CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Education is a process of acquiring skills, obtaining relevant

knowledge and aptitudes in order to survive in this world. It is the process

whereby individuals are provided with the means, tools and knowledge for

understanding their society and its structures. Hence, education encompasses

the social life that helps people create a meaningful environment as well as

being able to influence their environment positively. Education could be seen

as an activity which goes on in the society in which it takes place. Such

activities may include any purposeful human endeavor that is capable of

providing learning experiences. Education in a broader sense could be seen as

a process of socialization. It constitutes all the processes through which

individuals are trained in the social norms and values of their immediate

society, so as not to become a misfit of that society. The overall philosophy

of Nigerian education according to the National Policy on Education (2004

revised) is based on the development of the individual into a sound and

effective citizen; the full integration of the individual into the community;

and the provision of equal access to educational opportunities for all citizens

of the country at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels both inside and

outside the formal school system. The goals of education as stated in the

National Policy on Education (2004 revised) are therefore:

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(a) The inculcation of national consciousness and national unity;

(b) The inculcation of the right type of values and attitudes for the survival of

the individual and the Nigerian society;

(c) The training of the mind in the understanding of the world around; and

(d) The acquisition of appropriate skills and the development of mental,

physical and social abilities and competencies as equipment for the individual

to live in and contribute to the development of the society.

Primary education serves as the foundation in the formal process of

ensuring changes in the behavior of the growing members of the society. The

success of any subsequent level depends, to a great extent on the

effectiveness of the foundation. Hence, the primary formal education

occupies a natural prime of place in any nation’s educational system. In light

of this, Utibe (2001) described primary education as the keystone of the

whole educational structure. As a foundation, it invariably determines what

the outlook of subsequent higher levels of formal education will be. Primary

education deals with young children coming fresh from their homes without

any exposure at all to the outside world. This level exposes the child to

become an integral part of the society. It exposes the child to adapt to

situations out of the home environment. He/she begins to associate with peer

groups out of the family setting. The objectives of the primary education in

Nigeria as spelt out in the National Policy on Education (2004, revised)

states:

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(a) The inculcation of permanent literacy and numeracy and ability to

communicate effectively;

(b) The laying of a sound basis for scientific and reflective thinking;

(c) Citizenship education as a basis for effective participation in and

contribution to the life of the society;

(d) Character and moral training and the development of sound attitudes;

(e) Giving the child opportunities for developing manipulative skills that will

enable him to function effectively in the society within the limits of his

capacity;

(f) Developing in the child the ability to adapt to his changing environment;

(g) Providing basic tools for further educational advancement, including

preparation for trades and crafts of the locality.

Universal Basic education on the other hand, is a new innovative trend

in the Nigerian education industry particularly as it is programmed to be for 9

years. That is, it is designed to cater for a child’s education from primary

school to the end of the junior secondary school. Universal Basic Education

is broader than Universal Primary Education, which focused on providing

educational opportunities for primary school age children. Universal Basic

Education stresses the inclusion of girls and women and a number of non-

privilege groups: the poor, street and working children, rural and remote

populations, nomads, migrant workers, indigenous people, minorities,

refugees and the disabled. It also extends to the first level of secondary

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education (JSS 3). On the launch of the universal basic education, the mission

statement of the UBE scheme stated thus:

“ At the end of 9 year of continuous education, every child through the system should have acquired appropriate level of literacy, numeracy, communication, manipulative and life skills and be employable, useful to himself and the society at large by possessing relevant ethical, normal and civic skills”

It stated further that, Universal Basic Education shall: Serve as a prime

energizer of a national movement for the actualization of the nations

Universal Basic Education vision working in contact with all stakeholders

thus, mobilizing the nation’s creative energies to ensure that, Education For

All (EFA) becomes the responsibility for all.

Moreover, the objectives of the Universal Basic Education (UBE)

stated in the implementation guidelines are as follows:

(i) To develop in the entire citizenry a strong commitment to its vigorous

promotion;

(ii) Provide free, compulsory universal basic education for all the Nigeria

child of school going age;

(iii) To reduce drastically drop-out rate from the formal school system

through improved relevance and efficiency;

(iv) To cater for drop-out and out-of-school children or adolescents through

various forms of complementary approaches to the provisions and promotion

of basic education;

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(v) To ensure the acquisition of the appropriate levels of literacy, numeracy

manipulative and life skills as well as the ethical, moral and civics) needed

for laying the foundation for life-long learning .(UBE, 2000).

However, it is important to note that some of the problems that led to

the failure of Universal Primary Education (UPE) which was launched in

1976 still manifest in the implementation of Universal Basic Education

Programme among which are: poor infrastructure, inadequate supervision and

monitoring, shortage of teachers, inadequate funding among others.

Statement of the Problem

Nigeria’s educational system has witnessed a catalogue of changes in

educational policies and programmes. Some of the changes have appeared to

a number of people desirable while others have not been able to meet the

desired target. Many of the changes in educational policies in Nigeria have

been a product of inadequate planning. There is therefore, a high level of

uncertainty which is bedeviling the implementation of these programmes in

Nigeria schools. This situation call for much concern as the young ones is the

future leaders of this country. This study aims at carrying out a research on

the evaluation of performance level and factors militating against the

effective implementation of the universal basic Education (UBE) scheme in

local communities of Delta North senatorial district. It therefore, sought to

answer this question.

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To what extent has the objectives of the universal basic education been

achieved in Delta North senatorial district?

Research Questions

The following are the research questions raised for the study.

1. Is there a relationship between the ratios of teachers to pupil and

performance level of the UBE scheme?

2. Is there any difference on the performance level of the UBE scheme in

urban and rural communities of Delta North senatorial district?

3. Is there any difference on the factors militating against the effective

implementation of the UBE scheme in urban and rural communities of Delta

north senatorial districts?

Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were hypothesized for the study.

1. There is no significant relationship between the ratios of teachers to pupils

and the performance level of the universal basic education scheme.

2. There is no significant difference on the performance level of the universal

basic education scheme in urban and rural communities of Delta north

senatorial district.

3. There is no significant difference on the factors militating against the

effective implementation of the universal basic education scheme in urban

and rural communities of Delta north senatorial districts.

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Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which the

objectives of the universal basic education have been actualized in local

communities of Delta North senatorial district. Summarily, they are outlined

as follows.

1. To find out the relationship between the ratios of teachers to pupils

and performance level of the universal basic education scheme.

2. To find out if there is difference on the performance level of universal

basic education scheme in urban and rural communities of delta North

senatorial district.

3. To find out if there is difference on the factors militating against

effective implementation of the universal basic education scheme in

rural and urban communities of delta North senatorial district.

Significance of the Study

This study will be of great importance because it will examine the

performance level and identify the challenges associated with the

implementation of Universal Basic Education in primary schools. The study

will also provide valuable strategies of curbing these problems while

contributing to the pool of knowledge and literatures on the implementation

of the universal basic education scheme.

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Scope and delimitation of the Study

The major focus of this study is the evaluation of performance level of

the UBE scheme and the identification of factors militating against the

effective implementation of the scheme. The study therefore is delimited to

selected primary schools in local communities of Delta north senatorial

district of Delta state.

Definition of Terms

The following are defined as the operational definition of terms to be

used throughout the study.

Universal Basic Education (UBE): A 9 year educational programme

starting from primary to junior secondary level in Nigeria.

Universal Primary Education (UPE): An educational programme made

compulsory by the Federal Government for all children in the states of the

federation in 1976.

Urban Area; a geographical area constituting a city or town.

Rural Area; is a geographic area that is located outside cities and towns

Performance Level; this is the extent to which the stated objectives of the

UBE implementation guidelines have been attained/achieved in Delta North

senatorial district.

Primary Education: The lowest level of formal education.

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

This section discusses the theoretical framework and a review of the major

literatures in universal basic education as follows;

Conceptual and Theoretical Frame Work of the Study.

Public Policy Implementation; A Conceptual Model

Management of Universal Primary Education; an Overview

The Need for the Universal Basic Education Scheme

Universal Basic Education

The teacher and the Implementation of Universal Basic Education

(UBE)

Location as a Factor in UBE Implementation

Challenges to Effective Implementation of Universal Basic Education

Factors That May Enhance Performance in UBE

Appraisal of Review

Conceptual and Theoretical Frame Work of the Study.

A framework has been defined as a real or conceptual structure

intended to serve as a support or guide for the building of something that

expands the structure into something useful. This section therefore, will deal

with various theories and concepts on which the effective implementation of

the UBE scheme is built upon. It will also discuss the theoretical basis on

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which the factors militating against the effective implementation of the Ube

scheme will lead to poor performance in Delta North senatorial district.

Adepoju and Fabiyi according to Obiunu, (2011) adopted a system

theory for analyzing the mechanism of the educational system. In their

opinion, every organization has an input and output process. The quality of

the input determines the nature of the outcome. The system theory states that

there are different parts in any organization playing different functions. These

different parts interact with each other and are independent on each other.

They see the educational system as functioning according to the system

theory. There are 3 basic processes in the system theory. These are the input,

conversion and output. The input is what comes in from the outside; the

conversion is the processes of internalization while the output is the effect of

the input and the conversion process on the system. The output is observable

from the relationship between the system and the environment in which the

system exists.

For the present study which is evaluating the performance level and the

factors militating against the effective implementation of the UBE scheme

therefore, the input will be the level of teacher quality and infrastructure

available for effective implementation of the UBE scheme. This teacher’s

experiences are influenced by a number of factors. These factors include

teacher’s disposition towards their role as teachers and facilitators in the

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UBE, availability of infrastructural and instructional materials, qualification,

prompt payment of salaries, level of community awareness and participation

in the educational process, etc. These have the capacity of influencing and

determining the nature of the input in within the system. The conversion is

the interaction of the teachers with the UBE program. The level of teacher’s

participation in and implementation of the objectives of the UBE which is a

determinant of the input; the conversion process also involves the interaction

of the teacher with the pupils the recipients and beneficiaries of the UBE

scheme. The teacher’s interaction with the UBE program and the teacher’s

interaction with the pupil in the learning situation will determine output. The

output for the present study will be the visible level of UBE implementation

in the local communities of Delta North senatorial district which may have

been hampered by the poor input (Challenges to Effective Implementation).

This output however, will be determined by the general interaction that will

occur between the input and conversion process. Based on this therefore, this

study will be hinged on the systems theory. Nwankwo (1984) Zelvys (2004)

describe a system as series of interrelated and interdependent parts such that

the interaction of any part affects the whole system.

Public Policy Implementation; a Conceptual Model

Public policy can be simply seen as the tangible manifestation of the

output of government. Public policy has been defined as “whatever

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governments choose to do or not to do” (Dye, 1972). Anderson (1975) states

that public policy is what government actually do, not what they intend to do

or say they are going to do. The term public policy, according to Naidu

(2005), refers to policies made and implemented by government with a view

to achieve certain goals; public policies are thus concerned with

government’s behaviour. In the same vein, Cochran and Malone (1999)

define public policy as the study of government decisions and actions

designed to deal with a matter of public concern. Public policy therefore

refers to the course of action selected and pursued by government with a view

to accomplishing specified objective(s).

A policy is different from a programme. While a policy is a statement

of action and intentions, a programme is the means designed to achieve the

action and intentions. A programme is the set of strategies or activities meant

to attain the intended objectives of particular policy. Policy implementation,

according to Henry (2006), “is the execution and delivery of public policies

by organizations or arrangements among organizations”. Pressman and

Wildasky (1979) see it as the process of translating policy mandates into

actions; prescriptions into results; and goals into reality. In the words of van

Horn and van meter “implementation focuses on the processes and activities

involved in the application, effectuation and administering of a policy”. In

specific terms, “it is the actions taken to carry out, accomplish and fulfill the

intents, objectives and expected outcomes of public policies” (Horn and

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Meter, 1975). Disparity between targeted policy/programme objectives and

outputs / achievements is known as implementation gap. The conceptual

model for policy implementation formulated by Horn and Meter (1975)

guides this study. The model identified six variables that are interrelated in

influencing the policy implementation process and to that extent in

determining the success or failure of policies; as these variables provide

actual linkage between policy intentions and performance.

These variables are:-

Policy standards and objectives: If the standards and objectives of a

policy are well stated in clear and measurable terms, implementers

would be able to know what is expected of them and the extent of

discretion open to them. Policies which have acceptable objective

usually elicit positive responses from the implementers as well as the

public. The reverse is the case when the objectives of a policy are not

acceptable to the implementers and populace.

Policy resources: This refers to resources such as fund, facilities,

authority which are essential to the policy implementation process.

Inadequacy of policy resources is often responsible for policy failure

in many developing countries.

Inter-governmental communications and enforcement: This variable is

influential in policy delivery. Well channeled communication

enhances effectiveness and efficiency in policy management as it

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eliminates policy ambiguities. Enforcement helps to achieve

compliance among policy implementers through sanctions, incentives,

moral-suasion, persuasion or direct intimidation if the need arises.

Characteristics of implementing agencies: The nature of

implementing agencies is equally crucial in policy implementation.

The organizational viability, quality of the human resource in these

agencies, their knowledge, power, and understanding of what the

policy is all about would to a large extent affect policy delivery.

Economic, social and political conditions: The economic, social and

political conditions of the society in which a policy is situated could

either alter policy intentions or blur them. As such, policy

environment is an important factor in policy implementation

particularly in developing countries with unstable and uncertain policy

environment.

The disposition of policy implementers: The attitude or behaviour of

implementers could have a negative or positive effect on policy

delivery. If they are negatively disposed to a policy then there will be

a lack of commitment to the implementation of the policy in question.

Management of Universal Primary Education; an Overview

The management of primary education in Nigeria passed through

different stages and different authorities exercised its control from time to

time. Ab initio, the church missionaries who introduced Western or Formal

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Education to Nigeria in 1842 handled the management of primary education

system. After much criticism from different quarters about the crude and lack

of proper coordination of the system by these missionaries, the British

government intervened through establishment of various Education

Ordinances and Codes. It is worth mentioning that the colonial government in

Lagos made intermittent attempts to assist some of the missions in the

management of schools between 1870 and 1876. While a bill was passed as

an ordinance (first of its kind) for the promotion and assistance of education

and it covered the West African territories of Lagos, Gambia, Gold coast and

Sierra Leone. In 1887, there was the enactment of the first purely Nigerian

education ordinance as a result of separation of Lagos from Gold Coast in

which it became the Colony and Protectorate of Lagos. This ordinance was

promulgated to increase the betterment of education administration. In one

word, the British government had no clearly defined policy on education for

its African colonies during this time till 1925.

It was Phelps-Strokes’ report that forced the British Colonial

Government to demonstrate its interest in African education. So, the

principles in which the educational systems of the colonized countries should

be based set out by the 1925 Memorandum on education. As from 1946,

Nigerians were deeply involved in the administration of their educational

system as a result of Arthur Richard’s Constitution, which created Regional

Government - Northern, Eastern, and Western regions. It must be stated that

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during this era, the colonial overlords were still supervising Nigeria’s

educational affair and partly funding it. The missionaries and voluntary

agencies were also with the control of staff recruitment, supervision of staff,

and the funding of their own schools only with grant-in-aid as subvention

from the government. Some years prior Nigeria’s independent, the primary

education started developing at different rates in different parts of Nigeria.

The Universal Primary Education (UPE) was introduced as first of its

kind in January 1955 at the then Western Region followed by Eastern Region

in 1956 and later by Federal Government in September 1976. This

programme indicated the government dynamic policy to favour the education

of the masses on the basis that every Nigeria child has an inalienable right to

a minimum of six years of education if he is to function effectively as a

citizen of Nigeria that is free and democratic, just and egalitarian, united and

self-reliant, with full opportunities (Fafunwa, 1974). After Nigeria has gotten

independence in 1960, there was increased clamour for government take-over

of schools from the missionaries and voluntary agencies, at least, to be able to

reverse the old system and to tailor it to meet the needs of the new nation.

Adesina (1977) reported that it was contended that absolute take-over

of schools would improve their curriculum, teacher quality and centralized

provision of instructional resources, minimize inequalities and provide a

dynamic center of leadership for educational innovation. So, there was

government take-over of schools in 1970. At the end of the Nigerian Civil

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War in 1970, a new dimension in public administration and funding of

education emerged. That was the government take- over of primary and

secondary schools from the voluntary agencies. The trend was started by the

then East Central State in 1971 and by the end of that decade most states of

the federation especially the Southern states had followed suit. This greatly

increased the government burden in education finance. The government was

able to expand its activities in education sector during 1970s due to increased

revenue from oil. With this, the government felt capable of embarking on the

Universal Primary Education (UPE) in 1976. At that time, the government

assumed full financial responsibility of the scheme.

This scheme radically expanded public involvement in education

financing and administration. With the inception of the second republic in

1979, the Federal government withdrew its direct subsidy for primary

education and transferred the responsibility to local governments. This

effectively marked the end of Universal Primary Education (UPE) in most

states of the federation. During this period, most states quickly introduced

fees and levies at all levels of education. The military take-over in 1984

helped make this state of affairs nationwide. The states out of party policy

doggedly struck to UPE albeit in the name of feeling free to introduce fees. In

1986, the Federal Government again abolished tuition fees in primary schools

nationwide. As a result of this, it started making direct grants to local

government for primary education. In 1989, this grant included funds for part

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payment of salaries for primary school teachers. In 1976, the management of

primary was taken over by the Federal Government while the administration

and funding was transferred to the state and Local Governments in 1979. As

a result, different management and funding arrangements were made by

different states during this period. In 1988, the National Primary Education

Commission (NPEC) was established with Decree 31 of Federal Republic of

Nigeria 1988 to manage the affair of primary education. It was later scrapped

by the Federal Government under the provision of Decrees 2 and 3 of 1991,

which vested the full responsibility of the administration of primary

education in the hand of Local Government. With the Decree No. 96 of 25th

August 1993, the National Primary Education Commission was re-

established with State Primary Education Board (SPEB) and Local

Government Education Authority (LGEA) and they were once again in

control of primary education in Nigeria. The Local Government Education

Authority (LGEA) was assigned to day-to-day administration of primary

schools in its area of jurisdiction. While, the State Primary Education Board

(SPEB) was charged with administration of primary schools in the state. The

Local Government Councils appointed Education Secretaries who then report

directly to the SPEBs. These arrangements have roles played by the SPEB’s

and the Local Government Councils (LGC’s).

There are also areas of overlap in the functions of different levels of

management, which need to be addressed. The National Primary Education

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Commission was the overseer to the State Primary Education Board (SPEB)

of all the states of the Federation. But the Federal Government supervised

this commission. From this arrangement, it is obvious that the management of

primary education is no more one government affair; it involves all tiers of

government. According to the provision of this decree, “the National Primary

Education Commission receives the National Primary Education Fund as

established by this decree from the Primary Education Board of each state

and the Federal Capital Government Sponsored Special Primary Education

Projects in accordance with the formula prescribed in this decree as the

Transitional Council, from time-to-time prescribe”. This was the condition of

primary education funding and administration since 1993 to the time when

the newly democratic government came into power in May 29, 1999.

The Need for the Universal Basic Education Scheme

The training of children and adolescents in the norms and aspirations

of the nation is a very veritable instrument for national integration and

development. It was expected that educational reforms or re-organization

would be carried out to enable Nigeria’s education cater for the future

professional needs (Ayeni, 2000). The restructuring is important, if we are to

expect optimal result from our envisaged objectives of education. The

Federal Government’s involvement in the organization of UBE scheme was

therefore necessary if the integration of the nationals was to be achieved. The

scheme was also desirable to enable the Federal Government ensure that

19

children are taught the culture of the society. The desire to inculcate in

children the knowledge of literacy, numeracy and the ability to communicate

made the UBE scheme worthwhile. Apart from the above, there is the need to

lay a sound foundation for scientific and reflective thinking, character and

moral training and the development of sound attitude, and above all, develop

in the child the ability to adapt to his changing environment (Federal

Government of Nigeria, 1981). If we reflect on our earlier definition of

education as an instrument for conserving, transmitting and renewing culture,

it will clearly become obvious that the school system occupies a very

important position if the objectives for the primary and secondary education

as stated by the Federal Government will be realized. This therefore,

necessitated the launching of the Universal Basic Education Scheme in

November, (1999).

Universal Basic Education

The National Policy on Education made recommendations for a system

of education that segmented the system into 6 years of primary education.

The six years of primary education are part of the 6-3-3-4 educational system.

The system was designed to allow an exit point after nine years of schooling

to continue careers through apprenticeships or other vocational training

programmes. The objectives for primary education as earlier stated puts

emphasis on a balance between physical and intellectual development. The

primary school certificate examination has been abolished in preference for

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continuous assessment. The completion rates are generally very low. The

recorded average completion rates are 62% for girls and 59% for boys. The

average completion rate at the end of primary education as a percentage of

enrollments in grade 1 are on average reported to be 55%, with a transition

rate of 50.3% to secondary school (Toboho, 2000). Under the present

arrangement however, the universal basic education bridges this gap of

transmission from primary to secondary education since the six years primary

education and the three years of Juniour secondary schooling has been

merged.

The teacher and the Implementation of Universal Basic Education (UBE)

The importance of teachers in any educational programme cannot be

over stressed, especially in the implementation of the Universal Basic

Education programme. The success or failure of it will depend upon the

teachers because of the nature of the programme. The number and quality

must be meticulously planned to ensure adequacy of the teachers

quantitatively and qualitatively. Aghenta (2000) further stressed that as a

result of the comprehensive UBE programme the usual one teacher for a

class/arm will not be enough. Adamaechi and Romaine (2000) are of the

view that the short supply of teachers led to the employment of “market

women” half balked individuals. This view reinforced by Ezeocha (2009) as

reported in the work of Odo (2010) noted that the crash programmes of the

UPE attracted the wrong caliber of people into the teaching profession,

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people who neither had the makeup nor commitment to do the job.

Nevertheless, in spite of such crash programmes and subsequent recruitment

of mediocre sub-standard teachers, teachers were still grossly inadequate.

Dareng and Attah (2000) quoting (Lassa, 1996) said teachers are nation

builders and as such their training will equip them for laying a solid

educational foundation right from the primary level.

Without professionally trained and competent teachers, any education

programme for which the teacher is meant to serve, fumbles. The teacher is

the bedrock/cornerstone of any educational programme and hence, an anchor

that translates the policy statements into actions. The UBE is still in its

teething and crawling stage because of paucity of qualified teachers. To

tackle the problem, the government using NTI, introduced the Pivotal

Teachers’ Training Programme (PTTP) which is equivalent to the crash

programme that led to the collapse of UPE in 1976. The entry qualification

for the aspirant teacher is three passes at GCE/O’level or senior secondary

certificate. This waters down the programme and it is already a threat to

standard and quality assurance in education. Abraham and Obasi (2004)

pointed out that, the mistake of the UPE is being repeated with the

introduction of PTTP, that the PTTP never needed to be introduced and that

its products will finally kill and bury education in Nigeria. Bisong (1992)

remarked that, the business of education demands professionally trained

teachers and that should hold for all levels. Nakpodia (2011) pointed out

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certain factors for teachers in implementing the universal basic education

which includes;

1. Lack of Recruitment and Training of New Teachers: The

successful implementation of the universal basic education in Delta

State at the primary school level will require the recruitment of

additional 7,109 teachers to the existing 10,520. The former figure of

7,109 was obtained based on projected figure of 40 pupils to classroom

tied to the 284,332 expected enrolments. The figure of seven thousand,

one hundred and nine teachers is quite an enormous one to locate at a

stretch. Hence, the present effort of massive training of the would-be

teachers through the National Teachers Institute specially designed for

this scheme appears to be a viable means of addressing this problem.

To actualize this dream, Akhaine (2001) reported that the federal

government has mandated the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) to

produce 30,000 teachers yearly for the scheme of which Delta State

will be a benefactor. Caution should however be exercised as to the

quality of the teachers being selected to participate in the programme.

This advice is intended to avert incompetence in service delivery.

Writing in support of this view, Harbison (1973) opined that those

working in occupation which does not ‘fit’ their qualification are ‘mal-

employed’, and therefore show incompetence at work. In another vein,

the organizers of the programme should ensure that only competent

23

hands are recruited to teach the would-be teachers. This is intended to

alley the fear expressed by Chapman (1994) that poorly prepared

teachers find it difficult to face the challenges of the classroom content,

maintain classroom discipline and manages flow of class activities.

2.  Retraining of Existing Teachers: The new scheme will entail

retraining of existing teachers to acquaint them or create awareness at a

general level and to highlight new additions to the various subject

areas. On the whole, this programme of action can be attained through

frequent seminars, workshops and professional contacts with other

educators. This will reduce teachers’ sense of isolation and build high

professional morale. Throwing more light on this, Beaty and Schneller

(1977), Casio (1978) observed that training and development activities

were planned programmes of organizational improvement undertaken

to bring about a relatively permanent change in an employee’s

knowledge skills, attitude or social behaviour. It is one method of

improving performance and stability at the workplace for teachers

implementation of the UBE scheme.

3. Establishment of New Schools: The present 817 public primary

school spread in 25 local governments in Delta State is considerable

inadequate to cope with the existing number of pupils in the primary

schools. It is in realization of this that the committee set up by the

Delta State Government on school system data collection/collation

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(2000) recommended the establishment of additional 495 primary

schools at the rate of 300 pupils per school. These projected schools, if

established will go a long way in addressing the problems of school

mapping. Currently, the existence primary schools for UBE

implementation in the state are not evenly distributed and the number

of pupils admitted in these schools outweighs the carrying capacities

and services of the teachers in the field of implementation.

Location as a Factor in UBE Implementation

Anyaegbu (2004) opined that rural education is the key to rural

development and an essential building block of national development; that

poverty cannot be eradicated without eliminating illiteracy among the rural

populace and raise their level of knowledge. Abidogun (2006) emphasized

rural areas as having greater challenges concerning educational development

than the urban centers, due to the peculiar socioeconomic and institutional

structures of the rural areas. Some of these challenges according to Anyaegbu

(2003) are:

1. Lack of zeal and interest by teachers due to poor and delayed salaries and

poor condition of work.

2. Frequent strike actions by the teachers.

Based on these, Abidogun (2006) reported that many teachers therefore

reject posting into the rural areas while those that do, treat their presence in

25

such areas as part time assignment. Edho (2009) said that some of the

constraints that affect the success rates of the UBE programme in the rural

communities are teachers’ inadequacy and their unwillingness to be posted to

rural communities. Arubayi (2005) complains also about the walking distance

of pupils to school, that affects their performance and overall success of the

UBE in the state. He added that the distance travelled has some relationship

to school attendance, punctuality and absenteeism to school and that some

schools in the state are located so far from pupils as they travel more than

5km to get to school. Certain factors affect the distribution of teachers in

schools, these include: gender, social status, qualification, area of

specialization, government policy, cultural and religious belief (Edho, 2009).

It is a common practice that married female teachers serve in their husband’s

stations and these affect even distribution of teachers; this factor therefore has

led to the high concentration of UBE implementers in the urban area

compared to the rural areas. Parents also complain of poor quality of

instruction especially in rural schools thus qualitative instruction resulting

into qualitative education can only be achieved through even distribution of

available teachers (Ikoya, 2008).

Challenges to Effective Implementation of Universal Basic Education

Factors that may lead to the failure of the UBE programme in Nigeria

shall be examined within the framework of the conceptual model of

implementation propounded by Horn and Meter (1975): Policy standards and

26

objectives; policy resources; inter-governmental communications and

enforcement, characteristics of implementing agencies; economic, social and

political conditions; and disposition of policy implementers.

Policy Standards and Objectives

A general policy problem in Nigeria is that of inadequate and poor data

which poses planning difficulties and invariably implementation challenges.

Unreliable data makes it difficult to make adequate projections in terms of

expected enrolment, required teachers, infrastructural needs and equipment.

Accurate and reliable data are needed for evidence based planning and

budgeting for basic education. But such data rarely exist. A diagnostic report

(UNESCO institute of statistics, 2005) had pointed out the lack of accurate

school based statistics in Nigeria. Also instructive is the fact that many states

are lagging behind in articulating and submitting their action plans to UBEC.

An action plan, which is one of the conditions that the UBEC requires each

state government to fulfill prior to accessing available UBE intervention

funds (UBE-IF), is a list of projects (infrastructure, instructional materials

and professional development) proposed for implementation to achieve the

objectives of the UBE programme for a given period.

Moreover, it was reported that a major crisis of confidence is brewing

among states over the modalities for implementing the proposed 9-year basic

education by the federal government as it involves the disarticulation of

junior secondary schools from senior secondary schools. No sooner had the

27

disarticulation begun, and then confusion erupted about the philosophy and

context of the policy (The Nation Friday, February 27, 2009).

Policy Resources

Inadequacy of policy resources tends to undermine the successful

implementation of the UBE programme. An official documentary (2009)

entitled Capacity for Universal Basic Education in Nigeria which was

sponsored by the United Kingdom department for international development

and the Federal Government of Nigeria puts the number of unqualified

teachers in the nation’s primary school system at over 50 per cent. This

documentary also revealed overcrowding and shortage of classrooms,

sanitation facilities and teaching equipments as other problems militating

against effective teaching and learning in the schools. Teachers remain a

significant factor in the quality and standard of education at all levels. But the

basic education level in the country is plagued by acute shortage of

professionally qualified teachers.

In addition, many primary and junior secondary schools across the

country lack adequate physical facilities and instructional materials which are

considered essential tools in the teaching and learning process. Infrastructures

in public schools around the country remain in shambles. An investigation

conducted by Ikoya and Onoyase (2008) revealed that inadequate

infrastructure in schools is impeding effective UBE implementation. School

infrastructure and maintenance Review carried out in 2009 by the Education

28

Sector Support programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN) showed that the condition of

the Basic Education Infrastructure Stock in the country is still very poor.

According to this review, the condition of the school infrastructure in the 3

states (Kano, Jigawa and Kaduna) visited is very poor and the impression

gained is that across board approximately 75% of the infrastructure is in very

poor condition (ESSPIN, 2009).

In the UBE guidelines, every primary or junior secondary school in

Nigeria is expected to have one general science laboratory, one ventilated

improved toilet for a maximum of 4 pupils or students per toilet, and, one

teacher to handle only 40 pupils or students in a class (Nigeria, 2000). In

some primary schools, the pupils that constitute a class sit on the bare floor in

a classroom with no single chair or table (Okecha, 2008). Another study

(Omokhodion, 2008) has indicated that shortage of equipment, infrastructure,

textbooks and instructional materials are undermining the successful

implementation of the UBE programme. Without the provision of adequate

textbooks and instructional materials, it will be difficult to implement the

school curriculum.

Inter-governmental Communications and Enforcement

Various government agencies at the three levels of governance in

Nigeria; federal, state and local government are involved in the

implementation of the UBE programme. These include the Universal Basic

Education Commission (UBEC) at the federal level, the State Universal Basic

29

Education Board (SUBEBs) in the 36 states as well as the Federal Capital

Territory, Abuja and the Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs)

in the 774 local government areas of the country. It has been observed that

the many agencies / parastatals involved in the UBE implementation have

brought fragmentation and conflict of roles / responsibilities (Nigeria, 2008).

The large number of government agencies participating in the

implementation of the UBE programme nation-wide is bound to create co-

ordination and communication problems. The UBEC has been rather

ineffective in terms of co-ordination and ensuring compliance of

implementing agencies to UBE guidelines. An example is the refusal of states

to meet conditions that would allow them draw counterpart funds provided by

the federal government for the UBE programme. Many states have not even

accessed the funds up to 2006/2007 matching grant. The UBE intervention

fund is meant for the provision of additional classrooms, teaching and

learning materials as well as the training and retraining of teachers (compass

Wednesday, February 3, 2010).

The Characteristics of Implementing Agencies

Public policy or programme implementation is a function of

government bureaucracies. The effectiveness of policy/programme

implementation is largely determined by the efficiency and competence of

governmental implementing agencies. Nigeria cannot be said to possess the

required executive capacity to effectively implement the UBE programme on

30

a national scale, as there is dearth of high quality personnel in the

implementing agencies especially at the state and local government levels. In

evaluating the UBE, Santcross.,Hinchliffe.,Williams., and Onibon (2009)

reports that the Nigerian education sector suffer from weak capacity at the

institutional, organizational and individual level. They observed that a weak

institutional framework with multiple agencies with overlapping roles and

responsibilities remains unreformed. They further stated that the quality of

individual managers, education officials and teachers is generally agreed to

be poor, with many Un- or under-qualified for their roles with the result that

basic education services are of low quality and learning outcomes

unsatisfactory.

The Economic, Social and Political Conditions

Policy environment is a critical factor in policy implementation. Crude

oil which accounts for over 90% of total exports and yields about 85% of

government’s revenue is unstable in the international market. Dwindling

economic fortune occasioned by the global economic meltdown and poor

management of the economy is likely to worsen the problem of underfunding

of the programme. With children under 15 years of age accounting for about

45% of the country’s population; the burden on education and other sectors

has become overwhelming (Unicef-Nigeria, 2010). Hidden cost of education

is also negatively affecting the achievement of the UBE objectives: hidden

costs refer to the associated costs of sending children to school such as

31

uniforms, textbooks, note books, pencils, biros and even Parent Teacher

Association (PTA) levies. Margaret Ya’u, programme manager for the Civil

Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA- is an

international Non-governmental organization that monitors progress in the

path to the attainment of EFA in 2015) said that despite declarations that the

UBE is meant to be free and compulsory, many children are not in school

because of hidden costs. According to her

“We’ve been going around communities and discovered

that just N50 or even less can prevent a family from sending a

child to school”

(The Nation Thursday, October, 16, 2008).

Given that about 70% of Nigerians are living below the poverty line,

defined as living on less than US $ 1 per day (Human Development Report,

2009) it should not come as a surprise that no matter how little the costs

associated with education may be, there will be parents who cannot afford it,

and such can keep pupils out of school. The compulsory component of the

UBE programme largely depends on the extent to which it is made truly free.

Lack of political will or commitment at all levels of government is also

manifesting in the implementation of the UBE programme. But effective

political leadership, commitment and firm resolve are essential for the

programme to succeed. The UNESCO- EFA Global Monitoring Report

(2009) cites Nigeria as one of the countries struggling with the impact of poor

32

governance on the education sector. Poor governance, according to this

report, is significantly slowing progress towards EFA and undermining the

quality of basic education services. Like in many developing countries,

policies / programmes in Nigeria usually emanate from the political system

rather than from the demands of the citizens (environment) (Egonmwan,

2002). As Eminue (2005) explained, any policy or programme that the

targeted beneficiaries has not participated in its formulation and execution

does not guarantee sustainability. He asserts that since the target groups are

hardly involved at either the policy design or at the implementation stage,

they become more or less on lookers rather than participants in such

programme. He submits that programme sustainability become problematic

with such uncommitted or disinterested targets.

The Disposition of Policy Implementers

The attitude or behavior of policy/programme implementers tends to

affect its performance. Many implementers seem to lack commitment to the

achievement of the goals of the UBE programme. Sam Egwu, the former

minister of Education, identified lack of commitment to educational calling

as one of the factors militating against education in the country (Daily Sun

Tuesday, December 29, 2008). The outcome of non-challant attitude on the

part of implementers is poor implementation and low performance. Teachers

are expected to play pivotal role in the implementation of the UBE

programme, yet sufficient attention is not being paid to their motivation.

33

Several studies (Ajayi, 2007; Omokhodion, 2008; and Edho, 2009) have

shown that teachers in Nigeria are poorly motivated. For instance, enhanced

teacher salary is one aspect of motivation that is being ignored.

Factors That May Enhance Performance in UBE

These factors have been identified as major factors that may enhance

the performance level of the Universal basic education scheme.

Teachers Teaching Experience

Enueme (2002), is in line with UNICEF recommendation that child

friendly school is influenced by the teachers teaching experience. Thus those

with high teaching experience accepted the UNICEF recommen-dation for

child–friendly school; more specifically, she said the acceptance level of

teachers with 26 years of experience and above is highest. Adamaechi and

Romaine (2000) asserted that it is very wrong to isolate planners from those

who will implement the programme and advocate that experienced teachers

be given the opportunity to help in the planning and implementation phase

for the UBE to succeed. Imogie (2000), believe that if UBE makes it

compulsory for teachers to be involved in in-service training, work-shop of

different kinds in related areas and conferences, national and international,

they will update their knowledge and expand their scope of experiences, as

this experience in turn will benefit the students.

Mkpa (2000) also thinks mentoring is very efficient and cost-effective

approach to staff development. The less experience teacher who is attached to

34

the mentor consults the later, on all matters, and is properly guided in her

professional activities. Enoh and Okpede’s (2000) opinion is that teachers

who are in the field are expected to implement the UBE scheme. Also, they

have to be trained for different educational purposes, so that when they are

required to implement this new scheme, they can cope because they lack

experience.

Professionalism

Adebimpe (2001) opined that for the UBE to succeed, adequate

provision should be made to produce sufficient qualified teachers and make

them relevant within the limit of their area of specialization. Coombs (1968)

as cited in Nwagwu (2000) had emphasized the importance of teachers in the

education enterprise. He said that teachers next to students were the largest

and most expensive inputs. They are required in large numbers but there is

also the critical need to have the right quality. For Odo (2000), he opines that

in a bid to meet up with the increased demands for teachers, government may

recruit those much less qualified to teach. At present, some non-professionals

have been specially employed for the purposes of the UBE scheme with the

hope that quick orientation / training will be given to them after which they

will serve as teachers under the scheme. The implication of this is that

teachers will either be overloaded, or they may not be of the right caliber in

terms of training and experience.

35

 Provision of infrastructure and equipment

  Sequel to the establishment of new schools, there will be a need to

adequately equip these schools. The existing number of libraries in the state

primary schools is only 67 with 37 out of these in bad condition. The total

number of benches was given as 44,238 while the number of toilets in usable

condition is only 679. In light with the afore-mentioned data, it is imperative

that something urgent should be done to redress the insufficient number these

facilities.

 Monitoring and Evaluation

  The human and material resources outlay involved in the universal

basic education scheme calls for an effective monitoring and evaluation of

the programme to ensure regular appraisal of the scheme. This will help to

identify the progress made, areas of deficiency and what needs to be done.

Ojedele (1998) had noted that the implementation had been a serious

handicap to most genuine effort aimed at developing the educational system

in Nigeria. He therefore upheld that:

 “If the Nigerian educational system is to develop and compare favourably

with the advanced countries of the world, there is need to monitor and

evaluate each stage of the implementation process so as to ensure that

projects are being implemented”

36

 Increased Enrolment Strategies

  The projected figure for the universal basic education scheme in the

state is moderately high and therefore calls for sustainable strategy in

ensuring a successful enrolment in the scheme. The entire exercise should not

be abandoned at the well-wish level but some defined strategies as a viable

publicity committee made up of churches, parent-teachers association,

community development associations, village counsels and so on should be

put in place to assist in creating awareness about the programme and its

attendant benefit.

 Insurance of School Properties

  The cost of rehabilitating existing school facilities, erecting new ones

and providing necessary equipment is quite enormous and therefore, calls for

an excellent school insurance programme. Commenting in support of this,

Jordan (1969 maintained that a time has come when the school insurance

programme should: “Instead of being viewed as hedge against losses as a

result of fire and other disaster, the insurance programme provides local

school authorities with the opportunity to determine the values of school

property, provide a plan through which the properties could be replaced or

restored in case of loss and also develop an orderly systematic plan for proper

care of the properties while they are used by the school”. The overriding

importance of the school insurance programme apparently is a suggested new

dimension in school facilities management intended to achieve Jordan’s

37

position, and hence save government huge losses incurred as a result of

improper facilities management.

Appraisal of Review

This review started by a direct construction of the conceptual and

theoretical frame work for the study which was based on the systems theory.

It further discussed the conceptual model of public policy implementation as

proposed by Horns and Meters, (1975). The review in a bid to trace the origin

of the universal basic education looked at the universal primary education

and identified why it was necessary to embark on the universal basic

education. The role of the teacher in the successful implementation of the

UBE scheme was also discussed and identified major factors as it relates to

teachers in the implementation of the scheme. The review concluded with the

identification of major challenges to successful implementation and

suggested what should be done to enhance good performance of the scheme

as well.

38

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

This chapter is discussed under the following sub headings

Design of the Study

Population of the Study

Sample and Sampling Techniques

Instrument for Data Collection

Validity of the Instrument

Administration of Instrument

Method of Data Analysis

Design of the Study

The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. Survey

research is a method of collecting information by asking questions,

Sometimes interviews are done face-to-face with people at home, in school,

or at work. Other times questions are sent in the mail for people to answer

and mail back. Increasingly, surveys are conducted by telephone. However,

the present study employed the face to face contact with the respondents

employing the use of questionnaire.

Population of the Study

The population of the study includes all primary school teachers in the

primary schools under the services of the State Universal Basic Education

Board (SUBEB) in North senatorial district of Delta state. This number is

39

summed up to be 6,037 teachers as provided by the state ministry of

Secondary and basic Education (www.deltastate.gov.ng).

Sample and Sampling Techniques

The study employed the simple random sampling technique. Thus a

total number of 200 participating teachers were selected randomly by visiting

two primary schoosl in each of the LGAs in the district (One each in

Urban/Rural area). In order to determine participants, the selection process

was done by balloting through the help of the head teachers so as to give all

the teachers equal chances of participating in the research.

Instrument for Data Collection

To guide this research, an instrument labeled UBE implementation

Factors and Performance questionnaire. (UIFPQ) was developed. This was

used to elicit information from the subjects of the study. The questionnaire is

made up of four sections; the first section is the demographic variables which

consist of items such as name of school, location, gender, qualification and

level of experience. The second section contained 10 items and considered

factors that dealt with challenges of UBE implementation and the evaluation

UBE performance in schools. The third section is a four point item that

evaluated the pupil to teacher ratio while the fourth part of the questionnaire

is a six open ended question meant for head teachers’ only and evaluated

infrastructural development and teacher quality in the schools. Respondents

were free to agree or disagree with all of the statements on a continuum

40

ranging scale of Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree.

Except for the open ended questions, their responses were coded in this order.

SA=4; A=3; D=2 SD=1

Validity of the Instrument

In the development of the research instrument, past research

questionnaires were analyzed, and ideas retrieved from them aided the

development of the instrument. To ascertain the validity of the instrument

however, the instrument was given to two lecturers in the department of

Nursery and Primary Education at the Delta State University Abraka who

made corrections before submission to the research supervisor for final

validation. At the end of this, all corrections noted was made and the final

instrument was developed.

Reliability of Instrument

In research, reliability determines the degree of consistency to which

an instrument measures what it is expected to measure. To determine the

reliability of the instrument therefore, the split half method was employed. A

sample of 20 teachers under the services of the state Universal Basic

education Board in Ethiope east local government area was used for a pilot

study. At the end of the sampling process, their responses were collated and

divided into two halves from which the Pearson product moment correlation

was used to determine the instruments reliability yielding a coefficient of

0.78.

41

Administration of Instrument

A total of 200 questionnaires were administered personally by the

researcher. The content of the questionnaire was explained to respondents.

Completed questionnaire was collected on the spot and their responses

compiled and analyzed. The field work was done within an interval of two

weeks. Two hundred questionnaire was administered to two hundred teachers

in 18 primary schools of Delta north senatorial district of which nine each

came from urban and rural areas respectively. At the end of the field work, all

of the questionnaires were retrieved thus there was a 100% rate of return.

Method of Data Analysis

The responses of the respondents were analyzed using frequency

counts. After which, the responses was coded and entered into a computer

statistical software (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) SPSS version

17. In answering the research questions, the total mean score of the

respondents for individual items was used while the regression analysis was

used to test hypothesis one and the t-test analysis was used to test hypotheses

two and three respectively at a significance level of 0.05. In the analysis of

the research questions, mean scores that fell below 2 for any of the items was

rejected, however, mean scores that fell between 2-2.49 was regarded as

weak for that item. Thus the benchmark for an acceptance of any postulation

made by any of the item is 2.5.

42

These tests were chosen because regression analysis is used to

establish the direct relationship that exists between two variables while the t-

test establishes the differences between means of two independent samples.

The formula for the analysis is shown below.

ȓ = ∑XY- (∑X)(∑Y) n

∑X2 - (∑X)2 n

Where:

X= UBE Performance

Y= Teacher Pupil ratio

n= Number of participants

t = ∑d

n(∑d 2 )-∑d) n-1

Where:

d= Mean Differences

n= Total number of Participants.

43

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION OF RESULTS; DATA ANALYSIS AND

DISCUSSION

The data presented below represents the interpretations of the

responses of the research participants.

Presentation of Result

Answer to Research Questions

Research Question One: Is there any relationship between the ratios of teachers to pupils and performance level of the UBE scheme?This research question was answered by items 11-14 of the research

instrument as shown in the table below.

Table 1: Evaluation of Teacher to Pupil Ratio and UBE PerformanceS/N Items on Teacher Pupil Ratio SA A D SD Mean Decision11 The ratios of teacher to students is above

the 1:40 as approved by UBE guidelines48 76 65 11 2.805 Accept

12 I don’t have enough time to monitor all of my Pupils activities in school

38 83 34 45 2.57 Accept

13 I have specific measures for monitoring and following up school children who do not come to school.

44 12 65 79 2.11 Weak

14 The number of our Pupils outweighs the strength of available teachers

54 61 34 51 2.59 Accept

The table above shows the mean scores of the respondents on items that

tested the teacher to pupil ration and its influence on UBE performance. The

data in items 11, 12 and 14 shows that the mean scores attained are 2.805;

2.57 and 2.59 respectively and this led to an acceptance of the postulations

made by these items which indicated that the teacher to pupil ratio is above

the recommended 1:40 approved by the UBE implementation guidelines and

the teachers inability to monitor all of their pupils activities in school as well

as giving credence to the fact that the number of pupils outweighs the

44

strength of available teachers. These factors also show themselves to an

extent strong arising from the mean score attained in item 13 which is an

indication of weak UBE performance.

Research Question Two: Is there any differences on the performance level

of the UBE scheme in Urban and Rural communities of Delta North

Senatorial District?

This research question was answered by items 1-7 of the research

instrument as shown in table 6 below.

Table2: Level of UBE Implementation and PerformanceS/N Items on UBE

PerformanceURBAN AREAS

N=100RURALAREASN=100

SA A D SD Mean SA A D SD Mean

1 I have seen and read the Guidelines for UBE implementation

22 11 44 23 1.8 16 12 60 12 2.32

2 I follow all the guidelines for the implementation of UBE

11 0 67 22 2 14 8 0 78 1.8

3 My school makes provision for skill acquisition as stated in the UBE implementation guidelines

4 6 66 24 1.9 0 0 48 52 1.48

4 I teach moral instruction as part of the UBE curriculum

76 24 0 0 3.76 38 62 0 0 3.38

5 Reading, writing and communication is a core aspect of implementation of UBE in My school.

44 66 0 0 3.74 54 46 0 0 3.54

6 I teach citizen and civic education as a core part of my implementation of UBE.

100 0 0 0 4 88 12 0 0 3.88

7 I teach environmental Education as part of Implementation of UBE.

0 0 67 33 1.67 0 0 48 52 1.48

45

From the table presented above, the comparism of UBE performance in urban

and rural areas shows that the mean scores attained by rural teachers is lesser

than those attained by the urban teachers in all of the items except for item 1

which sought to know if teachers have seen and read the implementation

guidelines for UBE. In all of these items however, both areas seemed to

implement UBE but at a very low extent as two of the core areas of the

implementation which includes the acquisition of skills and the teaching of

environmental education have been seriously ignored based on the scores of

1.9:1.48 for skill acquisition and 1.67:1.48 for environmental education

respectively. These claims however is given credence by the postulations

made in item 2 which indicated that there is a weak acceptance of a

followership of all the implementation guidelines in urban areas against the

rejection of such claims in rural areas as shown by a score of 2:1.8

respectively.

Research Question Three: Is there any difference on the factors militating

against the effective implementation of the UBE scheme in urban and rural

communities of Delta north senatorial districts?

This research question was answered by items 8-10 of the research

instrument as shown by table 3 below.

Table 3: Challenges of UBE Implementation in Delta North Senatorial DistrictS/N Items on UBE

Challenges

URBAN AREAS N=100

RURALAREASN=100

SA A D SD Mean

SA A D SD

Mean

8 The quality of infrastructure has hindered my effective implementation of UBE

60 22 15 3 3.39 68 22 0 10 3.48

9 Funds released for UBE implementation do not get to the grassroots so it

48 13 18 21 2.88 47 23 13

17 3

46

makes the teachers incapacitated

10 Location of my school is a factor to implementation of UBE

44 28 6 22 2.94 69 31 0 0 3.69

The data presented in table 3 above shows that the mean scores of items 8, 9

and 10 of the research instrument indicates an acceptance of the postulations

made as to the challenges of UBE implementation in Delta North senatorial

district. However, the mean scores of the challenges show that these

challenges are higher in the rural communities of Delta North senatorial

district as shown above. The implications to these observations therefore, is

that the main challenges facing the effective implementation of UBE in the

district includes the unavailability of quality infrastructure, lack of fund and

the poor nature of the school location and these burdens are felt more by

schools in the rural communities of Delta North senatorial district.

Test of Hypotheses

Hypothesis one: There is no significant relationship between the ratio of

teacher to pupil ratio and the Performance level of UBE scheme in delta north

senatorial district.

This research hypothesis was tested by the regression analysis of

teacher to pupil ratio and UBE performance as shown in the tables presented

below.

Table 4a: Regression Model Summaryb for Teacher to Pupil ratio and UBE performance

47

Model R R square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

1 0.166a 0.27 0.022 3.91161Tables 4b and 4c above showed that the calculated F and t of 5.578 and 2.32

is greater than the tabulated F and t of 2.86 and 1.973 respectively leading to

a rejection of the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship

between teacher to pupil ratio and UBE performance.

Research Hypothesis Two: There is no significant difference in the level of UBE

implementation in urban and rural communities of Delta North senatorial district.

Variable N Mean t-cal. t-crit. DF P-value Decision

Urban 100 19.2 2.674 1.973 198 0.05 Reject Null

Table 4b: ANOVAb Summary of relationships between Teacher to Pupil ratio and UBE

performance

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 85.345 1 85.345 5.578 .019a

Residual 3029.535 198 15.301

Total 3114.880 199

a. Predictors: (Constant), TEACHER PUPILRATIO

a. Dependent Variable: UBEPERFORMANCE

b. F-crit. =2.86.

Table 4C: Coefficients of relationship between Teacher to Pupil ratio and UBE performance

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig.B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 16.188 .952 16.997 .000

TEACHERPUPILRATIO .227 .096 .166 2.362 .019

a. Dependent Variable: UBEPERFORMANCE

b. t-crit. = 1.973

48

HypothesisRural 100 17.56

Table 5: Test of Significance difference on the level of UBE implementation in Delta North Senatorial District

The table above shows that the t-calculated of 2.674 is greater than the t-

critical value of 1.973 which implies that there is a significant difference on

the level of UBE implementation in Delta North senatorial district thus the

Null hypothesis is rejected.

Research Hypothesis Three; There is no significant difference on the

challenges militating against UBE implementation in Delta North senatorial

district.

Table 6: Test of Significance difference on the challenges facing UBE implementation in Delta North Senatorial District

Variable N Mean t-cal t-crit.

Df P-value Decision

Urban 100 8.5 -0.535

1.973 198 0.05 Accept Null Hypothesis

Rural 100 8.7

The table above shows that the t-calculated of -0.535 is lesser than the t-

critical of 1.973 thus the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference

on the challenges facing UBE implementation in the district is accepted.

Discussion of Findings

This study focused on an assessment of performance level and factors

militating against effective implementation of the UBE scheme in local

communities of Delta North senatorial district. The study raised three

49

research questions and three hypotheses. The study therefore made its

generalizations based on the responses made by the subjects of the study.

A test of the hypothesis one by the regression analysis as shown in

tables 4a; 4b and 4c shows that there is a strong significant relationship

between the teacher to pupil ratio and the performance of UBE scheme in the

North senatorial district of Delta state. The analysis of variance and t-test

shows that this relationship between the predictor which is the Teacher to

Pupil ratio and the dependent variable which is the UBE performance is

highly significant statistically. This observation is in consonance with the

opinions of Dareng and Attah, (2000) who opined that the number and

quality of teachers for UBE implementation must be meticulously planned to

ensure adequacy of the teachers quantitatively and qualitatively. These claims

is further supported by Aghenta (2000) who stressed that as a result of the

comprehensive UBE programme the usual one teacher for a class/arm will

not be enough, thus Adamaechi and Romaine (2000) are of the view that the

short supply of teachers have led to the employment of “market women” half

balked individuals for UBE implementation.

The second research question evaluated the level of UBE

implementation in the delta north senatorial district. The data presented in

table 6 shows that the comparism of UBE performance in urban and rural

areas shows mean scores attained by rural teachers is lesser than those

attained by the urban teachers in all of the items except for item 1 which

50

sought to know if teachers have seen and read the implementation guidelines

for UBE. In all of these items however, both areas seemed to implement UBE

but at a very low extent as two of the core areas of the implementation which

includes the acquisition of skills and the teaching of environmental education

have been seriously ignored based on the scores of 1.9:1.48 for skill

acquisition and 1.67:1.48 for environmental education respectively. These

claims however is given credence by the postulations made in item 2 which

indicated that there is a weak acceptance of followership of all the

implementation guidelines in urban areas against the rejection of such claims

in rural areas as shown by a score of 2:1.8 respectively. In the same vein, a

test of the significance difference of UBE implementation in rural and urban

areas of the district shows that there is a significant difference in the level of

UBE implementation in rural and urban communities of Delta north

senatorial district. These findings are in agreement with Abidogun (2006)

who emphasized that rural areas have greater challenges concerning

educational development than the urban centers, due to the peculiar

socioeconomic and institutional structures of the rural areas. Some of these

challenges according to Anyaegbu (2003) include lack of zeal and interest by

teachers due to poor and delayed salaries and poor condition of work and

frequent strike actions by the teachers. Abidogun (2006) also reported that

based on these factors, many teachers reject posting into the rural areas while

those that do, treat their presence in such areas as part time assignment. Edho

51

(2009) in support of these views also said that some of the constraints that

affect the success rates of the UBE programme in the rural communities are

teachers’ inadequacy and their unwillingness to be posted to rural

communities. It is important to note here that the observations made in this

study also supports the earlier claims made in the conceptual model of the

study which was based on the public policy implementation as proposed by

Horns and Meter, (1975) which stated inter alia that the success of any policy

implementation lies in the hands of the implementing agencies. According to

this document, the nature of implementing agencies is very crucial in policy

implementation (UBE scheme) and this is determined by the organizational

viability, quality of the human resource in these agencies, their knowledge,

power, and understanding of what the policy is all about.

The third research question investigated the differences that exist in the

challenges faced by rural and urban communities in the implementation of

the UBE scheme. The data presented in table 3 above shows that the mean

scores of items 8, 9 and 10 of the research instrument indicates an acceptance

of the postulations made as to the challenges of UBE implementation in Delta

North senatorial district. However, the mean scores of the challenges show

that these challenges are higher in the rural communities of Delta North

senatorial district. A test of significant difference however showed that there

is no significant difference in the challenges faced by rural and urban schools

of the district. The implications to these observations therefore, is that the

52

main challenges facing the effective implementation of UBE in the district

includes the unavailability of quality infrastructure, lack of fund and the poor

nature of the school location and these burdens are felt almost at the same

level by rural and urban communities. This is supported by the study of Ikoya

and Onoyase, (2008) who revealed that inadequate infrastructure in schools is

impeding effective implementation of UBE.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary of the Study

This study evaluated the performance level and factors militating against

the effective implementation of the UBE scheme in local communities’ of

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Delta North Senatorial District. The study stated as its research objectives an

identification of the relationship between the ratios of teachers to pupils and

performance level of the universal basic education scheme; finding out if

there is difference on the performance level of universal basic education

scheme in urban and rural communities of Delta North Senatorial District and

the differences that exists on the factors militating against effective

implementation of the universal basic education scheme in rural and urban

communities of Delta North Senatorial District. The study in a bid to do

justice to the subject matter, established the systems theory as its theoretical

back up and the Public policy implementation model as a conceptual model.

The systems theory identified the school to exist as a collection of inputs and

output system of which any alteration in the input also leads to an alteration

of the output. Various literatures on factors that may promote or mitigate the

effective implementation of the scheme were reviewed extensively.

The study however, adopted the survey research method and sampled the

opinions of 200 teachers selected from a total population of 6,037 primary

school teachers in the district from 16 primary schools of which 8 were

drawn from the urban and rural areas respectively. The instrument used for

the study was a self developed questionnaire titled UBE implementation

factors and performance questionnaire (UIFPQ). Based on the data generated

from the field work, the following can be summarized as the major findings

and the contribution to knowledge by the study.

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1. There is a significant relationship between the ratio of teachers to

pupils and the performance level of UBE scheme in Delta North

Senatorial District.

2. There is a significant difference (P<0.05) on the level of UBE

performance in rural and urban communities of Delta North senatorial

district and that UBE performance is higher in urban areas of the

district

3. There is no significant difference (P>0.05) in the challenges faced by

rural and urban areas in the implementation of UBE scheme in Delta

North Senatorial District.

4. Core areas emphasized by the UBE implementation guidelines have

been seriously ignored in the Delta North Senatorial District. These

core areas include the skill acquisition and environmental education.

Conclusion

Based on the observations made above, this study wishes to conclude

that the success of the UBE implementation lies in the hands of teachers in

addition to quality infrastructure made available to them.

Recommendations

At the end of this study, the following are the recommendations.

1. There should be a serious recruitment of quality teachers for UBE

implementation so as to make up for the short fall of teachers observed

by this study.

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2. There should be an improved level of infrastructural development

targeted at UBE implementation in primary schools.

3. The monitoring unit at all levels of UBE implementation should

improve on their activities so as to ensure that funds released get to the

grass roots.

4. There should be an improvement of remuneration policies for teachers

so as to attract prospective and qualified teachers to the field for UBE

implementation.

Suggestion for Further Studies

At the end of these study and based on the recommendation made

above the following are suggested as a follow up for this study.

1. This study only focused on the North Senatorial District of Delta state.

Therefore, it is recommended that same study, same method and same

instrument should be adopted for same study in the central and south

senatorial districts of Delta state so as to give us an idea of the overall

performance of the scheme in Delta state.

2. An investigation into the amount of funds released for UBE

implementation in Delta state should be carried out.

3. An evaluation of the level of monitoring activities by the State

Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) on UBE implementation

should be carried out.

56

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APPENDIX I

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

UBE IMPLEMENTATION FACTORS AND PERFORMANCE QUESTIONNAIRE. (UIFPQ)

Please fill were appropriate and tick where necessary, be rest assured that your responses will be used for research purposes only.Section A: Demographic VariablesName of School: _______________________________Location of School: Urban: ( ) Rural ( )Gender: Male ( ) Female ( )

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Level of Experience: 1-5 Years ( ) 6-10 Years ( ) above 10 years ( )Qualification: SSCE ( ) NCE ( ) OND ( ) B.Ed. ( ) M.Ed. ( ) HND/B.Sc+PGDE ( ) HND/B.Sc. ( ) Section B: Test VariablesPlease indicate the extent to which you agree to the following statements. Your responses will be graded in the following scale of Strongly Agreed (SA) = 4, Agreed (A) = 3, Disagreed (D) = 2 and Strongly Disagreed (SD) = 1

Section B UBE Performance, Implementation and ChallengesS/N Question SA A D SD

1 I have seen and read the Guidelines for UBE implementation

2 I follow all the guidelines for the implementation of UBE3 My school makes provision for skill acquisition as stated in

the UBE implementation guidelines4 I teach moral instruction as part of the UBE curriculum5 Reading, writing and communication is a core aspect of

implantation of UBE in My school.6 I teach citizen and civic education as a core part of my

implementation of UBE.7 I teach environmental Education as part of Implementation

of UBE.8 The quality of infrastructure has hindered my effective

implementation of UBE9 Funds released for UBE implementation do not get to the

grassroots so it makes the teachers incapacitated10 Location of my school is a factor to implementation of

UBE

Section C Evaluation of Teacher to Pupil Ratio and UBE PerformanceS/N Question SA A D SD11 The ratios of teacher to students is above the 1:40 as

approved by UBE guidelines12 I don’t have enough time to monitor all of my Pupils

activities in school13 I have specific measures for monitoring and following up

school children who do not come to school.14 The number of our Pupils outweighs the strength of

available teachers

For Head Teachers Only.

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Section D Infrastructural EvaluationS/N Question Response15 How many Teachers Do you Have?16 Do you Judge your teachers qualified for effective

implementation of UBE?17 How many Classroom blocks do you have?18 In the last four years how many Projects have been executed

targeted at UBE implementation?19 Do you have a skill acquisition centre for The development

of skills in your school? 20 Are there enough facilities for extracurricular sports

activities and Mental growth of the pupils in your school?

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