An Assessment Of Secondary School Students Enrolment Of Islamic Studies In Ssc Examinations In Abeokuta From 2012-2016
[CASE STUDY OF ABEOKUTA SOUTH, LOCAL GOVERNMENT OGUN STATE]

Islamic Studies and the Senior School certificate Examination
Islamic studies, which some interchange with Islamic education began with the introduction of Islam as a religion to Nigeria in the eleventh century through the ancient kineme-Borno Empire (Fafunwa, 1974). According to Abdul-kareem (1990), the present “Borno State, Bauchi State and parts of Gongola State constituted the famous ancient Borno Empire.
    It spread among the rulers and the urban population established Quranic schools and for many centuries up to the colonial period. Islamic schooling was then the formal educational system in the Northern Nigeria (Abdul, 2011). From this point, it is established that the first reference book or syllabus is the Quran.
    In a nutshell, according to Abubakre (2004), the teaching and learning of Arabic and Islamic Studies could only be dated back to the advent of Islam in Nigeria. When the Christian Missionaries came to Nigeria in 1842, to propagate their religion through the introduction of Western Education.
So immediately the arrived, between 1842 and 1862 they quickly set up a number of mission station for regular prayer meeting and bible classes. At the mission station or near them classes were organized for adults of children to learn reading and writing.
      Gradually through government intervention the curricular of the mission schools were varied and made relevant to the needs of government than those in the Quran schools. This become more apparent especially after 1861 when increasing participation in politico-economic affair of the country by the European led to the demand for interpreters and clerks in Europe offices.
     Appointments were often made for those who had passed out from the mission schools, this is mainly due to their literacy in English language, the language of the European, which was not taught in Quranic schools. Later on, the product of missionary schools were exposed to white colour job opportunities in civil service where
Quranic school did not have such opportunities
Thus, there existed a gap between people who had an appreciate measure of missionary education termed Western Education and those who did not
Realizing the importance of missionary school as potential recruitment ground for skill man power, the colonial government started giving them money in form of grant-in-aid which the Quranic schools were giving nothing. According to Ajayi (1965) this financial aid and moral support which the missionary school enjoyed from home and abroad made them improve on their educational service by introducing more subject and enjoying more qualified staffed. They did not forget the original aim of setting up those school to win more souls for the Christ by converting Muslim and animist to Christianity. Balogun (1996) Muslim parent had a different choice to allow their children to get a modern education at risk of losing the opportunity to rise high in government or the modern administrative system this gave rise to the establishment of private Islamic school for Muslim in the south west.
    In the North, the situation was different for the British to face with the Northern emirates, the legacy of the Sokoto Complete established by the great religious reformer Shaykh  Uthman Dan Fodio in the late 18th/19th centuries (Abdul 2011)
Progressively, Ahmad (1996) record that the first attempt to place Arabic and Islamic Education under government control in Nigeria. During the colonial era, was made by Alahji Abdullah Bayero in the North. Subsequently some eminent Muslim personalities held a meeting with then northern region ministry of education in 1953 at Kaduna and for the first time Islamic studies was introduced at the secondary school level. In 1968, Islamic religion studies become an examinable subject under West Africa Examination Council (WAEC). As a result Islamic studies become one of the registered subject offered at all level of education in the Nigeria curriculum. Azeez and Adeshina (2013). Consequently, Islamic studies become properly structured into five units. These are: Quran, Hadith Fiqh, Tawhid and Sirah