Education funding comes from different sources; the major one for all levels of government is Public revenue from taxation (Saavedrea 2003). Education funds are reported to be distributed among the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education levels in the proportion of 30%, 30% and 40% respectively (Balami 2003). The public funding includes direct government expenditure (for teachers’ salaries and instructional materials) as well as indirect expenditure in the form of subsidies to households such as tax reductions, scholarships, loans and grants. It also includes payment from Education Tax Fund (ETF), mainly for capital expenditure. The main sources of fund that the Nigerian government has are federal taxes and duties on petroleum, profits imports and export, which form the revenue of the Federation Account, and the centrally collected value added tax (VAT) introduced in 1996
, Hinclifte (2003) and Orbach (2002). At present, private sources account for about 20% of total national donors, particularly in the form of loans.
The Nigerian government was able to finance education sector considerably, as a result of huge wealth generated from the sale of oil, whose discovery brought fundamental changes to the economy of Nigeria. The government of Nigeria switched large amount of the huge wealth made from the sale of oil into expenditure in various sectors including education (Olashore 1991). Government’s ultimate objective according to NPE situation thereafter engendered indiscriminate establishment of institutions, and increased student enrolments, to mention a few. According to Nwankwo (1992), enrolment in higher education increased from 14,468 in 1976 to 176,700 in 1990. This pace at which education had grown in Nigeria particularly since political independence is unparalleled elsewhere among new African nations (Adesina 1982).
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Education in Nigeria is currently in crisis. There is less money to spend on Primary, Secondary and Tertiary education. Education sector complains of under-funding while the government accuses the sector of inefficient utilization of available resources. The donors argue that public spending on education should be reduced. At the same time there are growing changes at the education level. Moreover, there are increasing complaints about poor standard of education at a period when globalization demands much from the educational system in terms of preparation of skillful labour force.
There is a rampant notion which is generally felt in the Nigeria’s education sector. The incessant strikes embarked by the ASUU and NASUU, Teachers in the secondary and primary schools etc have really affected to the education sector. Owing to this, the academic calendar have been disrupted, pupils and students have stayed more than required in their studies. To the employed staff in the academic institutions, their agitations boil down to the inability by government to meet up the new salary scheme. More so, it is attributed to the poor state of the learning institutions, which the attention of the government is drawn on. These have prompted the researcher to analyze the implication of government expenditure on the Nigeria’s economic growth.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This research study, thus, should be viewed as a preliminary analytical exercise designed to address basic questions about government expenditure on the education sector in Nigeria. These include the following:
· Does government expenditure on education have any significant impact on Nigeria’s economic growth?
· What are the possible policy recommendations for improving the education sector and the economy in general?
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The general objective of this study is to examine the impact of government expenditures on education in Nigeria’s economic growth.
The specific objectives include:
· To evaluate the effect of government expenditure in the education sector in Nigeria within the period 1980-2008.
· To draw preliminary policy recommendations for improving the education sector and the economy in general.
HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY
Ho: Government expenditure on education does not have significant impact on economic growth of Nigeria.
H1: Government expenditure on education has significant impact on economic growth of Nigeria.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
As the federal government of Nigeria now faces development challenges that are key to both welfare improvements for the general population and enhancement of the education sector in particular, this study will act as a source of information on various ways of adopting effective measures of improving the education sector. It will serve as a reference point to the policy makers to adequately plan education funding.
It will help students and researchers to do further work related to this research project. More so, institutions of learning that may come across this research work can see the need to enhance funding of the education sector without solely depending on government.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study covers the analysis and the implication of government expenditures in the education sector of Nigeria. In the course of the analysis, effort is made to examine the impact of this funding in the education sector by the government on the Nigeria’s economic growth. The level and composition of government expenditures on education in the period of years: 1980-2008 shall be reviewed.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
However, there cannot be a thorough research without fund. Thus, lack of fund poses as a limiting factor to this work; also, time factor is included because the issue of combining lectures with research project is not an easy task.
Be the first to comment