CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Universal Basic Education (UBE) is an educational
reform programme of the Nigerian Government that provides free, compulsory, and
continuous 9-year education in two levels: 6 years of primary and 3 years of
junior secondary education for all school-aged children. UBE was launched in
Sokoto in 1999 by the then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo. Then the legal framework for the programme (the UBE Act) was
signed into law in May, 2004 in a bid to address section 18 (1) and (3) of the
1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which provides that:
(1) Government shall direct its policy towards
ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all
levels;
(2) Government
shall eradicate illiteracy; and to this end, government shall as and when
practicable provide:
(a) free, compulsory and universal primary
education;
(b)
free secondary education;
(c) free university education; and
(d) free adult literacy programme
This section of the said
constitution, enjoins the government to provide free and compulsory basic
education amongst other educational objectives. It should, however, be noted
that though the constitution has imposed a duty on all the three tiers of
government to strive to eradicate illiteracy and to provide free and compulsory
basic education, this educational objective is non-justiciable (cannot be
challenged or enforced in any court of law by any person or authority).
Nevertheless, to pursue this
educational objective, the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Commission was
established in 2004 by an Act of the National Assembly, known as the
compulsory, free, Universal Basic Education Act (2004). UBE programme
constitutes: Early Childhood Care and Development Education (ECCDE) for
children aged 3-5 years; 6 years Primary Education for children aged 6-11
years; and 3 years Junior Secondary School (JSS) Education for children aged
12-14+. UBE is not a new educational policy but, an introduction to
reinforce the 6-3-3-4 National Policy on Education (Universal Basic Education
Commission, UBEC, 2006).
The Early Childhood Care and
Development Education (ECCDE) is not compulsory. What is compulsory is 6 years
of primary and 3 years of JSS Education. The issue is that parents are strongly
encouraged to register their children in ECCDE, centres while government is
expected to provide ECCDE centres of good quality. The 9-year continuous basic
education becomes necessary because, at the moment, according to UBEC(2006),
completion of primary school does not equip a child with the necessary life
skills to become self reliant. Thus for the Nigerian child to be considered
functionally literate and numerate, he or she must successfully complete 9
years of schooling.
In order to implement the UBE
programme, according to EBEC (nd),the existing curriculum has been changed. A
new 9-year Basic Education Curriculum is now in place. The implementation of
the new curriculum is scheduled to start with only Primary 1 and JSS1. UBEC
(nd) explained that The old primary school curriculum would be phased out by
July 2013 whereas that of junior secondary school would be phased out in July
2010.UBEC (2006) observes that the existing 6-year secondary education is in
contradiction to the 6-3-3-4 policy because it allows Junior secondary school
and senior secondary school (SSS) to exist as one and be run by one
administration in the same location sharing the same infrastructure. It also
observed that the new UBE provides for the disarticulation of JSS from the
Senior Secondary School (SSS) so that the two levels should be run by two
separate administrations and eventually have separate locations,
infrastructures etc.
UBEC (2006) sees UBE as being
pivotal to the attainment of and as being interlinked with National Economic
Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS), State Economic Empowerment
Development Strategy (SEEDS), Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). In the light of the above, the new 9 year Basic Education
Curriculum places emphasis on the following areas: Value Reorientation, Basic
Science, Basic Technology, Computer Science, Teaching of Thinking, Home Economics,
Agriculture, Business Studies
Civic
Education, Moral Instruction and French.
Some of these areas fall within
technical and vocational education which FRN in Okorie (2009) expresses as very
vital ingredients for success in the efforts of government at alleviating
poverty, eradicating corruption, attaining food security and achieving
universal basic education. From the above, technical and vocational education
(TVE) has been identified as a means of achieving universal basic education. Technical
and vocational education was subjected to intense criticisms about
inappropriate curricula, poor teacher preparation and welfare scheme, gross
inadequacy of facilities, low public esteem of technical and vocational
education trainees, inadequate resource input and consequent low output,
structural imbalance and system configuration (FRN in Okorie, 2009). TVE is in
a state of crisis. The government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is in full
realization of the danger that; if the crisis situation in technical and
vocational education persists, the ability of the government to deliver on many
people-oriented programmes could be severely hampered. On this premise, provision
of learning experiences in a curriculum that would ensure that beneficiaries of
technical and vocational education scheme have job skills for solving many of
Nigeria’s socio-economic problems, have been named second among the nine
priority areas in TVE.
From the introduction of the 9 year
Basic Education Programme and the need to attain the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) by 2015 and, the critical targets of the National Economic Empowerment
and Development Strategies (NEEDS), it
becomes imperative that the existing curricula for primary school and JSS be reviewed, restructured and realigned to fit
into a 9-year education programme. The National Council on Education (NCE)
approved a new curriculum structure namely: Lower Basic Education Curriculum
(Primary 1-3), Middle Basic Education Curriculum (Primary 4-6) and Upper Basic
Education Curriculum (JSS 1-3), listing relevant subjects for each level.
Similarly, in her December 2005 meeting in Ibadan, the NCE directed the National
Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) to review, restructure and
re-align the curriculum accordingly (FRN, 2007).
In response to the above, a High
Level Policy Committee on Curriculum Development (HLPC), made up of critical
stakeholders and chaired by NERDC, took the initiative to provide the guide
lines for re-structuring the curriculum. Between January and March 2006, the
NERDC convened a meeting of experts and also organized several workshops to
produce the 9-year basic Education Curriculum, which would ensure continuity
and flow of themes, topics and experiences from primary school to JSS levels.
FRN (2007) discloses that the Upper
Basic Business Education Studies Curriculum on which this study is based, was
adapted from the original work of the Comparative Education Study and Adaptation
Centre (CESAC) which was presented to the Joint Consultative Committee on
Education in 1982. The alignment of this curriculum gave due consideration to
the need to provide students with the ability and skills to be gainfully
employed upon completion of their programme as well as prepare them for setting up their small
businesses as entrepreneurs. These are in agreement with the critical targets
of NEEDS on value orientation, employment generation and wealth creation. The
National Value curriculum, an anti-corruption programme for the school system,
has been infused into relevant areas of
Business Studies curriculum. The content of this curriculum has been organized
in a thematic manner in order to provide the learner with a holistic blend of
theory and practice of Business Studies. The content area of keyboarding,
shorthand and aspects will equip students with the
skills to enter into work as junior
stenographers, secretaries or verbatim recorders while bookkeeping equips the
to enter as bookkeepers or accounts clerks. Bookkeeping when acquired
ensures the acquisition of skills for production work. Prescribed activities
and projects as well as recommended experiences will further ensure the acquisition
of productive skills. The curriculum planners designed and considered as
adequate, six themes to provide the students with the required cognitive,
psychomotor and affective skills at the upper Basic level. These themes, according
to FRN (2007), include:
- Overview of Business Studies
- Effective Office Practice
- Commerce-the Heart of Business
success
- Keyboarding as a Communication Tool
- Shorthand Skills for Business.
In agreement Nweze (2008) points out
that one of the national education goals is the acquisition of appropriate
skills and the development of mental, physical and social abilities and competencies
as equipment to live in and contribute to the development of one’s society. Acquisition
of appropriate skills cannot be over emphasized since according to him, after
junior secondary education, an individual may either continue full-time
studies, combine work with study, or embark on full-time employment. Furthermore,
Ebonyi state which, according to Okike (2006), occupies the position of the
least literate south eastern state and was one of the educationally
disadvantaged states before 1999 should opt only for the right type of
education.
No education may rise above the quality of its
teachers. Mkandawire (2010) believes that teachers are the most important human
resource in curriculum implementation. He further asserts that a sufficient
supply of trained teachers is a sine qua non for effective curriculum
implementation. Similarly Ulifun describes availability, maintenance and
adequacy of teaching facilities as a sine qua non for the attainment of all
educational goals. Esene and Okoro (2008) see teaching materials and equipment
as devices used to supplement or complement teachers’ talks. Ivowi (2000) and
Odigbo (2005) agree that adequate facilities ensure meaningful teaching and
learning. Against these backdrops, it is crucial that adequate provision be
made in terms of human and material resources in order to promote saleable
skills acquisition and employment generation possibilities through Business Studies
(FRN, 2007).
Statement of the Problem
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is very good at policy
formulation but poor at policy implementation (Ocho, 2005). Terry in Okoroma (2006)
describes a policy as an overall guide that gives the general limits and
direction in which administrative action will place. He believes that a policy
defines the area in which decisions are to be made. On this premise, Okoroma
(2000) sees educational policies as initiatives that determine the direction of
an educational system. Similarly, Ogbonu (2008) opines that educational
policies form a framework of the direction governments intend the education sector
to take. Hence the upper basic education business studies curriculum is a kind
of educational policy.
Policy implementation, or rather,
curriculum implementation is not done in a vacuum. Adequacy of human and material
resources are conditions sinequal non for the implementation of the curriculum
under study. Inadequate human and material resources which Okoroma (2006)
identifies as a major constraint of UBE in rivers State, has been identified by
Osadolor (2007) as a major cause of failure of all free education programmes
attempted in Edo State.
The upper basic education business
studies curriculum which Ezekwesili in NERPC (2007) describes as deep,
appropriate and interrelated in content, is expected to produce the best
learning outcome if adequate human and material resources are provided. For
Ebonyi State which Okike (2006) describes as the least literate south eastern
state to grow, her education system must develop appropriate type of skills in
the recipients. This is possible if adequate human and material resources are
provided. This work therefore, tries to establish the adequacy of human and
material resources required for effective implementation of this curriculum in
Ebonyi State.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to
determine the adequacy of human and
material resources required for the implementation of the basic education
curriculum on business studies (JS1-3) in Ebonyi state. Specifically, the study
intends to:
1. determine
the adequacy of business studies teaching facilities at the upper basic
education institutions in Ebonyi
State;
2. determine
the adequacy of the provision of business studies curriculum compliant
textbooks.
3. determine
the adequacy of the quantity of business
studies teachers at the upper basic education level in Ebonyi State;
4.
determine the adequacy of the quality of business studies teachers at
the upper basic education level in Ebonyi
State;
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will be of much utility to the
universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Ebonyi State Universal Basic Education
Board (UBEB), principals of junior secondary schools, other stakeholders and
subsequent researchers. It will help the Universal Basic Education Commission
(UBEC) wake up to her duties of, developing and disseminating curricula and
instructional materials for basic education in Nigeria; supporting national
capacity building for teachers and managers of basic education in Nigeria; and
establishing libraries and information Centre. It will as well help UBEC to
review its implementation of that curriculum so as to make amendments where
necessary.
The findings of this work will make
UBEB to understand, in concrete terms, the educational resource gap in the
state with particular reference to business studies. Hence UBEB can strategize
on how to fill the gap may be through: accessing the UBEC matching grant;
training and re-training business studies teachers; recruitment of qualified business
studies teachers; and involvement of other stakeholders in the spirit that
education for all is the responsibility of all.
It will help principals of junior
secondary schools see the education resource gap that exists at this level.
This will make them plan how to strike a balance. It will as well make business
studies teachers rise up to their training/ re-training needs. Training/re-training and provision of
required educational materials will lead to the professional growth of business
studies teachers.
By spurring various stakeholders to
contribute their own quota to the provision of resources required for business
studies at this level, this work will help to create a conducive environment that
will enable business studies students to acquire appropriate skills. This will
enable the students to continue with full-time studies, combine work with
study, or enter full-time employment. By this token skilled workforce will be
made available in Ebonyi
State and this will lead
to the growth of the economy of the state as well as the economy of the entire
nation. Furthermore, skilled workforce will increase the human development
index of the nation.
The findings of this work will serve
as a guide or a resource material for subsequent researchers. It will spur other
scholars to carry out similar or related research works in other areas.
Scope of the Study
This study will focus on the adequacy human
and material resources required for the implementation of upper basic education
curriculum on business studies in Ebonyi
State. The study will
consider the materials included as appendix to the curriculum under study as
the materials required for its implementation. It will cover public and private
junior secondary schools (JSS) that offer business studies in the three
education zones in Ebonyi
State.
Research Questions
The following research questions
will guide the study:
1. What
is the level of adequacy of business studies in junior secondary schools in Ebonyi State?
2. What is
the level of adequacy of the provision of business studies curriculum compliant
textbooks in junior secondary schools in Ebonyi State?
3. How
adequate is the quantity of business studies teachers in junior secondary
schools in Ebonyi
State?
4. How adequate
is the quality of business studies teachers in junior secondary schools in Ebonyi State?
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses that
will be tested at 0.05level of significance will guide the study:
HO1: There
is no significant difference between the of adequacy of business studies facilities
in public and private junior secondary.
HO2: There
is no significant difference between the adequacy of business studies
curriculum compliant textbooks in urban and rural areas
HO3: There
is no significant difference between the adequacy of the quantily of business studies teachers in urban and
rural junior secondary schools.