Policy Evaluation of the Current Nigeria Certificate in Education (N.C.E) Curriculum in Nigeria

Transcription

1 122 Dada, Esther Morayo Policy Evaluation of the Current Nigeria Certificate in Education (N.C.E) Curriculum in Nigeria Dada, Esther Morayo Introduction The importance of teachers in the success of any educational programme cannot be underrated.as a matter of fact, the bulk of the work of implementing any curriculum lies on the teachers. This is why it is paramount to ensure the quality and quantity of teachers that are produced through the various agencies that are saddled with such responsibilities. If teachers are to successfully facilitate the learning process to bring about the desired result, the quality of what the teacher is made of should be guaranteed. The Nigeria government realizing this fact stated in section 8 sub-sections 70 of the National policy on education (2004 edition) that the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) shall be the minimum qualification for teachers in the country. This by implication is that the NCE shall be the qualification for teaching in the primary schools since it is the lowest level of education. The history of Nigeria education has it in record that at the onset of western education in Nigeria, much attention was not paid to the training and certification of teachers. (Fafunwa, 1974) The situation was so bad that they were using the monitoring system. That is, the senior pupils were used to teach the junior classes. The 1887 education ordinance was the first to provide for the need to train, examine and certify teachers. Thus, the ordinance was shaping a profession for teachers. (Osokoya, 1989). Every other ordinance / policy after the 1887 ordinance has been building and improving on this. Every educational programme that has ever been designed in the country (especially at the primary school level) has been identified to face the problem of unqualified and incompetent teachers.(yoloye,2004) such programmes include, the universal primary education of western Nigeria in 1955, the system of education in the mid / late 80 s and even the current universal basic education. A look at our primary level of education today would easily reveal this problem of unqualified and incompetent teachers. Most of what goes on in an average primary school classroom is coaching instead of teaching. That is, most primary school teachers especially those in the private schools only select those subjects that are offered in public examinations (especially common entrance) and coach the pupils in them to ensure that they pass such

2 Reforming Higher Education in Africa 123 examinations. In Nigeria, much premium is still placed on passing examination and not on knowledge and skill acquisition. The primary level of education is the foundation of the entire educational structure and the key to the success or failure of the whole system. This is why the goals of this level of education are clearly stated in the section 4 sub-section 18 of the National policy on education (2004 edition).based on the goals. The curriculum is stated to include the teaching of: (1) languages: (a) language of the environment (b) English (c) French (d) Arabic (2) Mathematics (3) Science (4) Physical and Health Education (5) Religions Knowledge (6) Agriculture / Home Economics (7) Social Studies and Citizenship Education (8) Cultural and creative Arts (Drawing, Handicraft, Music, and Cultural Activities) (9) Computer Education. With the seemingly abolition of the grade II teachers certificate programme in this country, there seem to be a vacuum created and that vacuum is yet to be filled up. The teachers Grade II curriculum is the most appropriate for training teachers who would teach at the primary level of education. The subjects taught in primary school and the mode of designation is pointing to this fact. Gradually, teachers that had the real Grade II training are beginning to thin out of the system and now there are more of those who had the NCE training without the Grade II background. It is now evident that some important subjects are not being taught at all or are not well taught. Such subjects include: Arts and craft, Music, Physical and Health Education (especially practicals), Handwriting and so on. The concern of this paper therefore is to critically examine the content of the NCE curriculum whether it can adequately cater for this need. The NCE Curriculum The present NCE curriculum is geared towards making the recipient a subject specialist. That is, the recipient is trained in either one or two subject areas. One subject in the case of double major and two subjects in the case of

3 124 Dada, Esther Morayo combined major. Courses are offered in the subject areas, and in education courses like Philosophy of Education, Psychology of Education, Sociology of Education, Curriculum, Guidance and Counseling and so on. In addition to these, there are the General Study courses like Language and communication skills, citizenship Education and others. The manner of training in these courses is geared towards secondary school pedagogy and not towards primary school pedagogy like the former Grade II curriculum that was totally geared towards primary school pedagogy. At the primary school level, a teacher teaches across the subjects and not that he/she specializes in the teaching of one or two subjects. An NCE holder who read English and Yoruba Languages for example might not be able to teach Mathematics and Science effectively if employed to teach in the primary school, except he/ she were a little inclined in these areas on his/her own. The only course geared towards primary school pedagogy is Primary Education Studies (PES) but the numbers of candidates offering the course is far too bellow the needed number put at 772,338 in the year With the introduction of the nine (9) year Basic Education Programme that has made the Junior Secondary School to be an extension of the primary School, there is need to re-organize the NCE curriculum to meet the need of teachers to implement the programme so that it would not be like the previous attempts that have almost all failed because they never achieved their set out objectives. This is in support of Osokoya (2004), who opined that for the UBE progrmme to succeed there is the need to improve the quality of curriculum delivery. Dada (1999) asserts that the kind of activities the learners engage in that would contribute to a change in their behaviors towards desired goals can be suggested by the nature of interest and capabilities of the teachers. For instance, a teacher who does not know how to set up an experiment in science will try hard to avoid the topic that relates to it. In such a case, the learners will be at a disadvantage of not being taught what they should be taught. In the long run, this could affect the overall objective of a whole educational programme like the UBE. Another important deficiency of the NCE curriculum is that it does not cater for training early childhood education teachers. That is, teachers of Nursery Schools are not catered for adequately. The recent increase in the number of Nursery Schools and the level of enrolment of pupils make it a matter of necessity to train teachers that would teach at this level of education. A comparative observation shows that most of the Nursery Schools practice what suits them and not what they should do based on the principles and practice of education. Early childhood education is a

4 Reforming Higher Education in Africa 125 specialized area that needs special training and so it should not be subsumed under other areas of discipline. New areas of knowledge / need that have been made to be part of the Basic Education programme like Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Sexuality Education, HIV/AIDS education are not part of the current NCE curriculum. These areas are essential if our Country must develop like most advanced countries of the world and be in line with the United Nation s millennium development goals. (UBE information pamphlet, 2005) Conclusion and Recommendations This paper has tried to assess the NCE curriculum and discovered that it is not geared towards primary school pedagogy. The only course that is geared towards primary school pedagogy (Primary Education Studies-PES) cannot cater for the need of teachers needed at the primary school going by the number of students that are admitted into the course. Also, it was discussed that no provision is made to train early childhood Education teachers. Based on these, it is therefore recommended that the entire NCE curriculum should be revised towards basic education pedagogy. This is more or less a kind of core curriculum where all essential subjects are taught to every body. Basically all NCE trainees should be made to offer Nursery and primary Education Studies plus another single subject discipline. That is, Nursery and Primary Education / Religious Studies, NPES / Social Studies, NPES/ English Language and so on. This new combination would enable the NCE holders teach at any level of the Basic Education Programme viz: Nursery, Primary and the Junior Secondary levels. The Single Subject would enable the recipient go for further Studies in the University if he / she so desires. The Content of the proposed Nursery and primary Education studies should be arranged in such a way that it would take care of the new Basic Education programmme. This should take care of new areas of need like Sexuality Education, HIV /AIDS Education, Information Communication and Technology (ICT) and so on. It is believed that if this paper is considered, it would go a long way to improve the quality of the new Basic Education programme in Nigeria

5 126 Dada, Esther Morayo References Akinlua, A.A (2006) Fundamentals of Curriculum Studies. Lagos, Bolabay publications. Dada,A.(1999). The Teacher and the Curriculum Ibadan, Tejama General Enterprises Federal Republic of Nigeria (1990), National commission for Colleges of Education- A Summary of Minimum Standards for NCE Teachers. Federal Republic of Nigeria (1977, Revised 2004): National Policy on Education Lagos NERDC Press Fafunwa, A.B (1974) History of Education in Nigeria. London. Goerge Allen and Unwin Ltd. Osokoya, I.O (1989) History and Policy of Nigerian Education in World Perspective. Ibadan, AMD publishers. Osokoya I.O (2004) Renovation and Renewal of Basic Education in Nigeria Since Independence Being a paper presented at the International Standing conference for History of Education held in the University of Geneva, July, Urevbu A. (2001), Curriculum Studies. Benin. City Gift-Print Associates. Yoloye, T.W.(2004) That We May Learn Better An Inaugural Lecture, University of Ibadan.