AN ASSESSMENT OF GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN ADULT LITERACY PROGRAMMES IN IKPOBA-OKHA LOCAL GOVERNMENT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Nigeria as a developing country has evolved from stage to stage since the period of Colonialism.  A major tool for the attainment of certain height in education by our heroes past who after being enlightened in the share of Europe, could demand for a free state from the colonialist, who bluntly gave up power to a set of educated few, with the exception that the mass of the populace would follow suit.

Having established this, we should be able to deduce that for the under development plagues like poverty, unemployment, bad health conduction etc, therefore in a bid to establish the essence and usefulness of this research work.  It would be of paramount importance to get acquainted with the history and development of adult education in the country.

Adult education in Nigeria has a long history.  As far back as the fourteen (14) century, itinerant Islamic scholars and traders in the Muslim North of the country taught Arabic literacy through the study of Koran.  Later, Christian Missionaries brought Western education to part of Southern and Central Nigeria.  This education however was essentially selective and designed with the specific goal of becoming literate in order to study the scriptures.  In the 20th century, deliberate efforts were made by the British Colonial Government to provide some adult education in Nigeria.  In its 1925 memorandum on Education policy in British Tropical Africa, the British Colonial Office recommended the implantation of an adult education programme in African Countries.  Actual implementation of adult education in Nigeria started in 1944 (Omelewa 1981)  and by 1941 a national literacy programme was well under way, although due to poor implementation it had limited success.  In his book titled Literacy Education in Nigeria, Aderinaye wrote on page 7 that Holy Trinity Anglican School started evening classes in Kano in 1940.  Continuing, he informed us that experiments in Community development and literacy began in Udi in 1942 with Chadwick E. R. as the organizer, he also wrote that as far back as 1958 before our Independence in 1960, an association known as Adult education Student Association had been formed.  The Association constituted what was called an interior committee.  In their conference at the University of Nigeria Nsukaa, the committee was charged with the preparation for launching of a national body and a constitution to be examined.

Nigeria attained Independence in 1960 and literacy efforts in Nigeria received a boost when unesco supported the establishment of an Adult Literacy Institute in Ibadan in 1965.  In 1971, the Nigerian National Council for Adult Education (UNCAE) was set up becoming a “Voice” for adult education practice in Nigeria.  It recorded dramatic achievements within a shorts span of time, becoming a Force to reckon within terms of the planning, implementation and evaluation of adult and non-formal education programmes in particular, the UNCAE played a leading role in driving aggressive campaigns and advocacy at government and University levels in order to ensure that Adult Education programmes were included at all levels of the education system.

Since its inception the UNCAE has worked in collaboration with government and non-government agencies in Nigeria to:-

Establish Adult and Non-formal Education Agencies in all the States of the Federation from 1950.

Establish Adult and Non-formal Education Agencies in all the States of the Federation from 1950.

Establish the Adult and Non-formal Education unit in the Federal Ministry of Education in 1974.