Comparative Study of Education Funding in Nigeria

Abstract

This study provides a comparative review of education funding across geopolitical zones in Nigeria and draws a nexus between Nigeria’s budgetary allocation to education and some selected African countries. Education funding in Nigeria has lagged the UNESCO’s advised 15%-20% of the government's annual budget to education in the last three decades. We assess education funding across the six geopolitical zones between 2010 and 2019 using content analysis of the respective states. A review of the WAEC enrollment for states in each zone is performed to compare how education funding impacts WAEC enrollment in Nigeria. The study identifies a link between poverty and income inequality and education funding in Nigeria by leveraging data from the World Bank and Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) from 2001-2019. We identify low funding of education as the primary driver of poverty and inequality in Nigeria. The study recommends a diversified funding mechanism to enhance the sector's funding and improve the quality of education in the country.

Keywords: Education Funding, Poverty and Inequality, Nigeria

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-5-01

Publication date: February 28^th 2021