Attempts at providing basic education by various governments in Nigeria proved unsuccessful. Large
number of boys and girls as well men and women still remain illiterate. This is mainly attributed to
elitist approach at providing education for all. The results have been poverty, low enrolment,
insecurity, drop out and general failure of basic education. For a change, this paper recommends
that policy formulation and implementation should reject elitism and adopt bricolage as its
theoretical perspective. This is justified as the state alone cannot deliver basic education alone but
only with active participation of the people and imitating beneficial interventions from other
countries.
