The Impact of Colonialism on Nigerian Education and the Need for E-Learning Technique for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Education is crucial in any type of society for the preservation of lives of its members and the maintenance
of the social structure. It grows out of the environment and the method of teaching being directly related to
the pattern of work in the society. The greater portion of Nigerian education before the colonial era was
informal, and functional, but with the colonization of Nigeria by Britain, the system of education was
changed from progressive education to essentialist education to enable the colonialists achieve their aim
of colonization. The purpose of this write up is not only to reveal the pros and coin of colonial education,
but to explore the impact of colonialism in Nigerian educational system and to proffer solutions that will
lead to better education that will be progressive in nature for sustainable development. This paper
highlighted on the pre-colonial education in Nigeria, the impact of colonization in Nigeria educational
system, problems such as the failure of the 6-3-3-4 system of education in Nigeria, emphasis on
examination results and paper qualification as inherited from the colonial masters among others were
identified. Recommendations such as, the need for the re-implementation of the 6-3-3-4 System of
education, and the use of E-learning among others to enhance functional education in Nigeria were given.