ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATION POLICY THRUST OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (NEEDS) IN NIGERIA

The National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) is Nigeria's plan for prosperity. The plan focuses on four key strategies: reorienting values, reducing poverty, creating wealth and generating employment. In realizing the plan, education is recognized as the vital transformational tool and a formidable instrument for any socioeconomic empowerment. Policy frameworks for education were developed to propel and sustain the NEEDS initiative. The NEEDS set six goals (with targets) for education, and each of the goals is keyed to each of the policy thrust. This study, therefore, attempted to assess the extent to which the targets of NEEDS for education are implemented. A structured questionnaire was developed to elicit 250 university lecturers' views on the extent of implementation of the education policy thrust of the NEEDS. It was found that, the targets of each of the goals of the plan that were originally designed to be a medium–term development strategy; spanning year (2004-2007) have not been fully realized 10 years after its inception. Conclusion was drawn and recommendations were made, among which are: the NEEDS planners and operators should set specific, realizable targets and time framework of human development, for students to become self-sufficient in the areas of basic needs through skills acquisition and job creation.