STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTING UNDUE POLITICAL INFLUENCE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Any policy on education that has no effect or poorly implement is no policy. The position paper therefore, focused on strategies for preventing undue political influence in the management of education in Nigeria with the view of improving the quality of the nation’s education system at all tiers. Considering the importance of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG-4) to global educational development, political involvement in education becomes a topical issue especially in developing countries like Nigeria.  SDG-4 is concerned with where global education should be in 2030 in terms of quality. Six (6) strategies were examined namely establishing independent education bodies, promoting transparency and accountability, strengthening community involvement, fostering professionalism, implementing a national education policy, and electoral reforms to bring education experts in the position authority, the presidency. The paper also highlighted concepts of politics and education; National Policy on Education, effects of politics on educational policies, scope of politics in education, political and social constraints in educational planning, philosophy and goals of education in Nigeria, and funding education in Nigeria. The paper concluded that although, political interference in every sector of the economy is inevitable, undue political influence on the management of Nigerian Education System has been counter-productive, hence the prevalence of undue political interference could be reduced to the barest minimum if those who have a passion to serve the masses and genuine development of the nation’s economy are given enabling environment to emerge as leaders in the polity. It was therefore, suggested that electoral reform, a single strategy that would make other strategies identified in the paper enforceable; enshrine that Nigerian political parties should give their presidential tickets to candidates who specialize in education, and compel them to be faithful to their programmes of action when they assume office as this would end the prevalence of successive Governments paying lip-service to Educational Management in Nigeria.