promoting a Christian way of life. Thus, he believed in, and practiced, love for his pupils for
whom he had never used corporal punishment. He believed in individual attention and the
adaptation of the teaching to the level of the learner. He held that the teacher should care for
the health and all round needs of learner. His school, apart from educating children of nobles

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and poor alike, also taught future rulers and professionals; he taught Latin to Greek to
scholars from the East so that they were able to translate Greek works, making them available
to more people. Thus, through him, knowledge was spread far and wide.

Jan Amos Comenius (1592 – 1670)

Known properly as Komensky, he was a Czech educationist, theologian, reformer and
politician. Orphaned from an early age, he began learning only from the age of 16. The
efforts he made to learn later enabled him to turn attention to education and to teaching
methods for which he became very famous. In his several books, which were more than 80,
he showed that he favoured the learning of Latin, whose teaching he revolutionized. Trained
as a priest, he grew to believe that salvation could be achieved here on earth, and through
science, perhaps as a result of his study of the works of Francis Bacon, the English scientist.
Comenius believed that educational reform should involve revolutionizing the methods of
teaching in order to make learning rapid, pleasant and thorough. He advocated that teachers
should ‘follow the steps of nature’, i.e. that teachers should pay attention to the way a child
naturally learns. Besides, he believed that in order to make European culture available to all,
children should learn Latin, but not in the way it had been taught for ages, rather in ‘nature’s
way’, i.e. by learning the names of things and not about the grammar; this reflects the natural
way a child learns.
Like Vittorino da Feltre, Comenius believed that a school should be a place of joy rather than
a place of tedium. To this end, he believed that the school room and its environments should
be pleasant; there should be several good pictures and other learning aids available to the
learners. These should make the learning environment very conducive for the teaching –
learning exercises.
Comenius believed that learning should be carefully graded in order to fit the learning
abilities of children. Learning materials should be graded from the simplest to the complex,
from the known to the unknown. In line with this, teachers should make their lessons fit the
different levels of learners. In accordance with his belief tha there should be careful grading
of learning, he divided the child’s education into four main stages: (a) the infancy stage from
0 to 6 years; (b) the childhood period from 6 to 12 years; (c) boyhood from 12 to 18 years;
and (d) 18 to 24 years. Infancy should be spent at home with the mother who should help to
develop the senses and impart the language to the child. The childhood years should be spent
in the primary school where the curriculum should consist mainly of elementary literacy and
numeracy. The boyhood stage should be spent in the secondary school which should teach
some of the core subjects and help the learner make sound judgment of things and events.
The last stage should be spent in the university, which should enhance the learner’s
acquisition of knowledge and wisdom.

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ACTIVITY I
1. If you were to propound a theory of teaching and learning, what are the necessary
conditions and procedures that this would entail before it comes into reality?
2. Suggest reasons why Vittorino insisted that his school should be founded away
from the palace.
3. The issue of corporal punishment is contentious today. What is your opinion
about it? Give reasons for your stand.

JOHN LOCKE (1632 TO 1704)

John Locke was an English philosopher, the initiator of the enlightenment movement in
England and France. Raised up in a village near Bristol, John Locke was educated, through
his father’s influence, in Westminster School. The training there was thorough, though
discipline was firm. He later entered Oxford University but found the curriculum there rather
uninspiring; so he busied himself with studies outside the formal curriculum, particularly
science and medicine. He obtained the bachelor and masters degrees in quick succession,
later gaining a place as a teacher there. However, because of an insistence that a teacher there
should also be a priest, he left his position after only four years. He then found a place in
diplomatic service for a while, later delving into several other fields, particularly studying to
broaden his mind. He was indeed a well educated man with a very broad base in learning.
To John Locke, a good education should build up both the physical and the mental sides of a
person. He believed that the body should be toughened through exercises, play, and a lot of
sleep. He held that young children should be allowed to express their feelings and should not
be restrained from their environment. With regard to mental training, character should come
first before learning, and the purpose of education should be to instill virtue, wisdom and
good breeding. Like Comenius too, he believed that in learning a language, the rules should
be played down while usage should be paramount. In this too, reading should come before
writing.
Locke believed so much in giving examples to the child, and so the parents have a big role to
play. They should be at hand as often as possible and should interest themselves in the affairs
of their children. He believed in teaching the various subjects to the child and stressed the
importance of mathematics as the ‘powers of abstraction develop’.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Born in 1712, Rousseau was rather unique in the sense that he was of Swiss, French and
Italian background, although born and brought up in Switzerland. His mother died shortly
after he was born, so his watchmaker father brought him up. He had no education for many
years until his father fled Geneva to Nyon and placed him in the care of a pastor. Even then,
his education was not of regular type we are familiar with today. In the main, he received his
education mostly incidentally from the people he lived or worked with. We can say that this
was a man mostly self educated, becoming a great musician, a writer, and an idealist. As far

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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

as education is concerned, Rousseau would be reckoned with as the writer of the Emile, a
treatise in the form of a novel.
Through this work, he made the case clearly that the ideal education is one offered byu
nature, i.e. that a person would be best educated without really learning from books or in a
formal school setting. He argued that one should protect the child from the corruption of
civilization. To him, nature was the best teacher and to learn form it was to avoid the
unhealthy traits associated with modern civilization. He held that the young learner, in this
case ‘Emile’, should be saved from any contact with books until the age of 12. The book
showed rousseau as a proponent of physical education.
He argued in the book that feelings should come before thinking, and that the child should be
controlled not by adults’ wishes but by things around him, that the child is not a miniature
adult who should be judged with adults’ yardsticks. He stressed that each child is an
individual that is different from any other child and should be understood and treated as such.
Therefore, the curriculum to be used for the child should reflect the interest and standards of
the child rather than revolve around the interest of the adult world. In teaching the child, the
state of its readiness for learning should be taken into account.
Rousseau believed in discovery, especially from the environment, through a process of
problem-solving. He believed that a good teacher should study the child he is teaching and
seek to understand him thoroughly. An all, we can realize that Rousseau’s ideas do conform
to very thorough psychological principles.

ACTIVITY II
1. In what ways the contributions of John Locke and Rousseau are they similar?
2. Discuss what Joh Locke owes to Comenius.
3. What is ‘Emile’ all about?

JOHANN HEINRICH PESTALOZZI

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was a Swiss reformer whose theories laid much of the foundation
of modern elementary education. As a champion of the underprivileged, he established in
1774 an orphanage in which young ones were trained to become self-sufficient byh mastering
rudiments of agriculture and trading. Although the venture failed, pestalozzi put down his
ideas in a book, How Gertrude Teaches Her Children. This book, as well as another titled
Leonard and Gertrude, was addressed to sound methods of teaching. He later founded a
boarding school which was attended by pupils from all over Europe.
One of the areas in which Pestalozzi contributed much to education is in audio-visual
education. He was one of those early educators who believed that pictures, demonstrations
and other audio-visual means are effective tools for teaching and who advocated the use of
sensory materials to supplement teaching. In this regard, others like him during these early
days include Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke.

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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

Pestalozzi believed that ‘The art of education must be significantly raised in all its facets to
become a science that is to be built on and proceeds from the deepest knowledge of human
nature. By this he meant that the business was serious enough to be taken very seriously and
studied thoroughly and conscientiously. To this end, created a new methodology for
elementary education which was introduced into teacher education both in Europe and
America. He, through his personal example, gave teachers a new philosophy for their
profession. He stimulated teaching and learning theory and practice to a very great extent.
He was particularly a supporter of the poor and took various measures to help the poor to
learn. He was much distressed by the extent of the misery existing in the world and advanced
ideas that this should be altered. His bid to help the poor tallies neatly with his ideas on
ending the misery around us, mostly through an improved educational system.
Unfortunately, most people of his time thought of him as merely a theorist, although at the
same time he had a lot of following.

FROBEL AND THE KINDERGARTEN MOVEMENT

Another 19th century great educator after Pestalozzi was Froebel who founded the
kindergarten movement. His major contribution to education was his theory on the
importance of play and self-activity in early childhood. After several attempts at other
professions, he finally ended up in teaching, in the course of which he met Pestalozzi whose
ideas clearly influenced him to start his own school on sound psychological basis. This
became in 1816 the Universal German Educational Institute at Griesheim, although it was
transferred to Keilhau in 1817.
His major written work was ‘The Education of Man’, a work that stood him out as a person
opposed to reforms, although it has a number of major ideas. Later, he was in Switzerland
where he opened another school for orphans, along with a section for teacher training
courses. But it was his pioneering work later in Keilhau where he opened the first
kindergarten for which he is noted today. He called it kindergarten, i.e. ‘garden of children’,
thus suggesting the type of institution he had in mind – one which would be like a beautiful
garden, and thus lovely for children, one where children would be able to grow up much like
flowers in a garden would grow. Because of the success of this experiment, other similar
kindergartens soon started and flourished.

John Herbert
John Herbert was born in 1776 in Germany. He was a philosopher of the Realism school of
philosophy and an educator who was considered one of the founders of modern scientific
pedagogy. Like Froebel, he was also acquainted with Pestalozzi from whom he must have
definitely learnt a few ideas. He was for several years a professor of philosophy in the
University of Konigsberg and later of Gottingen. His standing as a philosopher is due mainly
to his contributions to the philosophy of mind, on which he wrote several books.
It was in line with his philosophical theories and ideas that he developed a theory of
education as a branch of applied psychology. His theories of education, which were later to
be known as Herbartianism, were set out in two books. In these, he advocated five formal
steps in teaching which are summarised here:

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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

(1) preparation, which is a process of relating new materials to be learned to relevant past
ideas so as to give the pupil a vital interest in the topic;
(2) presentation, i.e. the process of presenting new material by means of concrete objects
or actual experience;
(3) association, thorough assimilation of the new idea through comparison with earlier
held ideas and consideration of their similarities and differences in order to implant
the new idea in the mind;
(4) generation, which is a procedure especially important to the instruction of adolescents
and which is designed to develop the mind beyond the level of insight and the
concrete; and
(5) application, i.e. using acquired knowledge not in a purely utilitarian way, but in a way
that every learned idea becomes a part of the functional mind and for every day
purposes. This step will be possible only if the student immediately applies the new
idea, making it his own.

Herbart held that a scientific study of education was possible, and that education should be a
subject for university study. His ideas were accepted in Germany in the 1860s and later
spread also to the United States. By 1900, however, the five steps had become less important
in the light of new theories.

ACTIVITY III
1. Discuss the specific contributions to education of Pestalozzi.
2. What does each of Frobel and Herbart owe to Pestalozzi?
3. Discuss the current worth of Herbart’s five steps in teaching.

JOHN DEWEY (1859 – 1952)

John Dewey is the most popular and influential name in American educational history. Son
to a village shop keeper, Dewey was born in Vermont, New England and spent his early life
there. He attended the University of Vermont where he studied philosophy and after
graduation in 1879 had a brief teaching period before moving to John Hopkins University.
His thirst for knowledge took him to the names in several American Universities and took
other degrees in psychology and history. He also had teaching experiences in the
Universities of Minnesota and Michigan. It was however, at the University of Chicago that
his ideas gained full maturity. Hence he became at different times Head of the Department of
Philosophy and Directing the School of Education. It was here that he established his famous
Laboratory School in 1896 where he researched and experienced new ideas and methods.
John Dewey was a prolific writer with over 500 journal articles and numerous books, the
most outstanding being Democracy and Education (1916).
The typical rural community Dewey grew up in very influential in shaping his thoughts. In
such an environment as compared to the urban life of his later years, he found out that

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MODULE TWO Great Athenian Educators (PDE- 101)

individuals had more intimate contact with the natural environment and this made learning
easier and meaningful. Not only that, the sense of community which took place in rural life
Dewey found out was more favourable to learning and human life than the extreme formality
and individuality that is the lot of urban life. Dewey transferred these key ideas to education
by claiming that if the school is to play any useful social function it must encourage such
contact with the natural environment as well as promote a sense of community.
John Dewey was also influenced by the type of problems and difficulties he thought people
faced in America at the time. He realized that to survive in a world of pressing problems
such as the one he grew up in, one needed to be resourceful, energetic and practical. These
concrete conditions were reinforced with ideas gained from Charles Peirce and William
James, Dewey improved upon the philosophy of pragmatism.
Dewey believed that the educational process has two sides, psychological and social, and
neither can be subordinated or neglected. On the psychological side, he maintained that
because learning depends on the psychological nature of the child, teachers must explore the
child’s nature, needs and interests in teaching. But even more than this is his believe that
genuine education is only possible through the participating of the individual in interactive
relationships with others. This made him to have faith in the project method of teaching.
Socially, he held that the school is never an institution which is separate from the outer
society. Rather, it is continuous with it. In this regard whatever is taught in schools must
draw from and illuminate experiences which learners have at home.
It is this belief in the indissoluble link between school and society that Dewey believed the
school must be a formative agency for the sustenance of democratic civilization. To achieve
this goal, he saw the teaching of civic and vocational education as guarantee. The school,
according to him can only achieve this social function if it is set as a democratic institution
whereby the values of co-operation are fostered both in teaching and in living.
An area where Dewey seems to exert the greatest influence is in his pedagogy. He criticized
formal methods which begin with definitions and in which teachers present materials from
their points of view. According to him the most useful methods are those which engage
pupils in active work. It is only after this that teaching can be organized. Always keeping the
learner at the centre of the educational process, he believed that teachers should not set out
with definite aims, nor schools do the same. He believed that education cannot have aims
because such aims are always external to the process of educating. In his opinion education
can only be conceived as the constant reconstruction of experience rather as a process of
transmission or of getting already synthesized knowledge. In this way past knowledge is
only useful as a tool in reconstructing experience or in overcoming a present problem.

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ACTIVITY III
1. Discuss the relationship between the social conditions Dewey grew up in and the
educational ideas he developed.
2. To what extent do you think Dewey’s educational ideas are useful in the Nigerian
system?
3. Discuss the implications of the psychological and social sides of the educative
process, according to Dewey.

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MODULE 3 History of Education in Nigeria (PDE 101)

UNIT 1: THE NATURE, SCOPE AND PROCESSES OF

TRADITIONAL EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

INTRODUCTION:
The prime place of education in the developmental effort of nations has never been doubted
the world over. Various nations, including Nigeria, have for long been making effort to
develop this sector for optimal development. Although, much has been achieved in this
regard, a lot more needs to be done so that the ever-increasing challenges of our time and the
time to come can be most effectively confronted.
In Nigeria, for example, the challenges have been that of poverty, disease, hunger, illiteracy
and general underdevelopment. How we are able to tackle these problems will reflect on the
value and commitment we attach to education, which according to Professor Baikie “is the
biggest industry that touches on every fabric of our human endeavour”.
This unit is intended to acquaint you with the trends of the indigenous educational system in
Nigeria and how it was used as a vehicle for development. It will also reflect on the
relevance of traditional education in solving the numerous problems confronting our society.
In short, there is no doubting the fact that the traditional educational system is still considered
very vital in addressing the complex value systems of the present times.
In a nutshell, the unit treats the nature, scope and process of the traditional education in
Nigeria and how it was and is still being used to serve the purpose for which its adherents use
it.

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. explain the nature and scope of traditional education system in Nigeria;
2. describe the processes involved in the transmission of traditional education system;
3. examine the potency of traditional educational system (past and present); and
4. discuss how traditional education system could be effectively used to foster
meaningful development in the Nigeria nation.

HOW TO STUDY THIS UNIT

1. Read through the unit once for the general idea of what it is all about;
2. Check the meanings of the words that are difficult to you in a good dictionary.
3. Attempt the activities given at every segment of the unit.
4. Consult your Course Facilitator for explanation of any difficult area in the unit.
5. Engage your colleagues in meaningful discussions of the unit for better
understanding.

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MODULE 3 History of Education in Nigeria (PDE 101)

THE NATURE OF TRADITIONAL EDUCATION

The history of education is as old as the creation of man himself. Man, as a social animal, is
by nature very curious and gregarious and that inspires in him the urge to explore the
environments around him. Many factors come into play in shaping man’s interest “to know”.
The urge to acquire knowledge is, to a very large extent, dependent on the value system of
the society. The value of education in the ancient Greece, for example, was anchored around
the preparation and training of the “mentally and physically well-balanced citizens’’. The
Romans, on the other hand, placed emphasis on “the military training and oracy development
of its citizens” just to suit their conveniences. The England of the middle ages regarded a
well-educated man to be a priest, knight or lord who epitomized intellectual, religious and
moral training capable of leading the society towards achieving its desired goals. “In Old
Africa, the warrior, the hunter, the nobleman, the man of character or anyone who combined
the latter feature with a specific skill was adjudged to be a well-educated and well-integrated
citizen of his community” (Fafunwa).
The purpose of education in the traditional African society was to set afoot a man with
functional skills that would help him live peacefully among others and contribute his quota to
the overall development of himself and his community. Fafunwa (1974) observed, “Society
used to accord priority to the inculcation of values of “social responsibility, political
participation, job orientation and spiritual and moral uprightness in the citizens”. The
achievements of individuals were largely determined by how well they put into practical
application the value systems mentioned above.
Ozigi, (1981) corroborated Fafunwa when he says, “there is the traditional form of education
which has existed in our own societies, as in other societies, for centuries. It has taught our
children, formally or informally, how to behave as members of a group (family, clan, peer,
community); the cultural values, norms and beliefs of societies (its traditions, history,
legends, folklore, dance, music); and also how to produce certain things needed for the
survival of the society (food, clothes, tools, housing, crafts)”.
The traditional education system in Nigeria is life-long in nature as it aims at equipping
individuals with the necessary skills and attitudes that would help them function effectively
in the society. The system has been and is still effective in providing functional training and
experiences in artistry, farming, fishing and other vocational skills, which are needed for the
survival of the society. The realist nature of the traditional system of education is contained
in its advocacy for the acquisition of the right types of values, attitudes and morals in order
for the society to be tranquil and peaceful for all to enjoy living in. Every responsible
member of the community serves as a transmitter-teacher and trainer of the societal norms
and skills to the younger generations. They are looked upon as models of good virtues to be
emulated by the young ones. The belief among a cross section of the elite community that
the traditional system of education is rigidly rooted in an informal ways of training is to say
the least very unfair. The system has a clearly demarcated learning experience for each age
grade, which culminates into the acquisition of desired values and attitudes, and the
specialisation of individuals in some specific crafts and/or vocations. There are the farmers,

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MODULE 3 History of Education in Nigeria (PDE 101)

medicine men, fishermen, warriors, carpenters, orators, spiritualists, weavers, carvers and
many more who are tested to be highly skilled in their different calling.\

ACTIVITY 1
1. Carefully identify and discuss the goals of traditional system of education in Nigeria.
2. Assess the relevance of the traditional goals of education in the context of the present
day Nigeria
3. Enumerate and discuss the nature and scope of traditional education in Nigeria.

PROCESSES OF TRADITIONAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION

The traditional system of education differs significantly from the Western type of education
in the process of transmitting knowledge, attitudes and skills. This difference is largely
accounted for by the purposes each serves.
The latent aims of the traditional system of education as observed by Fafunwa (1974), which
provided the bases, and process of training in the traditional education system are:
1. To develop the child’s latent physical skills.
2. To develop character.
3. To inculcate respect for elders and those in position of authority.
4. To develop intellectual skills.
5. to acquire specific vocational training and to develop a healthy attitude towards
honest labour.
6. To develop a sense of belonging and to participate actively in family and community
affairs.
7. To understand, appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of the community at
large.

The means (process) employed to attain the goals mentioned above is mostly through a
combination of theory and practice. Children learn the history of great men and women from
folklores and stories narrated by the elderly members of the society. Good virtues such as
valour, honesty, wisdom, respect for elders and oracy are either directly or indirectly
imparted from the stories.
The vocational training starts right from the early stage of children’s life when they begin to
follow their parents to the farms, rivers, forests, blacksmithing and weaving shops to learn the
occupations of their forebears.
Basically, there are four (4) processes through which cultural heritage are transmitted from
generation to generation in a typical traditional set up. These are:

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MODULE 3 History of Education in Nigeria (PDE 101)

(i) Indoctrination: Good virtues and values are handed down to the children through
different means possible. They are dogmas that cannot be compromised or
questioned.
(ii) Imitation: Children learn the skills and norms by copying what they see their elders
do.
(iii) Training: Children receive informal training to acquire skills, attitudes and values
that will make them fit to live in the society is equally through the apprenticeship
system.
(iv) Initiation: After receiving training, children are introduced to certain modes of
behaviour that are considered acceptable by the group they belong to. This is usually
marked by fanfare and ceremony at an appointed time in the community. Cultural
rites and practices are usually observed during initiation.

ACTIVITY 2

1. Outline and explain the goals of traditional education in Nigeria.

2. Discuss fully, the process of norms and skills acquisition in the Nigeria societies and
examine the impact of the system among the present day Nigeria.
3. In what way do you think the traditional system of education is relevant to the poverty
alleviation programme of the Federal Government?

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

• In the foregone discussions, you have learnt that never had a people existed the world
over without a form of training to prepare their children for life. In the medieval age,
man has learnt to manipulate his environment in which he lives for his benefit. And
because man did not live in isolation, his actions, behaviour and competencies were
inculcated in him by his immediate family members and the extended members of the
society. This system of training, which was considered rigid and informal by some
elites, was observed to be purposeful and comprehensive, serving the purpose it was
meant for at that particular time.
• The training of the young ones, which starts before youthful age was a collective
responsibility of the community and was carried out in stages according to age
variation as observed by different scholars. This system was not based on any
formalized structure, but carefully pursued towards realising the latent aims of the
community. Fafunwa (1974) listed the seven cardinal goals of traditional education
and a careful analysis of these goals revealed their relevance then, now and even for
generations to come. Perhaps, this is the reason why the National Policy on
Education has continued to emphasize the need for “the inculcation of the right types

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MODULE 3 History of Education in Nigeria (PDE 101)

of values, attitudes and skills that would enable children to be useful members of the
society. The functionality of the traditional education system has never been doubted.
The system has produced skill oriented community members whose contributions to
the betterment of living are still being felt even now. This will continue to be
experienced as long as the values of the society remain treasured, and that the process
of acquisition of these values remains adequate.
• The essence of examining the past is truly reflected in the history of traditional
education in Nigeria, in that a lot of the aspirations of the National Policy on
Education and the discourses going on among educationists centre around those
values conceived by the traditional past. And this kind of thinking will continue to be
the same most likely till the world comes to an end. The purpose may continue to be
the same with some modifications in the process as time dictates.

ASSIGNMENT
Undertake a case study of your immediate community with a view to identifying the goals of
the traditional education system of the community, the nature and the process of education in
the community. You should then compare your findings with the content of the National
Policy on Education. Did you notice any differences? Write your findings and submit to
your Course Facilitator.

REFERENCES
Baikie, A (2002) Recurrent lessons in Nigeria Education, Tamaza Publishing Company
Ltd., Zaria, Nigeria.

Fafunwa, A (1974), History of Education in Nigeria, George Allen & Unwin, UK.

Ozigi, A & Ocho, L (1981), Education in Northern Nigeria, George Allen & Unwin,
London.

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MODULE 3 History of Education in Nigeria (PDE 101)

UNIT 2: THE ISLAMIC SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN

NIGERIA

INTRODUCTION
The education that preceded the Islamic education system in Nigeria was the traditional
system as you have learnt in the previous unit. The traditional system of education has been
proven to be a potent and functional means through which societal lores and norms are
transmitted from generation to generation. You have also learnt that the system allows for
the inculcation of positive values, skills and attitudes that prepare individuals to become
useful members of their respective communities. The system is still found to be relevant in
offering solutions to the multi-faceted problems of the present day complex Nigeria.
The advent of Islam and Islamic type of education in Nigeria did not altogether condemn the
hitherto existing education of the people. Rather, it has sought to consolidate those aspects of
the beliefs and practices of the people that emphasized such virtues as valour, tolerance,
respect for others, dignity of labour and unity of purpose.
You will learn from this unit how Islamic education has been used as a vehicle for spiritual
re-awakening and social rejuvenation of the people whose belief-systems were rooted in
superstitions and hearsays. The Islamic system of education is found on the divine
revelations from Allah (S.A.W), which deals with norms and etiquettes of life for the
Muslims. The Islamic divine message is contained in the Islamic Holy Book called “Al-
Qur’an” and it is further expatiated by the “Ahadith” (sayings and practices) of the Prophet
Mohammed (S.A.W.). These primary sources of Islamic Knowledge together with the works
of the later scholars of Islam formed the fountain of Islamic system of education.

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
(i) outline the historical development of Islamic education in Nigeria;
(ii) examine the contributions of Islamic education to the development of modern science
and philosophy;
(iii) mention the various factors that facilitated the growth and expansion of Islam in the
Northern and Southern parts of Nigeria.

HOW TO STUDY THIS UNIT

1. Read through the unit carefully and identify the important ideas and note them.
2. Check your dictionary for the meaning of other words that may appear difficult.
3. Attempt all activities at the end of every step.
4. Consult your Course Facilitator for further help.

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MODULE 3 History of Education in Nigeria (PDE 101)

ISLAMIC EDUCATION SYSTEM IN NIGERIA

The history of Islamic education in Nigeria cannot be complete without recasting our minds
on the impacts it had made on the world at large. Islamic education generally started with the
first Qur’anic revelation to the prophet of Islam, Muhammad (S.A.W.). The first five verses
revealed contained clear directives to him and the rest of the Muslims to pursue the course of
knowledge, signifying that the religion is solidly rooted in the pursuit of knowledge. The
verses in question are as follows:
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
1. Read in the Name of your Lord who created;
2. Created man from a congealed blood;
3. Read, and your Lord is the Most Great;
4. Who teaches man the use of Pen;
5. Teaches man what he knew not; (Q96:1-5)
The above verses illuminated the world, which was hitherto groppping in darkness and
sauntering in the shackles of ignorance. The virtue of knowledge is extolled and the power of
the pen for its documentation and preservation is clearly pointed out. Since then, the
Muslims have been working relentlessly to establish themselves as patrons and/or custodians
of knowledge. The tremendous achievements recorded in the fields of architecture, history,
medicine, philosophy and other branches of liberal and natural sciences were credited to the
period of the reign of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties who ruled in the third century after
the Hijrah. The scientific and technological breakthroughs of the modern world owe a lot to
the researches conducted by the great scholars of Islam. Centres of learning in Basra, Kufah,
Baghdad, and elsewhere in Europe particularly Cordova which began from mosques as
religious centres developed into full fledged centres of higher learning and universities, from
where a great number of Muslims scholars emerged. Notable among them were Averron (Ibn
Rushd) who was “responsible for the development of Aristotle’s philosophy, which made a
clean distinction between religious and scientific truths’. His achievements in the area of
philosophical discourse “paved the way for the liberation of scientific research from the
theological dogmatism that was prevalent in churches and mosques”. Others like
Muhammad Ibn Musa, the Mathematician responsible for the introduction of decimal
notation and assigning digits the value of position; Avicenna (Ibn Sina), the physician and
other Arab scholars spearheaded the introduction of geometry and the development of
spherical trigonometry, particularly the sine, tangent and cotangent.
In the field of physics, to say the least, the Muslim Arabs discovered the pendulum and were
able to advance “the world’s knowledge of the optics”. They dominated the field of
astronomical research and invented many astronomical instruments, which are still in use
today. The angle of ecliptic as well as the precision of the equinoxes worked out by the Arab
scholars have been and are still sine-qua-non to the world’s technological advances. The
Arab Muslims discovered such substances as potash, silver nitrates, corrosive sublimate and
nitric and sulphuric acid, which set the edifice for the scientific breakthroughs the world is
witnessing today. The Muslim scholars have also made their marks in the field of agriculture

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MODULE 3 History of Education in Nigeria (PDE 101)

and manufacturing which helped to boost trade among nations. It was indeed, the trading
activities that transpired between the Arabs and the Africans that brought about Islam and the
Islamic system of education to Africa.
Historical records show that Arab scholars and traders played a great role in the propagation
of Islamic faith and education in Africa and Nigeria. Great cities like Cairo, Timbuktu,
Djenne, Gao and the regions of the Western Sudan flourished as centres of commerce and
religious learning. Many notable judges, doctors, clerics and historians were produced in
these centres, which impacted significantly on the lives of the people. The civilization that
came to Africa, especially the North Africa and the Western Sudan, owe much to the
activities of the Arab traders and scholars who visited the land hundreds of years before the
coming of the Europeans.

ACTIVITY 1
1. “The modern sc
2. entific and technological breakthroughs owe a lot to the great works of the early
Muslim scholars”. To what extent do you agree with this statement?
3. “Trade rather than religion was the main factor that brought about Islamic system of
education to Africa”. Examine the statement in the light of the reasons for the
development of Islamic education in Africa.
4. What is the significance of the first verses of the Qur’an revealed to mankind through
the Prophet of Islam Muhammad (S.A.W.)

ISLAMIC EDUCATION IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

The legacy bequeathed to mankind through the divine precepts and the efforts of the early
Muslim scholars were the major reasons for the development of Islamic system of education
in the North. Ozigi (1981) observed “there were many scholars in Borno almost a thousand
years ago”. The trend in the spread of Islamic education is similar to North Africa and the
Western Sudan. The Arab traders poured into the Savannah region, which included the
Northern part of Nigeria as early as the first half of the eighth century. They gradually
moved into the interior until they reached the Kanem area in the eleventh century. The King
of Kanem, Umne Jilmi (1085 – 1097) embraced Islam and became zealous of the Islamic
learning, a course that he pursued until his death in 1097. The successive rulers sustained the
tempo of Islamization through Islamic education in the Kanem after Jilmi. They pursued
Islamic education and established strong ties with the West African states. This relationship
facilitated the pursuance of further learning abroad.
The Kingdom of Kanem expanded later to include Borno, which became the seat of rule and
a centre of learning. Between Kanem and the Songhai Empire, observed Ozigi (1981) laid
the “Hausa States comprising of Katsina, Kano, Daura, Zamfara, Gobir, Kebbi and Zazzau”.
The rulers of these areas became influenced by their trading contacts with the North Africans
and converted to Islam. The Islamic practices were mixed with the traditional forms of
worship i.e. spirit worship by the rulers, who saw it as a potent source of power over their

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people. This was the initial problem that set the Muslim clerics against the rulers and thus
provided strong bases for the series of Jihads (holy wars) waged in the Western Sudan, which
aimed at purging the area of unIslamic practices. The Jihad of Shehu Usman Dan Fodio in
the Sokoto Caliphate was one such religious wars fought to rid the area of the heathen
practices and excesses of the Hausa rulers.

ISLAMIC EDUCATION IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA

The Southern part of Nigeria, particularly Yoruba land, was known to Muslims long before
Islam actually reached there. History has it that there was the presence of Islam in the South
long before the Jihad of Shehu Usman Dan Fodio. As contacts began to increase between the
Yorubas and the Muslim scholars, the former started embracing Islam while at the same time
learning the rudiments of the religion through the study of Qur’an, Hadith and the Shari’ah
(Islamic Canon Law). This saw the emergence of notable Islamic scholars in the South with
their initial base at Ilorin. According to Fafunwa (1974), Usman Bin Abu Bakr was a learned
scholar who hailed from Katsina, a seat of Islamic learning at that time, and had settled down
at Borno and wanted to teach and preach Islam in the South. He was eventually made Imam
of the Ibadan Muslims in 1839”. Ibadan later transformed into a formidable centre of
learning to pair with Ilorin down South. Scholars of eminence were produced and they made
their marks in the development of Islamic education in the South. Such scholars include
among others, Shaikh Abu Bakr Bin al Qasim, Shaikh Harun whose contributions to the
propagation of Islam in the South were monumental and unparalleled.
Soon, the religion spread and Qur’anic schools sprang in towns and villages with Ibadan and
Ilorin as the main centres of higher learning.

ACTIVITY II

1. Account for the claim that Islamic education in the Kanem predates the one in the
Hausa States.
2. What were the factors that led to the religious wars in the North?
3. How did Islam gain acceptance in Southern Nigeria?

STAGES OF LEARNING IN ISLAMIC EDUCATION

Islamic Education in the Qur’anic schools, otherwise known as Informal Education, is carried
out in stages. These stages according to Dambo (1994), are the early childhood or Nursery
stage called Makarantan Yara, the elementary state (tittibiri) and Adult Education stage.
Varied curricular activities are daily being operated in each of the stages, which
commensurate to the age, ability and interest levels peculiar to the students.

NURSERY OR EARLY CHILDHOOD STAGE (MAKARANTAR YARA)

This stage consists of children of tender age of say between three to five who normally follow
their brothers and sisters to school. These are grouped together in one corner of the circle and
instructed orally to recite and commit to memory shorter chapters (surahs) of the Qur’an and

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other Islamic rituals of purification, ablution, prayer and ethics. “The only pleasure they
(children) derive from the system at this stage lies in the choral recitations which often follow
a sing-song pattern. The pupils seem to enjoy reciting these verses to themselves in their
homes and at play”. (Fafunwa, 1974.)
The instructional technique at this stage is such that the teacher recites the shorter surahs to
the pupils and the pupils in turn repeat after him. This routine is repeated several times until
the teacher is fully convinced that his pupils have mastered the correct pronunciation. The
pupils are then allowed to retire and continue reciting these ayats (verses) on their own until
they have been thoroughly memorized before proceeding to the next set of ayats. This way,
the pupils progress in their studies before entering the next stage of learning.

THE ELEMENTARY STAGE (TITTIBIRI):

This consists of pupils of about five (5) to fourteen years old. At this stage, the pupils are
introduced to Arabic alphabets just as children in the formal type of Education are introduced
to A, B, C, and D. They first learn the consonants (Babbaku) without vowels, and after
learning all the consonants, which are twenty-eight in number, they learn each of the
consonants with vowels (wasulla) called Farfaru. The vowels in Arabic are five (5). They are
Fat’ha, Kasra, Damma, Sukun, and Tashdid, and they are used in forming words. Learning of
Babbaku and Farfaru in Qur’anic Education are indispensable. It is very necessary in
ensuring fluency in the proper pronunciation of Arabic letters from their roots and
proficiency in word articulation pertinent in realizing and appreciating the correct
interpretation of the Qur’an, its melody and unique features. This stage is often regarded as
the most primary to the Educational progress of pupils later in life. That is why muslim
parents make sure that their children are well grounded with the requirements of this stage.
After the pupils have learnt these, the teacher will start writing on their wooden board, the
slate (allo), short verse and surah for them to learn and commit to memory. As the pupil
progresses in this stage, he is gradually introduced to the art of writing, which develops his
writing skills. In this, the teacher or other senior students in the school continuously guide
him. After writing, he now goes to the Malam or his representative to read the written portion
in a process called Darsu or Biyawa. The teacher reads and the pupils repeat after him until
he is satisfied that the pupils are reading correctly as is expected. This continues until the art
of writing is perfected after which the pupil is now allowed by the Mallam to be reading from
pages of the Qur’an directly. He reads and observes some of the rules of Tajwid (The Science
of the recitation of the Holy Qur’an) unconsciously, until he completes learning the whole
Qur’an. You should at this juncture note that not all the students would complete this stage of
learning. Some would withdraw and take on some trade to earn a living, and others,
especially girls will be withdrawn by their parents for marriage. Some of course would
continue depending on their husbands. This stage concludes what may be called the
elementary education. Whatever the child may learn after this stage is considered within the
scope of Adult Education in which specialization features most.
In addition to these, further instructions on Islamic rituals are given, and in most cases, the
teacher demonstrates how these rituals are performed. Hence, direct acquisition of the rites of

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ablution, tayammum, prayer and other rituals are issued at this stage, although much of it
are to be later learnt at the next stage.

ADULT EDUCATION STAGE

“Pupils in this stage are mostly adolescents who in most cases have completed the reading of
Al-Qur’an at least once and also know some basic principles of Islam” (Fafunwa, 1974). The
curriculum of this stage is diversified and structured to reflect areas students wish to
specialize in. He first starts learning what may be called general studies. The meaning of
what he learnt and committed to memory before is now taught to him in the process called
Tarjama and exegesis (Tafsir). He is equally introduced to the tradition of the prophet
(S.A.W) called Hadith being the most comprehensive details of the content of the Qur’an,
which he learnt during his elementary level of studies. Other courses include Arabic grammar
and its components i.e. as-sarf (grammatical inflexions) an-nahw (syntax) al-mantiq (logic),
al-ma’ni wal bayan (rhetoric and versification) and Ishiriniyat (poetry). Islamic jurisprudence
(fiqh), al-aqaid (theology), Ilmul usul (rules and principles of the interpretation of laws), al-
Jabr wal muqabalah (algebra) and al hisab were equally taught.
Normally as is the case the student spends much of his time learning these subjects from
different teachers as no one teacher specializes in all these areas. Alternatively, different
teachers teach the different subjects where they are available. Having learnt these different
subjects, the student now chooses a subject for specialization. In the olden days, he proceeds
to a university of international repute to continue with his studies there. Universities of al-
Az’har, Timbuktu, Sankore and Jenne used to and still serve as international centres of
learning. With increased understanding and difficulties in getting access to these institutions
nowadays, renown Islamic scholars, competent enough to teach these areas do the job.

ACTIVITY II

1. Briefly describe the stages of Islamic education in a typical Qur’anic School.

SUMMARY
• You have learnt in this unit that Islam is a religion with a divine book called the
“Qur’an”, which was revealed in stages to the prophet of Islam, Muhammad
(S.A.W.). The religion emphasizes the importance of knowledge, which is conveyed
in the first revelation. Most disciplines in modern sciences and philosophy owe their
roots to the Islamic system of education. Islam and Islamic education came to Africa,
and indeed, Nigeria through the trans-Saharan trade between natives and the Arab
traders.
• The acceptance of Islam by the rulers facilitated the rapid expansion of the religion
and the Jihads further consolidated it. The desire among scholars to preach the
religion and teach its principles made it possible to spread through to Ilorin and
Ibadan to the South and the entire Hausa land and Kanem to the North.

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• You also learnt from the unit that Islamic Education was carried out in stages, each
with its curriculum of studies. The students learn systematically from the elementary
stage to what can now be called the university stage,

ASSIGNMENT
1. Review the development of Islamic education in Nigeria from the 8th Century.
2. Carefully assess the impact of the system on the socio-political and economic life of
the people.

REFERENCES
Dambo, L (1994), Instructional Materials Development for Improvement of Qur’anic
Education in Nigeria, Conference Paper, Kaduna.
Fafunwa B. (1974); History of Education in Nigeria, George Allen & Unwin Ltd. London
Ozigi, A and Ocho, L. (1981); Education in Northern Nigeria, George Allen & Unwin Ltd,
London.
Taiwo, C. O. (1980); The Nigerian Education System Past, Present & Future, Butler &
Tanner Ltd, London.

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UNIT 3 : THE ADVENT OF WESTERN EDUCATION IN

NIGERIA

INTRODUCTION
You will recall the historical development of Islamic education in Northern Nigeria, which,
started as early as the 11th century, and the impact of the system among Nigerians even today
when formal education seems to be accorded more prominence.
The Western Education system,on the other hand started in the Western part of the country in
the first half of the sixteenth century. The factors responsible for the introduction of the
system were not indigenous but trade. The desire of the foreign Christian Missionary to
“liberate” Africans from what they called “the dark mind, barbarism and idolatry war mainly
to further their trade mission” (Aloy, 2001). This they pursued vigorously competing with
each other through the establishment of schools and colleges.
In this unit, a careful presentation is made of the history of the western education in Nigeria,
the trends in its development and the relevance of the system to the overall
l development of the country. Attempt is also made to relate the system to the experiences of
the traditional and Islamic education systems that existed collectively and separately in the
North and Southern parts of the country. The common ideals shared by the systems in the
advancement of education in Nigeria, most of which were re-echoed by the National Policy
document on education, are presented.

OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
(i) outline the detailed history of western education in Nigeria;
(ii) examine the objectives and relevance of the system to the educational development of
the country;
(iii) assess the significant impact the system had on Nigeria; and
(iv) establish the relationship of the system with the traditional and Islamic goals of
education in Nigeria.

HOW TO STUDY THIS UNIT

1. Go through the unit once or twice in order to get the ideas presented.
2. Read for the second time, and stop at every point to ponder on the ideas and the new
words that are difficult.
3. Make sure to attempt the activities and the assignment as you come across them.
4. Engage your colleagues in a group discussion to measure your understanding of the
unit.

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5. Refer all your difficulties to your course facilitator at the study centre who is there to
offer you assistance in your studies.
6. Take all your activities and assignments to your course facilitator who will mark and
grade them accordingly.

THE COMING OF WESTERN EDUCATION TO NIGERIA

The aim of the missionaries who brought western education to Nigeria was almost similar to
the Muslim Arabs that brought Islamic education into Northern Nigeria centuries before.
The only initial difference one might notice was the desire for economic activities by the
Arabs. The Christian missionaries on the other hand avowed to, according to Aloy (2001),
“liberate the dark minds of the Africans from barbarism and idolatry.” The economic and
political factors came much later.
The history of western education in Nigeria was traceable to the Portuguese traders who came
to Benin in the early part of the 15th century. Then, they taught the children of the Oba of
Benin. However, no meaningful development of western education which was not accepted
took root until late 18th and early 19th centuries.
However, the history of meaningful Western Education in Nigeria is traceable to the activities
of the Christian missionaries, which started in 1842. Accounts of this historical event were
given by numerous educationists. Among them were, Taiwo, O C (1980), Adesina, S (1988),
Fajana, A (1978) and Fafunwa (1974) to mention but just a few.
The mission responsible for the introduction of western education in Nigeria was the
Wesleyan Methodist Society, which opened the Christian mission station at Badagry, near
Lagos. The activities of this society were facilitated by an ex-slave of Yoruba race by name
Ferguson who had earlier returned to the area. It was him that succeeded in persuading the
Yoruba chiefs to bring the missionaries from Sierra Leone into Badagry. This effort saw the
coming of Thomas Birch Freeman and Mr. and Mrs. De Graft in September, 1842 under the
auspices of the Wesley Methodist Society to establish the first ever Christian mission station
in the area. You should note as mentioned above that prior to this time, as early as 1472,
there were pockets of literary activities going around the palace of the Oba of Benin, who had
engaged the Portuguese Catholic missionaries in the training of his sons and the sons of his
chiefs.
Fafunwa (1978) observed “the Catholics, through the influence of the Portuguese traders
were the first missionaries to set foot on the Nigerian soil. They established a seminary on
the Island of Sao Tome, off the coast of Nigeria as early as 1571 to train Africans as church
priests and teachers.” From Sao Tome, he continued, ‘they visisted Warri where they
established schools and preached the gospel.”
The effort of the Wesleyians Methodist Society was further consolidated by three
missionaries of the Church Missionary Society who arrived Badagry from where they later
moved to Abeokuta. On the team were Rev. Samuel Ajayi Crowther, (later Bishop), Mr.
Henry Townsend and Mr. G.A. Collman.

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Samuel Ajayi Crowther settled at Igbehin and established two schools – one for boys and the
other for girls, while Townsend settled in Ake, another part of the town, where he built a
mission house, a church and a school. This was the beginning of real rivalry among the
Christian Missions in Nigeria. The Methodists, who started the first evangelical work in
Nigeria, did not take this news kindly and so decided to send a lay of missionary to Abeokuta
to commence work there.
As the Catholic Mission Society was consolidating its activities around Abeokuta and
Badagry and “extending its evangelical programmes to other parts of the country, Samuel
Ajayi Crowther opened the first school in Onitsha in December 1858 for girls between the
ages of 6 and 10.” (Fafunwa)
Down Calabar and Bonny, developments in the introduction of Western education by the
Church Mission Society missionaries were taking place. The chiefs of the area were,
however, not interested in the evangelical activities of the missionaries, but would rather
want their children to be taught how to gauge palm oil and other merchantile businesses as
trading was the main interest of the people of the area. The missionaries had no option but to
accept the people’s wishes.
The Presbyterian Mission also made their presence known in 1846 and established mission
house. Another Baptist convention established itself at Ijaye Abeokuta in 1853. The society
of the African mission similarly arrived in Lagos and established their mission in 1868.
Unfortunately, however, said Fafunwa (1978), “each denomination emphasized its own
importance and spared no pains at proving that one denomination was better than the other”.
As these denominations moved further into the hinterland, they established schools for the
training of the catechists and teachers.

THE CONTENT FEATURES OF EARLY MISSION SCHOOLS

The missions of the early mission schools were to evangelise and convert Nigerians into
Christianity. They, however, believed that this was not possible except through formal
educational process that would enable the natives read and write. This was the bases upon
which the need for the establishment of mission schools was conceived and pursued
vigorously alongside their main objectives. At the established schools, children were
expected to receive tuition in English education at suitable age, be apprenticed in useful
trades/skills in gardening and agriculture etc. The most serious and promising youths were
considered for further education that would prepare them as school teachers in the interior,
catechists and ministers.
The curriculum and methods of studies were almost similar to the Qur’anic schools, observed
Fafunwa (‘78). “Rote-learning predominated and the teacher taught practically everything
from the one textbook! The Bible, like the Qur’an, he continued, was the master text book
and every subject no matter how remote had to be connected in some way with the holy
writ.” In addition to these contents, children received formal training in writing, arithmetic,
reading and singing. ‘When there was a lady teacher, the girls learnt sewing.’
No tuition was charged initially in missionary schools. Children who cared to come were
welcome. Admissions were attracted by the missionaries through various means, which

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included door to door visits to ‘persuade parents to send their children to school’, some
parents were insisting payment from the missionaries before allowing their wards to attend
such schools. The parents considered it a big sacrifice allowing the children to attend school
instead of the farm. At a certain time, some stipends were suggested by the mission teachers
for school children living at home as an inducement to make them regular at school.

ACTIVITY 1
1. Account for the introduction of Western Education in Nigeria between 1472 – 1868.
2. Outline and discuss the aims and content of the early western education system in
Nigeria and explain the methods through which these aims were realised.
3. What were the difficulties encountered by the early missionaries in getting the
children of the natives to enroll in their schools? How did they overcome these
difficulties.

GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN EDUCATION

Decades after the introduction of western education in Nigeria, education had remained under
the control of the Christian Missionaries. Government was unwilling to participate in the
system in part or in total. The sources of funds for the mission schools mainly came from
donations from groups and individuals outside the country, including local Christian and
parents who were later paying for their children. The bulk of the contributions were from the
grants from the main missions abroad. In 1877 however, government decided to give
unconditional grants to the mission school, which was used only to proliferate mushroom
schools in villages. Thus, the conditions of the schools remain bad. There was acute
shortage of teaching and learning facilities. “The Blackboards, chalks and slates were in
short supply and the primers were largely religious tracts or information unrelated to local
background”, observed Taiwo (1980).
Arising from the petition of the Secretary of State for the colonies, the Gold Cost colony, of
which Lagos was part thereof, a bill for the promotion and assistance of education was passed
into law.
The provisions of the bill provided the basis for the establishment of the General and Local
Boards of Education; each with its powers. It also categorized schools into public and
assisted schools. The former being financed squarely by public funds and the later assisted
(grant aided) from public funds as well.
The bill approved the freedom of parents concerning the religious freedom of their children,
specified how the grants should be used which were mainly for school buildings and payment
of teachers’ salaries.
The conditions for the eligibility of the grants were also spelt out. They included effective
managerial control, attendance of children in such schools and the examination results in
specified subjects. Other provisions of the bill provided for the appointment of an inspector,
special grants to industrial schools, admission of indigent children into Government and
public schools and grants to training colleges and institutions for teachers.

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In 1877, an education ordinance for the colony of Lagos came into being. The provision of
the ordinance laid down some principles, which became the foundation of the education laws
for Nigeria.
The provisions, as listed by Taiwo (1980) are:
1. The constitution of a Board of Education, comprising the Governor, members of the
legislative council, (which was then a small body), the Inspector of Schools, the
Governor’s nominees not exceeding four in number;
2. The appointment of Her Majesty of an Inspector schools for each colony, a sub-
inspector of schools for the colony and other education officers.
3. Grant in aids to schools and teacher training institutions.
4. Power of the Board to make, alter and revoke rules for regulating the procedures of
grant-in-aid.
5. Rates and conditions of grant-in-aid to infant schools, primary schools, secondary
schools and industrial schools, based partly on subjects taught and partly on the
degree of excellence in the schools.
6. Safeguard as to religious and racial freedom.
7. Certificate of teachers.
8. Admission into an assisted school of pauper and alien children assigned to it by the
Governor.
9. Establishment of Scholarships for secondary and technical education.
10. Power of Governor to open and maintain Government schools.

A careful examination of the ordinance will reveal the re-echoing of the provisions of the
1877 provisions and the intention of government to participate with the missionaries as
partners in the provision of education to Nigerians.
The years 1889-1906, witnessed gradual development of the dual education, in which
Government participated more and more alongside the missionaries in providing education in
Nigeria.
This experience helped immensely in the administration and management of education later
in the colony and protectorate of Southern Nigeria. Not only had the number of schools
increased during the period, the curriculum of the schools also became diversified to include
subjects like geography, history, Yoruba language, drawing and sewing for girls. Others
include Latin, Greek, mathematics, photography, book keeping, botany, chemistry, physics,
French, physiology, national history, to mention but a few.
The ordinances of the 1877, became re-inforced by another ordinance exclusively made by
Nigeria for the Southern protectorate in 1886. The provision of the ordinance spelt out in
clear terms the duties and responsibility of each party mentioned as a stakeholder. The
provisions of ordinance are:

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MODULE 3 History of Education in Nigeria (PDE 101)

1. There shall be a board of education for the colony. The board shall consists of the
Governor, the members of the legislative council, the inspector of schools and four
other members nominated by the Governor to serve for not more than three years.
2. It shall be lawful for the board with and out of the monies so placed at its disposal,
first to assist schools and training institutions and secondly to institute scholarships:
(i) to children who shall have attended primary schools in the colony to enable
them to proceed for secondary education;
(ii) to natives of the colony who shall have attended either primary and/or
secondary education in the colony to enable them to receive a course of
technical instruction with a view to the development of natural resources of
the colony.
3. No grant shall be made in aid of any school except:
(i) that the property and management of the school be vested in managers having
power to appoint and dismiss the teachers and responsible for payment of the
teachers’ salaries and of all other expenses of the school;
(ii) that the requirements of the board rules with regard to teachers being
certificated be satisfied in the case of the school;
(iii) that the school, in public examinations shall have attained the requisite
percentage of proficiency;
(iv) that the schools at all times be open for inspection by the inspector, the sub-
inspector or any member of the board;
(v) that the school be open to children without distinction of religion or race;
(vi) that the reading and writing of the English language, Arithmetic and in the
case of females, needle work, be taught at the school and that English
Grammar, English History and Geography be taught as class subjects;
(vii) that, by the rules of the school, no child shall receive any religious instruction
to which the parent or guardians of such child objects.
4. It shall be lawful for the board to fix different rates of grants for infant schools,
primary schools, secondary schools and also industrial schools respectively, and also
in respect of different degrees of excellence in the schools and in respect of different
subjects of instruction.
5. The board may make a grant-in-aid of any training institution, in respect of every
teacher trained at such institution who shall have received at least two years
instruction in the particular institution. (Source: the Dev. Of Modern Education in
Nigeria).

The impact of this first indigenous education ordinance developed for the Southern
protectorate was felt in at least five major areas:
1. The provision of the ordinance was more workable than the one of the 1877.

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2. A more centralized form of education administration and management was suggested

by the ordinance, a policy that was immediately implemented by Henry Carr, who
was later made the Principal of Fourah Bay College.
3. A de jure basis of education, which virtually dealt with the skepticism against the
system by many Nigerians, was provided.
4. The Christian missions were forced to raise the quality/standard of education in their
schools by the provision of the ordinances if only to attract government grant-in-aid.
5. The expansion of schools was curtailed by the standard set by the ordinance which
was difficult to attain by the missionary schools.

WESTERN EDUCATION IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

Like you have learnt, the North was the seat of Islamic education. The values of the system
were already deeply rooted in the minds of the inhabitants who were predominantly Muslims.
This peculiarity, together with geographical terrains determined the pace of development of
western education in the region.
The Northern Emirs were less enthusiastic in adopting a system which they considered as
“enemy” to their faith. Consequent upon this, the Sultan was reported to have remarked as
follows:
“I do not consent that anyone from you should ever dwell with us. I will
never agree with you. I will have nothing to do with you …(Adesina 1985).
Based on the resistance of the Emirs, Lord Lugard, the Governor of the Northern region
persisted in warning the Christian Missionaries against the consequences that would result
from spreading Christianity in the area. His warnings to the Christian missionaries are
contained in the following words “I see no reason – why religion – be it of one sort or another
should be forced upon the natives – I see much in it to exasperate the Muhammadan master
who considers himself robbed of his property, that we may further a religious propaganda
hostile to its creed.” (Ibid).
This skepticism notwithstanding, the system got way to the middle belt region of the north.
By the year 1913, only four schools had been established, one exclusively for the training of
the sons of the chiefs who would take over administration from their fathers and one for the
training of mallams. The aims of schooling were restricted to imparting academic knowledge
to produce literate ruling class and few educated people to assist the colonial administration.

ACTIVITY II
1. Examine the implications of the Education Ordinance of 1877 to the development of
Education in Lagos colony.
2. Relate the Ordinance of 1877 with 1886 Ordinance and show how the two play a
complementary role to each other.

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SUMMARY
• This unit examined the trends in the historical development of western education in
Nigeria. The factors responsible for the introduction was purely religious – to convert
the natives to Christianity. This remained the primary aim of education until the
coming of the education ordinances of 1877 and 1886.
• The ordinances provided for the grant-in-aid to missionary schools and mandated
government to run and maintain public schools as well.
• Western education in Northern Nigeria was not welcome. It was greeted with some
misapprehension mostly from the fear that the Muslims might be converted to
Christianity. However, much later after it had been accepted in the Middle Belt area,
the Northern Emirs consented and allowed their children, who would take charge of
administration after them to be educated. In addition, education was provided for the
training of people who would assist the colonial administration as clerks etc.

ASSIGNMENT
In a summary form, discuss the trends in the development of education in Nigeria.

REFERENCES
Adesina, S. (1988) The Development of Modern Education in Nigeria, Heinemann
Educational Books (NIG) LTD, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Fafunwa A (1974) History of Education in Nigeria, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, Great
Britain.

Taiwo, C.O. (1980) The Nigerian Education System – Past, Present and Future, Thomas
Nelson (NIG) LTD Lagos: Nigeria.

Ozigi A, and Ocho, L (1981) Education in Northern Nigeria, George Allen & Unwin, UK.

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UNIT 4: THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA:

1919 AND BEYOND

INTRODUCTION
Having gone through the last unit, you will realise that up to 1914, western education system
in Nigeria had no definite philosophy. The British Government had not taken any decision
regarding the definite shape of education in its colonies. The education ordinances only
ridiculously complicated the system without reflecting the conditions and aspirations of the
Nigerian people for future development.
In this unit, attempt is made at getting you acquainted with the efforts made at developing a
philosophy of education based on the aspirations of Nigerians. Discussion on the educational
development that took place in Nigeria from 1919 and beyond will be made with a view to
consolidating your knowledge of the trends of educational development in Nigeria over the
years. The impacts of these developments will similarly be highlighted so that you learn how
to further the course of education in this country.

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
1. discuss the background to the development of educational policies in Nigeria;
2. assess the impacts of these philosophies on the overall educational progress of our
nation;
3. identify the problems (if any) militating against the realization of the intent of the
educational planners over the years and what could possibly be done to solve these
problems.

HOW TO STUDY THE UNIT

1. Like you did in the previous units, begin by going through the unit first, noting the
main points.
2. You should read for the second time, asking yourself, or checking from the dictionary
the meaning of unfamiliar words you come across.
3. Attempt all the activities given at every segment of the unit and do the assignment,
which you should submit to your course facilitator, who will mark and grade them.
4. Engage your colleagues in a group discussion on the various sub-topics listed in the
unit to measure your understanding.

DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES IN NIGERIA

The reports of the two Phelps- Stoke’s committees that visited West Africa in 1920 and East
and Central Africa in 1924, criticized the system of education being given to Africans as

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being classically book based. They accused the missionaries for following the ideals
prevailing in their home countries, which might not work functionally in Africa. The reports
further condemned the subjects being taught to Africans as being direct copies of the subject
contents from British and America schools with little attempt to use local materials in the
teaching of the subjects like history and geography.
The two commissions however recommended that:
1. Education should be developed along the vocational and cultural lives of the people.
2. The needs of African societies be met through education so as to promote
development.
3. Educational and Religious responsibilities of Government should be effectively
organised and supervised.
These criticisms and recommendations undoubtedly laid the foundation for the evolution of
the colonial educational policies in Africa, for it influenced the British Government to assess
its responsibilities on education to its colonies. In 1923 therefore, it decided “to approve the
establishment of an advisory committee on native education in tropical areas to advise the
Secretary of state for the colonies on matters of native education and to assist him in
advancing the progress of education in the British tropical Africa”.(Adesina)
The committee worked tirelessly and produced a thirteen point memorandum, which
provided for the first time, a sound basis for Nigeria’s educational policies. They are as
follows:
1. Government should control educational policies and cooperate with educational
agencies. Each territory should have an Education Advisory Board on which all
educational interests should be represented.
2. Education should be adapted to the mentality, aptitudes, occupations and traditions of
the various peoples, conserving as far as possible, all sound and healthy elements in
the fabric of their social life; adapting them where necessary to changed
circumstances and progressive ideas, as an agent of natural growth and evolution.
3. Government should be concerned with religious and character training.
4. Education service must be made to attract the best men from Britain, whether for
permanent career or for short- service appointment.
5. Grant should be given to aid voluntary schools which satisfy the requirements.
6. African languages, as well as English, should be used in education.
7. African teaching staff must be adequate in number, in qualification, and in character,
and should include women.
8. The system of specially trained visiting teachers is commended as a means of
improving village schools.
9. A thorough system of inspection and supervision of schools is essential.

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10. Technical Industrial training should best be given in a system of apprenticeship in

government workshops. Instructions in village craft must be clearly differentiated
from the training of the skilled mechanic.
11. Vocational, other than Industrial training should be carried out through a system of
learning in government departments.
12. The education of girls and women is of vital importance, though with its own
problems. Educated mothers mean educated homes. Health education is important..
Therefore, there must be trained women teachers. Education must provide for adult
women as well as schools for girls.
13. A complete education, including infant; secondary education of different types;
technical and vocational schools and institutions, some of which may hereafter reach
university rank, for such subjects as teacher education, medicine, agriculture and adult
education. The education of the whole community should advance pari-passu.
(Adesina)
The ordinance of 1926, the colonial development act of 1929 and the 1948 educational
ordinance merely re-echoed the provisions of the Phelps-stokes recommendations, which led
to the decentralization of education and got the government to be more involved in the
control and supervision of education. Curriculum content became more expanded and the
training of indigenous teachers pursued more vigorously.
Between 1945 and 1970, Nigeria began to develop its higher education system. The various
committees reports set to examine the possibility of developing the sector were studied by the
government with a view to implementing the recommendations right away. In line with this
therefore, the Government studied the Elliot commission reports, which was established in
1943 to examine the possibility of establishing university colleges in Nigeria, the Gold Coast
(Ghana) and Sierra Leone.
The report suggested the establishment of the university college, Ibadan, which came into
being in 1947.
In 1959, the government appointed another commission headed by Eric Ashby “to conduct an
investigation into the Nigeria’s need in the field of post secondary school certificate and
higher education over the next twenty years”. (Fafunwa)
This was the first time in Nigeria’s history that “Nigerians, represented by the minister of
education, decided to examine the higher educational structure in terms of the needs of the
country”. (Ibid)
This afforded the Nigerian educationists to work, for the first time, together with their
counterparts from Britain and America to fashion out the best practicable suggestions in the
field of education. It was also the first time that a comprehensive review of education in
Nigeria was undertaken by experts.
The recommendations of the commission, which paved the way for the development of
higher education in Nigeria is as listed below:

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1. The Federal Government should give support for the development of new university
planned for 1955.
2. A university should be established in the North using the old site of the Nigeria
College in Zaria as its base.
3. A university should be established in Lagos with day and evening degree courses in
business, commerce and economics.
4. University College Ibadan should move from its conservative position, widen its
curriculum and develop into a full university.
5. All Universities in Nigeria should be national in outlook.
6. There should be wider diversity and greater flexibility in university education.
7. All the universities should have B.A (Education) degree courses.
8. Courses in Engineering, Medicine, Law, Commerce, Agriculture, etc, should be
offered.
9. The new Nigerian universities should be independent of one another and each should
confer its own degrees.
10. A National Universities Commission should be set up to have undisputed control over
the affairs of the universities; particularly, in terms of finance, staff and courses.
Looking at the trends in the development of education since the ‘40s’, you will notice that the
development was becoming increasingly systematic. Series of educational plans right from
1942 saw the upsurge in the development of primary, secondary, teacher and university
education. These will now be considered separately.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

The development of primary education after independence was based on the Ashby
recommendations. The Government of the Northern Region felt that the greatest need was to
accelerate the expansion of the primary schools. Its aim was to attain the Ashby report target
of 25% of children of school age to be in school by 1970. The Government also designed a
programme that was to advance the region into Universal Primary Education as soon as
possible. At the same time infrastructures were to be laid in terms of post-primary facilities
in order to ensure a balanced education development.
The Eastern and Western Regions were already enrolling a high proportion of primary school
population through their universal primary education programmes. However, problems were
becoming enormous because of poor quality staff and falling standards amidst the high cost
of education. The East had to scrap its own UPE and directed its attention to teacher training
with a view to achieving high quality work in the schools. In the West, the successful
implementation of the UPE since 1955 left them with the time to concentrate on raising the
standard of teaching in schools.

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

The Post Independence development of secondary education centred around the following
problem areas:
1. The expansion in primary education created a high demand for secondary education.
2. The Ashby Commission had called for increased number in the secondary school
population and a revision of its curriculum.
3. Some commissions appointed to review the educational system found out that the
content of secondary school education as well as the methods of instruction in such
schools were inappropriate.
4. Other problems identified included the over emphasis on book education in the
secondary schools. Pupils despised manual work. Science curriculum was poor. All
these contributed to the so-called falling standards in education.

Government saw the root cause of all these problems as the poor quality and quantity of
secondary school teachers. The graduate teachers were in very short supply. Government
tried to have expatriate teachers to meet this demand. But paying for the passages and
allowances of the expatriate teachers meant much on the lean resources of the regional
governments. And, worse still, many of these hirelings stayed only for a term of two years or
three and refused to renew their contract.
However, to meet the increasing number of secondary school students, Government opened
many new secondary schools. Generally, the curriculum was English Language,
Mathematics, History, Geography, Religious Knowledge, Local Languages, Fine and Applied
Arts, General Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. French was introduced gradually to
replace Latin and Greek. The grammar school kept its lead and remained the darling of both
parents and students. The higher school i.e. sixth form was not so successful except in a few
government well established schools with enough graduate teachers and laboratory
equipment. This was because the curriculum was tailored to meet the requirement of foreign
examinations. Available resources in the schools could not meet these.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUATION

After independence the government of the Northern Region established twelve craft centres
and three technical schools all over the region. A technical institute at Kaduna admitted
students from all parts of the North. By 1960, the Eastern Region had thirty-three technical
and vocational institutions of various kinds. A College of Technology, now the Institute of
Management and Technology was established at Enugu. In the Western Region, government
established four trade centres and the women’s occupational centre at Abeokuta. A Technical
Institute now the Auchi Polytechnic was established at Auchi. In Lagos, we had the Yaba
College of Technology and the Yaba Trade school at Surulere.
It is important to observe that a number of the bigger industrial firms like the United African
Company (UAC), departments and corporations like the Public Works Department (PWD) or
the Ministry of Works, Posts and Telegraph (P&T), the Nigerian Railways and the Nigerian

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Coal Corporation had technical schools in which they trained artisans in their specific
industries. Last but not the least are the roadside mechanics who acquire their skills from
self-employed artisans while many girls acquire skills in needle work, sewing, catering and
domestic science from such roadside artisans as well.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHER EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

After independence, teacher education had two major problems – low output of teachers and
poor quality of the teachers produced. To meet the two problems government granted the
provision of additional Grade II Training Colleges and extra streams to the existing ones. To
make up for the poor quality, government approved the up-grading of most of the Grade III
Training Colleges to Grade II. Then, new Grade II Teachers’ Colleges were to be
established. Unfortunately, the Ashby recommendation for the establishment of Teachers’
Grade I Colleges was not vigorously pursued. However, the Western Government introduced
the Ohio Project, a normal science centre admitting teachers with Grade II teacher’s
certificate. Lagos had the Government Teachers’ Training College at Surulere. The Eastern
Region established a science centre at Umudike, near Umuahia for the production of
Teachers Grade I Certificates.
Soon, the Teachers’ Grade I programme gave way to the Nigerian Certificate in Education
(NCE) for the preparation of teachers for the lower forms of secondary schools and for the
teacher training colleges. They were three-year – programme institutions. The Advanced
Teachers’ Colleges as they were initially called were established in Lagos in 1962, Ibadan
1962 (but in 1964 it became Adeyemi College of Education Ondo), Zaria in 1962 (but moved
to Kano in 1964) and Owerri in 1963. In 1968 one was established at Abraka in Bedel State
but took the name College of Education.
When the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, was established, it took the lead in starting a new
teachers programme known as the B.A., B.Sc. and B.Ed in Education. This meant that a
student could combine education courses with one or two teaching subjects and offer them
throughout the student’s four years to graduate. This replaced the traditional system of taking
a degree before coming for a one year diploma in education.

THE ROLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

By 1960, the University College Ibadan had established itself as a reputable institution of
higher learning. It was also making a great contribution to the man-power needs of Nigeria.
But the need for a larger out-put of University graduates was increasingly felt and commonly
expressed. For example, as far back as 1955, there were serious thoughts and attempts to
establish another University. Ibadan was criticized for its low annual intake said to be
conditioned by its residential nature. Partly because of these criticisms, the Federal Minister
for Education, on behalf of the Federal and Regional Governments appointed the Ashby
Commission. The commission’s srecommendation gave support to the establishment of the
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Ife, Ile-Ife and
the University of Lagos, Lagos. It was after 1970, that state governments joined in the
establishment of Universities while the Federal Government started to establish Universities

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of Technology and others for Agriculture. Each of these 21 states of the Nigerian Federation
nearly has two Universities.

THE ROLE OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF

EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
In the area of primary schools, private enterprise did not feature much. This was left solely in
the hands of the voluntary agencies and government. Some corporate bodies like the
University of Ibadan and other universities at Nsukka, Ife, Lagos and Zaria tried to establish
primary schools for the convenience of their staff. In the post secondary sector, local
communities and individuals helped the government by establishing and running some
secondary schools. Most of these private schools were not grant-aided from public funds and
so turned to commercial and vocational subjects which attracted students. This gave rise to
numerous private commercial secondary schools which were established after independence.
It is true that most of these institutions were poorly equipped; but they supplied the secretarial
staff which enabled the Nigerian bureaucracy to stand when the colonial staff left in 1960.
The period 1931-1959 witnessed a lot of local community participation at spreading science
education in Nigeria as individuals, groups and communities set out to establish more
secondary schools in the country.
Prominent Nigerians who studied abroad like Professor Oyerinde, Professor Eyo Ita, N.D,
Chief Daniel Henshew, Rev. O. Offiong and Alvan Ikoku saw the need for
technical/vocational education. They formed a National Education Movement and later
opened secondary schools that were somehow technically oriented. The schools emphasized
the training in such trades as printing, carpentry, tailoring and bakery (Eke, 1998). Many of
such schools were opened in Lagos, Calabar, Ibadan, Aba, Port-Harcourt, Ikot-Ekpeme and
Arochukwu.
Some of the schools founded by different categories of Nigerians according to Eke (1998)
include the following:

Schools Established by the Elite Group

1. Entonna High School, established in 1932 by Rev. Patts-Johnson, I.R.
2. Aggrey Memorial College, established in 1933 by Alvan Ikoku.
3. Ibadan Boys High School, Ibadan, established in 1938 by Oyesina, O.L.

School Established by Non-Elite Nigerians

1. Christ High School, Lagos, established in 1934.
2. New African College, Onitsha, established in 1938
3. Okpe Grammar School, Sapele, established in 1941
4. New Bethel Collehge, Onitsha, established in 1942.

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5. Lisabi Grammar School, Abeokuta, established in 1943.

6. African College, Onitsha, established in 1943
7. Adeola Odutola College, Ijebu-Ode, established in 1945.
8. Western Boys High School, Benin-City, established in 1947.
Schools Established by Communities
1. Ibibio State College, Ikot-Ekpeme established in 1949 by the Ibibios.
2. Urhobo College, Effurum, established in 1949 by the Urohobos.
3. Egbado College, Ilaro, established in 1950 by the Egbados.

However, the massive growth of private secondary schools made planned expansion very
difficult. Communities and villages competed against one another in the establishment of
secondary schools. The quality of the schools varied from school to school as revealed by the
results of the West African School Certificate Examinations. These private schools were
worst hit in terms of performance because of lack of finance which resulted in poor
equipment and personnel. However, there were isolated exceptions such as the International
School at Ibadan which was being sponsored by the University of Ibadan. In the case of
primary schools, private schools were among the best because they were very few and the
parents were prepared to pay high fees for running the schools. The aim of the parents was to
ensure that their children secured admission in the few well equipped and staffed
Government Colleges in each of the regions.
In addition to the contributions of the private enterprise in the formal system, there are
hundreds of artisans spread throughout the country who were self-employed and who train
apprentices in their respective trade. Many girls acquired skills in needle work, sewing,
catering and domestic science in this way. Many road-side mechanics acquired their skills,
which are reasonably high in a few cases, from self employed artisans.

THE 1969 CURRICULUM CONFERENCE

The National Curriculum Conference held in Lagos in September 1969 was a major landmark
in the history of Nigerian education. What was unique about this conference was that, it was
not a conference of experts and professionals. Rather, it represented a conference of a cross-
section of the Nigerian society: trade unions, farmers, religious organizations, university
lecturers and administrators, businessmen and women, youth clubs, and ministry officials.
The curriculum conference was not concerned with preparing a national curriculum, nor was
it expected to recommend specific contents and methodology. It was to review the old and
identify new national goals for Nigerian education, bearing in mind the needs of youths and
adults in the task of nation building and national reconstruction. The conference identified
the following areas as crucial to the attainment of the conference objectives.
1. National philosophy of education
2. Goals of primary education

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3. Objectives of secondary education

4. Purpose of tertiary education
5. The role of teacher education
6. Functions of science and technical education
7. The place of women’s education
8. Education for living
9. Control of public education.
The objectives of the 1969 curriculum conference culminated in the articulation of the current
national policy on education, which spelt the objectives and the direction that education
should follow. Of particular mention was the overhauling of the 7-5-2-3 system of education
to the much popularised 6-3-3-4 system of education in Nigeria. The system reduced the
number of schooling years from seventeen to sixteen and expanded the scope of studies of
each level of education in the country. Not only was the scope of education expanded, the
relevance of the system to the overall development of the country was also envisaged in the
new document. The document had since been put into practice and its impact is being felt
across the country.

ACTIVITY I
1. Describe the significance of the Phelps-Stokes Commission reports to the
development of the British educational policies in its colonies.
2. How did the 1925 memorandum affect the educational policies in Nigeria?
3. Examine in detail, the recommendations of the Ashby reports and its significance to
the development of higher education in Nigeria.
4. In what ways did the 1969 curriculum conference aided the development of the
Nigeria’s educational policies of the ‘70s?

THREATS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

The threats facing the development of education in Nigeria are multifarious in nature.
Educationists over the years have pointed that the current National Policy on education was
conceived and hatched at a time when the country’s economy was buoyant. But its real
implementation started at a time of tight economic situation. This, according to them, was the
major factor hindering the realization of the objectives outlined in the policy document. It is
equally true that there was an increase in population and expansion of the facilities at all
levels of education in the country. The facilities became over stretched and more are required
to make the desired impact. It is equally true that the management and maintenance of these
facilities are capital intensive, which the government alone can not bear now. There is the
need therefore to mobilize the various segments of the society to complement the efforts of
government towards realizing the goals set in the national policy.

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Many educationists have continued to question the sincerity of government in its

determination to forge the country’s education system ahead, viewing from the continued
decrease in government budgetary allocation to the sector over the years. Further misgivings
on the quality of supervision by the various tiers of government remained unclear and much
is needed to convince the public about the seriousness of government in this regard.
It is equally disheartening to observe that capital projects in the education sector are not being
giving immediate attention. There are no visible plans to expand the already overstretched
facilities in all the levels of education well. Instead, much emphasis is now laid on the
development of roads, rural electrification, polio eradication and so on. This does not posit
that developments in these sectors are worthless. Rather, they should be considered secondary
to the development of education, which is primarily concerned with the development of all
the faculties of man, his attitudes and skills. Of what significance is life when illiteracy,
hunger, disease and general under development are the ugly faces of our lives? Where will
Nigeria be tomorrow if its educational system remains enshambles, incoherent, uncoordinated
and unfounded today? Another major setback to the realization of the goals of the national
policy is the corrupt tendencies of some officials, who will divert or make useless the
allocations made to the sector. In the end, the money appropriated for education will not be
spent for the purpose it was budgeted. Nigerians must change if the country is to move
forward. We must change our country for our own good. It is an irony that education is the
vehicle through which the most needed change in our attitudes and value system can
achieved.

ACTIVITY II
1. How has the current policy on education in the country turned around our educational
system?
2. What major threats would you say are facing the development of education in Nigeria
today?
3. How would these problems be overcome in your opinion?
4. In what ways can the value system of Nigerians be changed?

• SUMMARY
• The Unit has reviewed for you the developmental trends of education in the country
since 1919. The British government started showing interest as to which direction
education should take with the reports of the Phelps-Stokes committees that visited
West, East and Central Africa in 1920 and 1924 respectively. It therefore constituted a
committee to work out the direction, which education should take in its colonies in the
tropical Africa in 1923. The committee produced a memorandum in 1925, which for
the first time provided the sound basis for the country’s educational policies.
• The ordinances of 1926 and beyond re-echoed those recommendations of the Phelps-
Stoke’s reports and led to the decentralization of education and got government to be
more involved in the control and supervision of education.

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• Between 1947 and 1970, Nigeria developed steady educational policies that
culminated into the development of higher education. The Ashby’s commission
reports of 1959, for example, set the pace for the development of higher education in
Nigeria, the impact of which is still being felt. The 1969 curriculum conference was
another significant achievement in the development of education in the country. That
was the first time Nigerians of different works of life gathered together to fashion out
national education objectives for the country. These objectives provided the basis for
further developments that translated into the policy document, called the National
Policy on Education. The document was conceived and hatched at a time of economic
buoyancy, but unfortunately implemented in a depressed economic. This and other
factors, as pointed also in the unit, are responsible for the non realization of the
objectives outlined in the policy document.
• In this unit, you have equally been told of some specific developments in education
under the captions, primary, secondary, higher, teacher, technical and vocational
education as well. These levels of development are opened for your criticism and to
serve as a springboard from which you can contribute positively policy formulations,
provisions and practices of education in the country.
• Finally, the unit has challenged you with some important questions, sharpen your
mind on the expected contributions from, to enhance teaching and learning in our
school system.

ASSIGNMENT
Carefully examine the trends in the development of education from 1919 to date, pointing out
the significant achievements made, the threats confronting the system, and suggest ways of
solving them.

REFERENCES
Fafunwa, A. (1974) History of Education In Nigeria, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London

Ozigi, A. & Ocho, L. (1981) Education in Northern Nigeria, George Allen & Unwin Ltd.,
London.

Taiwo,C.O (1980) The Nigerian Education System: Past, Present & Future, Butler &
Tanner Ltd, London.

NTI (1990), Historical Foundation of Education, NTI, Kaduna, Nigeria.

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