APPRAISAL OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL BLUE PRINT ON PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION IN ABA EDUCATION ZONE OF ABIA STATE.

Abstract

This study was carried out to appraise the implementation of the National Blue

Print on Pre-primary Education in Aba Education Zone of Abia State. The population of the study was 1,245 respondents comprising of 422 Head teachers and 823 teachers from 422 pre-primary schools in the zone. The sample size was

300 respondents made up of 100 Head teachers and 200 teachers. Eight research questions  were  formulated to  guide  the  study.  Descriptive survey design was

adopted for the study. The instruments for data collection were a 70 item checklist used to elicit information on availability and non availability of the items listed and a 70 item structured questionnaire modeled on a four (4) point rating scale. The response options for the items were – Very Great Extent (VGE), Great Extent (GE) Little  Extent  (LE)  and  Very  Little  Extent  (VLE).  The  instrument  was  face validated by three experts, one in Childhood Education, Educational Psychology and Measurement and Evaluation respectively all in the Faculty of Education. Cronbach   Alpha   was   used   to   determine   the   internal  consistency  of   the questionnaire items.  The  reliability index was  0.84.  Data  was  analyzed  using percentages, mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. The findings  of  the  study  revealed that  record  books  are  available and  are  being utilized. This shows the implementation of the National Blue Print on Records in the Zone is implemented. On furniture and environmental sanitation materials/facilities, there is almost non implementation of the Blue Print because of non availability of the materials. Instructional materials are available to varying percentages and  the  available ones  are  utilized to  a  great extent. This  shows adherence to the implementation too. It was recommended, amongst others, that the Government should provide those materials that are not available and provide vehicles  for  proper external supervision in  schools.  Also,  seminars/workshops should be organized to up date teachers knowledge on the proper utilization and implementation of the available materials/facilities. Parents Teachers Association can help their schools by providing some of the materials listed in the Blue Print.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Education is the process of making information available to a person to help him/her develop physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, spiritually, politically. In line with this, Ocho (2005) defines education as the process through which individuals are made functional members of their society. It is seen as a process through which the young acquire knowledge and realize their potentials and use them  for  self  –  actualization.  It  is  a  means  of  preserving,  transmitting  and improving the culture of the society. In every society, education connotes acquisition of something good, something worth while.

Accordingly, Chukwu (2011) states that education is a process of assisting the learners to acquire knowledge, skills and acceptable attitude and morals that would make them responsible citizens, which in turn, will make them care for themselves and their families and contribute to society’s development. Looking at these definitions, one quickly understands that education shapes human life and destiny. It starts from birth. Mothers teach the child to suck the breast, drink water, eat, stand, toddle and walk. While parental and family care is an important component of pre-primary education, the primary concern is with the educational

component since  it  is  here  that policy and society are  able  to  play the  most

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proactive role. In line with this view, Plato in Maduewesi (2004) believes that children should be educated by specially trained persons away from their parents. Also, scientific evidence has established that adequate stimulation during early childhood period is necessary for a child’s cognitive development (Osanyin, 2001, Munonye, 2002). Hence, children should be taught or trained outside the home by special teachers/caregivers in pre-primary schools for the brain to receive the right stimulation.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria in the National Policy on Education (FRN,

2004:11) states ‘Early childhood/preprimary education is the education given in an educational institution to children prior to their entering the primary school. It includes the crèche, the nursery and kindergarten’. Preprimary education and its introduction to Nigeria came with the advent of the missionaries (Okon, 2004). The earliest recipients were mainly those who associated themselves with the missionaries. The government showed no interest to participate in this form of education, as such there was no obligation for the government to provide education for children below the age of primary school age. It was in the 1969 National curriculum conference that mention was made of the education of children between three and five years of age. They were to be enrolled in nursery and kindergarten classes  to  prepare  them  for  the  lower  primary  education.  The  declaration eventually  led  to  the  emphasis  placed  on  the  preparatory  role  of  pre-school

institutions. Private individuals were encouraged to open and run these schools. Since families self-finance the pre-school education of their children, it was considered a special advantage to those who could afford it to start their children in school before the public school enrollment age of six.

However, 2004 ushered in a new perspective of preprimary education which included children of zero to two years and their inclusion into public schools due to United Nations call upon States to develop institutions, facilities and services for the care of children and to ensure that children have the right to benefit from child- care  services  and  facilities  for  which  they  are  eligible  (Shreshta, 2006).  The inclusion of these ages of children changed the title to Early childhood/preprimary education. The definition also enlarged to reflect the inclusion. Other terms that are used interchangeably with Early childhood/preprimary education are Early childhood   learning,  Early  child  care,   Early  childhood  development,  Early childhood care development and education and Early education.

The focus of this study is the nursery and kindergarten forms. This category of Early childhood/preprimary education is for children aged 3 – 5 years. The educational programme consists of activities which stimulate social interaction and intellectual development in education called the pre-operational stage. The nursery school in expected to be staffed with qualified nursery school teachers and their assistants. Kindergarten, according to Maduewesi (1999) refers to schools for five

year olds, a kind of stepping stone or transition class to the primary school at age six. Kindergarten is therefore the bridge to the elementary school and an integral part of most primary schools. Its aim is to set the children on a good intellectual and academic footing. Here, there is  emphasis on the basic skills  of reading. Mathematics and Science. In view of the recognition given to this level of education, the federal Government of Nigeria made a declaration in the National Policy on Education (2004) for the establishment of pre-primary sections in the existing public schools.

As  a  result  of  the  declaration,  there  exist  now  pre-primary sections  in existing public schools to aid early intervention in the formal education of the child. This has become imperative with the notion that early years are crucial in child development. Terrance in Osanyin (2012) established that the most rapid development of the brain occurs in the first three years of a child’s life. Also, Titzer (2009) opined that the first five years of a child’s life, tens of thousands of synaptic connections are made each second in the brain, opening the door for increased learning capacity. In the same vein, Eastman (2002) and Brunner (2005), stated that at five years, a child’s brain has developed almost to the level of an adult. It becomes therefore necessary to  give  young children quality care and stimulation they need for healthy growth and development. To encourage uniformity  in  the  standard  of  the  education  of  the  early  years,  the  Nigerian

Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) with the support of UNICEF Nigeria prepared the National Blue Print in 2004 on pre-primary Education called the National Minimum Standard guideline for practice and operation of Early Childhood/preprimary education in Nigeria. (See Appendix V for detail).

The  Blue  Print  is  a  plan  or  guideline  for  the  operation of  preprimary education in Nigeria. It is an integrated Early Childhood Development Document involving participation from various sectors of health, nutrition, education, protection and participation to ensure positive outcomes for the child in terms of cognitive achievement, care and development. The blue print is a plan or guideline for the operation and practice of pre-primary education in Nigeria. It has stipulations for each of the materials to be provided in the schools.

Collectively the objectives of the Integrated Early Child Development as enumerated in the National Minimum Standard (2004:3) are as follows;

     To provide care and support to the child in form of good nutrition and health for children. A healthy and safe environment, psycho-social stimulation, protection and security.

     To inculcate in the child the spirit of enquiry and creativity through the explorations of nature, the environment, art, music and playing with toys etc.

   To effect a smooth transition from the home to the school.

     To prepare the child to adapt successfully when their current context changes.

     To provide adequate care and supervision for the children while their parents are at work (on the farms, in the markets, offices, industry etc).

     Inculcate social norms – that is culturally relevant, skills and behaviours which allow them to function effectively in their current context.

The above good intension of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is to give education to the least Nigerian child and this can only be achieved through proper implementation. Implementation in this context refers to proper application of all the stipulations of the National Blue Print in teaching and learning as well  as all round development of the child physically, emotionally, socially and psychologically.

To ensure proper implementation, the Blue Print prescribed material requirements/facilities that are to be made available and utilized in the schools. Availability here refers to materials one can find on ground while utilization is to

make profitable use of these materials. For the purpose of this study, the researcher is interested in the content of the Blue Print on Records, furniture, instructional materials  and  environmental sanitation facilities.  These  requirements are  fully enshrined in the National Blue Print (See Appendix V).  School records, as one of the material requirements are permanent accounts of facts and events documented in books, computers or films safely kept for reference and inspection purposes. Such  records  must  be  made  available  and  kept  in  a  safe  and  secured  space according to the prescriptions of the minimum standard.

Furniture too, as one of the material requirements in schools are movable objects such as tables, chairs, mats, cupboards, among others that are put in class rooms or to be found in the schools to make it suitable for pupils to study.

Instructional materials are materials or items that help the teacher to present skills and knowledge clearly to the learners (Nosiri, 2005). These materials, according to (FRN, 2004) in the National Minimum Standard promote the children’s mental and social  development by  being  responsive  to  the  children’s  need  and  care  and stimulating the child through talking, playing and other interactions. These materials include care giver’s manual, curriculum, toy making manual, to mention but a few. Its use is therefore crucial for effective teaching and learning in pre- primary school.  Environmental sanitation involves keeping our surroundings clean and sources of drinking water free from pollution and germs (Obidiwe, 2000).

Much of ill health is due to poor environmental sanitation, that is, unsafe water, unhygienic disposal of excreta and refuse, sickness rate and poor standards of health are infact largely due to defective environmental sanitation. Improvement of environmental sanitation is therefore crucial for the prevention of diseases and promotion of health of children in the school.

Regardless of the lofty provisions to this education level, Morrison (2004) stated that the public is faced with a patch work of fragmented public and private services that meet the needs of only some children. Anigbogu (2007) too, asserts that all public schools in Owerri Zone are facing crises due to lack of resources and conducive environment for teaching and learning. Also, the researcher’s personal observation during a field work trip to few pre-primary schools in Aba Education Zone showed non implementation in many of the requirements as stipulated in the Blue Print. This has poised the researcher to carry out this study to see if the observation could be general in all the public pre-primary schools.

Statement of the Problem

The Federal Republic of Nigeria brought out the National Blue Print to ensure uniformity in the operation/running of the pre-primary programme. The Blue Print stipulated those materials that must be provided. These are Records,

Furniture, Instrumental materials and environmental sanitation facilities amongst others.

Unfortunately, available literature and observation by the researcher in the few schools of the researcher’s field work trip showed non implementation of most of  the  material requirements contained  in  the  Blue  Print.  As  a  result  of  this problem, the researcher is poised to appraise the implementation of the Blue Print on material requirements in the Zone to see if the researcher’s observation of non implementation of the materials in the few schools could be a general phenomenon in schools of the Zone under study.

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study was to appraise the implementation of the National blue print on pre-primary education in public primary schools in Aba Education Zone of Abia state.

Specifically, the study sought to ascertain;

1.  the availability of records in public pre-primary schools in Aba zone.

2.  the availability of furniture.

3.  the availability of instructional materials.

4.  the availability of environmental sanitation facilities.

5.  the extent of utilization of records in the schools.

6.  the extent of utilization of furniture in the schools.

7.  the extent of utilization of instructional materials in the schools.

8.  the extent of utilization of environmental sanitation facilities in the schools.

Significance of the Study

Theoretically, the CIPP model by Stufflebeam is particularly important to the study since it helps to identify problem areas by comparing program performance with an established program design standard. The result of the study is  expected  to  be  beneficial  to  Government/administrators, teachers,  parents, students and future researchers. It is expected that the findings of the study will reveal  the  problems  of  these  schools  which  will  help  the  government in  the distribution of materials to take care of the children. It will also help the administrators to arrive at a wise decision and equitable distribution of resources.

The findings of this study will be of great benefit to the teachers who may not have known about the National Blue Print, read it and digest the content which it is hoped will enable them restructure their teaching and instructional resources to meet the needs of the children.

This work will be relevant to parents as it will create awareness on the kind of materials they are to provide for their children. This will make them intensify their efforts to provide their children with relevant learning materials to enhance

their learning. The result of this work will also be useful to students and future researchers in education because relevant reference materials and information will be made available to them.

Scope of the Study

The geographical scope of the study was Aba Education Zone of Abia state. The study was delimited to the appraisal of the implementation of the National blue print on pre-primary education in public primary schools in Aba Education zone of Abia state in four major areas namely, availability of record materials, furniture, instructional materials, and environmental sanitation facilities and the extent of their utilization to ascertain if they are available and utilized as prescribed by the National minimum standard.

Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study.

1.  What are the available record books in public preprimary schools in Aba

Education Zone?

2.  What  are  the  available  furniture  in  public  preprimary  schools  in  Aba

Education Zone?

3.  What are the available instructional materials in public preprimary schools in Aba Education Zone?

4.  What  are  the  available  Environmental  sanitation  facilities  in  public preprimary schools in Aba Education Zone?

5.  What is  the extent of utilization of record books in the schools in Aba

Education Zone?

6.  What is the extent of utilization of furniture materials in public preprimary schools in Aba Education Zone?

7.  What is the extent of utilization of instructional materials in public pre- primary schools in Aba Education Zone? 8.  What is the extent of utilization of environmental sanitation facilities in the schools.

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