Abstract

Secondary education is critical to the education of a child, being the bridge between primary and tertiary education. In this paper, the challenges militating against the achievement of the objectives of secondary education in Nigeria were examined. They include: inadequate fund; inadequate and decay infrastructural facilities; inadequate and low quality teachers; negative attitudes of teacher; indiscipline of students; examination malpractices; low quality students-intake and poor academic performance of students; wastage; inappropriate curriculum; as well as the dilemma of disarticulation of schools. To tackle these challenges, and move secondary education forward in this decade and beyond, the paper suggested the provision of adequate fund for secondary education; effective administration of secondary schools; curbing examination malpractices; recruitment and training of more teachers; commitment and effectiveness of teachers; re-articulation of disarticulated schools; regular and effective inspection of secondary schools; recruitment of quality candidates into secondary schools; and review of secondary education curriculum.

Key words: Provision, secondary, education, secondary education, Nigeria, challenges, way forward.