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A SURVEY OF THE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN FINANCING PRIMARY EDUCATION

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

            Education plays a vital role in the development of a nation. Education is tools that facilitate the acceleration social, political and economic growth of a nation. Most advance country in the world like United Kingdom and united state of America have attained such level of development through adequate planning financing of education. The successes of any system of education depend on the proper planning, efficient administration and adequate financing.

            However, the financial aspect of education is one of the problem facing educational development today, This is because the greater percentage of Nigeria population are illiterates that is they are  not inform it make them deform and  lead to low  performance  in  planning today.

            According to Salariu (1982) just about 25% of Nigeria is literate while 75% are illiterate. The various Government of Nigeria have seen education as a catalyst in nation building and have been making efforts at improving all aspect of our education system in primary secondary and tertiary institution. For instance, the federal government have not provided the nations, education system with education policy but hug sums of money are not allocated to education sector but rather huge hug sums of money to other sector like construction of roads. To show the degree of involvement in education as assertion was made this government expenditure in primary education alone was sixty thousand, four hundred and sixty five naira (N60, 465). To cover infrastructures, personnel and equipment commitment (first progress repot on third national development plan (1975-1980), this expenditure should not be seen a surprise but rather a justification of the claim in national policy on education, that education is no more a private venture but a huge government venture that has witnessed a progress venture that has witnessed a progressive evaluation of government complete on dynamic intervention and active participation.

            Historically, education in Nigeria has passed through many or development. The advent of formal education, Nigeria had an indigenous system of education of all members of the communities. The western was brought into our midst in the early ninetieth century. This education was embraced by the local communities because it gives room for their participation in the education.

The school of that time were missionary controlled with the participation of the local communities hence the member of the mission. Government assumed the full control of education responsible all alone with the financing it with oil becoming, the participation of local communities were not encouraged this brought about distortion to the whole educational system.

Before the assumption of school by government, the Christian and Muslim voluntary agencies and organization were those responsible for education .They funded organized administered and controlled them. The communities too did not relent their effort in participation in the financing of education some event beyond building school and staff quarters for their teacher. A case in point is that of Holy Community School, Ozoro and Community Primary School, Oleu both in Igueben Local government area of Edo state, where communities did participated in the building of school and staff quarter for their teachers.

All these efforts were geared towards the government of education in those days before the take over by the government. But now the area of government expenditure is widened and economic of the nation is in state of paralysis. In this regard, the strength of weak, she there looks for alternative way of financing primary education or at least sharing the responsibilities with other financing primary sources. Frankly speaking, there is no denying the  fact that Nigeria school are far beyond standard in view of scarcity of resources to fund their school facilities and teacher salaries are not paid when due. It is in this predicament that government in 1992 resorted to decree 3 of 1991 which transferred the funding and administration of primary education to local government. This pronouncement of the federal government as generated a lot  of crisis to the education sector be cause of local government can not afford to shoulder  the responsibility it is to manage this crucial level of education. This situation were worsens the already fallen standard of primary education in Nigeria.

      In this country now, the primary education is resorted to federal government. Yet thing are not in good order. This study is therefore set out to examine the community participation in the administration of primary school in Igueben Local Government Area.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS

            Historically, analysis has shown that primary education is in a great predicament in Nigeria because of the liability of the federal government to seek for alternative sources of financing education especially from the local communities, voluntary agencies, philanthropists and individual even though available evidence shows that government alone cannot provide the required materials.

            This has infact through the teaching and learning situation in primary school into a dismal position where unrest is the order of the day. Igueben Local Government as part of the large Nigeria society has own share of the problem and even present a complex and peculiar situation. For instance, the teachers salaries are not paid, the teaching and learning situation are jeopardized. Teaching aids are not provided, the school building are dilapidated and primary school management is in the great confusion due to non participation of the communities in the financing of primary education system.

            Informal education is to serve a useful purpose toi the communities, it has therefore become necessary for the local communities to participate adequately in the financing of primary education especially at this level of education is the bed rock on which the success or failure of the whole national education depends.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY   

            This study is set out to investigate and examine the extent of the communities participation in financing the primary education in Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State or the federal Government alone or else some thing good will not be achieved. Moreover, the study will also help to correct the following; individual, voluntary agencies and local communities to reconsider their stand in providing basic materials and adequate financial assistance to public school in other to bail out from their present financial predicament.

RESEARCH QUESTION  

            The following question are to be answered as these will throw light on the extent to which primary education can be encouraged in Nigeria as a whole and Igueben Local Government Area in particular.

1.     Could effective management be achieved if communities are fully involved in financing primary education?

2.     Could sound and standard education be achieved if  there is a joint primary education and local communities in financing primary education?

3.     Does the current crisis in primary school management in Nigeria give indication that government alone cannot finance primary school?

4.     Does the takeover of primary education financing by government hinder community participation in financing primary education?

5.     To what extent will communities participate in financing primary education help in improving education of pupils?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

            The importance of education in a society and the nation cannot be over emphasized. For it make the people easy to read, but difficult to rule, easy to govern but impossible to sustain. Through this work we shall know the extent which the people of the land have satisfied the above statement.

            Again, Igueben Local Government has know record about its literacy or educational programmes. Therefore, the need to carry out this type of study as it will be useful to the educational planners and organizers of the various educational programmes of the local government in particular.

            The greatest problem that our educational programmes have been experiencing today is lack of sufficient fund to carry out educational programme with educational development or programme already planned activities. What shall we do then to remedy this ugly situation? This research work will suggest adequate solution which will be of interest to these concerned with education development.

DEFINITION OF TERMS 

Below are some definition of some key terms in these study;

Community: A group of people living together and share common interest. Community in this passage referred to different town and villages in Igueben Local Government Area.

Primary Education: This beginning of rearing of our offspring in a formal setting to the need of the community. It is an institution of rudiments of knowledge but in this study primary Education especially include the public schools owned by the government.

Financing: It is the involvement of people or community sharing idea in items of labour or finance for enhancing proper management and development.

Participation: It is the involvement of people or community sharing idea terms available in labour, finance and human resource for enhancing proper management and development

Community development: This means the development of this democratic participation which enable the people to cooperation and embrace the spirit of self-help in the execution of programme related to their development.

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