1976 Universal Primary Education and Schooling Attainment in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines causal impact of 1976 Universal Primary Education (UPE) on individual schooling attainment in the Nigeria. This study exploits the quasi-natural experiment offered by the large-scale government investment in Universal Primary Education between 1976 and 1981 to confront the identification problems associated with this kind of study. Results from the Differences-in-Differences technique established that the UPE programme had positive and statistically significant impact on schooling attainment of beneficiaries. After controlling for all a large number of variables in the DID framework, exposure to UPE programme increases schooling attainment by 0.15 year. A formal test does not suggest that omitted variables might be influencing schooling outcomes.

Keywords: Nigeria, Universal Primary Education, Schooling

JEL Classification: I00, I20, I28