Parental Socioeconomic Status and Access to Quality Vocational Education in North West Nigeria

This study examined the influence of parental socioeconomic status on access to quality vocational education among secondary school students in North West Nigeria, covering Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, and Zamfara States. Socioeconomic inequality in access to quality education is a persistent challenge in Nigeria, and understanding its mechanisms in the vocational education sector is essential for designing effective equity interventions. A survey and multilevel modelling design were used, with data collected from 1,200 students in 40 institutions across the four states. Instruments included the Family Socioeconomic Status Index and the Quality Vocational Access Scale. Hierarchical linear modelling decomposed variance in access quality across student and school levels. Results showed that parental income, educational level, and occupational status each independently predicted access to quality vocational institutions, with combined socioeconomic status explaining 44 percent of variance in access quality at the student level. School-level factors including government funding, urban location, and teacher qualifications explained an additional 29 percent of variance. Students from low-income households were concentrated in poorly resourced schools, compounding disadvantage. The study recommends pro-poor vocational education financing policies including means-tested bursaries, school quality improvement grants targeting low-income communities, and outreach programmes designed to raise vocational education aspirations in disadvantaged households. Keywords: socioeconomic status, vocational education access, North West Nigeria, equity, multilevel modelling.