PRIMARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA-CHALLENGERS AND PROSPECTS

PRIMARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA-CHALLENGERS AND PROSPECTS

Background of the study

Education is one parameter to see the level of the economy in a country. Education is the most strategic element for the development of a nation (Comfort et al 2013). Education makes people more advanced in thinking about their lives; with education, someone will obtain knowledge, skills and attitudes that make life more empowered in society. Education is believed to be the mother of knowledge; one is made to agree that a well-educated society is likely to solve its problems with ease. The role of education to humanity could not be exaggerated after all. This is because it is believed to be connect ‟drug” that is used to head the ailments in the society. Anero (2013) postulated that Education is seen as instrument of development in all ramification of our life. Education as a development agent has made man useful, not only for himself but to his generation and beyond . The light of education to humanity has transformed man from ignorance to knowledge and happiness. Raharjo (2018) averred that education specifically helps the individual to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually, and emotionally by providing suitable environment, teaching him new knowledge, attitudes and skills that will enable him to be useful to himself and his society. In his words  , education is vital requirement for man in order to undergo the process of social life. To promote national unity and peaceful coexistence that leads to national development, education of the citizenry starting from primary school level must be the government priority.

Importantly, proper education of the child is a basic tool for effective child upbringing and overall societal development. In recognition of this fact, most nations of the world place much premium on the care and education of the child through primary education.Some such programmes are the regional UPE programmes of 1950’s and 60’s, 1976 national Universal Primary Education (UPE), the disagreement of who funds and manages childhood education among the tiers of government led to  the promulgation and abrogation of various National Primary Education Commission decrees between 1988 and 1993. Primary education as stated in the National Policy on Education (2014) is the education given in institutions for pupils aged 6-12 years. The subsequent system of education is built upon primary-level education. Therefore, the key to the success or failure of the whole education system is dependent on what happens at this stage. In other words, it is the first formal foundation upon which all other formal levels of education are built. Primary education is the stage where a child’s character is fashioned. The development of sound attitude, morals, and the ability to communicate effectively begins at this first formal stage of learning. 

Statement of the problem

Nigeria as a nation at this point in time cannot be credited to have done well in this regard. Thus most government policies and programmes targeted at improving the child’s education have not recorded good success. Mbayuav (2012) views primary education to be the recruitment ground for secondary education, and when the section is weak, it will affect the secondary education in the country. According to him, the current state and the products of primary education in the country is poor thereby making it difficult for secondary school administrators to effectively manage this set of students for higher productivity. Thus, comfort (2013) pointed that Nigeria’s education system is besieged by colossal problems ranging from inadequate funding, poor educational infrastructure, polluted learning environment, and recruitment of unqualified teaching personnel. As the foundation to all other forms of education, primary education is expected to be reliable, strong, and reliable and have the capability of withstanding all forms of socio-cultural, ethnic and economic pressures. In the absence of necessary resources, efforts for the effective administration of schools will be thwarted. The account rendered in this immediate past paragraph indicates that early childhood education is yet to receive the needed attention in Nigeria. Therefore it is upon this premise that this stud7y seeks to examine primary education in Nigeria challenges and prospects.

Objective of the study 

The broad objective of this study is  to examine primary education in Nigeria-challengers and prospects.Specifically, the study seeks

1. To determine the relevance of primary education to the development of the child.
2. To ascertain the whether primary education contributes to the development of the society.
3. To investigate the challenges of primary education implementation programme in Nigeria
4. To examine the prospect and proffer  recommendation for effective primary education administration.

Research Question

The research is guided by the following research question:

1. What is the relevance of primary education to the development of the child?
2. Does  primary education contributes to the development of the society?
3. What are the challenges of primary education implementation programme in Nigeria?
4. What are the prospect and proffer  recommendation for effective primary education administration?

Significance of the study

The significance of this study is to show how primary education can be used as a tool for development of a child  and how effective policies can be formulated and implemented in the educational sector to facilitate effective primary education programme. This study is designed to show the following significance. . This research will be a useful point of reference and consultation to other students who may want to carry out a research on the same topic And finally, this research work when completed will make some useful recommendations that will help the educational sector to development and have impact on the development of an individual.

Scope of the study

The scope of this study  borders on primary education in Nigeria-challengers and prospects. The study will further discussed on relevance of primary education o the development of the child and that of the society. It will furthewr investigate the challenges facing effective administration and implementation of primary education in Nigeria. The study is however delimited to Nnewi South Local Government, Anambra State

Limitation of the Study

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scantiness of literature on primary education. Thus much time and organization  was required in sourcing for the materials and literature  that will be relevant to study as well in the process of data collection. Also the study is limited in sample size and geography covering only primary schools in  Nnewi South Local Government, Anambra State . Therefore findings of this study cannot be used for generalization in other  primary  schools outside this local government and other state within Nigeria this therefore  creates  a gap for further studies.

Definition of terms

Education: Education is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual. It is the process by which people learn.

Development:  This refers to a state of total and complete transformation in any given ratifications either as an individual or as a society or state. Development as used in the research refers to a positive transformation in term of physical, mental, social, political, economic and administrative aspect of a given society.

Primary Education: Primary education provides learning and educational activities typically designed to provide students with fundamental skills in reading, writing and mathematics (i.e. literacy and numeracy) and establish a solid foundation for learning and understanding core areas of knowledge and personal development.

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