Trend Analysis of Fee-Free Policy on Quality of Universal Basic Education in South West, Nigeria

This study investigated the impact of fee-free policy on quality of Universal Basic Education in South-West, Nigeria. The observed gap in quality of Universal Basic Education despite the fee-free basic education policy necessitated the study. The study was guided by one research question and one hypothesis. Descriptive research of survey type was used for the study. The population comprised all public primary school teachers and pupils in South-West, Nigeria. A sample of one thousand nine hundred and twenty (1,920) respondents including male and female teachers selected from the sampled States of Lagos, Ogun and Oyo. The instrument, Fee-free Policy Impact of Universal Basic Education Descriptive Questionnaire (FPIUBDQE) was used for data collection. Data on public primary school pupils’ enrolment, teachers’ population and school list for a period of 2000-2012 was also used. Simple Linear Regression Analysis and Descriptive Statistics were used for the hypothesis and the research question. The result shows a significant Impact of fee-free policy on quality of Universal Basic Education. However, the survey reveals an alarming ratio of teachers to pupils ranging from 1:50 to 1:76 in some schools in the sampled States. It was suggested among others that government should be more committed and consistent in their maintenance of high quality in delivery of education services in the UBE schools.