ABSTRACT
The period 1842—82 was marked by intensive missionary activity and expansion in Southern Nigeria. In 1886 Lagos was separated from the Gold Coast and became the Colony and Protectorate of Lagos. In 1903 an Education department was established for the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, and in the same year an education code was promulgated. Prior to 1925 the British government had no clearly defined policy on education in its African colonies. This separation necessitated the enactment of the first purely Nigerian education ordinance in 1887. The Nigerian people's reaction to modern education varied from place to place, from ethnic group to ethnic group, particularly in Southern Nigeria. Both the British Education Act and the West African ordinance laid down rules for the annual examination of pupils, the methods of granting teachers' certificates, and the system of grants-in-aid.
