1.1 Introduction
Political influence on education refers to the success of good educational policies issued by the government on the citizen, as formulation of policies are sometimes influence by the political parties in power which sometimes being criticize by the opposition party. Politics is the governing and administering of people, according to American political scientist, Harold Lasswell, politics is define as who get what, when and how. Polities play prominent position in our environment as it is back up with power and how one uses the power in the society. Politics is seen as a civilizing agent and away of ruling in divided society without violence. The educational system is in a way an extension of the political system, because education system is funded by the government of the day hereby propagating government policies (Okeke, 2007).
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
In Nigeria education is one of the vital tools utilized by the political class to enhance their legitimacy and control the machinery of government and administration. A careful look at organization and administration of education in any given country will show that it is closely interwoven with its political dispensation or ideology. According to Uchendu (2000:1) Educational system and politics are symbiotically linked. Educational systems are based upon and promote the ideologies of nations. Similarly abstract education that does not serve the politics of a given clan does not exist in the world today. Formal school system has become an important component for the political system to implant its ideology on the youth.
National Policy on Education FRN (2004) states that Education in Nigeria is an instrument for effecting development; it therefore seeks to fulfill that role the government has stated for the benefit of all citizens in the country. Educational goals shall be clearly set out in terms of their relevance to the needs of the individual and those of the society, in consonance with the realities of our environment and the modern world. Countries spell out in clear terms the philosophy and objectives that underline their investment in education which is generally affected by the political ideology of the country. Successive governments in the country insist on education for all, so that they can contribute meaningful, to the achievement of the ideas of a democratic form of government.
Education has been defined by authors in various ways to suit their own ideals of what education does or the gains of education. Many authors have defined politics in different ways. Okunamiri (2005:2) defined politics as unbridled struggle for power among individuals or groups. Clump, in Uchendu (2000:1) defined politics as a science and art of securing and advancing the temporal welfare, of community organized as a state. The business of politics therefore involves both laying down of general principles and their application to concrete problems. The scope of politics is the temporal well-being of the community as a whole. To say this means that politics is concerned with the relations of the members of the community between themselves and the things of the world. Again, it is concerned with the right and duties of citizens to each other and to state.
The greater participation and interaction between politics and education in the life of any nation is thus, what constitutes the major objective of community development. Technology (no matter how modest) alone does not solve problems nor does it even create friends. There is an increasing awakening that people are more important than techniques. People should have some voice in and understanding of what is being done. This is the basis of mutual benefit the world over. Symbiotic relationship between politics and education as earlier posited comprises the people plotting their graph, the direction of their values, identifying way of catching up with the graph so plotted and working meticulously towards the realization of set goals and objectives. This implies that a mutual relationship between politics and education requires that people themselves exert their own efforts, joining with government to improve their economic, social and cultural conditions. it is concerned with total community life and needs. It should involve the entire community participation in decision-making.
In another dimension Obanya (2002) perceived politics and education as interaction in the fullest and best sense for stimulation of the desire for better things and the urge to attain such better things. To her, mutual interaction of politics and education strive to educate and motivate people to self-help with a view to developing responsible local leadership among them, as well as inculcating in them a sense of citizenship and a spirit of civic consciousness. Besides, to ensure a lasting mutual relationship between politics and education, new ideas, researches and approaches must be injected into the education system.
In recent times, it is generally accepted that the success or failure of any educational system depends on the political system of the area concerned. Education cannot be separated from politics because it is an aspect of political needs of the society. Education is a vital instrument for national unity and integration in Nigeria. That is one of the reasons why the federal government is involved in education at primary, secondary and university levels in Nigeria. The political system has influenced educational system over a long period even during the period of Socrates and Plato.
Uchendu (2000:5) stated that no matter the system of education a country adopts, the likely solutions to problems that may arise from governmental attempt to regulate the aspirations of the citizens are related to politics, as politics determines the type of education that is to be adopted, so while one can take education out of politics, politics can hardly be taken out of education.
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to examine the Impact of Political Influence on Education.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that the government interest on education has some implications for planning and administration of education. It is planned and administered in the contest of existing governmental structure. The success or failure of any educational system depends on the political system at a time. The political issue which, has influenced education in Nigeria is equal opportunity, and according to the 1979 constitution, equal opportunity implies: the availability of places for students in the educational system, the social institutional support for attendance and the economic ability of individuals to pursue their education.
The political leadership is committed to ensuring that the fundamental right of all Nigerians for equal opportunity is assured. That is the reason why the government has mounted several programmes, to attain this objective in education. The Universal Primary Education (UPE) program is expected to ensure that every Nigerian child has free access to education irrespective of historical, political, cultural or socio-economic background. There are also plans especially with the recent introduction of Universal Basic Education (UBE) in Nigeria to ensure fee-free Junior Secondary education in all the states. Institutions for special education to take care of the handicapped and disabled children and adults are being spread all over the country.
Also established in many parts of the country are adult and non-formal educations for fishery communities. All these are aimed at ensuring that even these adults who lost the opportunity to go through formal school system when they were younger are availed of the opportunity to education. This however aroused the interest of the researcher to investigate the influence politics has on Nigeria education sector.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to examine the Impact of Political Influence on Education. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To discover the effects of politics on the implementation of education policy in Nigeria;
- To find out the impact of politics on academic performance of Nigeria students; and
- To investigate the influence of politics on availability of quality education in Nigeria.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- Does politics has an influence on the availability of quality education in Nigeria?
- Does politics has any impact on the academic performance of Nigeria students?
- What are the effects of politics on the implementation of education policy in Nigeria?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: There is no significant factor influencing politics on the implementation of education policy in Nigeria
- H1: There is a significant factor influencing politics on the implementation of education policy in Nigeria
1.7 Significance of Study
This study will expose government at different levels, schools managements, politicians, parents and other stakeholder involve the in formulating education policy in Nigeria on the influence and effects of politics on Nigeria education sectors.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.8 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Impact of Political Influence on Education. This study covers the population of Osun state in Nigeria but due to some challenges faced by the researcher samples are taken from Olorunda Local Government Area of Osun State.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definition of Terms
Politics: The activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power.
Influence: Ability to have effects on someone of something
Education: The process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university
