Nigerian education system pre-colonization
Prior to the presence of the Europeans, Nigerian communities had their own systems of educating their children. There were two main types of education pre-colonization. They were religious and traditional education.

Traditional education helps the young understand the norms and nature of the society into which they were born and live. Through traditional education children were to acquire knowledge, skills and also develop the correct attitudes and values that would be needed not only for them to live in their local communities but also for them to be able to play their own role in and make their own modest contributions to society at large.

Islamic Education was for members of the Islamic religion across all Muslim communities. The religion of Islam had arrived through the activities of the Muslim Dyula (Wangarawa) merchants from the ancient West African Empire of Mali, first to Katsina and then to Kano in the 14th century. Islamic education was limited to teaching students about the Qur’an and the Arabic alphabet.

The introduction of western education
Western education was introduced by British missionaries in the 1840s. The Anglican Church Missionary Society (CMS) opened many schools in the mid-1800s. The colonial government gave the church financial aid, but in the early twentieth century, the government began building primary and secondary schools. By the time the British amalgamated the northern and southern regions into one in 1914, 11 secondary schools were already in operation.

Western education slowly entered the northern region. In 1947, only 66,000 students attended primary schools in the north, but ten years later, the number enrolled had expanded to 206,000. In the western region, over the same period, primary school enrollment increased from 240,000 to 983,000 students. The eastern region experienced the most dramatic growth in primary school enrollment during this period, jumping from 320,000 to 1,209,000 students. The number of secondary school students in the entire nation grew much less dramatically, increasing from 10,000 in 1947 to 36,000 in 1957. Most of this growth, 90 percent, was almost entirely in the south.

Post-independence educational reforms
Nigeria, on the attainment of her independence on the 1st of October, 1960, retained the educational policy bequeathed by the British Government. The first serious attempt at reforming the educational system in Nigeria took place in 1969.

In September 1969, there was a National curriculum conference held in Lagos. Participants at the program wanted to see Nigeria chart a new course in its educational system. They criticized the colonial education system as lacking in vitality and relevance.

The conference recommended changes in the system, from 6-5-2-3 system to 6-3-3-4 system; that is 6year primary, 3year junior secondary, 3year senior secondary and 4year university education. The recommended new system is simply the American system of education which Japan ably copied after 1945 and succeeded.

The national policy on education moved on from the educational policy bequeathed by the British colonialist. Other reform policies include:

- The Federal Government take over of regional universities in 1975
- Universal Primary Education Programme of 1976 (Adamu, nd.)
- The Universal Basic Education Programme of 2000, among others.

The civilian administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo also embarked on significant educational reforms particularly at the tail end of his tenure.

Nigerians should appreciate how far the country has come with regards to education
The progress of the Nigerian education system has been slow, but it is progress nevertheless. With a population of around 180 million and an immense desire for improvement, the Nigerian government has tried to respond to demands for schools and improvement in the sector. Nigerians can appreciate how far the country has come with regards to education. We've come a long way since the olden days of pre-independence to get where we are today. We have created many successful individuals from Nigerian education who can be seen worldwide. Despite all the challenges, especially funding and lack of teachers, education in Nigeria has grown tremendously since the 1960's.

Interesting article.

By the way, it's necessary that the university education evolves sooner rather than later as what's been lectured, oftentimes, has little bearing on our realities.