The Sociology of Educational Inequality and Its Consequences for Social Mobility in North Central Nigeria: An Empirical Study

The relationship between educational inequality and social mobility in Nigeria's North Central zone has been theorized within human capital frameworks but rarely examined empirically with robust measurement of both dimensions simultaneously. This study empirically investigates educational inequality and its consequences for intergenerational social mobility in Benue and Kogi States. A cross-sectional survey was employed, with structured questionnaires administered to 480 adults across four age cohorts and multiple occupational strata in Makurdi and Lokoja. Educational inequality was measured using the Gini coefficient applied to years of schooling distributions, while social mobility was assessed through intergenerational occupational transition matrices. Multivariate regression examined the direct effect of educational attainment on occupational status, controlling for parental background. The education Gini coefficient for the sample was 0.47, indicating high educational inequality with significant concentration of tertiary education in upper-income families. Intergenerational mobility analysis revealed that only 23% of respondents from agricultural laborer family backgrounds achieved non-agricultural occupational status, compared to 74% of respondents from professional family backgrounds. Each additional year of schooling increased the probability of upward mobility by 11 percentage points, confirming education as the primary mobility mechanism but also the primary inequality transmitter. State of residence effects were significant, with Benue respondents demonstrating lower educational returns to mobility than Kogi counterparts. The study empirically establishes education as both the key to and a primary barrier against social mobility in this region. Keywords: educational inequality, social mobility, North Central Nigeria, intergenerational, occupational status.