An Analysis of Changing Education Systems on the Societies of Kogi State, Nigeria: From Colonial to Post-Colonial Era

Abstract

The restructuring of education systems in African societies followed the advent of European 
colonial interventions in different parts of the continent. The Western-type formal education 
introduced in Africa changed patterns of knowledge acquisition and altered the content of 
knowledge relating to economic, political, legal, religious, family, military and health 
systems. This paper examines the functionality of changing education in relation to the living 
standard of the three major ethnic groups of Kogi State, Nigeria. Related literature was 
reviewed with liberal feminism as the explanatory tool. Data were sourced through survey, 
in-depth interview (IDI), focus group discussion (FGD), and documentary search. The survey 
data were analysed quantitatively using frequency, percentage, cross-tabulations and chi
square tests, while IDI, FGD and documentary data were analysed qualitatively through 
content analysis. The findings indicate that changing education contents prepare many 
members of the ethnic groups more for labour services than for productive self-reliance, 
while a limited number of respondents identified some benefits in literacy and selected areas 
of modern knowledge. Inferential analysis further shows statistically significant differences 
in perceptions of functionality across ethnic groups and gender categories. The paper 
concludes that the changing education system is more dysfunctional than functional and 
therefore requires modification. It recommends functional reform of the education system 
through the development and implementation of primary and secondary school curricula that 
accommodate improved and modernised traditional technical skills, vocational orientation, 
good morals, unity and good governance.