JAMB 2017 Syllabus: Government

After completing your JAMB registration, the CBT centre will give you a JAMB CD.

That CD contains (among other things) JAMB’s 2017 syllabus.

But there is a problem: It’s not working on computer.

Moreover, not everybody has a laptop (or desktop). That’s what most people (including our group members) are complaining about.

So I’ve broken into the CD and extracted the JAMB 2017syllabus for you.

In all, they are 25 subjects.

But I wanted our group members to get access to the ones that concern them as quickly as possible.

So, I decided to get them online one-by-one.

To know which ones to work on first, I asked them. Based on their reply, I’m working on their subjects of choice and getting them online one-by-one.

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Please Note: I’m working on an article that will show you how to dramatically increase your chance of getting admission this year – even if you’ve filled your form.

When it’s ready, I will announce it in my e-mail list and our Facebook group. So d rop your e -mail and phone num ber and join the group. That way, you won’t miss out. I'm also on twitter.

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My OBSERVATION: 2017 JAMB syllabus is practically the same with that of last year.

Nothing changed.

In fact, in Use of English, for example, they still wrote, “The Last Days at Forcados High School” as the recommended text.

Below is JAMB syllabus for Government.

Some of your friends and followers on social media may be writting JAMB too. So why not share this post with them on Facebook or re-retweet it? They will appreciate it.

GOVERNMENT

GENERAL OBJECTIVES

The aim of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) syllabus in Government is to prepare the candidates for the Board’s examination. It is designed to test their knowledge in Government, with a view to determining their suitability for placement in institutions of higher learning in Nigeria.

These objectives are to:

i. appreciate the meaning of government;

ii. analyse the framework and specify the institutions of government;

iii. appreciate the basic principles of democratic governance and their application in Nigeria;

iv. explain the concept of citizenship and define the duties and obligations of a citizen;

v. appreciate the process of political development in Nigeria;

vi. evaluate the political development and problems of governance in Nigeria;

vii. understand the determinants and dynamics of foreign policy as it relates to Nigeria;

viii. assess the role of Nigeria as a member of the international community and the workings of international organizations.

DETAILED SYLLABUS

PART 1: ELEMENTS OF GOVERNMENT

TOPICS/CONTENTS/NOTES

OBJECTIVES

1. Basic Concepts in Government

a. Power, Authority, Legitimacy, Sovereignty;

b. Society, State, Nation, Nation-State;

c. Political Processes; Political Socialization, Political Participation, Political Culture.

2. Forms of Government:

Monarchy, Aristocracy, Oligarchy, Autocracy, Republicanism, Democracy- definitions, features, merits and demerits.

3. Arms of Government:

a. The Legislature – types, structure, functions, powers;

b. The Executive – types, functions, powers;

c. The Judiciary – functions, powers, components.

d. Their relationships

4. Structures of Governance:

a. Unitary – features, reasons for adoption, merits and demerits

b. Federal – features, reasons for adoption, merits and demerits

c. Confederal - features, reasons for adoption, merits and demerits.

5. Systems of Governance:

Presidential, Parliamentary and Monarchical.

6. Political Ideologies:

Communalism, Feudalism, Capitalism, Socialism, Communism, Totalitarianism, Fascism, Nazism.

7. Constitution:

Meaning, Sources, Functions, Types - Written, Unwritten, Rigid and Flexible.

8. Principles of Democratic Government:

Ethics and Accountability in Public Office, Separation of Power, Checks and Balances, Individual and Collective Responsibility, Constitutionalism, Rule of Law, Representative Government.

9. Processes of Legislation:

Legislative Enactments – acts, edicts, bye-laws, delegated legislation, decrees.

10. Citizenship:

a. Meaning, types;

b. Citizenship rights;

c. Dual citizenship, renunciation, deprivation;

d. Duties and obligations of citizens;

e. Duties and obligations of the state.

11. The Electoral Process:

a. Suffrage – evolution, types;

b. Election – types, ingredients of free and fair election;

c. Electoral System - types, advantages and disadvantages of each;

d. Electoral Commission – functions, problems.

12. Political Parties and Party Systems:

a. Political parties – Definition, Organization, functions.

b. Party Systems – Definition, organization, functions.

13. Pressure Groups:

a. Definition, types, functions and modes of operation.

b. Differences between Pressure Groups and Political Parties.

14. Public Opinion:

a. Meaning, formation and measurement.

b. Functions and limitations.

15. The Civil Service:

Definition, characteristics, functions, structure, control and problems.

PART II POLITICAL

DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

1. Pre – colonial Polities:

Pre-jihad Hausa, Emirate, Tiv, Igbo, Yoruba

a. Their structural organization;

b. The functions of their various political institutions.

2. Imperialist Penetration:

a. The British process of acquisition – trade, missionary activities, company rule, crown colony, protectorate;

b. The British colonial administrative policy – direct and indirect rule;

c. The French colonial administrative policy – assimilation and association;

d. Impact of British colonial rule- economic, political, socio-cultural;

e. Comparison of British and French colonial administration.

3. Process of Decolonization:

a. Nationalism – Meaning, Types;

b. Nationalist Movements – emergence, goals, strategies;

c. Nationalist Leaders – Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello, Ladipo Solanke, Aminu Kano, J. S. Tarka, Tafawa Balewa and others;

d. Emergence of nationalist parties;

e. Influence of external factors.

4. Constitutional Development in Nigeria:

a. Hugh Clifford Constitution (1922)

b. Arthur Richards Constitution (1946)

c. John Macpherson Constitution (1951)

d. Oliver Lyttleton Constitution (1954)

e. Independence Constitution (1960)

Their features, merits and demerits.

5. Post – Independence Constitutions:

1963, 1979, 1989 and 1999– characteristics and shortcomings.

6. Institutions of Government in the Post – Independence Nigeria:

a. The Legislative – structure, functions and working.

b. The Executive – structure, functions and workings.

c. The Judiciary – structure, functions and workings.

7. Public Commissions Established by the 1979 and Subsequent Constitutions:

The Civil Service Commission, the Public Complaints Commission, Electoral Commissions, National Boundary Commission and others – objectives functions and problems.

8. Political Parties and Party Politics in Post-Independence Nigeria:

a. First Republic

b. Second Republic

c. Third Republic

d. Fourth Republic

- Evolution, membership spread, structure etc.

9. The Structure and Workings of Nigerian Federalism:

a. Rationale for a Federal System;

b. Tiers of government and their relationship;

c. Creation of States – 1963, 1967, 1976, 1987, 1991, 1996;

d. Problems of Nigerian Federalism – census, revenue allocation, conflicts etc. solutions e.g. Federal character, etc.

10. Public Corporations and Parastatals:

a. Definition, types, purpose and functions;

b. Finance, control and problems;

c. Deregulation, privatization, commercialization – objectives, features, merits and demerits;

d. Comparison between public corporations and parastatals.

11. Local Government:

a. Local government administration prior to 1976;

b. Features of local government reforms (1976, 1989) – structure, functions, finance and inter-governmental relations;

c. Traditional rulers and local governments;

d. Problems of local government administration in Nigeria.

12. The Military in Nigerian Politics:

a. Factors that led to military intervention;

b. Structure of military regimes;

c. Impact of military rule – political, e.g creation of states, introduction of unitary system (Unification Decree NO. 34) etc. economic, e.g SAP, etc.

d. Processes of military disengagement.

PART III: FOREIGN POLICY AND NIGERIA’S RELATIONS WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

1. Foreign Policy:

- Definition, purpose, determining factors; formulation and implementation.

2. Nigeria’s Foreign Policy:

a. Relations with major powers;

b. Relations with developing countries, e.g the Technical Aid Corps (TAC), etc.

c. Nigeria’s Non-Alignment Policy.

3. Relations with African Countries:

a. Africa as the “centre piece” of Nigeria’s forieign policy – guiding principles, implementation and implications;

b. NEPAD – origin, objectives and implications.

4. Nigeria in International Organizations

a. The United Nations;

b. The Commonwealth;

c. The Organization of African Unity;

d. The African Union;

e. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS);

f. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

PART IV: INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:

1. International Organizations:

a. ECOWAS;

b. OAU, AU;

c. Commonwealth;

d. OPEC;

e. UNO;

f. African Petroleum Producers Association; Origin, objectives, structure, functions, achievements, problems and prospects of these organizations.