Education and Economic Growth in Nigeria: A Comparative Analytical Approach

For decades, the Nigerian economy has been plagued by several socio-economic problems with poverty chairing the list. This is quite ironic for a country that is endowed with vast natural and human resources. In the quest to finding plausible solutions to the problems faced by the country, studies have shown education, as the leading instru ment for promoting economic growth. This paper examines the impact of education on econ omic growth using primary and secondary annual data ranging from 1985 to 2007. The findings show that only recurrent expenditure has significant effects on economic growth as the acade mic qualifications of teachers also have significant impact on students’ academic performanc e. Among other, this paper recommends that the government should increase its expenditure on educa tion especially, the capital expenditure, while a good salary scheme with other incentives for teache rs’ motivation should be implemented.