An Appraisal of Primary Education as a Launching Pad for Educational Development in Nigeria

Abstract

The importance of primary education in the development of the educational development of a country cannot be underestimated. This is because primary education is the key to the success or failure of the whole education system. That is why all the efforts of the Federal Government since Independence has been geared towards providing the type of education that will enhance the development of the country. This has been evidenced by the launching of the Universal Primary Education in 1976 the enactment of the National Policy on Education in 1977, and the launching of the Universal Basic Education in September, 1999. Furthermore, government established the Education Trust Fund, received funding support from the World Bank all aimed at improving primary education. These investment in resources and in policy provisions are intended to improve access to educational opportunities, the quality of primary education and to make education at that level relevant to the citizenry and the Nigerian nation. For a number of years now many educators, highly placed government officials, academia and some politicians have been known to quote statistics pertaining what governments at different levels have been able to achieve in improving access, quality and relevance in primary education. Most of these assertions are not based on research findings. This study therefore, appraised how far government inputs in terms of resources has improved access, quality and the relevance of primary education in Nigeria in order to determine whether or not it could act as a launching pad for educational development in Nigeria. This is with a view to making recommendations and proffering implementation strategies to strengthen that level of education. The research relied on both secondary and primary methods of data collection. From the data, it was found that: there was a rise and fall in enrolment, gender disparities still exists with males constituting a higher percentage especially in the North, there are manpower constraints, inadequate facilities, deprived school environment and lack of political will to implement all aspects of the 6-3-3-4 education structure with the requisite allocation of public resources especially as it pertains to vocational and technical education. It is therefore recommended that more efforts be made to improve access and enrolment figures for normal and disadvantaged children; increase the numbers and quality of teachers and emphasize a collaborative approach to the management of primary education among others. To this end a number of appropriate strategies for implementing some of the recommendations were suggested. A few of the implementation strategies are: expand substantially the number of additional schools and classrooms in urban and rural areas, back the Blue Print on Women's Education by legislation that is enforceable, legislate a comprehensive mainstreaming policy for the physically and mentally challenged, provide adequate and qualified teachers and provide child friendly learning environment.