In the last two decades, primary and secondary school enrollment rates have declined in Nigeria while
enrollment rates in post-secondary school have increased. This paper estimates from the General Household
Survey for Nigeria the private returns to schooling associated with levels of educational attainment for wage
and self-employed workers. The estimates for both men and women are small at primary and secondary
levels, 2 to 4 percent, but are substantial at post-secondary education level, 10-15 percent. These schooling
return estimates may account for the recent trends in enrollments. Thus, increasing public investment to
encourage increased attendance in basic education is not justifiable on grounds of private efficiency, unless
investments to increase school quality have higher private returns. With high private returns to postsecondary
schooling, students at this level should pay tuition, to recoup more of the public costs of schooling,
which may be redistributed to poor families through scholarships.