The United Kingdom and Nigerian education system

In the United Kingdom there are two different sectors of education; the state sector which is controlled by the Government and the public sector which is controlled by private individuals. They both however operate five stages of education, which are; early years, primary education, secondary education, further education and higher education. Education is made compulsory by the government for children between the ages of 4 years and 16 years in the United Kingdom. The grading of class of students is done by considering the age of the student, and is not compulsory to complete the fourth and fifth stages of education.

In the Nigerian education system, there are four levels of education which is often referred to as the 6-3-3-4 system which means; 6 years of primary education, 3 years of junior secondary education, 3 years of senior secondary school education and 4 years of university or polytechnics education.

There is also a difference in terms of class size between both countries, the classes in Nigeria are often overcrowded due to the number of students allocated to one class. While, in the UK, classes tend to be relatively less crowded than Nigerian schools, which may make learning easier and faster for both the teachers and the students.

Although both countries have their differences, they also have their similarities such as, they both operate the British system of education and the stages of education are called the same thing both in UK and in Nigeria.

Overall, the education system in Nigeria is not at its best and according to Tomori (2012) it is because the education sector has been mishandled by previous existing government since independence.

Reference

Onyukwu. J (2011) ‘The educational system of Nigeria’ world education news & reviews 1st August, 2011 [online]. Available at: http://wenr.wes.org/2011/08/wenr-julyaugust-2011-practical-information/ (Accessed 7th November, 2013)

Tomori (2012) ‘education will fare worse’ The Punch 5^th January [online]. Available at: http://www.punchng.com/feature/2012-in-view/education-will-fare-worse-in-2012-tomori/ (Accessed 7th November, 2013).