AN EVALUATION OF NATIONAL POLICY ON EDUCATION AND GENDER ACCESS

Abstract

Nigeria's first effort towards achieving education for all was launched in 1976 Universal Primary Education (UPE) was the biggest educational problem in Africa which sees education as an instrument for national development. This is reflected in the National Policy on Education (NPE) of 1977, 1998, 2004, 2005 and 2013 editions. The intent of the government in the Universal Primary Education and reforms agendas is to make education compulsory and free for all children of primary age school with view to enhancing the efficiency and productivity of its citizen especially girls child education.This paper adopts secondary methods of data collection as its methodology.This paper also argues that National Educational policy is yet to make sense especially among the contending political elites who siphoned the state resourcesthat was meant for the development of educational sector. Also, all the efforts made to make the UPE Scheme reality has failed due to irrational, corrupt leaders neglecting their duties such as traditional and religious leaders who are not concern about the good of their people but rather promoting and protecting selfish interests. The paper recommends that government at all levels should effect 26% of their budget allocation to educational sector as recommended by UNESCO help to revitalize UPE.