ROLE OF E.T.F IN THE PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SOME SELECTED PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Education has many definitions depending on the time element, the place and also the circumstances. This implies that education has no unitary definition, it is a continuous process and not static. It includes all the activities by which a child learns the teaching, customs and traditions of the society in which he lives.  In the process of education, the behaviour of a young child is shaped  in accordance   with the aims and goals of his  society, Unachukwu  (1989). Other scholars have equally tried the definition of education and they induce Eze (2002:94) who defined education as:
“The imparting and acquisition of knowledge designed to develop a broad range of abilities, knowledge and skills of general application.
Based on the above definitions of education, it could be stated there that education in the strict sense is employed to designate the consciously planned and systematically applied formal education or training carried on through the various social agencies of education, especially the school.
Education is veritable tool that all developing and developed nations of the world can use skillfully to accomplish whatever national objectives they wish. Where the bedrock of the nations educational system is concerned care should be taken that the right foundation is laid. 
Funding is the most basic need of the Nigerian educational sector. Government is therefore pursuing innovation strategies for the generation of funds to education. Traditionally sources of funding of education in Nigerian have been, school fees and levies paid by parents and guardians and parents in-aid from the various government.  These sources of funding of education existed from the colonial era up to about independence in Igbo and beyond.  Adesua (1981) reports of Christian’s missionaries, merchant and emigrant businessmen living in Lagos being the first financiers of education in Nigeria. Donations and church offering by members formed a sizeable percentage   of the money used in the financing the schools founded by the missionary bodies.

The education ordinance of 1882 provided for the total maintenance and finance of schools established by the colonial governments, while mission and private school were to be assisted through a system of grant –in-aid.  Adesua (1984) reports that formal education in Nigeria has been mainly financed by the public sector that is the governments. The current funding pattern of public primary schools is that the federal government contributes the lion’s share, with the State and Local Government as contributors.   Parents and parent-bodies e.g. “Parent Teachers Association’  (PTA) equally contributes to education through various levies and fees on students. 
Additional sources of funding primary schools have been: foundations established by the rich; generous individuals; religious groups; and other groups. Social and youth clubs have been assisting in the task of funding education, e.g. through donating some block of classroom for dormitory buildings, and awarding scholarships to indigent pupils. In the light of the high cost of education in spite of the listed sources of funding, there is still need to go searching for viable alternate sources of funding.  And some of the alternative sources includes:  
Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF): This is one of the sources, which the federal government created out of the additional revenue, which accrued from the increased in the prices of petroleum products in the country in  1994. It finances the development of social services and already the educational sector has been assured of a significant intervention which will cover, especially, the rehabilitation of school infrastructure at all levels, and the provision of books and other instructional materials.
Secondly, the education Tax Fund (E.T.F) is another sources of funding education in Nigeria.
As recording in education tax fund at a glance, volume  (3.1)
The education tax fund is a trust fund established under the education tax Act No  7  of  1993  and amended by Act  No  40  of  1998  with the objectives of using funding with  project management to improve  the quality of education in Nigeria. 
Basically, the pre-supposed objective of education tax fund include:    
i.                    Providing fund for educational facilities and infrastructure development
ii.                 Promoting creative and innovative approaches to educational learning and services.
iii.                Stimulate, support and enhance improvement activities in educational foundation areas like teacher education, teaching practice, library development etc.  and
iv.               Champion new literacy–enhancing programmes as scientific, information and technological literacy  (E.T.T at a Glance, Volume 3:3) for  E.T.T to achieve the pre-determine goals,
“Acts No 7 of 1993 as amended imposes a  2 percent education Tax on the assessable profit of all  registered companies in Nigeria” 
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is empowered by act to assess and collects education Tax
The fund administers the tax imposed by the acts,  and  disburses the amount to educational institutions at federal,  state and local government  levels hence   the roles  of ETF in  the physical development of Nigeria  primary education  sector can not be over –emphasized.
Again, Universal Basic Education (UBE) launched in September, 1999, has really contributed a lot in the funding of education in Nigeria. In fact, the following objectives of (UBE) reflects   the roles of the body towards the development of educational sector.
-         Mobilize the citizen to promote education at all levels
-         Give every Nigerian child of school age a free and universal education.
-         Reduce incidents of dropouts from the formal school system.
-         Provide vocation for school dropouts through appropriate moral and civic values that are required for learning and efficiency (http: / www. Nigeria first org. / printer 44 of shtm1/ from the above listed and discussed innovating measures adopted for the development of education sector, it could be well understood that the strategies could yield fruitful result if wisely mobilized and utilized).

PROBLEMS
            The Nigeria society, particularly Ebyia Development Centre of Ebonyi State seems dissatisfied with the performance of the primary schools system. Most of the primary schools in this area have dilapidated school buildings, no desk for pupils and tables for teachers; and equally lacks equipped libraries for effective teaching and learning.
            The critics that this situation affects the standards of education, which seem to be on the downward trend. The government by a way of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of Nigeria school system through proper funding has established the education tax fund scheme.
            Therefore, it is on the basis of the above that the research sets out to find out:
1.      Whether the education Tax fund (ETF) has any roles to play in the physical development of primary school system in Ebyia Development Centre?
2.      If E.T.F projects have any effect on pupils of the selected primary schools in Ebyia Development Center
3.      The nature of project/sited in the selected primary schools Ebyia Development Centre.
4.      The problems militating against the achievements of the E.T.F laudable objectives and
5.      If the Education Tax Fund has achieved its objectives in the areas of providing funds for educational facilities and infrastructure development.

PURPOSE
The main purpose of this study is:
1.      To high light and x-ray the various role of E.T.F in the physical development of some selected primary school in Ebyia Development Centre, hence according to E.T.F news (2001), the question; “what has your institution benefited from E.T.F will always deserve an answer.
2.      To explore the problems militating against the achievement of the objectives of E.T.F.
3.      To identity the extent to which E.T.F projects have affected pupils of the selected primary schools.
4.      And finally, to suggest ways through which these problems can be properly addressed or ameliorated for the find to achieve its targeted objectives.

SIGNIFICANCE
            Really, the importance of education cannot be over emphasized. And that is why the establishment of Education Tax fund to aid the funding of education is a welcome development. In fact, it is a step in the right direction. Some of the primary schools in Ebyia Development Centre has suffered a lot because of inadequate facilities lack of qualified teachers etc in the schools.
            Truly, pupils studying under the mango tree is a pitiable state of the schools and does not encourage qualitative education. It is expected that with the establishment of E.T.F, the primary schools in Nigeria with a particular reference to those Ebyia Development Centre would be given a face-left hence the need for the change of their poor state.
            The study will make known to the implements of ETF intervention project (s) their shortcomings for corrective purposes. It will equally serve as a reference point for the implements of the project (s) and future researchers hence we compare the past with the present, in order to predict the future.
            Therefore, the study is significant because it aims at making explicit explanation on the fund-E.T.F; thereby creating more awareness both for the diets and ill-informed public (masses).
            The study is also important because it will help educational planners and the society to discover problems of pupils relation to poor facilities in Nigeria primary school system.
            If attempts to identify the effect of the funds projects on the pupils of the selected primary school in Ebyia Development Centre.
            It also significant because it attempts to make necessary recommendations for the improvement of the pupils’ academic performances in primary schools system in Ebyia Development Centre.
            Indeed, the above reason must have justified the relevance of this study hence its significance cannot be over emphasized.

SCOPES AND DELIMITATION
            For intensive and effective study, the work will be limited to the role of Education Tax Fund (ETF) in the physical development of Nigerian primary education with a particular reference to some selected primary schools in Ebyia Development Centre.
            The researcher’s inability to extend beyond this bound is due to time and financial constraints. The study of this nature supposed to be endowed with the review of much related literature but being a newly established fund, much literature on the body is not yet established. Although available ones were properly reviewed.
            As a researcher, I would have visited all the primary school in Ebyia Development Centre, where I used as my case study but due to time and financial constraints as mentioned above, I could not do so but in order to make the work authentic and empirical, I still visited some selected primary schools in the Local Government Area.
Based on these facts, I accept that the work may not be 100% perfect, the authority of the work not with standing.
However, the future researchers may extend beyond this bound.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
            In order to carry out result-oriented investigation the following among other question will be addressed.
1.      Does the Education Tax Fund have any role to play in the physical development of primary school system in Ebyia Development Centre?
2.      Does the ETF projects has any effort on the pupils of the selected primary school in Ebyia Development Centre?
3.      Who decides on the nature of project (s) to be implemented and how?
4.      To what extent has ETF achieved its objectives of improving educational facilities and infrastructure developments in primary schools selected in Ebyia Local Government Araa.
5.      What are the major constraints that militate the achievement of ETF objectives?
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