CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Education in all countries of the world has been considered very important for personal and societal development. Nigeria is one among the nations of the world that values education. In her National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004) Nigeria sees education as an excellent instrument for effecting national development. Thus, education will be used to achieve the nation’s needs. The policy document provides guidelines on the education of Nigerian society. It contains the philosophy of the nation’s education, levels of education and their objectives, beginning with pre-primary, through primary, secondary to tertiary education.
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All over the world, primary education has been regarded as the most important as well as the most accessed by people. This perhaps may be due to the fact that it is the foundation of the whole educational pursuit, which is expected to provide literacy and enlightenment to the citizens. Oni (2008) posited that the importance of primary education can be seen in the sense that all beneficiaries of the other levels of education by necessity have to pass through this level. Federal Republic of Nigeria in her National Police on Education (2004) defined primary education as the kind of education given in an institution for children aged 6-11 years plus, and it constitutes the bedrock upon which the entire educational system is built. It is in view of the indispensable role of education in the development of man and modern society, particularly the primary education that various declarations on education were made at the global level. Such declaration includes The 1984 Human Rights Declaration which states that everyone has right to education, which will be free at least in the elementary school. The Jomtein Declaration on Education for All (EFA) by the year 2000. The New Delhi 1993 Declaration on E-9 Countries in 1993 (the nine countries with the largest concentration of illiteracy of which Nigeria is a member) which was later reaffirmed in Recife, Brazil (2000) by calling for a massive eradication of illiteracy within the shortest possible time span.
Based on the above declarations among others, the then president of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on 30th September 1999 launched the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Programme in Sokoto State. The launching of the programme was appreciated by many Nigerians who considered the programme a good opportunity for improving the literacy level of Nigerians as well as solving the problem of the educational system in Nigeria. Basic education, according to Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004), is a type of education comprising of 6 years of primary education and 3 years of junior secondary school education. The policy stipulates that basic education shall be free and compulsory. The scheme shall include adult and non-formal educational programme at primary and junior secondary school levels for both adult and out-of- schools youths. The UBE programme has three main components, namely: Universal, Basic and Education. ‘Universal’ here means that the programme is for everyone, irrespective of tribe, culture or race and class. The term ‘Basic’ depicts that it is fundamental or essential, and that it must be given at all cost. It is on this factor that every other thing rests on, without it, nothing may be achieved. It is the root for the acquisition of any knowledge (Eddy & Akpan, 2009). UBE programme can thus be seen as that type of education that every individual must have; it should not be a privilege but a right, and it should be the sum total of an individual’s experiences no matter his class or background. The mission of Universal Basic Education is to serve as a prime energizer of national movement for the actualization of the nation’s vision. This will mobilize the nation’s creative energies to ensure that Education for All becomes the responsibilities of all (UBE, 2005).
The UBE arrangement is that the First Nine Years must be free, un- interrupted and compulsory. The goals of UBE, according to Federal Ministry of Education (2000), are to universalize access to basic education, provide conducive learning environment and to eradicate illiteracy in Nigeria within the shortest possible time.
The UBE programme as described above has realistic and laudable objectives which, if adequately planned and implemented well, will no doubt improve the literacy level of Nigerian citizens and enable them to live fulfilling lives and contribute meaningfully to the growth and development of the country. It is important to note that similar educational programmes introduced in Nigeria were unsuccessful. According to Mgbodile (2000), Ogbonnaya (2003) and Ukeje (2000), the problem of Nigerian educational system does not lie with adequate knowledge and policies, but with effective planning and sustainable implementation. They recalled that the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme, which was introduced by our past leaders, had in the end failed. Such failure, according to them, is attributed to several factors, among which are inadequate trained teachers, inadequate infrastructural facilities, inadequate instructional materials, inadequate fund, and lack of effective supervision.
Infrastructural facilities and instructional materials are factors that facilitate and promote teaching and learning and they include items like class rooms, furniture, libraries, administrative block, etc. Trained teachers are special brand of men and women that have received training on coaching, supervising and guiding pupil/students to achieve outstanding feats in life. Fund, on the other hand, refers to the sum of money saved or made available for a particular purpose. These resources, according to Mohammed (2004), have to be of appropriate quality and quantity to meet the minimum standard of promoting any meaningful teaching and learning. Some experts particular Okoli (2007) have observed that the responsibility for providing these facilities and resources in public schools lie with the government.
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), which is the government agency responsible for monitoring the implementation of UBE programme, in its 2013 Annual Report revealed that transformation of the education in the area of school infrastructural development has been achieved through judicious use of FGN-UBE intervention funds. It is the view of the commission that adequate allocations are made for the provision of basic education in the country. They noted that the UBE programme has been on the funding priority list of the government. This the report observed, was buttressed by the government huge allocation to State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) in the 36 states and FCT for both capital expenditure for erection of building and purchase of equipment and recurrent expenditure for the payment of salaries, services, among others. Specifically the reports showed that UBE marching grants statutory allocations to the 36 states and FCT from 2005-2013 was N200, 392, 601, 491. 67. and out of this figure N159, 734, 113, 067.03 has been accessed by the 36 states and FCT, while the sum of N1, 312,500.000 has been expended on the development of the new 9-years basic education curriculum in the year 2007. The UBE matching grants are funds that are jointly contributed by both Federal and state governments on equal basis; it is 70% of the 2% consolidated revenue funds. The matching grant is to be utilized in the implementation of the programme as follows:
- 5% on Early Child Care Development Education (ECCDE)
- 60% on primary school education.
- 35% on junior secondary school education.
The 70% of the above funds are to be used for the provisions of infrastructural facilities, instructional materials, training and retraining of teachers, among others. (UBEC, 2013)
From the foregoing, there seems to be no doubt that the Federal Government is genuinely concerned about the provision of basic education to her citizens. According to FME (2013), the FGN/UBE initiative at the basic education started way back 2009. Till date, about 96, 326,675 books on mathematics, English, languages, Basic science and technology, social studies for primary schools and library resources materials for junior secondary schools have been procured and distributed to public basic education institutions across the country. The goal of this exercise is to attain the pupil to book ratio of 1:1 in all subjects.
