The public education system in Nigeria is state-sponsored
and set up in three stages: primary school (6 years),
junior secondary school (3 years), and senior secondary
school (3 years). Students must pass the Common Entrance
Examination in their last year of primary school to move
on to junior and senior secondary school, and the qualifying
examination organized by WAEC (West African Examination
Council) or State Ministry of Education. Private secondary
schools require their own entrance exams. After completing
secondary school, students must pass the Senior Secondary
School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by WAEC
or NECO (National Examination Council). Students must
also pass the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board
(JAMB) or University Matriculation Examination (UME) in
order to gain admittance to a university. University entrance
is based on the results of these tests (SSCE and JAMB),
with the top schools requiring the highest test scores.
Private universities require their own entrance examination.
Facilities provided for students are equal regardless
of gender, but laboratories in public schools are usually
not well equipped. Most classes are taught with a combination
of textbooks, lectures, and laboratories. Approximately
90% of students attend primary school, with only 30% continuing
on to secondary school and 4% reaching the university
level. A large number of girls are informally educated
in Nigeria, but this education does not include exposure
to science and engineering.
Given that education is state-sponsored and that progression
through school is dependent on test scores, why is it
then that there are still so few women in the science
and engineering fields? To begin with, girls tend to not
do as well as boys in math and science subjects taught
in school. This stems from the fact that African culture
tends to view women in domestic roles, which has created
social and mental restrictions on women. In addition,
out-dated and gender-biased textbooks create a barrier
to participation that is not easily overcome. Furthermore,
there are few female teachers in mathematics and engineering
which leads to inadequate encouragement of girls by teachers
and a lack of role models. Figure 1 shows that although
the enrollment of women in engineering disciplines is
increasing, there is a still a large gap between the enrollment
of men and women in engineering.
When it comes to graduate and pre-doctoral studies,
women are practically non-existent. The frustrations and
trials encountered during undergraduate study discourage
women from pursuing higher degrees. There are less than
five female engineers holding doctorate degrees in Nigeria.
Fortunately, organizations such as APWEN (Association
of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria) have taken
steps to create awareness of engineering as a career for
women. This includes organizing career counseling workshops
for female students at all levels, awarding scholarships,
and participating in community development programs.
