BASIC EDUCATION

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 Introduction
Education can be said to be the key to that empowers people especially when it comes to the provision of Socio- Economic rights. This is because it is geared towards the realization of these sets of rights which are of utmost importance in a developing country like Nigeria. In order to be able to access other Socio-Economic rights like the right to adequate standard of living or the right to life and food supply. Individuals have to be educated on how to secure these rights. This is where education has to be attained in order to acquire these basic needs. It can be said that the enjoyment of both generation of rights will be massively facilitated by the protection of the right to education which basic education comprises.
Education has been viewed by many as both a human right in itself and an indispensable means of realizing other human rights. It is the primary vehicle through which adults and children can alleviate poverty and participate fully in the activities of their communities.20 Education can be used to empower women and children so that they can be able to avoid economic exploitation, hazardous labor and sexual exploitation. It promotes human rights, democracy and protects the environment.21
1.2 Definition of Key Concept of Basic Education
Education composes all the series of instructions and disciplines which are intended to
enlighten the understanding, correct the temper and develop the manner and habit of individuals there by preparing such persons for usefulness in future endeavors.
Another definition of education can be said to be “any act or experience that has a level of effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. A practical definition of education may be said to be the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skill and values from one generation to the other”.
Basic education in the Nigerian concept can be said to be the provision of education from the primary up to and including the first three years of the secondary level of education.11 This means that education should be available to citizens who are willing to participate or benefit from the primary level which normally begins at the age of 6 for majority of Nigerians.
The Primary and the Junior Secondary levels of education are said to be what consists in the Nigerian government’s promise to provide basic education to its citizens. With this idea in mind, the government made attempts to make basic education free by starting the Universal Basic Education scheme to cater for the basic educational needs of its citizens.
Universal Basic Education can be said to mean the transmission of free, basic and fundamental knowledge as a right to all facets of the Nigerian society from one generation to the other.13 12 At this level, students are expected to spend at least six years and finish with a primary school leaving certificate and then take a common entrance examination in order to qualify for admission into the Federal or State Government Secondary schools in the country. At the secondary level a student is expected to spend 3 years in the junior secondary level (JSS) and another 3 years in the senior secondary level (SSS).
1.3 Educational development in Nigeria
Since independence, the successive administrations of the Nigerian nation have shown interest in and concern for the development of education. Realizing the role that education plays in national development, Nigerian governments have continued to venture into various educational policies and programmes with the expectation of meeting the country’s need in the areas of human and infrastructural development. According to Gideons and Sorkaa (2008), some of the policies that have evolved include the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme of the Western and Eastern regions, the take over of schools from the missionaries, the establishment of unity schools and the introduction of UPE nationwide. The UPE was introduced across the country by the Federal Government in September 1976, still with the intention of meeting the educational needs of the Nigerian citizenry. However, a decade after its introduction, according to Fafunwa (1986), the educational outcomes showed that the national objectives were not being fully realized. The failure of the programme was blamed on lack of fund, poor planning and implementation. Later on, the 6-3-3-4 system was also introduced nationwide by the Federal Government precisely in 1982. This system of education required a child to spend 6 years in primary school, 3 years in junior secondary school, another 3 years in senior secondary school, and 4 years in a tertiary institution. It replaced the 6-5-4 system that was in operation before its introduction. Gideons and Sorkaa (2008), however, noted that most of these educational policies and programmes in Nigeria were always implemented without a reliable assessment of the country’s needs, without proper funding and without monitoring and evaluation.
Expectedly, despite the 6-3-3-4 system, the rate of illiteracy was still high, the conditions of the schools’ infrastructures deplorable, school dropout was increasing and unprecedented poverty, unemployment, crime and other vices still were the order of the day.
Then the need for a more responsive education in the country became imminent especially following the outcome of the Jomtien World Conference held in 1990 and the declaration of Education for All (EFA) by the year 2000 at that conference. This was also followed a decade later by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which re-emphasized the EFA message, packaging it into eight main goals.

CHAPTER TWO

2.1 Nigeria Blue Prints on Basic Education.
The concept and goals of basic education, as perceived by the Government of Federal Republic of Nigeria and the people are provided in the document. Basic Education is defined to embrace all forms of education given to the individual from the 6year primary school to the end of the three-year junior secondary school at the formal level. In the non-formal, it includes basic functional literacy and post-literacy programmes planned for children, youths and adults out of school. After identifying it’s ultimate goal to be the eradication of illiteracy within shortest possible time the approaches to its’ implementation are described. Achieving quality of basic education according to Federal Government is the responsibility of all and sundry from the Federal Government to the Non-Governmental Organizations and the media down to individuals. According to the document, access to early childhood and pre-primary education institutions is fairly open though their quality varies unduly. With enthusiasm, certain indicators, of more of
promising note, to increase literacy growth are reported. While spelling out overall strategies, some major constraints are, however, recognized such as:
• poor teacher preparation; irregular in-service training and retraining of teaching and non-teaching personnel; inadequacy of relevant must mats and guides;
• lack of reliable education date for planning; poor funding; and inadequate community mobilization and advocacy for basic education. There is recognition of the fact that environmental, cultural, occupation and physical peculiarities of certain communities impede their full participation in formal primary education. Equally observed is the inaccessibility of many communities to Adult and Non-Formal Education facilities in spite of the National Non-Literacy campaign of 1982-1992.

2.2 Challenges of basic education
The first and perhaps one of the greatest challenges facing Nigeria educational system at the primary school level that is making it difficult for good quality education is inadequate funding by federal, state and local government. This has gotten to the extent that funding has been in response to conditionality imposed by international financial institutions (IFTs). In 1997 and 2000, statistics shows, that federal government expenditure on education was below 10% of overall expenditure. It noticed that, the national expenditure on education cannot be computed because various states expenditure on education cannot be determined, in relation to UNESCO recommendation of 26% of national budgets. A sustainable amount of fund must be allocated to education; state like Jigawa gives special consideration to educational sector. In year 2013 the government has appropriated billions of naira to educational sector with the hope of reinforcing the Universal Basic Education (UBE). In the same vain all states in the federation are expected to do so to revamp the educational system of Nigeria.
Lack of good teachers : Another powerful tool that can serve as agent of transformation is the universally accepted principle that no nation can rise above the quality of its educational system without good teachers in schools at all levels of education. It is also true that no educational system can rise above the quality of its teaching force. Education unlocks the key to modernization, but the teacher holds the key to that door. Teachers according to Coombs (1970) are the hub of any educational system. Upon their quality and their development depend the success of any educational system. The
teacher determines the quality of the educational system. He translates educational policies into practice and all educational programmes, he translates into action. If the teacher is adequately prepared, he will be an asset to the nation. On the importance of teachers, Hondersfield and Shinnet (1961) were quoted by Ukeje (1996) that: “Without adequate number of inspiring, well-informed teachers fully prepared to meet their responsibilities in our schools, we cannot have good education; and, without good education, we cannot hope for long to meet successfully the challenges of a changing world”.
Good teachers are therefore needed for good education which in turn is indispensable for social change, social transformation and national development (Ajayi, 2007).
Hitherto, the minimum qualification for teaching in primary schools was the Teacher’s Grade II certificate obtained from a five-year post-primary school course in the Grade II Teachers College and which has been cancelled some years ago. The NCE is obtained after a three-year post secondary school teacher education programme in a College of Education (COE). At present, there are 83 of such institutions running the NCE programme in Nigeria, including some polytechnics, enrolling about 400,000 and graduating about 60,000 students yearly.(Ajeyalemi, 2009). The Universities are responsible for training teachers for the Senior Secondary at post- Basic level. This may be through a four-year post secondary or three year post-NCE or GCE “A” level for the award of B.A. (Ed.), B.Sc (Ed.) or B.Ed. degree certificate in a Faculty or Institute of Education.
The National Universities Commission (NUC) is the regulatory body for the universities as the Nigerian National Colleges of Education (NCCE) is for the COE’s .They have Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards for Education and other courses. These Higher Educational Institutions that embark on the teacher education programmes, according to Okebukola (2005) and Jekayinfa (2008) are expected to: - produce highly motivated, conscientious and efficient classroom teachers for all levels of our education systems; - encourage further the spirit of enquiry and creativity in teachers; - help teachers to fit into the social life of the community and society at large and enhance their commitment to National objectives. - Provide teachers with the intellectual and professional background adequate for their assignment and to make them adaptable to any changing situation not only in the life of their country, but in the wider world; - Enhance teacher’s commitment to the teaching profession. Recent studies have however shown that most of the graduates from Colleges and Faculties of Education in the country are incompetent in the knowledge of subject matter content as well as in teaching, including communication skills (Ajeyalemi,2002; Okebukola, 2007). The courses they offered for the teacher education programmes emphasize more of theory than practical, especially lacking in teaching skills acquisition through adequate teaching practice.
The report generally discovered that the Education graduates have no visible strength. Based on the above revelation about the quality of Education graduates, it is therefore necessary to do a brief preview of the curricula of the Higher education institutions offering Teacher Education programmes in Nigeria. Highlight their weaknesses and offer some suggestions or propose some innovations to be introduced in the curricula so that their products will be able to face the challenges posed by globalization. The present curricula of Teacher Education Programmes in Nigeria Till just of recent, NCE programme was not interested in the production of primary teachers but for qualified teachers who are non-graduate who will face the lower level of the schools. This has for long been a shortcoming in the curriculum of the COE. However the NPE (1998) provides that NCE would become the minimum qualification for teaching in the country. This implies that all teachers must possess the NCE before they can teach even in primary schools. This in essence means that the curriculum of the COEs would have to be restructured to suit the requirements of primary education.
2.3 An Appraisal of the Quality of Primary School Products,
Since primary level education is the foundation of the formal education sector, the quality of products at this level determines the quality of other levels. The objectives of the National Policy on Education with respect to primary education clearly spells out the need for the inculcation of literacy, scientific and reflective thinking, effective participation in and contribution to society, moral training and character development for sound attitudes among others. However, there are militating factors that affect primary school education principally the teacher. Many teachers are not conversant with their fields. For example drunks, corrupt persons, irresponsible persons, untrained individuals, fill the classrooms as teachers. Also, many of the present teachers still use lecture in attempt to impact knowledge, rather than encouraging pupils to participate in the learning process. Teaching practice supervision demonstrates the preponderance of the lecture
method in the impartation of knowledge. The cumulative effect of these problems is shown in the performance of pupils at other levels of education, which is a demonstration of the collective indifference of government and administrators of education in the country. This is why many primary school buildings are in dire need of renovation. The quality of teachers needs to be improved along government stoppage of pivotal teachers training program in order to improve the overall quality of pupils.

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CHAPTER THREE
3.1 National Assessment of Learning Achievements in Basic Education (NALABE)
The National Assessment of Learning Achievements in Basic Education (NALABE) is aimed at assessing the extent to which the programme and goals of UBE are being implanted and achieved. It is essentially a process of conducting a situation analysis of teaching and learning in schools. The major goal is to provide data for the improvement of access, equity and quality in the primary and junior secondary education delivery. As a statistical indicator, thereof NALABE is the quantification of the extent to which exposure to formal education has equipped learners with the requisite knowledge and skills vritical to meeting their basic learning needs. It is a systematic effort to collect, report and use information about the status and progress of the basic education system
3.3 The Private and Social Returns to Investment in BasicEducation
Education is an investment for both individuals and society, providing long-term benefits such as increased earnings and economic growth in exchange for short-term outlays of time and money. The investment nature of education was recognized by Adam Smith over two hundred years ago. An extensive body of research has been carried out since then—most during the past fifty years—to examine the benefits of education for individuals and society.
Rate-of-return analysis provides a convenient framework for evaluating whether the benefits of an education investment (or any investment) justify its cost (see
Psacharopoulos and Patrinos 2007). The rate of return is the interest rate that equates the discounted stream of benefits with the discounted stream of costs of an investment. Investments with a positive rate of return generate benefits that are greater than their cost, with benefits and costs discounted to the present. Investments with a higher rate of return generate a higher yield than investments with a lower rate of return. Applied ex ante to alternative investments, rate-of-return analysis allows the selection of the particular investment that provides the highest prospective yield.
3.3 COMPULSORY, FREE UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION ACT
Sec 2 of the act states that every government in Nigeria should provide free, compulsory and universal basic education for every child of primary and junior secondary school age. The Government in this context refers to the thirty six different state governments in Nigeria.67 In other words, it is the duty of the state Government to provide basic education to its citizens
The act goes on to state that the parents of the child should make sure that the child attends and completes his primary and junior secondary school education which is the embodiment of basic education. It is also noticed in the act that there are consequences for parents who contravene the duty of ensuring that the child benefits from the provision of basic education. The parent shall be liable to a fine of Two Thousand Naira (N2000.00) or imprisonment for a term of one month or to both.
These are the notable provisions of the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Educations Act concerning the provisions of the basic education but one cannot help but notice the provision of sec1 of the same act where it states that the Federal Government’s intervention under the act shall only be an assistance to the state and local government.69 In my opinion this contravenes the federal government promise to provide education in sec18 of the Nigerian constitution. If the Federal Government has promised to provide education as soon as when practicable in the Constitution, why does it not reaffirm its commitment in the Compulsory, Free Universal Basic Educations Act? 68

3.4 Conclusion
Education is a basic right of all people and the basis for a peaceful,
healthy and stable world. Education encourages the development of an
individual’s total personality: conveying the wisdom of ancestors, traditional
norms and values, and promoting understanding and development of modern
science, technology, and environmental conservation. Education perpetuates
social, economic and cultural prosperity of human beings and creates an
infrastructure for international cooperation through the promotion of mutual
understanding and tolerance, thereby enabling the achievement of self-reliant
development, and functioning as an effective tool for poverty eradication in
countries worldwide

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