Abstract:
. This paper examines historical development of private secondary school education in Nigeria (1859 – present). In the process, it examines the growth of private secondary school education with reference to quantity of resources since 1859, and the development of the education with reference to quality of the education. The study was done using historical research method because this study is historical in nature. Thus primary and secondary sources of data were used in the study. Moreover periodic and thematic analyses of the data were done in the fashion of historical research. It was found that private secondary school education in Nigeria was started by the Christian missionaries, the local communities subsequently established private secondary schools too. The government later established public schools. But the government was more interested in ensuring quality education at the schools (private and public). The private secondary schools did not give wide range of education initially but as a result of agitation by the educated elite in Nigeria the curriculum was widened. The quality was also increasingly better and the products could secure better jobs. However government‟s policy later made education free up to the end of junior secondary school (1999). It is concluded that the policy of free secondary education (junior secondary education) by government should be implemented in such a way that would prevent industrial actions by teachers. Moreover it is recommended that the free education policy should apply not only to junior secondary school education, but also to senior secondary school education
