THE RIGHT TO HIGHER EDUCATION FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IN NIGERIA: THE MAJOR CHALLENGES OF OUR TIME

This paper affirms that the right and equal opportunity to education particularly at higher levels is a policy statement which has remained at the front burners of developmental discoveries. It observes that despite policy declarations on educational equality, women‘s education has not completely received desired attention for high level competiveness at global level. It reveals that the journey has been tortuous. More so, in this time of knowledge based economy and globalization gender education is generally viewed as an indicator for meaningful development. This is especially true since after the United Nations World Conference on Women in 1975 and the subsequent declaration of 1975-1985, as the Decade for Women. The gains of this decade were reinforced by the Beijing conference in 1995 and such other conferences. The result is not totally bad but since development trends require high powered skills, knowledge levels and competences, the acquisition of basic education is no longer adequate to enable both men and women to contribute effectively to national development. In the light of the above it recommended that the girls/women must be encouraged to remain in school long enough (higher institutions) to acquire the necessary skills to be able to be part of national development, government on its part must restructure the industrial sector to attract investors who are gender sensitive both in providing educational opportunities and in employment. While female drop-out rate must be checked, enrolment drive must be undertaken to get more girls into schools and into higher institutions as quality education remains the fastest and the best way to empower potential beneficiaries for national development