APPRAISAL OF RESOURCES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SENIOR BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN ENUGU STATE
ABSTRACT
This study appraised the resources for the implementation of the Senior Basic Education programme in Enugu State. Six research questions and six null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study made use of descriptive survey design. The population of the study comprised 313 urban and rural public secondary schools across Agbani, Enugu and Udi Education Zones in Enugu State. A checklist consisting of 9 items was designed and administered to teachers in 43 urban and 102 rural public secondary schools across Agbani Education Zone, Enugu Education Zone and Udi Education Zone forming 145 total sample for the study. The checklist was face validated by three experts. Scorer reliability test was used to try-test the instrument, yielding a reliability coefficient of + 1.00. The data collected were analysed using benchmarks provided in the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education school in Enugu State. The Chi-square (X2) – test statistic was used to test the null hypotheses. The study found that B.Ed qualified teachers are available and adequate in urban public secondary schools in Enugu State for the implementation of SBE programme; B.Ed qualified teachers are available in rural public secondary schools in Enugu State but not adequate for the implementation of SBE programme; infrastructural facilities are available in both urban and rural public secondary schools in Enugu State but, are inadequate for the implementation of the SBE programme; fund for SBE programme implementation is available in both urban and rural public secondary schools in Enugu State but, inadequate. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that teachers not having the required minimum qualification of B.Ed should be encouraged to register for PGDE program in any university, government should continue to recruit teachers with the requisite qualification of B.Ed for SBE programme implementation, parents within each education zone should throw their lot and help provide basic school facilities for effective teaching, capital grant allocation for SBE programme should be improved and increased by government to the SBE schools, and be supported by contributions from philanthropists for successful Senior Basic Education programme implementation.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Acquisition, provision and adequacy of resources for basic education programme of any nation are instruments par excellence for smooth, efficient and effective instructional delivery. Teaching and learning cannot properly take place without educational resources. Okeke (2005) described educational resources as varieties of materials, infrastructure, funds, space, land and people available for teaching and learning purposes; a collection of all that can be used effectively for enhancing teaching and learning. According to Federal Republic of Nigeria in her National policy on Education (NPE, 2004), educational resources has been described as resources that improve teaching and learning, as they make teachers and learners to interact together. Educational resources can then be seen as all that can enhance teaching and learning for purposes of efficiency and effectiveness. This implies that the planned national curriculum about basic education cannot work out to effect national growth and development without resources for education. Any nation that genuinely wishes to attain greater height in national development will not compromise acquisition, provision and adequacy of resources for basic education programme implementation for her citizenry.
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Akinpelu (2002) observed that education is an instrument par excellence
for addressing issues like poverty, underdevelopment, population, governance
and other social concern. In 1948 the United Nations (UN) made declarations
on human rights that included the right to education (Ugwuoke, 2011). The
United Nations (UN) charter on Human rights was emphatic about basic
education and as such, many other global declarations about basic education
which are in line have been made such as:
The 1990 Jomtien world conference declaration of “Education For All (EFA) by the year 2000, made in Jomtien, Thailand; the New Delhi 1991 declaration of nine countries of the world with the largest concentration of illiterates of which Nigeria is one of them (E-9 countries); the Arman Jordan Re-affirmation 1995 call for the forceful pursuit of Jomtien recommendation of basic education for all… (Okah, 2012: 103).
Most of the declarations affirmed basic education as a human right and
therefore should be free and compulsory for all (UNESCO, 2005). With the
above human rights declarations in mind about basic education, many countries
of the world have pursued aggressive mass basic education programme for her
citizenries. Propelled by the benefits of basic education for all, the Federal
Government of Nigeria declared universal basic education for all Nigerians:
The Federal Government of Nigeria, under Olusegun Obasanjo regime,
launched the Universal Basic Education Programme on 30th September, 1999 at
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Sokoto State, Nigeria. The UBE programme comprises Senior Basic Education programme as an integral part. The Senior Basic Education programme has the following objectives.
- Ensuring the acquisition of the appropriate levels of literacy, numeracy, manipulative, communicative skills as well as ethical, moral and civic values needed for life-long learning.
- Catering for the learning needs of the young persons who for one reason or another have had to interrupt their schooling after primary schools through appropriate forms of complementary approaches.
- Reducing drastically the incidence of drop-out rate from the formal school system through improved relevance, quality and efficiency.
- Provision of free compulsory Universal Basic Education for every Nigerian child of school going age.
- Developing in the entire citizenry a strong consciousness for education and strong commitment to national consciousness (Education for All
Assessment (EFA): Country Reports, Nigeria, 2000:1).
The Universal Basic Education programme is a conscientiously designed programme to cater for primary and senior basic education for anyone who is willing to go to school. The programme was made free and compulsory.
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Basic Education according to Federal Ministry of Education (F.M.E) (1999) is the type of education given at the foundation level of education. Mgbodile (2000) described basic education as the type of education for sustainable life-long learning which provides basic skills for reading, writing and numeracy. Keefe (2000) opined that basic education comprises a wide range of formal and non-formal educational activities and programmes designed to enable a learner acquire functional literacy. As it is in Nigeria, basic education programme in practice is categorized into junior and senior basic education. The junior basic education is the six (6) years of primary school education while the senior basic education is the first three years of secondary school education formerly referred to as junior secondary school (Enemoo, 2014). The Senior Basic Education programme was planned to give further access to basic education at secondary school level which will equip the beneficiaries with knowledge of pre-vocational and academic experience (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004).
At inception of UBE in 1999 in Nigeria, there was an unprecedented upsurge in school enrolments across the country. The implication of this unprecedented upsurge in Nigerian secondary schools is that enough resources should be on ground to enable smooth implementation of the Senior Basic Education programme. However, the Enugu State Post- primary School
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Management Board (2014) and Science, Technical and Vocational Schools Management Board Enugu State (2014) statistical records have shown fluctuations in the enrollment of pupils into the senior basic education schools down past five years in Enugu State. The implication of this development is that there is the need to always keep in check the number of pupils (students) being enrolled into the senior basic education schools in Enugu State in order to ensure that they are always of a reasonable number for successful implementation of the Senior Basic Education programme.
The Senior Basic Education programme of the current UBE took effect in Enugu State with enabling laws which made the programme compulsory for all school age citizens of the state. Consequently, the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board law was enacted by the State House of Assembly and assented to by the Governor in December 2003. This bill was accompanied by a minimum guideline on resources which must be on ground for effective take off and operation of Senior Basic Education programme in every secondary school in the state to include: sizeable school land of 4-8 hectares with certificate of occupancy, adequate number of classrooms, dimension of classroom to be 9m x 12m, administrative block of at least 3 rooms with store, a library block, laboratories for all science subjects, basic health scheme-sick bay, toilet facilities, games field, guidance and counseling rooms, head teachers
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(principals) having qualification of Bachelor of Education degree (B.ED) or first university degree/PGDE, qualified teachers with a Bachelor of Education degree (B.Ed.), minimum number of teachers at inception of a senior basic education school to be 12 teachers, school bank account to stand at N5 million, workshops, farmland/ fish farm (Enugu State Ministry of Education, 2014). All these constitute resources in addition to instructional materials which must be available to enable a smooth implementation of the Senior Basic Education programme in the state. Nevertheless, according to Edeze (2008) resources needed for teaching and learning have been grossly inadequate in institutions across the state.
Okeze (2003) observed that over the years, principals of secondary schools have been accused of lapses and offences bordering on school resources provision needed to generate active teaching and learning processes in the schools, and these lapses have been attributed to the poor administration of physical and human resources of schools. It should be noted that it is the government, host communities, international education agencies and some philanthropists that provide resources for education while principals utilize them for effective teaching and learning. But, the question is whether the resources needed are actually being provided enough by the government and other stakeholders for implementation of Senior Basic Education programme.
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In addition to using every other educational resources, the principals are expected to motivate their teachers by ensuring proper utilization of the school financial resource.
School financial resource is one of the resources that helps principals to discharge their duties satisfactorily for effective implementation of the Senior Basic Education programme. Ogbonnaya (2009) shows that school financial resource includes school fees, donations from individuals and educational agencies, government grants, money generated from sale of school farm products, money realized from schools annual inter-house competitions. School financial resource enables quality instructional delivery for successful implementation of the Senior Basic Education programme. But, the question remains whether the financial resource obtainable in secondary schools in Enugu State is enough to run the Senior Basic Education programme.
Quality instructional delivery is very much important in the implementation of the Senior Basic Education programme in Enugu State. According to Lassa (2005) there is a current level of dissatisfaction over the quality of instructional delivery by teachers in secondary schools in Enugu State. This implies that unqualified teachers may have been recruited to teach in a bid to meet the minimum need of the Senior Basic Education (SBE) programme in the state. As a consequence, there is dissatisfaction with the
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product of secondary school system. Egwu (2004) observed that the product of the system in Enugu State lack technological, attitudinal and psychological abilities needed to cope and thrive in an emerging new world of global competitiveness. Egwu (2004) also observed that the products together with their teachers lack the needed skills, roles and responsibilities to sustain interests and ideas, and that academic and classical learning environment are now completely absent in the current system of education in the state . Hence, proper appraisal of resources for the implementation of the Senior Basic Education programme in Enugu State is apt so as to ascertain the effectiveness or otherwise of the programme in order to strengthen the identified areas of weakness. This will make the programme positively goal oriented.
Ogbonnaya (2003) observed that appraisal is the process of carrying out objective or plan-assessment to ascertain the level of compliance or performance of a system. Egonmwan (2001) described appraisal as the stage where preparation made earlier-the plans, designs and analyses proposed are tested to see how realistic they are. It is therefore obligatory on the agencies which provide educational resources not only to ensure provision but to appraise resources needed from time to time to ensure compliance with the set objectives of senior basic education. Educational resources such as books, computers, teachers, laboratories, workshops, classroom buildings are resources
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which must be reviewed from time to time to ensure that they are in line with the dynamism of educational polices and programmes. This is because laudable educational programmes in the past in Nigeria failed due to inability to provide and utilize educational resources required in line with changing realities in education (Ojogwu, 2001). Against this background, there is need therefore, to appraise resources for implementation of the Senior Basic Education programme in Enugu State, Nigeria.
Statement of the Problem
The major aim of educational policies and programmes is to achieve desired results in the learners. Many educational programmes have been designed and implemented in the past in Nigeria without achieving significant success. A lot of concerns have been raised by stakeholders on the issue of deteriorating school infrastructure in Enugu State. Many schools have been observed to be grappling with obsolete and inadequate instructional materials, dilapidating classrooms, teachers without pedagogical skills to impart knowledge to the students, fluctuating students population and problem of school fund. The situation in schools is compounded by poor maintenance of facilities available, making it difficult for students and teachers to enjoy conducive teaching and learning atmosphere.
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Consequently, there is a current dissatisfaction with the product of the secondary school system in Enugu State due to unsatisfactory quality of instructional delivery by teachers. It is now almost evident that objectives of Senior Basic Education programme in Nigeria, though laudable in ideology, is becoming unattainable due to problems in implementation. Therefore, the problem of this study is to appraise extent of availability and adequacy of resources for implementation of the Senior Basic Education programme in Enugu State, using the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State.
Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of this study is to appraise resources for implementation of Senior Basic Education (SBE) programme in urban and rural public secondary schools in Enugu State using the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State. Specifically the study sought to
- find out the extent of availability of qualified teachers in urban and rural public secondary schools for the implementation of SBE Programme based on the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State.
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- find out the extent of adequacy of qualified teachers in urban and rural public secondary schools for the implementation of SBE Programme based on the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State.
- determine the extent of availability of infrastructural facilities in urban and rural public secondary schools for the implementation of SBE progrmame based on the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State.
- determine the extent of adequacy of infrastructural facilities in urban and rural public secondary schools for the implementation of SBE programme based on the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State
- ascertain the extent of availability of fund in urban and rural public secondary schools for implementation of SBE programme based on the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State.
- ascertain the extent of adequacy of fund in urban and rural public secondary schools for implementation of SBE programme based on the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State.
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Significance of the Study
The theoretical significance of this study is anchored on the McGregor’s Theory x and y. Theory x assumes that the average worker is lazy, dislikes work and will do as little as possible, while theory y assumes that average workers are not lazy, would like to do a good job but the job itself will determine if the worker will do a good work. This implies that the theory y is likely to influence a good implementation of Senior Basic Education programme if schools are provided with adequate teaching resources to enable teachers do a good job. The present study will help to consolidate on McGregor’s theory x and theory y assumptions in management of educational institutions.
Practically, the findings of this study will be of benefits to governments, principals, private teachers’ employers, the community, students and other researchers. The government will be sensitized to the need for recruiting only the professionally trained teachers to teach in all its institutions of learning as this will make for use of pedagogical skills in imparting knowledge to students. The government will equally be sensitized to think of inherent damaging effect of recruiting unqualified teachers on proper teaching and learning in schools and hence, introduce control measures.
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The study will stimulate principals’ interest towards upholding maintenance culture in schools. This will facilitate effective utilization of existing resources by teachers to improve performance and productivity. The teachers will be saved the hardship of managing a classroom which had hitherto no instructional materials, equipment and infrastructure when the government or proprietor is sensitized about the need for resources and have them provided, which will motivate teachers to discharge their duties creditably. Furthermore, the findings will assist principals in determining extent to which they will admit students in each class, knowing that the stipulated students-teacher ratio in the national policy on education should be adhered to.
Private teachers’ employers will enjoy greater performance of teachers who are adequately trained for the jobs they are set to do. This will help to reduce the burden of on the job training of the teachers since tremendous amount of training had been done in schools.
Communities will benefit from proper training of the youth in secondary schools which will enhance social responsibility awareness of young citizens of communities to embrace civic values, exhibit moral judgment with patriotic zeal and determination because a well educated youth is the future hope of the community for a transformed society.
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Students will benefit from adequate supply of educational resources as this will improve school setting. They will readily use equipment in school for conducting experiments in laboratories. In this situation their learning exercise will be enhanced.
Other researchers will find the information in this study a relevant material for further investigation on how to improve upon teaching and learning. Through the data to be collected and analyzed and subsequent recommendations, other researchers will find a gap which they will want to cover in their subsequent studies in order to contribute to knowledge.
Scope of the Study
The study was carried out in all the urban and rural public secondary schools in Agbani Education Zone, Enugu Education Zone and Udi Education Zone in Enugu State. The content scope focused on six aspects of resources for effective implementation of SBE programme namely: extent of availability of qualified teachers, extent of adequacy of qualified teachers, extent of availability of infrastructural facilities, extent of adequacy of infrastructural facilities, extent of availability of fund, and extent of adequacy of fund.
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Research Questions
The following research questions were posed to guide the study.
- To what extent are qualified teachers available for the implementation of SBE programme in urban and rural public secondary schools in Enugu State based on the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State?
- To what extent are qualified teachers adequate for the implementation of SBE programme in urban and rural public secondary schools in Enugu State based on the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State?
- To what extent are infrastructural facilities available for the implementation of SBE programme in urban and rural public secondary schools in Enugu State based on the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State?
- To what extent are infrastructural facilities adequate for the implementation of SBE programme in urban and rural public secondary schools in Enugu State based on the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State?
- To what extent is fund available for SBE programme implementation in urban and rural public secondary schools in Enugu State based on the
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minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State?
- To what extent is fund adequate for SBE programme implementation in urban and rural public secondary schools in Enugu State based on the minimum guideline for establishment of senior basic education schools in Enugu State
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and were tested at 0.05 level of significance (P = 0.05).
H01: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of urban
public secondary school teachers and rural public secondary schools teachers with regards to the extent of availability of qualified teachers in the secondary schools for implementation of SBE programme in Enugu State.
H02: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of urban
public secondary school teachers and rural public secondary school teachers with regards to the extent of adequacy of qualified teachers in the secondary schools for implementation of SBE programme in Enugu State.
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H03: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of urban
public secondary school teachers and rural public secondary school teachers with regards to the extent of availability of infrastructural facilities in the secondary schools for implementation of SBE programme in Enugu State.
H04: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of urban
public secondary school teachers and rural public secondary school teachers with regards to the extent of adequacy of infrastructural facilities in the secondary schools for implementation of SBE programme in Enugu State.
H05: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of urban
public secondary school teachers and rural public secondary school teachers with regards to the extent of availability of fund for implementation of SBE programme in Enugu State.
H06: There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of urban
