1. Critical
Compare With Colonial Educational System 6-5-4 In Nigeria And The New
Educational System Of 6-3-3-4 In Terms Of:
(a)
Quality
(b)
Quantity
(c)
Skills
acquisition
(d)
Promotion of
scientific and technological advancement
(e)
Solving the
countries problem of unitary man power shortage, moral disobedience and
corruption.
COLONIAL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF 6-5-4
In
the early colonial system, the burden of providing educational for the people
of Nigeria was still shuddered by the missionaries, the colonial government
were giving financial assistance to the missionary, before they come up to
achieve a unified system of education and to give education more attention in
order to achieve these aim, the colonial government adopts 6-5-4 system of
education, which means that a child should spend 6 years in primary, 5 years in
secondary 4 years in tertiary schools in the course of training a child can
learn how to read and write even have knowledge of using equipments and solving
problem and creating jobs in order to earn a living but during that time people
where not interested in school, the turn out was low because people engage in
agricultural activities, like farming, cattle rearing, fishing, cultivation and
planting economic tress. The masses and most of the native leaders were not
given serious attention to school meaning that they were not educated, the
colonial government review the system and made provisions for the secondary
educational in form of sub professional and vocational course were introduced
central agriculture, research stations, after that the educational ordinance was
passed regularizing the school system and laying down the condition for grants,
that grant should be used for school building and teachers salaries even
private schools where assisted to promote and encourage people to go to school
in order to achieve this aim the colonial government also enacted laws which
give room for appointing local board of education.
QUALITIES OF COLONIAL EDUCATION 6-5-4
i.
The secondary
education in form of sub-professional and vocational course were provided,
centre for Agricultural research stations.
ii.
The medium of
instruction was English.
iii.
The provision
against racial discrimination was welcomed by the nationalist.
SKILLS ACQUISITIONS
i.
In the colonial
system companies and government employ people after their education directly to
work.
ii.
The government
keeps record of people and number that will retire from service and then tell
the institution the number of students to graduate at a period of time in order
to avoid unemployment and after the graduation the individual will be given appointment
letter to replace the vacancy.
PROMOTING SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGY
i.
The scientific
and technologies were still at low level
ii.
The scientific
and technologies were not enough and modernized like this current system.
QUANTITIES
i.
The interest of
people to education then was very low, people give more attention to farming
and hunting.
ii.
Educational
research centers were not established in some places.
PROBLEMS OF MAN-POWER SHORTAGE,
ILLITERACY, CORRUPTION
i.
Many of the
individual do not have knowledge or was not trained to operate the machines in
order to encourage output.
ii.
Our parents
were not told that married and aged people can still go to school to acquire
knowledge there was no school for adults like work and study.
iii.
Police were
working alone to fight crime, commissions like EFCC and ICPC etc. were not
established.
INTRODUCTION
Education is a essential to man as
life itself on this planet earth, societies through ages have one form of
education or the order, whether indigenous or western education, education
varies from place of place and from time to time infact it is a every important
means of developing any nation. This term educational has not lent itself to
any strict consensual definition as it depends on the perspective from which
one views it can be considered as the cultural norms of a society by people to
transmit this life to the coming generations so as to promote perpetual
development of the society.
History had it that long before the
advent of both Islamic and Western education, Nigeria has an indigenous type of
education (i.e education for the survival of the people subsistence education.
However, modern influence at about 300 years interval to each other, robbed the
country of its indigenous education to a great extent for instance Christian. Educations
were later enhanced by the colonial administration to suit its purpose of
colonization.
Change in time witnessed change in
the purpose of exudation in Nigeria as education later changed. Its focus
towards developing individuals to contributes to the development of the nation
and ultimately in preparation for self government at hideplend.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF 6-3-3-4 SYSTEM
OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
A
critical comparism of the type of formal education in Nigeria before and after
independence shows that this education was inadequate and unsatisfactory to the
nations yearning and aspirations. In the opinion of many scholars like Nduka
Fafunwa, Obayan, the education was parochial, elitist, regurgitate and
aspirations of the Nigeria society in a bid to check this abnormality
therefore, the then federal government of Nigeria adopted education as an
instrument par excellence for effecting national development.
The then federal government
therefore made effort to fund the type of education best suited to Nigerians
development hence the identification of 6-3-3-4 system of education.
The history of 6-3-3-4 system of
education dated back to 8th September 1969 during the (international
literacy day) when the federal commissioner for education, Mr. Wenike Briggs
inaugurated a conference which formulated the ideas leading to the 6-3-3-4
programm Omolewa 1986, stated that the programme was conceived as an instrument
of national unity, it was designed to inject functionality in to the Nigeria
school system, the 6-3-3-4 was fashioned to produce graduates who would be able
to make use of their hand the head and the heart (the 3Hs of education) when it
was finally introduced in 1982 there had been inputs by various sectors of
Nigeria professional community.
Then the 6-3-3-4 system of education
was seen as a laudable programme capable of ushering man educational revolution
in Nigeria. Hence step in the right direction, towards the technological
development of the nation however, the current situation on ground as far from
this ideal this system seems to be suffering from poor and shoddy
implementation.
MEANING AND DEFINITION OF 6-3-3-4-
SYSTEM OF NIGERIA
This is a type of educational system wherein men
recipient of the educational would spend six years in the primary school, three
years in the junior secondary school, three years in the senior secondary
school and four years in the tertiary institutions such as colleges of
education, polytechnic and universities respectively.
Primary education as regards the 6-3-3-4 system of
education is the elementary type of education for children between the age of 6
to 11 years this is the foundation of education upon which all other are built,
it therefore determines the success or failure of the whole system while junior
and senior secondary schools are simply called secondary school where secondary
education is received that is the form of education children receive after
primary school and before the tertiary education (National policy and education
1981).
From the pervious discussion so far, one is convinced
beyond a reasonable doubt the importants of 6-3-3-4 system of education it is
rather a functional education which enables its recipients to function,
economically, socially morally, intellectually and politically. This
educational system in itself is a conscious effort at matching and merging
academic and vocational education programmes.
The 6-3-3-4 system of education in Nigeria is job
oriented its premium on manual activities, technical proficiency, and respect
for dignity of labour and economic efficiency. It is to provide the child with
basic tools to prepare him for local craft, at secondary stage emphasis is on
the acquisition of vocational skills, while it is professionally oriented at
the tertiary stage so as to minimize unemployment and produce skilled manpower,
in science and technology, in brief, it is to make individual capable
economically and socially.
It is also stated in the national policy on education
that a priority of place is going to be given to religion and moral instruction
for the moral and spiritual well being of individual, but “no child will be
forced to accept any religious instructions which is contrary to the wishes of
his parents, this would remove any unnecessary suspicion in term of religion
and religion clashes.
One of the greatest problems facing the implementation
of the new policy on education in Nigeria is qualified personnel in quantity
and quality.
(a)
Teachers in the
science, technical and vocational subjects
(b)
Schools
inspectors and education supervisor for quality control for the efficient and
effective running of the schools programmes
(c)
Supportive
staff such as laboratory assistance library assistance, workshop attendants
etc.
(d)
Guidance
counselors to guild for proper placement having the adequate knowledge of
individuals aptitude and interest man and materials
MEN AND
MATERIALS
There is no doubt there are shortage of men and
materials even at the federal level to implement the 6-3-3-4 system of
education, in course of implementing 6-3-3-4 system of education the areas of
emphasis are the technical and vocational, which require materials in science
and technical discipline these material are either not adequately supplied or
they are left outside at the mercies of weather keep beating them or thieves
who steals in parts or as a whole the machines and equipment in the secondary
schools all over the country the idea of the new system of education was
conceived during the years of plenty (during the oil boom) and unfortunately,
the implementation period falls in the period of death (the period oil boom)
now that the country is in a terrible financial state, the consequence of this
to or on the implementation of negative as everything virtually comes to a
stand still in the absence of money.
MIND
(CULTURE)
The new system of education is a conscious effort to
effect a positive change using education as a means of bringing innovation in
to the life of the nation with resultant development but due to the national
tendency of man to resist change, the new system was greeted with lukewarm
attitude by the people, while the federal government also had its own share of
the blames as revealed at the one day seminar of the 6-3-3-4 education system
and the drive for self employment held at the university of llorin, faculty of
education, where the federal government was criticized for deliberately
usurping the goal of the system by paying more attention to the N.D.E National
Director of employment in various job drive.
It is unfortunate that the government and people of
Nigeria’s attitudes towards solving the country’s problem of development leaves
much to be desired and this seems to confirm the view of some authors as to
whether the present 6-3-3-4 programme is not too ambitious for the country’s
level of seriousness, particularly when one sees its implementation methods.
Qualities of
6-3-3-4
i.
Free and
compulsory education to encourage the grass root and seminar are organized for
importance of education.
ii.
Building of
self-help projects and providing textbooks to students through universal basic
education board UBEB.
iii.
The technological
instrument used now for practicals and research are more modernize and it works
faster.
iv.
The new system of 6-3-3-4 means that a child should
spend 6years in primary school, 3 years in junior secondary with JSSCE
certification, and 3 years in secondary school with SSCE certificate.
v.
The government
has establish examination body called national examination council NECO to
supliment WAEC at the cheaper rate
SKILLS ACQUISITIONS
i.
The government
has provide opportunities by establishing a board called national directorate
of employee NDE, in order to train, provide and equip those who are jobless to
create job and produce tangible things in order to earn a living.
ii.
Hospitals,
industries etc have been established all over the places for industrial
training and proper research and practicals, in such that an individual who
passed through school can learn how to handle and operate machines.
QUANTITY OF 6-3-3-4
i.
In this modern
the turn out is high because every family wants to go to school
ii.
Both private and
public schools are all over the place even at the grassroot level.
iii.
Even the uneducated
parents like farmers cattle rearers, the Fulanis who move place to place with
their cattle now have interest for education.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE MINIMUM ACADEMIC STANDARD IN
SECONDARY SCHOOLS
i.
Restoring
science, technical and vocational education in the scheme of national education
for optimum performance.
ii.
The minimum and
maximum of subject a student should offer including:- English, Mathematics,
which the individual must be credited.
iii.
Revitalization
and expansion of the national mathematical centre N.M.C.
iv.
Introduction of
information and communication centre ICT.
v.
A student must
spend 6years in secondary school and have two certificates JSSCE and SSCE.
vi.
Primary school
leaves must have first school leaving certificate F.S.L.C to qualify him to
enter secondary school.
vii.
Every school
should be registered under government and government inspects the school.
Periodical exams to test every student.