Recently, a tour of Early Childhood Education Centers in Kano state was undertaken as part of a guided media tour sponsored by UNICEF. AUGUSTINE OKEZIE writes on the visit and the situation in some states.
Several factors, including inadequate space and requisite facilities have effectively marred the sustainable development and growth of early primary education in Nigeria. There is no doubt that this state of affairs has constrained rapid child enrolment and the expansion of the country’s rebranded educational policy and programs, thus effectively preventing not a few number of Nigerian children from being enrolled into pre-primary schools as well as retarding Early Child Development (ECD).
E. D. Nakpodia, of the Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies, Delta State University, Abraka, described ECD as a preparatory step for primary education, a starting point for the child’s general development and the foundation of Nigerian education system, using the mother tongue as a means of communication and medium of instruction.
He also strongly believed that pre-primary education can only serve its purposes as stated in the National Policy of Education in Nigeria, make children to have effective smooth transition from home to school and prepare the child for the primary level of education, if well supervised, staffed, equipped, financed and coordinated.
Nigeria therefore requires strong leadership with the requisite political will, determination, transparency, accountability and steadfastness as well as close interface with rebranded early primary education policy to strengthen the dynamics of the program.
The Kano state Situation
On a visit to Kofar Nassarawa Primary School, in Kano, the challenge posed by poor infrastructure and low enrolment figure remained glaring in their ECCE, located at Kadunu Islam house, reconstructed in 2012.
A teacher in the class, Sadiya Mohammed Abdu, acknowledged the assistance of a caregiver who was not as trained as herself.
Setback for ECD initiative
The Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act (2004) at one time witnessed an expansion of scope to include programmes and initiatives for Early Childhood Care Development and Education (ECCDE).
Following the development, the UBE programme has made provision for every public primary school to have a Pre-Primary centre to cater for children aged 3-5 years.
Federal and State Inspectorate Services, in collaboration with UBEC and SUBEBS have statutory mandates for basic education, primary and pre-primary.
Though appreciable progress has been made in the implementation of Early Childhood Care Development and Education (ECCDE) programme in Nigeria in the past four years due to government policy requiring every public school to have a pre-primary centre, the number of children enrolled in such centres still remains low, according to UNICEF Nigeria.
The world body said the enrolment of children in Nigeria stood at approximately 2.3 million, representing only 21 per cent of the population of children in the targeted age group.
UNICEF also noted that caregivers at these centres are generally unqualified as about 85 per cent of them do not possess basic qualifications while more than half have no formal education.
Another major issue in Nigeria’s early childhood care and development, it added, is the poor state of infrastructure, equipment, facilities and learning resources.
It further explained that essential learning resources are also lacking in most facilities while the national curriculum is not yet widely operational.
Also, two surveys carried out independently by Nigerian Educational Research & Development Council (NERDC) and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) between 2003 and 2004, revealed that the few children who have access to early child development programme learn in poor condition with the teachers factor being the most critical.
The sub-sector, the surveys further revealed, is seriously plagued by inadequate supply of qualified teachers to provide care and support to the growing children.
Our reporters in Nasarawa, Kano and Kebbi states have visited some of the ECCDE centres and report the level of development or otherwise the programme has achieved so far.
Nasarawa state
In Nasarawa State, ECCDE programme took off in 2008, but it was not until 2010 that the state UBE directed managements of primary schools to open centres for enrolment of children in their early or pre-primary school age, Mrs. Christiana Shigudu, desk officer for the ECCDE in the state told our correspondents.
The programme took off with federal government funding which came as five percent of the allocation to the SUBEB at the initial period of implementation, but in subsequent years, the funding ceased and this greatly affected the programme.
Our reporters visited two schools within Lafia, the state capital, and some of the leading public schools where the ECCDE is in operation, only to observe that the centres established there were non-functional.
The managements of the two schools say ECCDE came with the challenge of specialised teachers, which they do not have. At one of the schools visited, the management said parents who are informed about the programme are disappointed because there are no specialised teachers to put their wards through.
“Parents in our state are not informed about this programme.
The few who showed interest are disappointed that there are no specialised teachers to help their young children. So you find them withdrawing their children to either leave them at home, or enroll them in day care centers operated by private schools,” a source in one of the schools said.
The desk officer, Mrs. Shigudu confirmed that the programme is facing the challenges of specialised teachers because schools in the state have NCE and degree holders, who hardly have the specialisation to handle pre-primary school ages.
“We have no trained teachers to handle this programme, but we are trying our best to see that it is fully operational here,” she said, and added that the desk office was able to develop curriculum for ECCDE but which requires trained teachers to implement it.
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