Arguing that the politicisation of decentralisation appreciably reduces educational quality and efficient resource allocation and negatively affects matters of equity in and delivery of education, the present study provides a critique of decentralisation and privatisation in education in Africa with special reference to Nigeria. On the basis of the experiences of other nations, the author suggests that both decentralisation and privatisation in education--especially the introduction of user fees--have created a new dimension of educational inequality in Nigeria as well. In this case, it can be seen that indicators of efficiency declined significantly in line with negative trends in national-government appropriations to sub-national governments and the education sector. The author concludes that no linkage can be asserted to exist between decentralisation and educational improvement.