D

REFOCUSING NIGERIAN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR RELEVANCE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Professor Dr. V. V.
Apagu and Simon Iordye Andural

Abstract This paper appreciates the awakening of Nigerians and the Federal Republic of Nigeria from the long negligence of vocational education. It recognizes the efforts made by the accreditation and examining-certificating agencies of vocational education in Nigeria towards ensuring that all Nigerian youths have equality of access to vocational education, irrespective of academic standing. The paper highlights why Nigeria as a country should refocus her vocational education and discusses strategies for refocusing. The paper ends up with a resounding conclusion.
Introduction As a Nigerian vocational, technical and technology teacher, it is a thing of great joy to see that Nigerians have awaken from their long negligence of vocational, technical and technological education and consequently, are questioning the quantity and quality of these aspects of education in the countrys system of education and among Nigerians. This is a clear indication that in no distant time, the problem of unemployment among the youths and poverty among adults will become outdated. However, in order to benefit fully from these aspects of education, there is need to refocus them for relevance and sustainable national development. There is therefore, need to clearly understand what vocational education is and why it should be refocused in Nigeria. What is Vocational Education? The question what is vocational education? until recently, could not be answered by many Nigerians. Okoro (1993, p.2), confirms this situation when he writes, in Nigeria the term technical education is used more widely than vocational education and is sometimes used incorrectly to refer to secondary vocational education and pre-vocational education programmes. Consequently, the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN, 2004, p.29) states:
Technical and vocational education is used as a comprehensive term referring to those aspects of the educational process involving, in addition to general education, the study of technologies and related sciences and acquisition of practical skills, attitudes, understanding and knowledge relating to occupations in various sectors of economic and social life.
The terminology vocational education is a baby of the United States of America [USA]. The USAs congress, House of Representatives (as cited in Calhoun and Finch, 1982, p.2), defines vocational education as organized educational programs which are directly related to the preparation of individuals for paid or unpaid employment, or for additional preparation for a career requiring other than a baccalaureate or advanced degree. Giachino and Gallington (1977, p.45), define technical education as:
Comparatively new phase of vocational education, designed to meet the complex technological needs of modern industry. This type of education is considered to be of post-high school level and is intended to produce a classification of workers referred to as technicians. Multidisciplinary Journal of Research Development Volume 9 No. 1 December, 2007
Professor Dr. V. V. Apagu and Simon Iordye Andural
From Giachino and Gallingtons definition of technical education, it appears the difference between vocational education and technical education is in terms of levels of preparation. That is, Vocational education deals with preparation of persons for entry into recognized occupations and is offered at the secondary school level, while technical education deals with the preparation of persons for entry into recognized occupations at a higher level. Consequently, technical education is offered at post-secondary level institutions, usually at below baccalaureate or advanced degree. One may therefore, reason that the lower aspects of vocational education should be the one at the secondary school level, since technical education is the aspect of vocational education offered at post-secondary level and usually below first degree. In practical terms, the National Technical Certificate [NTC] and National Business Certificate [NBC] programmes offered at Science and Technical Colleges in Nigeria are good examples of vocational education in areas of trade and industrial education and Business education respectively. The National Diploma [ND] and higher National Diploma [HND] are examples of technical education programmes offered at post-secondary level institutions. For the purpose of this paper, Vocational education is defined as the aspect of education that handles vocational guidance and counseling, prepares one for entry into an occupation, also takes care of the upgrading of skills or potential as well as retraining at the secondary school level of education for paid or unpaid employment. Why Should Nigeria Refocus Vocational Education in the 21st Century? According to Calhoun and Finch (1982), vocational education has always been refocused by the changing needs of people and society. The basic concern of vocational education is for the people who provide the goods and services required by society. Calhoun and Finch further explain that, vocational education should satisfy the needs of society to fill required positions necessary for the efficient operation of the economic system as well as the needs of individuals to find personally satisfying positions in the occupational structure. Nigeria as a nation presently has many social and economic problems to handle in the twentyfirst (21st) century. Most Nigerians are just recovering from chronic case of negative attitude towards vocational, technical and technological education. Nigeria is similarly just awakening from her long sleep of negligence of these aspects of education in her educational system (Mbanefoh and Bamiro, 1990). The nation and her citizens are in the twenty-first century questioning the quantity and quality of these aspects of education in the nations system of education and among Nigerians, especially among the youths. Another problem necessitating refocusing of Nigerias vocational education in this 21st century is youth unemployment which appears to be accelerating every year. According to Adefaye (2004, p.30), the neglect of vocational and technical education in the country has increased youth unemployment. Adefaye explains that, in 2003, primary school leavers accounted for 14% unemployment, secondary school leavers accounted for 53.6% while tertiary education graduates shared 12.4%. From this data on unemployment situation among school graduates, there is a clear indication that the primary and secondary school leavers have total unemployment of 67.76%. According to Okoro (1993), presently, about seventy five (75) percent of secondary school leavers in Nigeria do not go further in higher academic pursuit. It is therefore, disturbing to have a situation where many youths who are most physically able to render services towards national development are highly unemployed. Rhodes (1970, cover page) says, Public education does not have the right to throw its rejects into the ranks of the unemployed in the community. Rhodes statement implies that, public education system should find a way of making all citizens capable of contributing to the economy of the nation. 2
Refocusing Nigerian Vocational Education for Relevance and Sustainable Development
If public education that is meant for everybody cannot prepare citizens for work, who else can do it? It is worth mentioning here that the problem of Nigerian youths unemployment can be reduced to a very large scale through relevant vocational education programmes. Unfortunately, it appears the Nigerian system of education is more interested in sieving the academically talented youths from the non-academically-talented, and then allowing the non-academically talented human resources to waste away. According to Tommy (as reported in Adefaye, 2005, p.6):
Despite the countrys abundant resources, Nigeria had continued to manifest abysmal industrial performance record over the years because of the countrys inability to synergies its resources to spawn an organic productive sector capable of engendering sustainable development and alleviate wide spread poverty.
Ndomi (1998) in his comment on Nigerias state of unindustrialization says the nations predicament is heavily dependent on her ability to come up with a competent and dedicated workforce. The lack of dedicated and competent workforce is Nigerias headache and the most militating force against the nations technological, industrial and any type of national development. Vocational and technical education at this point stand very tall in helping the nation get out of the problem of lack of appropriate manpower and therefore, needs just refocusing to produce the desired result. President Obasanjo (as reported in Mamah, 2007), explains that Nigerias current efforts at educational reforms and restructuring are aimed at focusing issues: redesigning curriculum, increasing funding, refocusing monitoring process, accountability and transparency. Nigerias present predicament was similarly experienced long ago by USA and the countrys Advisory Council on Vocational Education (1968, p.V), explains:
Vocational education faces a unique challenge in the challenge rooted in the social and economic welfare of contemporary social scene with its large city problems, the dropouts, and variety of disadvantaged groups, the need education stands out clearly. years ahead-a people. In the ghettos, school for vocational
Calhoun and Finch (1982, p.9), in same vein emophasize that:

Vocational education through the years has been responsive to the needs of society. When geographic and occupational mobility of workers, accelerated and improved technology required a higher degree of trained skills, society turned to the schools to supply its need for trained workers.
Calhoun and Finch further explain that because society currently insists that everyone leaving the public school system should have some type of occupational skill appropriate to earn a living, new importance has been attached to vocational education. Nigeria therefore, stands to gain from the longstanding experience of USA. There is therefore, no doubt that the Nigerian vocational education needs to be refocused for effectiveness and sustainable national development.
Strategies for Refocusing Vocational Education in Nigeria in the 21st Century Ensuring Equality of Access to Vocational Education by all Nigerians The National Board for Technical Education [NBTE] and the National Business and Technical Examination Board [NABTEB] have already started the process of refocusing vocational education in terms of providing equality of access to all Nigerians. NBTE has done a good job of coming up with a modular curriculum for this aspect of education in Nigeria. The modular curriculum is to make vocational education affordable by all Nigerians irrespective of academic standing. The academically strong persons can go ahead and take all the prescribed modules in an occupational area of interest, sit for the NTC or NBC examinations and head for technical education or higher training at a tertiary education institution, then become professionals later in life. This cadre of personnel will grow up to occupy leadership positions in their chosen occupations. The academically weak persons are in no way kept out of the programmes. They are free to take as many modules of the curriculum and practice to the level that their abilities may lead them without necessarily taking the NTC or NBC examinations or heading to the challenge of tertiary education. This situation will thereby, ensure an array of categories of workforce for national development. What is left undone here is public enlightenment by NBTE and NABTEB. These bodies need full government support to that effect. Coping with Possible Enrolment Explosion in Vocational Education Programmes in Nigeria The question that may readily come to mind in a situation whereby all Nigerians are to have equality of access to vocational education in the country may be how can the few vocational education institutions in the country cope with the enrolment explosion? One way of coping with the possible enrolment explosion will therefore, be to allocate more money to the area and have more vocational education institutions established, even though these schools are capital intensive. What is worth doing is worth doing well. The second way to cope with possible enrolment explosion is to improve the introductory technology education facilities available in the secondary schools to enable the vocational education programmes take-off at the senior secondary schools with the determination to improve the facilities gradually with time. The third way out is to admit students in streams (A, B, C,) and run shifting system at the presently available science and technical colleges in the country, especially in the urban areas where electrical power sources may be readily available to improve lighting at night as well as power machineries and other appliances/equipment. In this way, it is advisable that non-boarding system be employed with morning and afternoon sessions. Relevant Curricula in Vocational Education Another way of refocusing vocational education for sustainable national development is to reengineer the curricular offering in vocational education institutions in the country. According to World Bank and the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research [NISER] (as cited in Ajala, 2002), one of the major causes of declining quality of university education in Nigeria is irrelevant curriculum and poor preparation and presentation of lesson notes by teachers. This point also applies to vocational and technical education. Nigerian educational system has for too long looked at curriculum development as a global project and consequently, almost ignoring her needs. Nigerians can do better at curriculum development if they consider it as a curriculum to first prepare Nigerians to live a happy and satisfying life in Nigeria using Nigerian indigenous technologies and materials; secondly, to prepare Nigerians to live in other parts of the world if they so wish. This situation will make Nigerian vocational education more relevant to the needs of the majority of Nigerians who may 4
be even in the rural areas. There is nothing wrong with learning basket weaving along side the use and maintenance of computers, television, automobiles and so on, provided there is demand for the weaving and use of baskets in Nigeria. Vocational education is expected to prepare people to come up with products or render services in areas of local needs, not only in modern imported technologies. Relevant curriculum may attract even adult Nigerians who live in rural areas, have less formal education, are unemployed and can benefit from such curricula/training to get enrolled in these programmes. This situation will allow the use of local ideas, tools/equipment and materials which will definitely minimize the nations dependence on imported modern technologies and products. The situation will challenge the intellect of Nigerians and cause them to reason out ways of improvement on the indigenous materials and technologies and eventually evolve industrialization and sustainable development. This is truly a sign of sustainable development because the local raw materials/tools and equipment can always be made available or sustained. This situation will provide more employment outside farming for our rural populace. The nations over dependence on imported vocational education curricula has resulted to the present high rate of unemployment even among the vocational education programme graduates. This is so because what is needed by society is not taught/learnt. The time for the re-engineering of the nations vocational education curriculum is now for tomorrow will definitely be late. Reviving Handicrafts Subject at the Primary School Level There is need to revive the handicrafts subject in the primary school curriculum and monitor its teaching/learning. Many Nigerian primary school teachers at present do collect money from the pupils in place of physical handicrafts produced by the pupils. The teachers do so because they (teachers) lack the skills and knowledge regarding the handicrafts and consequently, cannot teach the subjects. They therefore, tend to hide their ignorance and find it very difficult to challenge students. The question is, should students be given more marks for the demonstration of their ability to perform some skills or for paying more money, which might have not even been earned by them? The Nigerian primary education system needs to include the study of handicrafts in its curriculum because these aspects of education mark the introduction of the teaching of Nigerian indigenous technologies in the formal school system. The primary school teachers lack the knowledge and skills in the handicrafts subject because the curriculum used in preparing them lacks these aspects of education. Therefore, just as a bank cannot give out money which is more than what is available in the strong room, the teacher finds it difficult to teach what he did not learn/cover during the teacher education process. There is therefore, need to include this aspect of education in the primary teacher education curriculum to equip the teacher adequately and enable him face the challenge on the field effectively. There is also the need to include effective vocational guidance and counseling using vocational aptitude lessons in the handicrafts lessons. This situation will help inculcate positive attitude towards vocational/technical and Nigerian indigenous technological education among the Nigerian youths during the early part of their formal education. The inculcation of appropriate attitude towards vocational/technical and Nigerian indigenous technological education in the youths is very important. Ndagana (1995), says a battle in which people are being forced to accept training against their wish cannot be won. The Nigerian youths therefore have to be nurtured early in life towards the creation of good society and capacity to compete globally and successfully.
Planned Talent Search and Development There is need to establish talent search avenues and encourage development of identified talents. God, in His Divine Wisdom creates people with special talents in each generation. There is therefore, need to plan, search and develop people with such special talents for the good of Nigerians in particular and mankind in general. The idea of Junior Engineers, Technologists and Scientists (JETS) club in secondary schools is one of such avenues and is a good idea, which needs promotion. When a person with special talent(s) is identified, such a person should be helped to discover him/her self the more, for the good of society. For example, the Akwa Ibom state government has approved 150 million Naira for the commercialization of an automatic voltage regulator construction idea conceived by two indigenes of the state (Adefaye, 2007). Adefaye (2007), also reports that, two students of government owned secondary schools in Ondo State have been chosen to represent Nigeria in the World Science and Engineering Fair in the USA. Governor Olusegun Agagu of Ondo State used the forum to express gladness that Ondo State students had done the state proud in the past in JETS competitions and other national and international competitions. If Nigerian youths who have excelled in promoting or further developing Nigerian indigenous technologies will be recognized, this will go a long way in promoting vocational/technical/technological education in the country. Adaptation Rather than Wholesale Adoption of the Teaching/Learning of Imported Technological Knowledge/Skills Adaptation rather than wholesale adoption of the teaching/learning of imported technologies in our vocational education programmes should be encouraged. Experience has shown that many products of imported technologies have wasted away in the country just because of lack of spare parts. Consequently, Nigerian craftsmen and technicians should learn the technique of adapting imported technologies to serve us better, especially where there are no spare parts readily available. The production of the non-available spare parts alone will provide employment for the many unemployed Nigerians in addition to the actual maintenance and repair of these imported technological products. Nigerians do not need to re-invent the wheel in an attempt for originality. This is the advantage of the world regarded as a global village today. Nigeria stands to benefit from scientific and technological break through of fellow nations. Technological ideas may be classified as indigenous and imported. There is need for international cooperation among nations of the world for harmonious co-existence. Imported technological ideas can be further developed or adapted for efficiency of performance. The time to learn product adaptation may start at the vocational education level and perfection reached at higher levels of preparation. Vocational Perspective of University Education By definition, the aspect of education that is to prepare people for employment in recognized occupation at the tertiary or post-secondary level of education is termed technical education. However, in a situation whereby the recipients of this training have no basic or previous lower vocational preparation at the secondary school level, it will be difficult to give them the advanced aspect of the vocational education that is regarded as technical education. In order to initiate the university undergraduates who have no previous vocational education in a chosen occupation. It will be more proper to introduce them to the basics of employment requirements in the chosen occupations to allow them explore the occupations and consider possible further preparation and practice on graduation. This situation will further promote vocational education among people who have other specialization areas but just want to have an elective minor area of specialization, which may be a 6
booster to their employment potential on graduation. Departments of vocational and technical education of tertiary education institutions may offer this aspect of education. According to Amalu, (as cited in Nyiahule and Andural, (2007, p. 91) one may recall that a one-time executive secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Peter Okebukola, earlier directed Nigerian Universities to include vocational training in their curricula considering the issue of mass unemployment of university graduates due to lack of marketable skills. Conclusion It is a thing of joy that Nigerians are now questioning the quantity and quality of vocational, technical and technological education in the countrys educational system and among Nigerians. It is therefore, high time the country refocuses her vocational education to serve the nation better. The refocusing could be through further recognition of vocational/technical and technological education, relevant programme curricula, improved funding, further re-orientation of youths towards these vital aspects of education in the form of vocational guidance and counseling, planned talent search and development, provision of more teaching/learning facilities for improved enrolment and so on. The time is now; tomorrow may be late. References Adefaye, G. (Ed.). (2004, December 23). Neglect of technical, vocational education increases youth unemployment-Don. Vanguard p.30 Adefaye, G. (Ed.) (2005, May 25). UNIDO rates Nigeria Low on performance. Vanguard p.6 Adefaye, G. (Ed.), (2007 February 22). A-Ibom approves N150M for commercialization of AVR. Vanguard p.8 Ajala, J. A. (2002). What should schools teach? In J. A. Ajala (Ed.), Designing content of the Curriculum: A Guide to Practice (pp.1-9). Ibadan, Nigeria: MayBest Publications. Apagu, V. V. and Andural, S. I. (2006). Refocusing Nigerian Technology Education Curriculum for Relevance and Sustainable National Development: A Contributive Way Forward. Unpublished manuscripts. Calhoun, C. C. & Finch, A. V. (1982). Vocational Education: Concepts and Operations (2nd Ed.), Belmont, California, USA: Wadsworth, Inc. Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Technology [FMEST] (1985). National Curriculum for Junior Secondary Schools (Volume 2-pre-vocational). Lagos, Nigeria Federal Republic of Nigeria [FRN] (2004). National Policy on Education (4th ed). Lagos, Nigeria: Nigerian Educational Research and Development council press. Giachino, J. W. and Gallington, R. O. (1977). Course Construction in Industrial arts, Vocational and Technical Education (4th Ed.), Alsip-Illinois, U.S.A: American Technical Publishers, Inc.
Mamah, E. (2007, February 20). Obasanjo explains proposed varsities, polytechnics merger. Vanguard p.13 Mbanefoh, N. D. and Bamiro, O. A (1990). Training for effective implementation of the prevocational aspect of the new policy on education. In T. I. Eze and M. A. Madusolumuo (Eds.), Third World Strategies for Technological Development (pp.148-156). Onitsha, Nigeria: Summer Educational Publishers Limited. Ndagana, J. M. (1995). A re-examination of technical and vocational education curriculum in Nigeria: Implication for the implementation of competency based education. Technology and Development- A Journal of Scientific and Technological Research, 5(1), 121-130. Ndomi, B. M. (1998). Mechanisms for improving the skill content of the curriculum for technical college agro-mechanics trades in Gombe State. Unpublished Masters thesis, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Nyiahule, P. M. and Andural, S. I. (2007). Vocational perspective of university education in Nigeria in the 21st Century. Journal of Qualitative Education, 3(3). 89-93 Okoro, O. M. (1993). Principles and Methods in Vocational and Technical education. Enugu, Nigeria: University Trust publishers. Rhodes, J. A. (1970). Vocational Education and Guidance: A System for the Seventies. ColumbusOhio, USA: Charles E. Merrill publishing Co. USAs Advisory Council on Vocational Education (1968). Vocational education: the bridge between man and his work, U.S Department of health, education and welfare, office of education. Washington D.C.; Government Printing Office.
CORRELATES COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND PUPILS ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICAL RATIO AND PROPORTION TASKS
Rev. Sr. M. S. Kurumeh (Ph.D.) and Ogwuche, Joseph

Abstract This study concerns students achievement in ratio and proportion and test of logical thinking (TOLT) based on Piagets stages of cognitive development. The instruments used for data collection are test of logical thinking (TOLT) and achievement test on ratio and proportion. Four hundred and eighty eight students, which constituted the subjects for the study were drawn from randomly sampled intact classes in the sampled schools. Four research questions and four research hypotheses guided the study. Data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and Pearson product moment correlation, which indicated the following results. In the TOLT, the male students performed better than their female counterparts; and that logical reasoning is never dependent on sex.
Introduction It is an undeniable fact that mathematics plays important roles in human existence both at the national, societal and individual levels. Mathematics is said to be the bedrock of the sciences and physical world in general (Ojo, 1998). For instance, in our day-to-day activities like buying and selling, we apply some mathematics concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, ratio and proportion among others. A ratio could be expressed as the comparison of two numbers. The idea of a proportion is that of two ratio that are equivalent. Proportion is useful in solving problems of speed and time, similar triangle, personality and so on. For example, the notation a/b=c/d knowing the number represented by any three of these letters, the fourth is easily found. The ability to manipulate proportion has been identified with Piaget stage of concrete operation, which theoretically emerges at ages 11 and 12 years. Interestingly, goals of mathematics education in Nigeria concern utilitarian personal, social and cultural aspects of living. No wonder, in the National policy on Education by Federal Ministry of Education (NPE, 1998), the goal of mathematics education in the primary schools include: i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. Inculcate permanent literacy, numeracy and ability to communicate. Lay a sound basis for scientific and reflective thinking. Mould the character and develop sound attitude and morals in the child. Develop in the child the ability to adopt to the changing environment. Given the child the opportunities for developing to function effectively in the society within the limit of his capacity. Provide the child with basic tools for further educational advancement, including preparation for trade and craft in the locality.
That of the secondary school include: 1. Provide all primary school leavers with the opportunity for education of a higher level. 2. Offer diversified curriculum to cater for the differences in talent, opportunities and further roles. 3. Inspire its students with a desire for self-improvement and achievement of excellence.
Multidisciplinary Journal of Research Development Volume 9 No. 1 December, 2007
4. Provide technical knowledge and vocational skills necessary for the agricultural industries, commercial and economic development among others. Most learners performance in mathematics at both primary and secondary schools is not satisfactory (Osegbo, 1990). What could be responsible for this under-achievement? Have the materials (mathematics curriculum) been sequential in logical order? Piaget, in his work pointed out the cognitive development is in stages. Piaget, identified four basic stages in the development of mental structures. The first stage which starts from birth to about one and half years is preverbal, pre-symbolic period known as sensory motor stage. The second stage in the pre-operational stage that begins at one and half years or two years and last until approximately seven years of age. The third stage from approximately 7 to 11 or 12 years of age is that of concrete operational the last or fourth stage is the formal operational stage or the hypothetical deduction operations level. This does not usually occur until 11 or 12 years of age. It is however, observed that in the third and fourth stages where the research is using as basis for his study, young children explore and manipulate objects in order to learn about them. The use of the Piagetian cognitive development stages to select and structure curriculum items for learners will facilitate retention and positive transfer of learning (Fajemidagba, 1986). He is of the view that achievement on mathematical ratio and proportion tasks can be measured using Piagetian oriented instrument. Therefore, these levels of thought are the main consideration in this study since most children are or moving towards these levels of though during the time they are in primary six or JS one. The stage marks the beginning of logic mathematics called concrete operational since the necessary logical thoughts are based in part on the physical manipulation of subjects. The child no longer uses perception or sensory cues as a basis for answering questions of logical though. This level is important mathematically as well as psychologically because many of the operations are mathematical in nature. These operations at the concrete levels, for instance, according to Piaget include those of classification, ordering, the construction of the idea of number, and all the fundamental operation of elementary Mathematics of elementary geometry and even of elementary Physics (Copeland, 1994). Over the years, various studies have been carried put, the results of which show that sex and school locations are significant predictors of mathematics achievement (Ezike, 1982, Ojo, 1988 and Osegbo, 1990). An interesting study carries out by (Omotoso, 1982), clearly shows the relevance of Piggets work to machinations education. In this study, Omotoso investigated the relationship between mathematics achievement and abilities of conservation, classification and seriation. The result shows that, the Piagatian skills predict mathematics achievement better for boys than for girls (Green, 1986). Primary school education is the foundation of educational structure, therefore, the success or failure of educational system is based on it. The national policy on education, recognizing this factor incorporated innovations at this level such as providing the child with basic tools for further educational advancement, including preparations for trade and crafts of the locality thereby giving the education system a sound and dependable foundation. Due to the usefulness of mathematics in real life, teachers of the subject devote much time and energy to see that a good foundation is laid in the learners. But unfortunately, despite teachers effort, learners performance in both internal and external mathematics examination is not encouraging. Evidence available shows that learners achievement in mathematics is poor (Ogomaka and Harbor-Peters, 1991). It is reasonable to think that the theory of cognitive development is not observed in curricular content organizations. For this reason, Piaget has described in detail the characteristics of each stage 10
Correlates Cognitive Development and Pupils Achievement in Mathematical Ratio and Proportion Tasks
of cognitive development, giving response typical of each, and so has established a comprehensive theory, which described and accounts for the development of cognitive functioning (Adey and Shayer, 2003). Therefore, the researchers sees it necessary to study age and sex as correlates of logical reasoning and achievement in mathematical ratio and proportion tasks in JS one and primary six level. Purpose of the Study The main purpose pf this study is to correlate logical reasoning with pupils achievement in mathematical ratio and proportion tasks. Specifically, it seeks to: 1. Correlate (TOLT) of primary six pupils and JS one students with the ability of mathematics achievement in ratio and proportion. 2. Correlate TOLT of primary six pupils with JS one students. 3. Correlate TOLT of male and female students in JS and Primary six. 4. Correlate mathematic achievement in ratio and proportion of male and female students in JS one and primary six. 5. Correlate age of students with sex. Research Questions This study is guided by following research questions: 1. What are the performances of the male and female students in the test of logical thinking (TOLT)? 2. What are the performances of the male and female students in the achievement test in ratio and proportion? 3. What are the mean score and standard deviation of pupils in primary six and JS one students in the TOLT? 4. What are the performances of primary six pupils and JS one students in the achievement test in ration and proportion? Research Hypotheses The following hypotheses were tested at 0.05 significant level to guide the study: 1. There is no significant difference in the logical thinking (TOLT) between the male and the female students. 2. There is no significant difference in the achievement tests in ratio and proportion between the male an the female students. 3. There is no significant difference in the test of logical thinking (TOLT) between the primary six pupils and the JS one students. 4. There is no significant difference in the achievements test in ratio and proportion between the primary six and the JS one students. Methodology Four Local Government Areas namely; Apa, Ogbadibo, Okpokwu and Otukpo were randomly selected out of the nine L. G. A. of the zone C Educational zone of Benue State. From each of the four Local Government Areas, four schools were randomly selected. Two schools from primary and two schools from secondary in each Local Government Area were used. In these schools, all the primary six pupils and JS one students were used. 11
Two sets of test were administered: 1. Test of logical thinking (TOLT). 2. Mathematics achievement test on ratio and proportion. TOLT was up of two items (Multiple choice type) in each item; a problem situation was presented which was followed by different answers (A-E). a set of reason (1-5) was also given in each item. One mark was awarded only for correct answer with correct reasoning. Where correct answer was obtained with wrong reason, the score was zero. Mathematics achievement test items on ratio and proportion were divided into two sections, first part was objective (Fifteen items) and second part, which had five items, was made up of word problem (essay question). The reason for this was to prevent guess work and to see logical sequence followed by the pupils solve problem of this nature. It was required that the pupils, read, understand and interpret the word problem and use mathematical symbol to solve the word problem. The mathematics achievement test was designed by the research in line with the student syllabus and primary six modules while TOLT was designed by Tobin and Capie as a standardized test for logical thinking (Tobin and Capie, 1981). To establish the validity of the instrument, eleven validators were used. These include three mathematics educators, three experts in measurement and evaluation, three primary six teachers and two JS teachers. They all ascertained that the instruments used for the study were appropriate. The face-validated versions of the instrument were trial tested for its internal consistency with 20 primary six pupils and 30 JS students in schools that were not used for the study. The reliability coefficients were determined using K-R (21) formula for the achievement test and K-R (20) for the TOLT. The indices were found to be 0.80 and 0.93 respectively and so were appropriate. Result The results of this study are presented according to the research questions. Research Question 1 What are the performances of the male and the female students on the test of logical thinking? (TOLT)? Table 1: The Mean and Standard Deviation (S.D) of Male and Female Students in TOLT Sex Mean Standard Deviation (S.D) Male 5.55 1.61 FEMALE 4.58 1.89 Table 1 shows the mean and S.D for the male and female students in the TOLT. The mean of the male and female students are 5.55 and 4.58 respectively. Research Question 2 What are the Performances of the male and the female students on the achievement in ratio and proportion? Table 2: mean and Standard Deviation of Male and Female Students in Achievement Test Sex Mean Standard Deviation (S. D) Male 22.31 5.91 Female 17.78 6.38 12
Table 2, shows that the mean performance and the standard deviation of the male and female students in the achievements test are 22.31 and 17.38 respectively. Research Question 3 What are the mean score and the standard deviation of pupils in primary six and JS one students in TOLT? Table 3: Mean and Standard Deviation of Pupils in Primary Six and JS one Students in TOLT Level Mean Standard Deviation Primary 4.64 1.75 JS One 6.45 1.46 Table 3 shows the mean of primary six pupils and JS one students as 4.64 and 6.45 respectively. Research Question 4 What are the performances of primary six pupils and JS one students in the achievements test in ratio and proportion? Table 4: Mean and Standard Deviation and age of Primary Six and JS one Students in the mathematics test ratio and proportion. Level Mean Standard Deviation (S. D) Average Age of Students Primary 20.12 6.40 11 years JS One 24.49 5.49 14 years From Table 4, the mean of primary six and JS one students in mathematics achievement test in ratio and proportion are shown as 20.12 and 24.49 respectively. Similarly, the average age of students in primary six and JS one respectively is 11 years and 14years. Hypotheses The table below is used to test the four hypotheses that guided the study; Table 5: Summary of Pearson Correlation for Mathematics Achievement and TOLT for Primary Six Pupils and JS one Students
Un-standard coeff Beta S. Error

Pearson math achievement Correlation level of Edu. Sex TOLT X sex Achievement X sex TOLT X level of education Achievement X level of Education 3.266 3.763 4.523 0.41 4.523 1.795 3.902 2.257 0.957 0.563 1.166 0.651 0.272 0.561
Standardized coeff Beta E-call

-25.998 -2.760 -0.331 -0.236 -0.3331 -0450 -0.286 5.655 -3.932 -8.32 5.655 8.057 6.602 -6.949
E-crit
1.96
13
Table 5 shows that TOLT is significant while sex is not significant. Besides, the correlation between sex and TOLT is not significant. The correlation between mathematics achievement test on ratio and proportion with sex is not significant. However, the correlation between TOLT and primary six and JS students is significant at 0.05 significance level. Discussion of Results The discussion of result was based on the findings of the study. In the test of the logical thinking (TOLT) administered to the subjects, the male students performed better than their female counterparts. When the same test (TOLT) was further correlated with sex, it revealed that the logical thinking is not dependent on sex. When the mathematics achievement test was administered, there was no significant difference in the performance between the male and the female subjects. The study also revealed that there was a significant difference in the test of logical reasoning between the primary six pupils and the JS one students. Also in the mathematics test administered to the primary six pupils and JS one students, there was no significant difference in the performance between the two levels. In the two tests, TOLT and achievement test in ratio and proportion, the mean performance of the males were significantly higher than the female. Recommendations and Conclusions As pointed out in this study, each mathematical topic to be taught to students can be classified into hierarchy of difficulty/level. It is recommended therefore, that every topic to be taught should be so classified with the view to teaching the easiest ones first, and then the difficult concept of the topic should be logically and sequentially presented. In scoring mathematical test, classroom teachers should not be concerned solely with the final answer rather, the solution process should be marked. A student therefore, may pass a test it, without necessarily getting the final answer. Professional bodies like the Mathematical Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) and national Mathematical Center (NMC) should organize workshops, seminars and conferences for in-service teachers to enable them implement the findings of this study in the classroom situation. Conclusion Based on the result of this study, thee following conclusion were drawn. The male students performed significantly better than their female counterparts when test of logical thinking (TOLT) was administered on them. In the mathematics achievement test, there was no difference in the performance between the male and female students. It was also observed form the study that logical reasoning is never dependent on sex, rather as you move from one level of education to another, it also increased. From the study, it was shown that there was a remarkable difference between the primary six pupils and JS one students when the test of logical thinking was administered on them. However, when they were both given the test on mathematical achievement, they show no difference in the performance. Implication of the Study For the finding of this study, it becomes very clear that the mean performance of the subject in the two tests were in favour of the male students. The implication of this is that the teachers and
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educational planners organize items in such a way that child Pigatian level and the competence to learn such items should be put into consideration. This study also has great significance to mathematics curriculum planners and developers in the country both primary and secondary schools. It seems that some content areas in the syllabus like ratio and proportion are overlooked in schools. This indicated a great disparity and imbalance in the educational system. Therefore, the teachers should pay necessary attention to all the topics in the syllabus. It was observed that students performed poorly in the essay aspect of the test. For instance, when students find a particular word problem difficult, they only wrote the number of the questions down, left a gap that will not be enough to solve the problem and moved to the next one. In most cases, students only copied the question down (some times wrong) and nothing more. Some students deal with word problem in mathematics as if the problems are in multiple-choice form. They write the number of the question and write answer= 12. They missed almost all the necessary steps to be followed before arriving at the answer. The teacher should therefore, plan his or her lessons very well, show the learner the required necessary process and algorithm, use adequate method of instruction and train the learners very well so that will master the necessary steps. Also the teacher should study the learners problems and find out their difficulties and as much as possible emphasize key points and necessary working algorithms. Reference Adey, P and Sheyer, M. (2003). Towards Science of Science Teaching Cognitive Development and Curriculum Demand, London Heinemann educational books. Ezike, R. O (1982). Teaching mathematics in Igbo language classroom experience with secondary school students, in Anambra State Unpublished M. Ed Thesis faculty of education University of Nigeria Nsukka. Fajemidagba, M. O. (1986). Piagetian cognitive demand and levels of difficulty of ratio and proportion items implications for secondary education, ABACUS 1 (1), 94-102. Ogomaka, F. M. C. and Harbor Peters, V. F. A. (1991). Survey of primary school teachers masking of primary school mathematics content. ABACUS 21 (1) 45-57. Ojo, I. E (1988). A feasibility study on mathematics laboratory in Oyo State secondary school Unpublished M. Ed thesis, institute of education University of Ibadan. Omotoso, H. M. (1995). Conservation Deviation and Classification as Factors in the Acquisition of Mathematics in Nigeria Children, Boston: Boston University Press. Piaget, J and Inhaler, B. (1976). The Growth of Logical Thinking from Childhood to Adolescence, New York: basic book Publishers.
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PRINCIPAL TEACHER CONFLICTS AND STRATEGIES FOR RESOLUTION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AKWA IBOM STATE
Dr. Sunday I. Efanga

Abstract The study aimed at determining the strategies used by principals and teachers in secondary schools in Akwa Ibom for resolution of conflict. Using simple random sampling technique, 50 principals and 150 teachers were selected for the study. Questionnaire was used to collect data, means and standard deviation were employed for data analysis. While t-test was used for null hypothesis. Findings, showed that both categories favoured the use of dialogue for conflict resolution. It was recommended among other things that in selecting appropriateness of the approach, the nature of the institutions involved, composition of the member and the intensity of the conflict should be systematically considered.
Keywords: Conflict, Resolution and Strategies Introduction Conflict between and among groups are common problems of human endeavour. Some conflicts are natural and inevitable and may even provide a creative tension that has the effect of improving school performance. Still others can significantly weaken school programmes and the need to resolve conflict where it exists is imperative. Getzels, conceives of the educational system as containing two interdependent but interacting dimensions. The first dimension consists of the constitution, which is defined in terms of its roles. This aspect of the social system is the nomothetic dimension. The second aspect the ideographic dimension, adds the human element to the social system formulation (Sergiovanni and Starrett, 1983). Getzels, in Edem (987), argues that there are numbers of conflict situations that could potentially result from the organizations interaction with its human inhabitants. Among them are role personality conflicts that result from a discrepancy between the pattern of expectations attached to a given role and the patterns of need dispositions of the role incumbent. Principals as chief executive of the school perform more roles with corresponding multiple expectations the possibility of the role-conflict with them staff cannot be ruled out in the administration of secondary education. It seems that the administrative behaviour of the members of the institutions, will be the result of the nature of the interaction between the nomothetic, that is, the demands of the established institutions, and the idiographic, that is, the personalities and the needdispositions of their members (Edem, 1987). Getzels, identify three types of conflicts that may arise from the interaction to be role-personality conflicts, role conflicts and personality conflicts. Rolepersonality conflicts occur when a role expectation ascribed to a position is at variance with the needdisposition of the incumbent. Ndu, Ocho and Okeke, (1997), see conflict as emanating from insults, name calling, deformation of character, blackmailing, stepping into anothers shoes, sarcasm, false accusations, and withdrawal of service. At this point, it would suffice to adopt the views of Edem (1987), that, conflict inherent in the school system are: the role perception of the members, where role perception operationally refers t how members (teachers) think they are expected to behave and how others actually expect them to behave. The discrepancy between the way school principals perceive their roles and how they actually perform these roles can create a serious conflict.
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This is more so when the roles expected to be performed by the principals are not properly defined couple sometimes with the conflict directives from the schools board which principals and staff may be expected to comply with. Eganga (2000), contends that conflicts may indicate the existence of incompatible activities in relation to information belief, interest and desire resulting from the diversified and contradicting role performed by principals and teachers in their normal interactions with both their subordinates and super ordinates. Gray and Starke (1998), reported that conflict arises when the behaviour by a person or group is purposely designed to inhibit the attainment of goals by another person or group. Changes in the social environment, such as contestable access to new political positions, or perceptions of new resources arising from development in the physical environment, are fertile grounds for conflicts involving individuals and groups who are interested in suing these new resources to achieve their goals (Otite, 1999). Conflict Resolution Strategies in School It is pertinent at this juncture to note that conflict management is the strategy employed to reduce the frequency of destructive encounters by strengthening the inhibitors to conflict actions and avoid triggering off events (Ogonor, 2004). It entails the development and implementation of peaceful methods, those involved should be capable of demonstrating patience, sincerity, wit, physical endurance, wisdom and probing skills. On the other hand, conflict resolution focuses on the definite actions undertaken to deal directly with the conflicting parties to eliminate the conflict. There exist a number of strategies that could be used to resolve conflict in schools. They are dominance, compromise, smoothing, synergy, and culture of civility. Best (2000), recommends conflict resolution strategies to include; mediation, dialogue, arbitration, conciliation, diplomacy, negotiation, and communication. He contends that the most preferred approaches should be dialogue, because a healthy dialogue frees the mind of grudges and bitterness to bury the hatchet and settle the conflict. Unlike dominance which encourages repression and creates a win-lose (Zero-sum) situation, dialogue ends with a win-win outcome. Onyeiwe (1991), in his studies on principal teacher conflicts in secondary schools administration in Imo and Abia States, concluded that the dialogue is the most desirable method for the resolution of Principal-Teacher conflict. Ogonor (2004), posits that conflict resolution is meant to change attitudes and perception of disputants and enables them to obtain a new information and engage in a process of creative problemsolving through the perception and reframing of the conflicting situation using controlled communication. Approaches for reducing conflicts vary, depending on the situations. According to Handy (1998), the following strategies have been found effective in the conflict resolution: withdrawing and retreating from the conflict, neglect or silence, or playing down the differences and emphasizing the values held in common. Rucci 1992), rightly noted that conflict can be resolved through the use of avoidance, forcing and collaboration. Statement of the Problem There are incidences of mutual hostility in inter-human relationships in educational institutions in Akwa Ibom State. This mutual hostility occurs in the form of insults, role-perception and personality conflicts. The purpose of this study is to identify and discuss strategies for effective resolution of conflict in secondary school levels in Akwa Ibom State.
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Principal Teacher Conflicts and Strategies for Resolution in Secondary Schools in Akwa Ibom State
Research Questions Two research questions guided this study. 1. What strategies (dialogue, avoidance, compromising, use of veto power and transfers of teachers) do teachers consider most effective for the resolution of principal-teacher conflicts in secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State. 2. What are the conflict resolution strategies commonly adopted by principals in the resolution of principals-teacher conflicts in secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State. Hypotheses 1. There is no significant difference in effectiveness of the five conflict resolution strategies in secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State. 2. There is no significant difference between strategies commonly adopted by principals and the one teachers consider most effective for conflict resolution. Design: The research design used in the study was ex-post facto. Population of the Study The population for this study was made up of all the secondary school principals and teachers in Akwa Ibom State. There are 236 principal and 5,665 secondary school teachers in the state as at 2006/2007 academic session (SSEB- statistic Division). Sample The sample of the study was drawn from the population specified above. 150 teachers and 50 principals were selected through hat and draw random sampling method for the study. Instrumentation The instrument was developed by the researcher. The development was based on the related literature concerning conflict resolution. A five point Likert type rating scale was provided for responses to the questionnaire. The instrument was first validated by three experts in the Department of Educational Foundations of University of Uyo, Uyo. A test- retest reliability method was used in establishing the reliability of the instrument at 0.75. Method of Data Collection The instrument was administered to the respondent by the researcher with the help of two researcher assistants. Method Analysis The mean and standard deviation was used in answering the two research questions based on the four points scale used. The mean performance ratings were interpreted as follows: strongly Agree 5, Agree 4, Undecided 3, Disagree 2, Strongly Disagree 1. A mean of 3.5 and above was adopted as agreement level for the items. The t-test analysis was used for the null hypotheses formulated.
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Result Table 1 Mean Rating of on the Strategies Teachers Consider Most Appropriate for the Regulation of Principal-Teacher Conflict S/N Strategies N X SD Remark 1 Use of dialogue 150 4.4 0.73 A 2 Use of smoothing 200 4.2 0.6 A 3 Compromise 200 4.3 .45 A 4 Authoritative command 200 3.25 1.5 Disagree 5 Use of avoidance 200 3.43 1.4 Disagree Table 1, reveals that strategies favoured most by respondents in resolving conflict are use of dialogue (X-4.4). Their responses indicate that they rarely consider authoritative command as appropriate strategies for conflict resolution. Standard deviation indicates that 3 out of 5 items yielded standard deviation up to a whole number indicating heterogeneous opinion on the items. Table 2 Means Rating on Principals and Teachers Opinion on the Strategies Commonly Adopted by them in the Resolution of Conflict S/No Strategies Principal Teachers X SD X SD 1 Use of dialogue 4.08 1.1 4.39 0.95 A 2 Use of smoothing 4.94 0.23 4.56 0.60 A 3 Compromise 4.75 0.43 4.02 1.03 A 4 Authoritative command 3.20 1.15 3.3 1.20 D 5 Avoidance 3.10 1.0 3.2 1.16 D Table 2 shows that, the mean ratings of secondary school principals and teachers opinion on the strategies commonly adopted by them in the resolution of conflict. It reveals that all the items for both categories of respondents had mean scores, which were greater than the agreement level of 3.05 except for items number 4 and 5. They rarely use authoritative command and avoidance in resolving conflict. Table 3 Hypothesis Independent t-test statistical analysis of the difference between opinion of principal and teachers with regards to relative effectiveness of the five (dialogue, smoothing, compromise, authoritative command, and avoidance) conflict resolution strategies. Source of variation N X SD df t-value Principal 50 18.21 4.40 2.98 4.20 Teachers 150 20.70 3.50 Significant at .05, df 2.98 critical t-vale = 1.968. The result of the analysis in Table 3 reveals that ht e calculated t-value of 4.20 is greater that the critical = 1.96 as such, the null hypothesis was rejected, while the alternative hypothesis is
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Principal Teacher Conflicts and Strategies for Resolution in Secondary Schools in Akwa Ibom State
retained. The researcher concludes that there is significant difference between the opinions of principals and teachers with respect to the relative effectiveness of their conflict resolution strategies. Discussion The findings of this study reveal that the strategies favoured most by teachers in resolving conflict was the use of dialogue. The findings of Best (2000), support this result. However, the result in Table 2 indicated that both categories of principals and teachers disagreed with the use of either Authoritative command or avoidance as strategies for conflict resolution. The result in Table 3 was significant. Furthermore, the odds favour teachers with the higher means (X = 20.70). The strategies are behaviorally oriented because they discourage win-lose situation. This position falls in consonance with the findings of Onyeiwe (1991). Finally, the result of the study reveals that the essence of a workable compromise is that each party achieves some of its objectives and sacrifices others. Recommendations The following recommendations were drawn from the study. 1. For effective resolution of conflicts, some of the strategies discussed could be jointly applied. This is informed by the fact that there is no best way of doing things in selecting appropriate approaches, the nature of the institution involves, including the composition of its member, the nature and intensity of the conflict to be resolved should be systematically considered. 2. The effective school principal should act like a chase player who knows when to hold on. He should know when force is needed to get things done and when dialogue is appropriate. 3. Principals as well as teachers should attend periodic seminars and workshops on conflict, this is to equip them on what to do when conflict arises. Conclusions The following conclusions were drawn on the basis of the data analysis and research findings. 1. That strong agreement exist between principals and teachers of secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State on the use of dialogue as strategy for conflict resolution. 2. That both categories of principals and teachers disagree with the use of avoidance as strategy for conflict resolution in school. References Best, S. G. (2000). Religion, Politics, and Conflict in Northern Nigeria. A Historical Analysis with two case studies. Unpublished (Ph.D.) Dissertation. Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradfored, United Kingdom. Edem, D. A (1987). Introduction to Educational Administration in Nigeria Ibadan: Spectrum and John Wiley. Efanga, S. I (2000). Administrators demographic variables and their Influence on conflict management in Secondary Schools in Akwa Ibom State. Journal of Research in Education 7(1) pp.29 37./
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Ezebe, C. (1997). Management of conflict in Nigerian education system in A. N. Ndu, L.O. Ocho, and B.S. Okeke, (1997). Dynamic of Educational Administration and Management The Nigerian Perspective. Meks Publishers Ltd. Gray, J. L, Strke, F. A (1998). Organizational Behaviour: Concepts and Applications. Toronto: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company. Handy, C. (1998). Understanding Organization. Middlesex, Penguin books. Ogonor, B. O (2004). A study of the management strategies of intergroup conflicts in Nigerian Universities. (Ph. D.) Dissertation, University of Benin, Nigeria. Onyeiwu, C.L. (1991). Principal-teacher conflicts in secondary school, administration in Imo and Abia State. Ph. D, dissertation, University of Port Harcourt. Otite, O. (1999). Community Conflicts in Nigeria: Management, Resolution and Transformation. A Publication of Academic associates Peace works. Rucci, R. B. (1992). Dealing with Difficult People: a Guide for Educator, U.S. Vermont. Sergiovanni, T.J. Starrett, R. J. (1983). Supervision: Human Perspectives. McGraw-Hill book Company.
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GUIDE FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING \ LEARNING OF GENETICS FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS- (HANDS-ON MINDS-ON ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY)
Idoko, C. E. (Ph.D.) Introduction The teaching of science concepts with orthodox teaching methods such as lecture, project, field trip and demonstration among others has been criticized by science educators(e.g. Abdullahi, 1982 and Fafunwa, 1985). Infact, students poor performance in science subjects in Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examinations have been attributed to the use of these methods by Science Technology and Mathematics (STM) teachers. The methods according to Abdullahi (1982), are inadequate, ineffective and uninspiring. They show little concern for subject matter, stimulation of students interest and their cognitive ability (Njoku, 1987 andEshiet,1996).Teaching methods that encourage active participation of the students in forming coherent, structured and meaningful learning has been advocated. Specifically, it has been recommended that in place of the orthodox methods of teaching, new teaching strategies should be used by STM teachers. Researches have identified some new strategies that have been experimentally found to enhance better learning and therefore, better performance of students in examinations. Among these are Concept Mapping and Co-operative Learning Instructional Strategies. The potency of these strategies have been established based on empirical studies which include that of Johnson and Johnson (2001); Novak and Godwin (1984), Novak (1990); Okebukola (1990); Neboh and Obodo (2000); Wushishi, (2001) and Cooper, Robinson and Mc-Kinney,(2005), among others. It is against this background that this paper exposes how the two strategies can be employed in the teaching and learning of science concepts particularly those that have been perceived as being abstract and difficult by both the teachers and students of the subjects. The Biology topic Genetics is illustrated with because researches as well as WAEC Chief examiners reports have indicated that students often perform poorly in examination questions on the topic. Co- operative Learning Instructional Strategy is a systematically structured strategy in which small groups of learners work together towards the achievement of common goals (Cooper, Robinson and Mc-Kinney, 2005). Each member of the group is responsible not only for the learning of what is to be learnt but also in helping every other member of the group learn. The activities that follow should therefore be carried out in small groups and co-operatively. Concept Mapping Instructional Strategy entails the use of schematic diagrams to represent sets of concept meanings. The concepts are presented in a hierarchically organized manner reflecting the psychological structure of knowledge. (Novak and Godwin 1984, Novak (1990), The meanings of the concepts, their relationship to one another in hierarchical arrangement of the concepts should be well understood by the mapper. The strategy enables each learner progress at his own pace and from what he already knows, he progresses gradually to the unknown in a step-by-step manner and from simple to complex. In the activities that follow, the two instructional strategies should be combined to ensure that every member of each group is helped to move (learn) along with all the other members of the group in a step-by-step manner, simple to complex, known to unknown from the beginning to the end of each set of the activities. In other words, every member should help every other member of each group to achieve the objectives of each set of activities.
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Idoko, C. E. (Ph.D.)
Sub-Content 1: The chromosome. 2: Cell division and fertilization. Concern of sub-content: To model or simulate the structure, composition and arrangement of the chromosome. Performance Objectives: Students should be able to: (a) simulate the chromosome with sockosomes and other accessories, (b) demonstrate the process of cell division using the sockosomes i.e. separation and pulling apart of sister- chromatids in mitosis and meiosis 2 and that of whole chromosomes (bivalents) in meiosis 1, (c) explain cell division in living organisms with the processes and results of activities carried out, (d) demostrate how such abnormal conditions as Down Syndrome can arise, (e) explain possible causes of the abnormal conditions in real life, (f) demonstrate and explain the terms Chiasmata and Crossing-over and (g) simulate meiosis and fertilization for very simplified cases with only one or a few pairs of homologous chromosomes per cell but with different alleles of the same gene. Why Content is Perceived as Being Difficult: Abstract nature of concepts, Misconception of science concept and Methods employed in teaching the content. Activity One Materials Required: Pairs of socks (some plain others with stripes), needles, thread, string/wool, cardboard sheets, maker, ruler, glue, magic-gum, scissors and cellotape. Preliminary Decisions: (a) Each sock represents a chromatid; (b)Identical pairs of socks (i.e. for both plain and striped socks) represent Pairs of homologous chromosomes Procedure Step One: Students should be organized in small groups preferably across ability levels. Step Two: Each group should have complete set of the required materials i.e. pairs of socks, needle, thread, string/wool, cardboard sheets, makers, glue, magic gum, scissors and cellotape. Step Three: Each group to sew one small piece of magic gum on to the heel of each member of a pair of socks. Step Four: Fill each sock with fiber fill and sew the end of each closed. (optional). Step Five: Stick each pair of socks together at the heels. Each of the products now represents a chromosome with two chromatids. Each is called a Sockosome. Step Six: Attach reasonable lengths of string/wool onto each sock that form part of a sockosome at the heel region with needle and thread. The string/wool represents the spindles.
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Guide for Effective Teaching \ Learning of Genetics for Secondary School Students- (Hands-On MindsOn Activity Instructional Strategy)
Step Seven: Represent each pair of homologous chromosomes with two sockosomes of the same colour but one will have a stripe or any other mark along the length to enhance differentiation or identification (i.e. to represent the different alleles on the two homologous chromosomes.) A ring or any mark could be made on each sockosome to represent a gene that is inherited by simple mendelian transmission. Ensure that the alleles labeled on both socks of each sockosome are the same. For each pair of homologous sockosome, label each sockosome with a different allele of the same gene. e.g. Pigmented Skin (A) Albino/Albinism (a)
Step Eight: Label half of the pairs of homologous sockosomes of one colour with the alleles for skin pigmentation (i.e. A for pigmented skin and a for the albino). Label the other half of the of pairs of homologous sockosomes of another colour with the alleles for sickle aenemia (i.e. A for normal red blood cell and a for sickled red blood cell). In the alternative, small sized sockosomes could be used for skin pigmentation alleles while the middle sized ones be used for sickle cell aenemia alleles. (For activities on meiosis and fertilization which will come later, let all pairs of sockosomes of the same colour or size represent the chromosomes of the father while all pairs of another colour or size represent that of the mother). Step Nine: Lay out the sockosomes thus prepared on cardboard sheets on the table.Using thread and needle, cellotape, glue and string/wool hold the sockosomes on to the cardboard sheet as the chromosomes would appear in a cell at metaphase stage of cell division. Recall that the sockosomes represent the chromosomes, the string/wool represent the spindles. Ensure that the two types of spindles, the aster, the poles and the equator are represented and easily identifiable by the learners. The arrangement should be such that the strings/wools attached to the chromatids can be pulled to bring about separation and then movement of the chromatids and chromosomes for mitosis and meiosis 2 then meiosis 1 respectively. Activity Two With the Sockosomes and other Relevant Products of Activity one, Simulate the Following Mitosis: in a cell, which has two pairs of homologous chromosomes noting that; (1) Purpose of mitosis is to produce two daughter cells each containing complete set of chromosomes (Diploid Number). (2) Basic steps of mitosis include replication of DNA to give sister chromatids, condensation of DNA into compact chromosomes each with two sister-chromatids, formation of spindle apparatus and lining of the chromosomes up at the middle of the cell (equator), shortening/ retraction of the spindles accompanied by separation and moving apart to opposite poles of 24
sister chromatids and pinching of cell at the middle to give two daughter cells with one set of chromosomes in each of the daughter cells thus, formed. B. (1) Meiosis: in a cell which has two pairs of homologous chromosomes noting that; Purpose of meiosis is to produce reproductive gametes (eggs and sperm cells) each having half the complete set of chromosomes (Haploid Number) so that when fertilization takes place, the zygote that will be produced will have not only complete set but normal chromosome compliment for the cell (Diploid Number). Basic steps in meiosis include replication and condensation of the DNA to give compact chromosomes each with two sister chromatids, formation of homologous pairs of chromosomes (Bivalents), formation of spindles and lining up of the homologous pairs chromosomes at the middle of the cell (equator), shortening/retraction of the spindles accompanied by separation and then movement of homologous chromosomes in meiosis 1 and sister chcromatids in meiosis 2 apart and to opposite poles. The pinches at the end of meiosis 1 to give two daughter cells (though not in all cases) and each of the two daughter cells pinches again to give two daughter cells at the end of meiosis 2. At the end of the entire process of meiosis, a total of four daughter cells each with haploid number of chromosomes are produced.
(2)
C. Fertilization noting that; (1) Purpose of fertilization is to produce a zygote that will develop into a new individual with diploid number of chromosomes, (2) Basic steps of fertilization include the coming together of two haploid cells (egg and sperm cells), their fusion to form a zygote (i.e. adding two haploid numbers of chromosomes to give a diploid number). The product of the fusion (the zygote) will then undergo series of mitotic cell division to give a new individual with so many cells.
Go through each of the steps over and over again until every member of the groups is confident that he/she understands the differences between meiosis 1 and meiosis 2. e.g. what is the difference between the way pairs of homologous chromosomes are lined up in a cell at the beginning of meiosis and at the beginning of mitosis?
Questions (1) How many chromosomes are there in a human skin cell produced by mitosis? (2) How many chromosomes are there in a human sperm cell produced by meiosis? (3) Describe the differences between mitosis and meiosis. (4) What are the similarities between mitosis and meiosis? (5) Describe the differences between the mother cell that undergoes meiosis and the daughter cells produced by meiosis. (6) Describe the differences between daughter cells produced by mitosis and daughter cells produced by meiosis. (7) The concept map below provides an overview of the information covered by these activities. Study the map and fill in the correct number of chromosomes per human cell in each of the blanks accompanying the diagram.
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.Mother
Father
Meiosis
Meiosis
Sperm ..Egg Fertilization
Mitosis
Zygote..
Embryo.. mitosis Baby..

Additional Activities to Enhance Better Understanding of Genetics 1. Sockosomes made with lager socks can be modified and used to model chiasmata formation and crossing over. To do this, cut off portions of the tops of the socks, then reattach the cut off portions with magic gum or glue in such a way that each can be removed and swapped with the top of another sock. This can be very useful for demonstration during lectures. Use of flannel board will make the demonstration easy and interesting. 2. Use your groups sockosomes to simulate meiosis in a cell which has two pairs of homologous chromosomes. To do this, a) pick two sockosomes that the two different alleles of the gene for albinism (i.e. A for pigmented skin and a for albino). b) pick two sockosomes that have the two different alleles of the gene for sickle cell anaemia (i.e. A for normal red blood cell and a for sickled red blood cell. c) put the sockosomes in a pile to represent the two pairs of homologous chromosomes each with the DNA copied so that the cell is ready to under go meiosis.(Note that the genetic makeup of the cell is Aa and AS for albinism and sickle cell anaemia respectively. Note also that
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you can get different combination of the alleles in individual sperm and egg cell depending on how the sockosomes are piled up at the beginning of meiosis 1. d) list all the different possible combination of the alleles in the sperm and egg cells that can be produced. Suggestion; Let one person in your group represent the mother to supply the eggs and another represent the father to supply the sperm cells. 3. Model fertilization with the mother-representative of the group supplying the different possible combinations of the alleles in the egg to be fertilized by the different possible combination of the alleles in the sperm to be supplied by the father-representative. This should result to as many types of zygotes with different combinations of the alleles for the two traits skin pigmentation and sickle cell anaemia as there different allele combinations in the eggs and sperm cells. Let each parent supply one sock (chromatid) from each of there sockosomes (chromosomes) to represent a sockosome (chromosome) in the zygote each time. If properly done, each sockosome (chromosome) in the zygotes will consist of one sock (chromatid) from each of the parents. Suggestion; Lay the sockosomes (chromatids) out on the table so that you can more easily see the different possible combinations in both the gametes and zygotes. Questions 1) How many types of zygote were you able to produce? 2) What different combinations of the labelled alleles were found in the zygotes? 3) Use Punnett squares to predict the different possible types of combinations of the alleles in both the egg/sperm cells and zygotes that can be produced then compare the prediction with the results of the activities carried out.
Can you use the result of the activities carried out thus far to explain why sisters and brothers with the same parents have different characters and traits?
4. Simulate a situation where meiosis fails to take place perfectly i.e. where chromosomes are divided completely equally between the daughter cells produced by meiosis e.g. Down syndrome which involves chromosome 21. Hint; The egg/sperm cells produced will have more or less copies of the same chromosome. Note that any deviation from the correct balance (number) of chromosomes and/or genes copies in an egg/sperm cell passed on to the zygote results to abnormal condition. Depending on the nature and degree of the deviation, the result could be lethal. Such unequal division of the chromosomes can cause non-formation of the spindles, disintegration of the spindles before separation of the chromosomes, failure of spindles to retract to separate and pull apart the chromosomes, presence of certain chemicals in the cell, etc.
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Activity Three Sub Content 3 Genotype/Phenotype Inheritance. Concern of Sub Content: Transmission of Traits/Characters To Offsprings By Parents. Performance Objectives: Students should be able to: (a) simulate the process of passing (transmitting) genes and so traits/characters from parents to offsprings using inanimate objects, (b) relate the processes involved in the simulation to real life activities (i.e use activities and its result to explain natural events) (c) compare results of the simulation with theoretical explanations given to events, (d) identify possible discrepancies between results of theoretical explanations and that of simulation activities and give reasons for the discrepancies. Why content is Perceived as Being Difficult: Misconception of science concepts, abstract nature of topic and teaching methods employed in teaching the topic. Materials Required: Coins (1 per student), cardboard sheets and maker (a set of these for a pair of students preferably) Preliminary Decision: Let Head of coin represent normal and dominant genes while Tail of coin represent albino/sickle cell and therefore recessive gene Procedure: Step One; Students should be in pairs for the activities. Step Two: Each group of students should prepare their cardboard sheet in line with that given below for recording of the result of the activities they will carry out. Step Three; Each member of every pair of students should toss his/her coin one before the other and they record the result of every pair of coin tosses. The result of each pair of coin tosses should be the alleles in the first child produced by a mating of two heterozygous (Aa/AS) parents. Three more pairs of coin tosses also determine the genetic make-up for second, third and fourth children in the family. Record how many of the four children has each of the possible combinations (genotypes) viz AA, Aa or aa/ AA, AS or SS in the row labelled First family of four children in the table on the cardboard sheet. Step Four: Each group should make four more pairs of coin tosses to indicate the genotype of the children of the second family of four children. The produced genotypes should be recorded in the second row in the table meant for second family of children. Step Five: Repeat step four above two more times and record the result in the third and fourth rows in the table meant for third and fourth families with four children each respectively. Step Six: Each group should add up their results to determine total number of AA, Aa, and aa/AA, AS and SS combinations in the children produced by their tosses.
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Step Seven: Calculate the fraction of children that have the various genotypes. Step Eight: Interpret the expression (phenotypes) of the genotypes of the children. Step Nine: Calculate the fraction of the children with the different phenotypes and ensure that they agree with that obtained in step seven above. Step Ten: Compare the findings /results obtained by the coin tosses and those obtained from punnett squares. Punnett Squares for Predictions and Format for Recording Results of Coin Tosses. A S A a A AA AS A AA Aa S AS SS a Aa aa Genotype ratio = 1:2:1 Phenotype ratio = 3:1 Table for Recording Results of Coin Tosses AA/AA First Family of 4 Children. Second Family of 4 Children. Third Family of 4 Children. Fourth Family of 4 Children. TOTAL Fraction of Obtained Results of Coin Tosses. Predicted Fractions From Punnett Squares Above Reference Abdullahi, A. (1982). Science Teaching in Nigeria. Ilorin: Atot Press Ltd. Cell Division : Mitosis and Cytokinesis. http://www.cytographics.com/f Cooper, J.L. and Mueck, R.(1990). Student involvement in learning: Co- operative College instruction. Journal of Excellence in College Teaching, 12,(1). learning and Aa/AS aa/SS Genotype ratio = 1:2:1 Phenotype ratio = 3:1
Cooper,J. L., Robinson, P. and McKinney, M.(2005). Cooperative learning in the classroom. on-line cooperative learning http://www.csdh.ed/SOE/cl. 13/12/06. Egbo, J. (2005). Effect of concept mapping method of instruction on students achievement and Learning retention in chemistry. Unpulished M. Sc. dissertation, dept. of Sc. and computer Edu., ESUT. 29
Eshiet, I.T. (1996). Improvisation in Science Teaching Philosophy and Practice, Abak: Belpot (Nig) company. Fafunwa, A,B. (1985).Keynote address delivered at the 31st annual conference of STAN in Education Today; A Quarterly Journal of the Federal Ministry of Education, 3, (4). Mbeya and associates, Lagos. Johnson, J.W.F. and Johbson,R.T. (2001) An online//A//.Cooperative Learning. Htm 13/12/06. overview of cooperative learning
Learning Mendelian Genetics Through Simple Coin Toss Game at http://www.wsu.edu/omoto/papers/cointoss./html 13/12/06. Njoku, Z.C.(1987). Strategies for winning more students for science and technology. In Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of STAN. 937-949. Novak, J.D. and Godwin, E. (1984). Learning how to Learn. London: Cambridge University Press. Novak, J.D. (1990). Concept mapping: A useful tool for science education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 27, (1). Neboh, O.I. and Obodo,G.C. (2000). Cooperative learning: An alternative strategy for effective learning of science and mathematics. In Mogboh, J.O.(Ed.) National Policy on Education for Sustainable Development Issues for 21st Century. Enugu, faculty of education, ESUT. Okebukola, P.A.(1990). Attaining meaningful learning of concepts in genetics and ecology: An examination of the potency of the concept mapping technique. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 27, 493-505. Poetting. S., Weldon, I. and Doherty, J. (2006). Mitosis, Meiosis and Fertilization. dept. of biology, University Pennsylvania. (On-line). Wushishi, D.I. (2001). The effect of concept mapping and analogy on secondary school students achievement in chemistry. Unpublished M.Ed. (Sc.Edu.) Dissertation, UDOSOK.
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RELATIONSHIP OF HOME BACKGROUND AND STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ORLU EDUCATION ZONE OF IMO STATE Ihebereme, Chioma (Mrs.), (Ph.D.) and Maduewesi, B. U.
Abstract The aim of this study was to find out whether relationship exists between home background and the academic performance of students in Orlu Education Zone of Imo State. The study was considered worthwhile because the family exerts influence on the academic pursuit of the child. The home background variables considered were; parents level of education and parents marital status. Two hypotheses guided the study. The design for the study was descriptive survey design. Proportionate random sampling technique was used in the selection of 200 students from 10 secondary schools in the ten Local Government Areas of the zone. Data were collected through documentation source and questionnaire. Data generated were analyzed using the Pearson Correlation Coefficient formula at 0.05 level significant. The findings of the study indicated that the influence of variables such as parents education and parents marital status is significantly related to academic performance of students.
Introduction The home environment has a profound influence on the intellectual development of any given child. The relatively better intellectual atmosphere of most families complements the formal education provided by the school. To this end, the childs friendly environments are advocated for the holistic development of the child, both at home and at school (Falaye 2004). Moreover, it is often said that the uncertainty and inadequacies in homes make children feel insecure and less motivated to learn. Ihebereme (2006) argued that the home background of an individual plays a major role in his intellectual potentials. Lending credence to this, Bayer (1992), opined that the first teacher the child has, are his parents, who transmit to him, their own value on right and wrong, particularly at the time the child has not had any contact, with other influence. Some researcher such as Boocock (1972), Coleman (1971), Ekpe (2000) and Egwu (2004), have carried out studies on the relationship between socio-economic background and students academic achievement in school. Some of the socio-economic variables used were; income of parents, family size and parental interest. Other researcher like Ekpo (2005) and Dan (2006), carried out similar studies on family status and its effect on students academic performance. Some of the family status variables used were; parents societal image, parents attitude and parents income. In all these studies by various scholars, not much work has been done in the area of home background and its relationship with students academic performance. Hence, the need for this study. Parents Education Parents who are educated can assist their children in their assignments. Mbah (2001) asserts that the parents literacy have great influence on the achievement of their children in the school. Nnadi (2004) stresses that students whose parents are highly educated are more successful at school than students from illiterate homes. Nnadi (2004), made this declaration with an indication for exceptional cases of lucky children whose the grace of God has vindicated.
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Ihebereme, Chioma (Mrs.), (Ph.D.) and Maduewesi, B. U.
Consequently, it is obvious to note that the more highly parents value education, the more they will support their childrens educational endeavours and more likely these children will succeed. In illiterate homes, verbal communication between parents and children is minimal and unstimulating, which does not facilitate academic achievement. As observed by Ihebereme (2006), a number of educated homes nowadays envisaged the essence of contributing the childrens progress in school. Such educated parents, spend a lot of money on contracting teachers to teach their children at home. Most of them make provision for study rooms, fully equipped with learning materials. This action of course has no bearing to illiterate parents. Parents Marital Status In the olden days, polygamy signifies a wealthy man. Men as at that time, boost with the number of wives they married and cater for. Of course, their value for education was at a negligible standard in respect of sending their daughters to school and coupled with the erroneous number of their biological siblings. Often times, in order to minimize cost, the father may decide to train only the first male child of each of his wives. This action was to ensure randomnization of knowledge per child of all his wives. On the other hand, a man who married one wife with a sizeable family will be better of, in training all his children without the least reservation (i.e. monogamy) (Osakwe, 2003). Hypotheses Two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. They are: 1. There is no significant relationship between the level of education of the parents and academic performance of students. 2. There is no significant relationship between the academic performance of students from polygamous homes and those from monogamous homes. Research Design This study was a descriptive survey. Ali (1996), stated that a descriptive study seeks to document and describe what exists or the present status of existence or absence of what is investigated. It is considered therefore most appropriate for use in this study which involves the relationship between home background and academic performance of students in secondary schools. Area of Study The study was carried out in Orlu Education Zone of Imo State comprising ten Local Government Areas, namely, Ideato North, Ideato South, Isu, Njaba, Nwangele, Nkwerre, Orlu, Orsu, Oru East and Oru West. The study was carried out in the 1,334 public secondary schools scattered in the Local Government Areas (Secondary Education Mangement Board Orlu, Planning Research and Statistical Department 2006/2007). Population of the Study The population for the study consisted of 6, 747 senior secondary class three students of 1334 secondary schools in the ten (10) Local Government Areas of Orlu Education Zone. Sample The sample for the study consisted of 200 senior secondary class three students, ten (10) secondary schools, ten (10) Local Government Areas from Orlu Education Zone of Imo State.
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Relationship of Home Background and Students Academic Performance in Orlu Education Zone of Imo State
Sampling Technique The sample for the study was drawn through proportionate random sampling technique as stated thus, 20 senior secondary class three students and one (1) secondary school in each Local Government Area in Orlu Education Zone. Instrument for Data Collection The instrument use for data collection was a questionnaire and documentation source. The questionnaire was made up of twenty (20) items which comprised two sections. Section A sought personal information of the respondents, while section B sought information about students background. In the area of academic performance of the students, the marks scored in the first term, second term and third term of senior secondary class three were used. Validation The instrument was validated by two experts in Measurement and Evaluation in school of Education, Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri for a detailed vetting. Following their vetting, corrections were effected. This ensured both face and content validity of the instrument. Reliability of the Instrument The reliability of the instrument was determined using a pilot study on 20 teachers from 4 secondary schools in Orlu education zone. This sample was not involved in the actual study. The reliability coefficient of 0.88 was obtained using Cronbach Alpha Method. With high coefficient, the researcher considered appropriate for the study. Administration and Collection of the Instrument The researcher in the administration of the instrument adopted a direct delivery technique. The researcher also engaged the services of the class teachers who actually supervised the filling of the copies of the questionnaires. The help of the teachers were sought because it was believed that the student would feel more relaxed receiving instructions from their teachers. After completing the questionnaires the teachers collected them from the students and handed them over to the researcher. The return rate was 100%. This was as a result of the mode of administration employed by the researcher. On the marked scores, the teachers in the selected schools also assisted the researcher to gather the scores for the first, second and third terms in senior secondary school class three. The scores were in English Language and Mathematics. The choice of these subjects was that they constitute the major school subjects. Hence, their scores were added together and the average worked out. The result of this was used to test the hypotheses. Method of Data Analysis The data for this study was analyzed using the Pearson Correlation Coefficient formula. This method of statistical tool was deemed appropriate for determining the relationship existing between the two variables considered in the study. Results The result of the findings is presented in Tables 1 and 2. Hypothesis One: There is no significant relationship between the parents level of education and academic performance of students. 33
Ihebereme, Chioma (Mrs.), (Ph.D.) and Maduewesi, B. U.
Table 1: The Relationship between the Parents Level of Education and Academic Performance of Students Sum of Sum of XY Cal. r Crit. r Variable scores square Parents Level of Education (X) 6189 7876005 7434035 0.85 0.194 Students Academic Performance (Y) 7218 9642342 N = 200 P = 0.05 Sum of scores = X and Y Sum of Square = X2 and Y2 Table 1 reveals that the calculated r of 0.85 is greater than the Critical r of 0.194 at 0.05 level of significance. The null hypothesis is therefore rejected. Thus, there is significant relationship between parents level of education and students academic performance. Table2: Academic Performance of Students from Monogamous Homes in Comparison with those from Polygamous Homes Sum of Sum of XY Cal. r Crit. r Variable scores square Monogamous Homes (X) 2799 3939505 2961421 0.50 0.194 Polygamous Homes (Y) 2115 3719505 N = 200 P = 0.05 Sum of scores = X and Y Sum of Square = X2 and Y2 Table 2, reveals that the calculated r of 0.50 is greater than the critical r of 0.194 at 0.05 level of significance. The null hypothesis is rejected. Thus, it is concluded that, there is a significant relationship between the academic performance of students from monogamous homes and those from polygamous homes. Recommendations The following recommendations are made for the study: 1. Parents should enhance their educational qualification as this will help them to direct their children appropriately in the parts to thread for obtaining more value for education. 2. Teachers should be mindful of the different home backgrounds of their students in order to give them individual attention. 3. Periodic symposia and workshops should be organized for parents on the need to assist their children to attain greater height in education. 4. Parents who obtained additional academic qualification should be promoted periodically. This will help to elevate their capital income to cater squarely for their childs education 5. Government should mount campaign on the disadvantages of deviating from monogamy to polygamy not only towards quality education of their children but to other aspects of life endeavours.
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Relationship of Home Background and Students Academic Performance in Orlu Education Zone of Imo State
Discussion and Conclusion Since there are significant differences in the hypotheses, it could then be concluded that home background is related to the academic performance of students in secondary schools in Orlu Education Zone of Imo State. Studies by Agu (2000), Osakwe (2003) and Bola (2005), all point to the alarming effect of home background on students academic performance. These scholars justified the fact that what goes on in the homes is as important as what transpires in the schools. Consequently, home background is sine qua non in the training and well being of the child in the school. The emphasis in this paper adjudges that every home is the determinant instrument for success in their childs educational achievement in schools References Ali, A. (1996). Fundamentals of Research in Education. Awka: Meks Publisher. Agu, M. (2000). Facilitating effective childcare delivery: Parenting Environment. A Journal of Early Childhood Association of Nigeria. 1 (II). Pp 12. Ani, P. (2006). New Introduction to Educational Psychology. Ibadan: Evans Brothers Limited. Bayer, E. (1992). Teaching Young Children. London: Pitman Press. Bola, P. U. (2005). A Study of home environment and academic performance of Nigerian secondary school students: An unpublished project. University of Ibadan. Boocock, S. S. (1972). An Introduction to the Sociology of Learning. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Coleman, J. S. S. (1971). The Adolescent Society. The Social life of a Teenager and its Impact on Education. New York: The Free Press. Egwu, L. (2004). Parents and education. Journal of Social Issues. 1. (6). Pp 16 Ekpe, M. U. (2000). Educational Psychology in Nigerian Perspectives. Lagos: Macmillan Publishing Co. Ekpo, P. (2005). The Child and the Society. Aba: Destiny Printers. Falaye, A. O. (2004). Home environment and sexuality education of the child: A developmental perspective. A Journal of Early Childhood Association of Nigeria. 1 (II). Pp 25 Ihebereme, Chioma (2006). Educational Administration in Nigeria: Modern Perspectives. Owerri: Divine Mercy Publishing Co. Mbah, S. K. (2001). The Technology of Training the Child. Aba: Mercury Publishing House. Nnadi, U. (2004). Approaches to Nigerian Child Education: An Overview. Enugu: Hilton Printers. Osakwe, M. (2003). The effects of home on educational achievement of the Nigerian child. West African Journal of Education, 12 (2). Pp 23 35
SCIENTIFIC LITERACY: A MUST FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE INFORMATION AGE THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE
Dr. (Mrs.) O. M. Bolorunduro

Abstract The 1990 Jomtien declaration of education for all by the year 2000 and the project 2000+ of which Nigeria is a signatory have implications for literacy programs in general. However, scientific literacy of the citizenry is vital and relevant in this information age. In spite of the efforts of the Nigerian government in various literacy programmes educational data (1996), shows 52% literacy level. Only about 67% of children of school age are enrolled in primary school. The completion rate was 64% while the rate of transition to Junior Secondary School was 43% with only 28% of entrance into primary school attaining the Junior Secondary Education level. This has serious implication for scientific literacy. The Senior Secondary level is the stage at which the child chooses either to drop or continue the sciences. Recent development in the field of Information Technology (IT) coupled with its accompanying advantages and benefits to: education, commerce, health and industry, necessitates that we not only sustain but improve our scientific literacy which is needed to operate effectively in this information age of unending development in the Information Technology (IT) field.
Introduction The role of education in National development is so enormous that it is important that every citizen in the nation should be educated. Nigeria being a signatory to the 1990 Jomtien Declaration of the Education For All (EFA) by the year 2000, is committed to eradication of illiteracy. Various programmes like the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and the more recent. University Basic Education (UBE) is part of efforts made by the Nigerian government to this end. EFA 2000, reported that only 67% of Nigerian children of school going age are enrolled in primary schools. In spite of these efforts the National literacy rate at present is estimated to be 52%. In 1960, illiteracy rate was as high as 80% but it dropped to 75% in 1966 (Indabawa, 1988). In 1978, rural literacy rate was 30% while urban was 52% (Shagari, 1982). However, the 1991 population census report (NPC, 1998) indicated that the overall literacy rate was 57%. The current literacy rate is 52%, with only 64% primary school completion rate and 43.5% transition rate to the Junior secondary school (EFA, 2000). This implies that only about 27% of the children enrolled in the primary school are likely to attain Junior Secondary educational level and get to learn some science that a child learns at the Junior Secondary level. This is because most of the science is learnt at the Junior Secondary education level since children in the Senior Secondary have made choice of subjects in relation to their future choice of profession. This has a lot to do with the learning of science and inculcating the relevant Scientific way of life that is important for the present information Age. Improving on the literacy rate is very vital to the development and use of Information Technology (IT) in Nigeria. Somewhere in between literacy and the use and application of IT in Nigeria is scientific literacy and the implied computer literacy needed for IT application and development in Nigeria. This development should not only be seen in terms of growth in our capital (GNP) as this may fail to translate into increase in well being for the majority of the population. The New concept of development which insists on human being as the end rather than the means to an end (Quizibash, 1996), is that which is supported by the author of the paper. The EFA 2000 document
36
pointed out that there is overwhelming evidence that this vital literacy indicators have not improved. According to Quizibash (1996), the context of development includes; 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Certain minimal levels of health, nutrition, sanitation, rest , shelter and security, Certain minimal capabilities including literacy, intellectual and physical capability, Self respect and aspiration, Positive freedom, autonomy or self determination, Negative freedom or liberty, Enjoyment, Understanding or knowledge, Significant relations with other and some participation in social life,
Accomplishment (the sort of achievement that give life point and weight). My concern is with an aspect of the development relate to certain minimal capabilities in relation to literacy and by extension scientific literacy. Scientific Literacy Hussen and Postleth Waite (1985), pointed out that scientific literacy implied a general education in science, science for effective citizenship. This consist; firstly, of the knowledge of significant science fact, concepts, principles and theories. Secondly, the ability to apply relevant science knowledge in situation of everyday life. Thirdly, the ability to utilize the process of science inquiry. Fourthly, an understanding of general ideas about the characteristic of science and about the important interactions of science and technology and society. Fifthly, of informed attitudes and interests related to science. The people equipped with the knowledge, understanding and skills expressed above can function successfully in a contemporary technology based society Hussen and Postlethwaite (1985), pointed out that without this literacy in science people are likely to be confused by any event that happens in the world and less likely to lead healthy and secure lives. This brings to mind the recent case of the January 27, 2002 bomb blast in Lagos where over a thousand people lost their lives. These people were not aware of the nature of the environment in which they live and so they rushed into the canal, in which, most of the people that died drowned. The death recorded as a result of the blast is negligible when compared with those that drowned in the canal. This draws attention to the fact that there is the need for the people to know about the environment in which they live. It also points to the need for scientific literacy. Apart from the public enlightenment through the electronic media and print media, it is important to note that the place for this type of education is in the formal school system, especially at the primary and the Junior Secondary level when all the children in the school learn science before picking their subjects or vocations at the Senior Secondary level. Computer Literacy We need to be informed and able in utilize our knowledge of science in the use of the computer in the various sectors of our economy. Computers are now used in our banks, libraries, schools and generally by the public in sending mails, as in E-mail to mention a few. We also have a lot of computer toys around here in Nigeria. This is part of the IT development in Nigeria. In addition to this is, the recent introduction of the mobile phones into Nigeria has implication for the IT development in Nigeria. How do you use or apply all these equipments or facilities if you are not scientifically literate? It is almost impossible. We are now talking about the Open University in 37
Scientific Literacy: A Must for Sustainable Development in the Information Age the Nigerian Experience
which we expect the computer, website, e-mail, phones and other IT equipments to play a vital role. How do we expect this to be possible without the basic knowledge in science? In fact not only scientific literacy but also computer literacy is vital to the education of our children in and out of school. Nevison (1976), coined the word computer literacy and explained that it should include: the use of elementary computing skills, rudiments of computer programming and how it should be taught. The scope of computer literacy has been enlarged over the years to include: ability to choose and run applications as well as make use of the information that the computer can provide. The use of the computer as aids to teaching and learning, solving problems and managing information has far reaching educational, political and social implications. This has to do with the ability of an individual to function competently in an information base society. Computer can play important role in the teaching and learning of science. Firstly, it is important in the development of problem - solving skills and information -handling skill. Secondly, the computer is one of the most powerful means for producing storing, retrieving, using and or communicating information. Ahiakwo (2002), Chris in his write up on the role of internet connectivity in Nigeria noted that computer literacy in Nigeria is low. He indicated that an estimated number of internet literates is about 5% of the total population. The breakdown showed that, 20% of these people are Nigerians in the very high-income bracket, 30% are from national companies and 50% from the multi-national companies. Information 2000, wrote that a democratic society depends upon an informed and educated citizenry The information service being the backbone of lifelong learning experience should be effective and our library must be in good shape and equipped with the latest technology if we must move forward as a nation. Mabawonku (2001), opined that increasing education was a way of achieving sustainable economic growth and development. Other ways include; 1. Developing unexploited natural resource, 2. Accumulating physical capital roads, factories, telephones network etc, 3. Expanding the labour force and increasing trading capacity. He summarized that, before the industrial revolution, landed natural resources were the most important factor of our growth and development. During the industrial revolution, capital became the most important factor. However, the new global economy is knowledge based and hence the need for an institutional transformation that improved knowledge and the flow of information and also created incentives for learning and creativity. In Africa, formal educational systems have failed to reach millions of children and adults within the informal sector. Table 1, illustrates this in the Nigerian context (e.g 52% literacy rate as at 1996). Table 1: Literacy Rate of Different Age Groups Age (years) 69 10 14 15 19 30 34 60 64 Literacy Rate (%) 42 77 75 74 54
Source :National Population Commission, (NPC) 1998. However, the current knowledge driven global economy demands Nigeria participation in the global information network. This calls for the closing up of the gaps between formal and the informal 38
knowledge and information systems. Also there must be a way of bridging the gap (Literacy). According to Slack and Rowley (1999) Australia, a huge country with many remote communities has a long history of using electronic technologies to provide information and education to its population. The country is also tackling its distance from the rest of the world by using and developing web based technologies to support library and information services and to meet the challenges for almost instant knowledge delivery, Nigeria can take a cue from the experience in Australia. Some Recent Development in Nigeria There is now a government policy called the information Technology (IT) Policy and a National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was formed as part of the IT policy that was released in May 2001. The vision of the government according to the NITDA boss is to make Nigeria the pre-eminent Africa nation in IT by 2005 by ensuring software development. The policy is said to be modeled after similar documents in Ireland, Malaysia, India and Singapore. The government hopes that the new policy will complement existing programmes in Education, wealth creation, poverty eradication, job creation, and enhance global competitiveness (Badaru, 2001), to this end. The minister of science and technology said that the implementation of the Nigeria IT policy will empower the rural community with appropriate tools to enjoy the fruits of modern IT which include access to e-commerce, agro vision, Tele-health, and distance education through the establishment of community Tele centers and the use of mobile internet units (Badaru, 2001), Four mobile cellular operators MTN communication Nigeria limited, Celltel Nigeria, Globacom Nigeria limited and the Nigeria Telecommunications(NITEL) are the operators of the Global Satellite Mobile (GSM) network in Nigeria. The bringing in of these mobile phone companies has increased the access to phone by Nigerians, from 400,000-land line to 25 million mobile phones between August 2001 and June 2006(This Day, 2006). Private Initiatives The effort of the private sector in the training of people of various cadre and professions in their private computer institutes and schools all over the nation is hereby commended. At a time in the 1990s, some of the computer professionals joined the private practice while some transferred their service to the private sector because of better remuneration. Thanks to the Obasanjo administration that has better the lot of the government workers with improved salary. Most of the computer centers in our higher or tertiary institutions now run short courses even though at a fee. Most of these institutions now have internet cafes, which is operated either by the departments or by private operators. This development in our institution has brought the internet facilities closer to the academia, especially for those who cannot afford to link the internet to their private computer (PC) or those who do not even have a PC. There is need to improve on this development. It is necessary to mention here that only 11 out of the 50 degree awarding institutions in Nigeria offer computer or computer education courses (FRN, JAMB 2002). However some non-government organizations like the Youth For Technology (YFT) is an example of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that is making moves to bridge the digital gap through cyber commerce, development of small businesses and promoting local and cultural events and work shop check (http://youthfortechnology.org) for details. Another Non-Governmental Organization which is committed in offering each primary and secondary school in Nigeria a free website using Nigeria.net check (http://ww.nigeria.com) for details.
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Scientific Literacy: A Must for Sustainable Development in the Information Age the Nigerian Experience
Constraints and Problems of Computer Literacy The constraints and problems of computer literacy include: 1. Lack of trained personnel in schools to teach children, 2. Incessant power failure 3. Lack of fund to purchase equipment and upgrade existing ones to keep up with modern development in the field of IT, 4. Lack of awareness of the benefits of IT by the public. Some Educational Implications and Recommendations 1. Inclusion of Computer Education and training into all levels of education and training programmes in the country is inevitable. 2. Computer Education curriculum should be designed and integrated into training programs at all levels of education to ensure that this form (including literacy programmes) of education is functional and applicable to the field to which the individual belongs. This training should be both pre-service and in - service, so as to keep abreast of the current developments in the IT field. 3. Awareness should be created in both the public and private sectors through the prints and electronic media of the numerous benefits of IT. In doing this special attention should be given to women because they play a vital role in the informal training of the young and next generation. She should be prepared for the e-everything world. 4. Adequate funding of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) at all stages of the implementation of the Nigerian IT policy should be given the deserved priority. Conclusion This paper has attempted to link literacy, (to be specific) scientific literacy to computer literacy and current developments in the field of Information Technology (IT) in Nigeria. This development in IT in Nigeria could be sustained and improved upon by the provision of uninterrupted power supply, developing and implementing an integrated computer Education in every educational programmes, creating awareness of the numerous benefits of IT and adequate funding of the National IT policy. References Ahiakwo, C. O.(2002). The role of internet connectivity in Nigeria www.isonig.orgng/conference paper / paper 17 htm Badaru, S (2001). Local News in Ajimoso D.E (Ed.), PC World Nigeria 1 (8) 4-10 E business. This Day Thursday, October 5,2006 PP29 Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999). Annual abstract of statistics Harasin, L.M (1994). Computer Networking for Education in Hussein Postlethwaite (ed) The International Encyclopedia of Education 2 http.www.nigeria.net 40
http.youthfortechnology.org Hussein T. and Postlethwaite (1985). The International Encyclopedia of Education 2 Information (2000). Library and information services for the 21st century- a summary Report of the 1991 white house conference on library and information services. JAMB (2002 ). Federal Republic of Nigeria University Matriculation Examination / DE Brochure guidelines for Admission to first degree course in Nigerian Universities 2002/2003 session pub. Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Mabawonku, A. O. (2001). The imperative for community information policy center system (CIRMS) in development Policy center Newsletter. 11-12. National Population Commission (1998). 1991 Population census of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Analytical Report at the National Level 124, 157. Nevison, J.M. (1976). Computing in the Liberal Arts. College Science 396-402. Plown, J and Reinien I.J. (1994). Computer Literacy in Hussein Postlethwaite (Ed.) The International Encyclopedia of education 2 Quizilbash, M. (1996). Capability well beings and human development in David Booth (Ed.) The Journal of Development Studies 33 (2) 143 162. Slack, F and Rowley (1991). Pathways to knowledge on information and knowledge delivery in Austria in David Stroker (Ed.), Journal of Liberianship and Information Service 3 (4). The EFA 2000 Assessment Country Reports: Home countries Regions search.
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MICRO-TEACHING AS IT AFFECTS THE TEACHING PRACTICE PERFORMANCE OF STUDENT TEACHERS IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, YOLA Mrs. K. G. Farauta
Abstract Micro-teaching was looked into as it affects the performance of student teachers in their teaching practice. Ex-post facto survey was used to obtain data on students teaching practice and micro-teaching grades, spanning five years (1999-2003). The grades of five hundred students were used as data. Data was analyzed using range, mean, standard deviation and Pearsons product moment correlation coefficient. Results revealed that there is a high convergence in the performance of student teachers with a mean of 63-67. There is a positive relationship between micro teaching and teaching practice. Performance of student teachers studied: r=0.53 at p<0.05 (22=0.42). Micro teaching therefore, should continue to be a component of the teacher training courses.
Introduction Teaching is a conscious attempt to help someone acquire or change some skills, attitude, knowledge ideal or appreciation (Baba & Gurama 1999). In teaching as a profession, two concepts, micro-teaching and teaching practice have been used so often that teacher trainees would not have been trained adequately without these concepts or processes. Micro-teaching is one of the innovations in teacher education and training which was coined by Michael and Hill (1979), who viewed micro-teaching as the period when the teacher trainee is allowed to practice teaching for the first time. The theory behind it is to allow the trainee to try a teaching skill himself, discuss his performance as appraised by a supervisor and peer trainees, and if possible give him a chance to try again with another group of students before going on to the next micro-teaching unit. This definition tells us that this is the first time a teacher-trainee comes in contact with students or a teaching-skill, and he tries to master such new skill to become a better teacher over a period of time. It is self exploration and can serve as a medium for self correction, and the correction of peergroup of trainees under the guidance of a supervisor. Aggarwal, (2002), says micro-teaching is associated with small classroom size, little time of 5-10 minutes and small content of the syllabus e.g. one topic or concept. McFarland (1996), also sees micro-teaching as a situation where and when student teachers practice specific teaching skills in a simplified, controlled teaching situation, reduced time, classroom size and moving from less complex to more complex skills; with possibility of immediate appraisal and plan for re-teaching to improve the skill pursued. According to Roe, Ross and Burns (1999), the importance of micro-teaching is its cardinal feature which systematically attempts to simplify the complexities of teaching. Teaching practice, on the other hand, is the period during which a pre-service teacher is assigned to a public school for supervised teaching experience as part of his/her training programme (Haine, 1960). Micro-teaching precedes teaching practice and implies that one cannot become a teacher if he/she has not undergone a teaching practice.
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Sowande (1994), says there is a significant difference between the performance of teachers who were exposed to teaching practice and those who are not, when employed as teachers. Teaching practice therefore, has a significant role to play in teacher training programmes. It is in the face of the established roles that micro-teaching and teaching practice play that this study was carried out to determine the relationship between micro-teaching and teaching practice performance of students. In the process of the research, one null hypothesis was tested at the 0.05 level of significance: Ho: There is no significant relationship between micro-teaching grades and teaching practice performance of student teachers. Methodology The study was an ex-post factor survey and data were derived from the micro-teaching and teaching practice grades of students from 1999 2003. The population for the study comprised all the three hundred and two students who participated in the micro-teaching and teaching practice sessions from 1999 2003. A random sample of twenty-four students from each year was taken to give a fair representation to all students. The sample summed up to one hundred and twenty (120) students grades. The random sampling technique of Koul (2003), was used to give each student equal chances of being picked. Secondary data, i.e. grades of students were obtained and used for the study. Data obtained were grouped and the range, mean and standard deviation were worked out. The null hypothesis was tested using the Pearsons correlation co-efficient as recommended by Bartz (1963). Results and Discussion The results obtained in Table I, revealed that the standard deviation figures when compared with mean scores are very low for each set both for micro-teaching and teaching practice performances. This scenario indicates a high convergence in the performance of students considered in the study. This result confirms what Aggarwal (2002) and McFarland (1996), said, that microteaching is the bedrock and foundation for teaching practice. Table I: Range, Mean and Standard Deviation of Scores Range Mean Standard Deviation Year Group N MT TP MT TP MT TP 1999 A 24 56-75 50-75 65 64 5 7 2000 B 24 56-74 50-75 66 62 4 7 2001 C 24 56-74 50-77 64 62 6 14 2002 D 24 56-76 53-77 63 66 5 7 2003 E 24 53-78 53-75 67 66 6 7 MT = Micro Teaching TP = Teaching Practice In simple terms, as shown in Table 2 it means students who had a good grade in microteaching tended to also have a good grade in teaching practice, e.g. in 1999, the range of scores for micro-teaching was between 56-75 while the range for teaching practice the same year was 50-75%. The null hypothesis was rejected which says there is no significant relationship between microteaching and teaching practice performance of student teachers. By implication it means that there is a high positive relationship between micro teaching and teaching practice because all the correlation 43
Micro-Teaching as it Affects the Teaching Practice Performance of Student Teachers in Federal University of Technology, Yola
coefficients obtained were higher than the table value at 0.05 level of significance as shown in Table 2. Table 2: Summary of Pearsons Correlation Coefficient for Micro-teaching and Teaching Practice Year Group Correlation coefficient 0.90* A 1999 0.76* B 2000 0.62* C 2001 0.53* D 2002 0.90* E 2003 * Significant at P<0.05 In conclusion, the need to sustain micro-teaching and teaching practice as important components of teacher education cannot be overemphasized, seeing their relationship and the benefits that could accrue to the student teachers. The relationship between micro-teaching and teaching practice performance could be due to supervision provided, and teach-re-teach chances offered to student teachers during micro-teaching sessions which could allow for improvement. At this point it was recommended that: 1. Teacher-trainers should take micro-teaching sessions as an important part of students training. 2. Teaching practice sessions should closely follow micro-teaching sessions so as to allow for transfer of skills. 3. Enough time should be given in the sessions to allow for evaluation of student teachers. References Allen, A.W.D (1963). Teaching as a Profession Stanford: Stanford University Press Ltd. Aggarwal, J. C. (2002). Essentials of Educational Technology teaching, learning, innovation in education. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing house PVT Ltd. Baba, M.M. and Gurama, U. (1999). Towards improving the conduct of teaching practice in Nigeria Colleges of Education. Gombe Technical Education Journal, Vol.2 (1); 116-121. Bartz, A.E. (1963). Elementary Statistical Methods for Educational Measurement Burgess: Burgass Publishing Co. Haine, A.C. (1960). Guiding the Student Teaching Process, Chicago: Rand McNally and Co. Koul, L. (2003). Methodology of Educational Research, New Delhi: VIKAS Publishing house PVT Ltd. McFarland, H.S.N. (1996). Intelligent Teaching: Professional Skills for Student Teachers. Britain: Western Publishing Co. Ltd.
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Michael, D. and Hill, L.A. (1979). A Lecture Book on Teacher Training Course, New York: Macmillan. Roe, B.D, Ross, E.P. and Burns, P.C (1999). Student Teacher and field Experiences Handbook, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co. Sowande, K.G. (1994). Effect of micro-teaching on teaching practice performance of College of education and Polytechnic NCE Student Teachers. The Nigerian Teacher today (TNTT): August 1994: 178-181.
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FINANCIAL GLOBALIZATION AND ITS IMPACT ON CAPITAL MARKET DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA
Augustine, O. Okolie
Abstract One of the features of the world economy in recent years is the further acceleration of financial globalization, particularly the strengthening of the relationship between the emerging capital markets and the industrialized countries. Today, technological innovation and globalization are interacting and proceeding in both the real economy and the financial sector. Financial innovations involving new types of financial instruments have the distinct feature of identifying and separating functions and risks involved in various financial transactions, unlike conventional financial instruments such as bank deposits and loans, stocks, bonds, and insurance products, which are provided in each traditional segment of the industry. This paper reviews the definition and background of globalization, discusses financial innovations and financial market globalization, and investigates the causes of global international financial markets, the impact of globalization on private capital flows as well as the effects of the transitional economy on the regional growth with reference to Africa. Also, some exogenous variables that measure the causes of globalization including market openness, tax treaties, innovation of financial instruments, and telecommunication developments were highlighted. The paper concludes that it is necessary in Nigeria, to adopt the most appropriate institutional framework, after reviewing the traditional segmentation of financial markets and businesses, to enhance the efficiency and stability of the Nigerian financial market through the development of new types of financial instruments.
Introduction Since the mid 1990s, globalization has dominated major economic and social discussions and has become a key topic of concern. Evidently, the trend towards greater integrated world markets has opened a wide potential for more growth, thus presenting an unparalleled opportunity for developing countries to raise living standards (Ouattara, 1997). This trend is not without some downside risks, which have created fears and shifted concern to the marginalization of developing countries in particular. This section of the paper shows the meaning and conceptualization of globalization. Globalization refers to the process of making global, meaning being present worldwide, at the world stage or at the global arena. This brings in the sense of visibility, immediacy and availability. An issue globalizes either through commerce, production, politics, and media of mass communication or information technology, social-cultural exchanges and many more. Globalization talks of the presence (worldwide), on what is considered as important global centres. It involves the spread or universalization of artifacts, issues, ideas, lifestyles and movements. Globalization has also been defined as a concept, which refers to the compression of the world and intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole. This compression could be explained as containing different elements operating at all the levels of culture, consciousness, civilization, knowledge production and spread and that of economic relations with a wide range of impacts, generating multiple and diverse expression and reactions. Financial products are as such, as diverse as the regions from which they are produced (Karanja, 2001).
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The emphasis has been the emerging system characterized by inter-dependence, flows of exchanges, modes of new technologies, the integration of the markets, the shrinking of time and space and so on. In particular, globalization has been linked with intensification of worldwide socialeconomic relations, which link the distance localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring miles away and vice versa. Globalization refers essentially to the stretching process, in so far as the modes of connections between different social contexts or regions become networked across the earth surface as a whole. Local transformation is as much a part of globalization as the lateral extension of social connections across time and space. In terms of economics and finance, globalization defines the broadening and deepening linkages of national economies into a worldwide market for goods, services and especially capital, hence Roberts (2007), asserted, Globalization involves increasing integration of economies around the world, from the national to the local levels, thereby promoting international trade in goods and services and cross border movement of information, technology, people and events. Certainly, this rapid economic globalization is largely attributable to the fast industrialization of the emerging economies, achieved through improved industrial infrastructures and transfers of technology from the industrialized countries. At the same time, the benefits of technological breakthroughs in information processing and communications industries cannot be overlooked. Such technological advances have enabled firms to allocate manufacturing processes or bases for inventory storage or sales in a number of countries, and to manage them optimally. The integration of international financial markets has been one of the defining features of the past twenty years. Across industrialized countries, total foreign assets and liabilities have tripled as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with foreign equity assets and liabilities increasing six-fold. This pattern has generally been mirrored in emerging markets like Nigeria, although they have experienced a more cyclical trend, especially during financial crises. Given the substantial increase in cross border flows of capital, what impact has the globalization made on the development of capital market in Nigeria? Globalization of international financial markets are usually driven by certain forces/causes and equally attract a nomber consequences, both positive and negative. International capital flows are broken down into four categories: portfolio investment, bank capital, other-sector capital, and FDI (foreign direct investment). Short-term flows are also distinguished by type. Inflows are distinguished based upon whether they are driven by foreign investment in the home economy or the withdrawal of capital from abroad by domestic residents. Outflows are divided into investment made abroad by domestic residents and capital withdrawn from the home economy by foreign investors. Emperical findings underscores that the major causes of globalization are market openness, international tax treaty relations, financial instrument innovation, and telecommunication network development. Furthermore, the determinants of each type of capital flow are different; portfolio and monetary factors are generally reinforced by globalization factors. Significance of Financial Innovation and Financial Market Globalization Propelled by such changes in the real economy, the financial markets are also undergoing globalization, and at an even faster pace. Here again, the major driving force has been the rapid progress in information processing and telecommunications technology. An important aspect of financial business is exchanging transfer instructions for funds and securities and processing the trades on books. Another important aspect is gathering and analyzing information regarding the risks and returns associated with financial transactions (those arising from changes in the creditworthiness of the debtors or in the prices of assets) and also intermediating and underwriting such risks and 47
Financial Globalization and its Impact on Capital Market Development in Nigeria
returns. It can thus, be said that financial business basically requires advanced techniques of data processing, and accordingly, benefits greatly from the progress in computer and network technology (Yasuo, Matsushita, 1996). For example, in large-value funds settlement, electronic means have been widely used. Some new computerized methods are now being tested for small-value payments. One typical example is the recent trials of electronic money. These new developments in the area of payment and settlement could not have taken place had it not been for advances in telecommunication networks and computer technology. Furthermore, new types of financial instruments such as derivatives and securitized products have grown rapidly in financial markets in recent years. These new instruments have been developed owing to progress in computer technology, which has facilitated statistical analysis and management of risks. Derivatives such as futures and options differ from bank loans, bonds, stocks, and other conventional financial instruments, in that certain elements, namely, credit risk, interest rate risk, and price risk, are separated from the underlying instruments, developed into individual financial products, and given a market life of their own. These elements can also be combined in various ways to meet the diverse needs of customers. For example, interest rate futures are tools for transacting only the interest rate risk, detached from the credit risk of the original debtor. Conversely, credit derivatives carry only the risk of changes in the creditworthiness of the debtor, separated from the interest rate risks. In general, these new financial instruments are perceived as extremely complex and difficult to deal in. However, as explained above, they are designed to carry one specific financial function, or a combination of functions based on different needs, making it much easier for investors and firms to select instruments that best suit their objectives, such as taking or hedging risks. In addition, derivatives can be easily be standardized and can therefore, be traded in a market with diverse participants. As a result, contracts such as currency futures and options as well as interest rate swaps are now traded 24 hours a day throughout the world, across borders. The expansion of these new financial instruments has contributed to improving the efficiency of the financial markets as a whole, by heightening market liquidity through an increase in market participants and by facilitating arbitrage between different financial products. Such developments have also been strengthening the linkage between financial markets around the world, accelerating the global market integration. According to Uremadu, (1997, P.33), the derivative market is still in its infancy. The derivative market in Nigeria trades not in the issued securities, but on the right to title on the underlying security or on the basis of the future title to the security. The financial future market in Nigeria, for example operates to provide a hedge against exchange rate fluctuation and move. In the option market, the holder of an option has the right to buy or sell an underlying security, usually shares at any time up to maturity. As the number of persons investing in stock markets continues to grow across the world, stock exchanges are in the forefront of creating new products to satisfy the yearnings of investors. In the developed stock exchanges, there are derivative instruments that possess capability far in excess of the traditional stock market instruments. The only derivative presently being traded on the Nigerian stock exchange is right offer. Futures, options and swaps have not been introduced into the Nigerian capital market (NSEFB, 2003, P.65). In the Nigerian financial market, the low turnover of derivative contracts may be due to the fact that this type of contracts lacks diversity, with the growth in OTC transactions being mainly in interest rate and currency-related contracts. Transactions of securitized instruments may only soon start to grow in Nigeria, but various institutional improvements are necessary for further development of these instruments. 48
Advent of the Nigerian Capital Market on the Global Market The Nigerian capital market is influenced by events in its local and external environments, especially following the deregulation of the market in 1993 and internationalization in 1995. A number of issues have been and are being addressed by the Nigerian Stock Exchange as they affect the Nigerian capital market in relation to the development of the Nigerian economy (Okolie, 2006, P.56). Alile, (1996: 4), says the critical roles that stock exchanges are playing in successful world economic development can be seen when one simply examines the growth in stock markets of the fastest developing countries in the worlds equity market amounting to some $83 billion out of which the countries of East and southern Asia account for 43% while African and the Middle East combined for some 8%. By 1990, the total market capitalization had risen to $470 billion with Asian countries accounting for 72% of this figure while Africa and Middle East, only 2% (Fryer, 1995, P.213). The correlation between the pace of economic expansion and market capitalization in those countries experiencing rapid economic growth points to the fact that their markets developed quickly so as to channel more efficiently the resources required to finance economic growth. Countries at different levels of development are promoting the development of stock markets with the prospect that these efforts will pay off in terms of faster economic growth. Indeed this informed the decision of the 1991 summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Abuja to the effect that each country should set up a stock exchange as a means of promoting a balanced financial system as well as an element of the then proposed African Economic Community which has now translated into the African Union. Not less than seventeen Stock Exchanges in Africa are now dominant members of the African Stock Exchanges Association (ASEA). By 2004, other African countries like Angola, Cameroon, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania have registered an interest to establish stock exchanges as soon as possible (NSEFB, 2004). On the Global terrain, government across the world have continued to acknowledge the positive role of stock exchange and capital markets in the growth and development of their various economies. For example, in Eastern Europe, the transition economies, following the collapse of communism, have continued to acknowledge the vital role of capital markets in the development process. The speed with which they are developing their markets attests to this claim. Take Poland for instance, the development of the stock market and non-bank financial intermediation has accelerated lately with capital market development stimulated by the issuance of government bonds already to the public. Rationalization, which is a form of partnership in the international arena, is increasingly defining relations among participating nations in the international capital markets. The character and pattern of world trade is the formation of trade Alliances in contemporary times. For the Nigerian capital market, the promise of Rationalization is the opportunity it offers for exploiting economies of scale. Under the framework of ECOWAS, the Nigerian capital market is in the vanguard of a regional effort to integrate the capital markets of West Africa (Onyiuke, 2004). The global securities industry has been spending substantial amounts of money to ensure that their computer systems are on the leading edge of technology. Globally, the number of listed securities is an important indicator of stock market development. The stock exchange duty is to engage in a proactive drive for new listings. The present total of roughly 250 stocks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange list is still a far cry from what is sufficient. In Nigeria, this explains the reasons for carving out the second-tier securities sub-sector, to allow small and medium scale enterprises to seek public quotations at minimal effort. Currently, there are not less than sixteen equities in this category and some have graduated to the first-tier. 49
The Nigerian stock exchange has made significant investments in the appropriate securities industry technology, as a result of which trading, clearing and settlement on a T + 3 cycle and the clearing house (central securities clearing system limited) is working to further reduce the settlement period under its new business model project. As an emerging market, the Nigerian capital market faces enormous challenges, which includes gaining international acceptance and meeting the long-term financing needs of the larger economy. In the circumstance, the market cannot afford to be soiled by the type of malpractices that have corrupted some of the developed markets, and it is the imposed mandate on market participants and the regulatory agencies to work as one to protect the integrity of the market. The Stock Exchanges in the developing economies are poised to play an increasingly important role especially in the privatization of the state owned enterprises. In Kenya for instance, in the last ten years, not less than 9 public enterprises have been privatized successfully through the Nairobi stock exchange where the government has raised about Ksh. 5 billion. The privatization process started in 1988 when the government floated 7.5 million shares (20% equity) of Kenya commercial Banks. The issue was oversubscribed 2.3 times! Subsequent issues also proved highly popular with subscription rates being as high as 400%. In Nigeria, the period beginning 1995 to date marks a significant turning point for the Nigerian stock exchange (NSE) to foreign portfolio investors who were also allowed to buy government securities. The opening of the NSE to foreign portfolio investment has had a positive impact on the market in terms of boosting trading volume, enhancing the levels of service of stockbrokers and increasing the volume of capital raised. Over the long term, the NSE has provided investors with superior positive investment returns net of inflation this is no mean achievement for an economy that in the past suffered declining terms of trade, public sector deficits, inflation and external debt problem. The Nigerian market therefore, represents good value in todays terms. It is worth noting that with the focus changing over the coming months from the listed stock to new issues and privatization, the Nigerian Stock Exchange presents a prime opportunity for investors keen to secure a market niche at a reasonable cost. Recommendations (1) The authorities and regulators of the Nigerian capital market should work out a strategy to address the emerging global challenge. This is in realization of the enormity of the responsibility of assuming the position of a global market player. Part of the strategy is to cooperate with local and international capital market authorities including partnering with its members to regulate the market in the desired direction. (2) A hallmark of the securities industry is its continuous development of new investment products and financing techniques to better satisfy client needs and enhance market liquidity. The Nigerian stock exchange needs to keep and maintain the tradition of the market as well as work on a range of new products that will enable investors and issuers to access the market with greater ease and confidence. The exchange has worked on a list of new instruments including debt securitization and derivatives. Rights issue as a derivative has already been introduced into the market now. Also, the exchange should expedite action in the reactivation of the bond market, ahead of which the bond module of the automated trading system (ATS) has been activated for active trading in the state and federal government bonds. (3) In order to further reduce stock transaction mal-practices at the market, the CSCS should embark on the following procedures: (i) Provision of on site and off site back up systems to ensure security of records and unhindered operation, (ii) Insurance policies to protect all 50
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
interests, (iii) More lines of power generation to ensure continuity of operation, this will ensure that there is no power failure that may cripple its activities, (iv) Further reduce transaction cycle to T + 1. The CSCS should embark on an aggressive enlightenment campaign aimed at increasing the level of awareness of the operational procedures of the services rendered by the CSCS. These measures will enhance the ability of the market to cope with global market pace. Lately, there has been an upsurge in the visit by trade missions to various countries to explore investment opportunities. In this regard, regulations are being streamlined in a bid to encouraging investment across national boundaries. Entering the sphere of globally integrated markets will mean playing by the rules of the market, which means offering projects, securities, marketplaces, and investor safeguards that compete with those offered in the developed markets. Those countries that meet this challenge would be handsomely rewarded in terms of capital flows. The challenge for Nigeria is to meet the various international benchmarks for capital markets as a basis for improved foreign investment inflow to Nigeria. Already, the stock exchange has set the stage through the automation of its processes and the reduction of transaction cycles in its market, among other measures that have already placed the Nigerian Stock Exchange on a high global pedestal along with Nairobi Stock Exchange of Kenya and that of the stock market of South Africa. Since the progress of financial innovation promotes market efficiency, it is essential that an environment in which the designing and trading of such innovative instruments are unrestricted be established for the further development of financial markets. Derivatives tend to remind people of notorious incidents in which massive losses were incurred. These, however, were strictly a problem of individual risk management. It should be remembered that, fundamentally, derivatives have provided diverse market participants with flexible and efficient means of hedging risks. The essential point is that each market participant must engage in transactions under appropriate risk management and that the development and trading of new financial products should not be impeded. Financial innovations involving new types of financial instruments have the distinct feature of identifying and separating functions and risks involved in various financial transactions, unlike conventional financial instruments, such as bank deposits and loans, stocks, bonds, and insurance products, which are provided in each traditional segment of the industry. It will therefore be necessary in Nigeria to study the most appropriate institutional framework, including a review of the traditional segmentation of financial markets and businesses, to enhance the efficiency and stability of the Nigerian financial market through the development of these new types of financial instruments. As an integral part of this globalization, the Nigerian economy should strengthen its ties with the rapidly developing East Asian economies in terms of both trade and direct investment. Considering the progress of a horizontal division of labor among various economies in the world, which is occurring with the intensified competition. Reflecting clearly this new international division of labor, a significant development in Nigerias trade with other East Asian economies in recent years should be that exports of goods such as Rubber, Cocoa, Palm Oil and ground Nuts. It is good for developing countries to establish certain conditions predicated on certain Protectionist policies, and thereafter integrate trade liberalism into an overall national development strategy. There should be sufficient level of competitiveness by local businesses and adequate prices for developing countries. Intellectual Property Rights (IPRS) are a form of protectionism that draws back developing countries as IPRS increases in the price of items 51
(9)
impedes the transfer of technology to developing countries that is being witnessed in Nigeria in all the oil producing states. The implicitly emerging policy implications of this paper are (i) countries needing portfolio investment should focus on tax rate policies and financial instruments, (ii) Countries needing bank capital should concentrate on international tax treaties and financial instruments, (iii) Countries needing FDI should permit more foreign ownership and provide security to foreign investors via international tax treaties, (iv) Countries needing short-term capital should remove exchange controls, develop new financial instruments and work to advance their telecommunication networks.
Conclusions Both developed and developing countries benefit from the state of globalization as globalization gives opportunities for countries to develop. Trends from 1980s show that those countries, which took to opening up their economies, have done better in terms of growth. They receive more in terms of foreign investments, such as Asias 65% as compared to Latin Americas 27% and Africas 5% indicating that the market is directly responsible for financing development. In Africa, there have been some changes in the right direction such that there is spread of democracy; availability of competitive workforce, exchange controls by market just as privatization is gathering momentum and pace. However, as these changes take place, they do not do so evenly. In this region for instance, many factors as mentioned above, hamper the advent of globalization. The most important being whether the national policies can stand in this era of liberalization without appealing to agreements. As good as globalization is, the positive impact and effects on regional growth is yet to be seriously felt in developing countries like Nigeria. The world trade organization (WTO), the World Bank and the IMF have opened the world to the influence of transnational corporations. With IMF rules, it is difficult for nations to legislate stopping currency speculation from attacking their economy. And the World Bank insists that nations to which it makes structural adjustment loans privatize government enterprises, which is being witnessed currently in Nigeria. There is an obvious increase in poverty in developing countries as free trade policies do not alleviate poverty or encourage economic development. Capitalism is more concerned with profit maximization than human dignity and production occurs through the exploitation of labour. Finally, global financial markets promote "global efficiency of capital allocation," but they also "undermine global equity of access to international capital" (Marwah, 2001). Reference Alile, H. I. (1996). The stock exchange and capital formation in Nigeria; A paper presented to the senior executives course at the Nigerian institute of policy and strategic studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Monday, 18th March. Fryer O. (1995). World Economic Development; New Jersey, McGraw-Hill Book Company Karanja, Mercy W. (2001). Globalization and its impact on post-harvest sector in Africa; A presentation at the global Forum for agricultural research (GFAR) and Global Initiative on post harvest technology (GIPHT), Entebbe, Uganda, 17th to 19th September, 2001.
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Marwah, Kanta (2001). Globalization of international financial markets: causes and consequences; Eastern Economic Journal, Winter, 2001. Ndi-Okereke, Onyiuke (2004). Global Trends in the Role of Capital Market in Economic Development; the Nigerian Stock Exchange Fact Book; Pathway Communications limited, Lagos. Pp. 72 77. Nigerian Stock Exchange (2003, 2004). Stock Exchange Fact book, Nigerian stock exchange, Lagos Okolie, A. O. (2006). The role of the stock exchange in developing economies and the emerging trends in the Global Capital Market; Journal of Management and Enterprise Development Vol. 3, No. 3; International Research and Development Institute, Uyo, Nigeria. Pp. 54-59. Oni, Kemi (2006). Knowledge world-globalization and the transitional economy: impact and effect on the Regional Growth; The Economist Journal, Vol.002, No.001, July-December, 2006. Pp. 17-21 Ouattara, Allassane D. (1997). The challenges of globalization for Africa; an address presented at the Southern Africa economic summit, world economic forum, harare, May 21, 1997. Robert L. Thompson (2007). Globalization and the benefits of trade; essays on issues; the federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, No. 236, March 2007. Uremadu, S. O. (1997). Introduction to Finance; Hidbiz Publishing Company, Abuja Yasuo, Matsushita, (1996). Financial innovation, financial market globalization, and monetary policy management: Address presented to the Yomiuri international economic society in Tokyo, October 11th, 1996.
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MENACE OF SOIL EROSION AND ITS CONTROL
Nzekwe, ABC and Okeke, F. N.

Abstract Soil erosion is a serious menace affecting mankind all over the world due to its devastating effects on properties and the environment. It is usually accelerated by such human activities as forest destruction, traditional agriculture, grazing, construction and mining which change the natural ecosystem of the environment. The major forms of erosion affecting lands are sheet, rill and gully. The extent of erosion depends on the amount, velocity and turbulence of the runoff water. Soil degradation, due to farming practices are caused by such human factors as deforestation, fuelwood, overgrazing etc. Planning for erosion control must include soil type, topography of the land, location of waterways and drainage, runoff diversions etc. Vegetation is an especially important tool for erosion control.
Introduction Geological erosion is a natural, continuous process that occurs almost anywhere that water flows on the land. It can also result from the action of wind, changes in temperature and the activities of living things (Chamberlain, 2006). Wind dislodges and moves soil particles. Rapid temperature variation between day and night, though not a major problem in most tropical climates, affects soil surface structure. Biological agents are lichens, mosses and animals, including livestock that compact soils and overgraze vegetation cover. Erosion, is usually accelerated by such human activities as forest destruction traditional agriculture, grazing, construction and mining. Whenever vegetation is removed, as when forests are cleared for agriculture, and the ground is exposed to rainfall, soil erosion by water and wind may increase. On sloping land it far exceeds the rate under natural conditions. Accelerated erosion, is one of the most serious environmental and socio-economic problems affecting rural people in Nigeria. This paper focuses on understanding the menace of soil erosion caused by water in Nigeria and possible control measures to curb it which must incorporate the soil type, extent of erosion, topography, location of water ways and drainage, runoff diversions, cropping system and tillage methods (Chamberlain, 2006). Reasons for Concern There are many reasons why erosion is of great concern to man. Because soil degradation and erosion happen so slowly, they seldom give rise to immediate action. It may remove the fertile top soil, change water courses and land forms and cause damage to valuable and expensive man-made structures. In some cases, heights are lowered by weathering, mass wasting occurs and the resulting sediments transported to fill valleys (Burton and Kates, 1978). Loads of soil materials are carted off by floods, streams, rivers and sometimes man, down gradient to form alluvial deposits, fans, deltas, channel bars etc. Stable land forms are rendered unstable and new geometric features are created while mobile unstable plains are stabilized by the deposited sediments, after lithification and digenesis. In other words, erosion creates stages of land forms (Dara, 1993). Erosion is also known to have removed valuable ore deposits and rendered some land uninhabitable but has also stripped off worthless overburden making some mineral deposits available and smoothed wide areas, making the land suitable for agricultural activities.
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Types of Soil Erosion It is important to recognize the kinds of erosion, because each type requires a different approach to its control. The flow of water over sloping land may be the most erosive factor affecting soils. Soil particles are dislodged or break from the soil mass, disrupting the physical and chemical bonding of soils. Soil erosion by water includes detachment, transport and deposition of soil by raindrops and runoff. Suspended soil particles dislodge other lighter particles through abrasion. The extent of erosion depends on the amount, velocity and turbulence of the runoff. The type of abrasive material being transported also affect the extent, which also depends on the energy of flowing water and amount of suspended material (Chamberlain, 2006). Velocity increases as depth of flow and slope increase. The major forms of erosion affecting agricultural lands are sheet, rill and gully (Okonkwo and Eboatu, 1999). Sheet erosion is caused by the even flow of water over sloped lands. It removes lighter soil particles, organic matter and soluble nutrients. Its effects are less apparent than those of other forms, but they can seriously affect soil fertility and farm productivity. Rill erosion occurs on sloped land dissected by small parallel channels running downhill. If these do not interfere with normal tillage practices they are called rills. Soils that are easily worked are more apt to form rills and rills typically flow together and form gullies. Two types of gully erosion create problems on agricultural lands. They are named for their distinctive cross sections; V-gullies are identified by downward cutting centers, whereas the flat bottoms of U-gullies are parallel to the slope of the field (Chamberlain, 2006). Control measures for the two types are different. The gully erosion network systems in Nigeria are mostly in the Eastern and Delta areas (Okonkwo and Eboatu, 1999). In the East, especially, in Anambra State, we have such areas as Agulu, Nanka, Oko, Ekwulobia and Nnewi. Causes of Erosion Soil erosion may be broadly caused by natural and or man-made phenomena, working singly or in unison in relation to the activities of eroding agents. Such factors include:a. Nature of the landscape. Hilly, sloppy and sandy areas are highly eroded. b. Nature of the land or soil. Sandy soils are more easily eroded than clayey ones. A clayey soil will be eroded slowly, gradually and continuously until a sandy zone is reached. Erosional products are transported and deposited downstream in layers/strata. New soil types emerges at the site of deposition which sets up a new plane of erosion down gradient of the source area. This type of phenomenon has been observed in parts of Anambra State, Nigeria. c. Nature of Rocks or Geologic units. Predominantly sandy geologic formation, are more susceptible to erosion than shaley (clayey) rocks. Furthermore, sedimentary rocks are much more easily eroded as opposed to the harder igneous and metamorphic ones, which form stable platforms. d. Nature of surface water and ground water. Surface waters as in floods, streams, rivers, raindrops/runoff and ground water flows, effluents or sea pages etc are major causative agents of erosion. e. Total Natural phenomena
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Menace of Soil Erosion and its Control
f.
Natural atural occurrences occurrences like earths rotation wind and air pressure, temperature and other climatic factors, mass wasting, isostatic changes, geotectonic activities, changes in land and sea levels, etc are the total natural and continuous processes. Anthropogenic causative factors. Increased human population puts enough pressure on land such as farming, urban development, road construction etc. Such activities on the land may trigger off soil or gully erosion and landslides.
Soil Degradation Soils can degrade without without loss of soil particles, but always due to farming practices (Anthoni, 2000). When ploughing, the soil loses organic matter and changes its composition. Valuable soil organisms are lost. When irrigating soils, they can accumulate salts (salinisation), eventually becoming unproduc unproductive. In the table below, the five most common reasons for soil degradation are given several areas and the world. Actual erosion of the soil often follows the initial period of degradation. Table 1: Causes of Soil Degradation (% of Degrading Land) Area Deforestation Fuel wood Overgrazing Europe 38 23 Africa 14 13 49 N.America 4 30 C.America 22 18 15 S.America 41 5 28 Asia 40 6 26 Oceania 12 80 World 30 7 35 Agriculture 29 24 66 45 26 27 8 28 Industrialization 9 1
Source: World Resources Institute, 1990 and L.R Oldeman et al, Wageningen, Holland, 1990. In every continent the main causes of soil degradation differ. Here is a description of each cause: Deforestation:- Forest soil contain much organic matter. When a forest is cleared, the trees are burnt which leads to an immediate loss in organic matter, but above the soil. Some of the organic matter in the soil is burnt too. In the years following, soil organisms become starved of a carbon source and burn the remaining organic soil content (Anthoni, 2000). Fuel wood:- Cutting forest for fuelwood is another form of deforestation. Fuelwood is usually converted to charcoal, which burns cleanly. In the process, all hydrogen and oxygen are removed so that carbon remains. Removal of such trees leaves the landscape barren. Overgrazing:- When insufficient amounts of grass litter are left for the soil, the soil organism die and the soil loses fertility. Sparse cover lets raindrops erode the surface. It is a common practice that leads to desertification. Agriculture:- Most agricultural practice are harmful to the soil. Industrialization:- Industries can pollute soils, mining operation do.
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Control of Soil Erosion Tillage Practices Intense cultivation and harrowing break down heavier textured soils into easily transportable particles. Changing the physical structure of soils through tillage thus can make them more susceptible to erosion. Conservation tillage, the practice of leaving crop residue on the soil surface can reduce sheet and rill method as much as 90 percent (Chamberlain, 2006). This method however requires special equipment and expensive herbicides. Vegetation Cover Well planned and managed vegetation cover can effectively control soil movement. Vegetation protects soil against erosion by reducing water movement and building soil structure (Dara, 1993). Vegetation protects soils against erosion on a number of ways. First, by decreasing the amount of rain reaching the soil by intercepting rainfall. Second, leaves break the initial erosion power of rain. Third, vegetation prevents the direct impact of rain on the soil, which reduces soil compaction and dogging of soil pores. Mulching Mulching covers the soil with materials that reduce soil moisture evaporation and inhibit weed growth. Mulching slows rainfall infiltration and protects the soil from direct impact from rain. Further, it builds soil structure and protects soil from extremes of temperature. The best mulching materials have high humus content, along with good infiltration rates and water storage capacity (Osuntokun, 1997). Cropping Patterns Changes in the cropping pattern that will help reduces soil movement include inter-cropping, alley farming, use of grass strips, and pasture improvement. For example, conversion of cultivated land to grassland can reduce erosion by at least 10 percent. Crop rotation helps to preserve soil fertility. A rotation of one year of grain millet, wheat etc followed by three to four years of legume pasture may be an excellent alternative to shifting cultivation (Okonkwo and Eboatu, 1999). Conclusion From the discussion, the extent of damage perpetuated by this menace cannot be overemphasized. It affects useful farmlands (for food), roads (for transportation) and housing (for shelter). As a result, urgent control measures as enumerated above must be put in place to forestall further deterioration of our ecosystem. The need is now.
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Menace of Soil Erosion and its Control
References Anthoni, J. F. (2000). Soil Erosion seafriends.org.nz/enviro/soil/erosion.htm)
and
Conservation
(http:
//www.
Burton, I and Kates, R.W (1978). The Environment as Hazard, New York: Oxford University Press. Chamberlain, J. (2006). Understanding Soil Erosion (http://www.bcca.org/services/lists/noble-creation/soil- ero.html). and its Control
Dara, S.S (1993). Environmental Chemistry and Pollution Control New Delhi: S. Chand and Company Ltd. Okonkwo, E.M and Eboatu, A.N (1999). Environmental Pollution and Degradation. Kaduna: Onis excel Publishing. Osuntokun, A. (1997). Dimensions of Environmental Problems in Nigeria, Ibadan: Davidson Press.
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THE EFFICACY OF SCHOOL-BASED ASSESSMENT IN IMPROVING PUPILS UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL STUDIES Nwachukwu, I. Celestine
Abstract School-Based Assessment has been conceived as a very important component of the teaching learning process. It is seen as an assessment practice that broadens and expands the form, mode, means and scope of assessment in the school in order to facilitate and enhance learning. It is on this premise that the author tries to look at the efficacy of SBA in facilitating the comprehension of social studies at primary school level that could engender national growth and development.
Introduction Social studies focuses mainly on attitudinal and behavioural modification in pupils. Taking into cognizance the fact that cognition is a basis for attitudinal and behavioural changes, most of the content areas place emphasis always on assessing the cognitive domains mainly due to ease of measure almost to the flagrant neglect of the affective and psychomotor domains of learning. Since affective and psychomotor domains are control to the content of social studies. The author looked at the place of these crucial techniques that are useful in the assessment of learning in social studies (the SBA) at primary level and how this could help their performance and hence engender growth and development of the nation. For the purpose of this paper, measurement occurs when a test measures what it sets to measure. According to Proter (1978) in Ololobou (2004), to measure is to determine the size, length, amount, degree etc of something, while measurement is the act of measuring. Understanding the Concepts of Evaluation, Assessment and Testing as used in the Text The basic assumption is that Evaluation, Assessment and Testing (EAT) are essential for improving teaching and learning. They are integral part of both. All teachers should be able to do these, just as they are expected to be able to prepare and teach their lessons competently. Clarifying the meanings of these key terms enables the teacher to avoid any confusion when he is planning instruction or constructing any measuring instruments aimed at verifying his pupils learning achievement. Whatever EAT are called, they have one thing in common, that is, they help the teacher to ascertain his effectiveness in bringing about learning and character development. Evaluation Evaluation is the systematic process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting information to determine the extent to which pupils are achieving instructional objectives. It also refers to value judgment about a teachers level of performance, using different assessment instruments. Evaluation enables the teacher to know how much pupils have learnt in any given subject at the end of the term or year. It enables the teacher determine where to begin with the class in the following term or year. It also helps the pupils (and their parents) know how well they are Progressing. It is also important for parents to know this, if they are to give maximum support to schools by facilitating their childrens school work at home.
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Nwachukwu, I. Celestine
Purpose of Evaluation Dressel (1965:13), recognizes that the purposes of evaluation are numerous and some of these purposes often require somewhat different appraisal techniques. Some of these purposes are considered briefly below. Firstly, evaluation may be oriented at determining the background of students and diagnosing their inadequacies, which can be remedied through learning experiences. Secondly, evaluation is meant to provide the learner with some guidance in the learning process as well as practice in the methods of thinking which are basic in the course. Thirdly, an important purpose of evaluation is self-evaluation. This understanding among other things involves a development in which teachers gradually shift the evaluation responsibility for evaluating his own performance; he is stimulated to exert greater effort in performing future tasks. Fourthly, evaluation is aimed at clarifying and fostering standards. 1. Fifthly, evaluation is meant to demonstrate the interrelatedness of knowledge. 2. Sixthly, evaluation is also directed at determining the quality of instruction and curriculum. 3. Seventhly, evaluation is meant to determine a grade for a student. Assessment Assessment is the process of organization of test data into interpretable forms on a number of factors. Data are obtained using a wide variety of instruments, such as tests, questionnaires and observations. The process of assessing pupils performance is done by using a variety of techniques among which testing is one. In general, several tests of different types and testing different aspects of the child (cognitive, psychomotor, and affective) are needed in order to complete an assessment. Testing A test is an instrument or system procedure for measuring a sample of behaviour. An examination is a more formal term used for practical or oral test to appraise pupils progress, ability, or knowledge, at the end of term or session for SBA. As with the others, the aim may be to classify, diagnose, and compare with established norms or standards or simply to check on understanding and learning. Testing is the most widely used technique for assessing pupils. Purpose of Testing The purposes of testing and the kinds of decisions to be made based on them can be categorized in several ways. a. Instructional Decisions:- has the individual shown mastery of certain knowledge or skills and readiness to move onto new materials? b. Diagnostic Decisions:- where is the individual or the methods of instruction going wrong so that action can be taken to put it right? c. Selection Decisions:- who is to be admitted or excluded, employed or rejected? d. Placement Decisions:- where can the individual most advantageously be placed? What programme will suit the individual best? e. Guidance Decisions:- What can a test score contribute to decisions the individual has to make about his or her future? f. Growth:- Economic growth is a long term rise in capacity to supply increasingly diverse economic good to its population. This growth capacity based on advancing technology and the institutional adjustment that it demands.
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The Efficacy of School-Based Assessment in Improving Pupils Understanding of Social Studies
g. Development:- This a multidimensional process and reorientation of the entire economic and social system. h. Primary School Level:- Level directly below the secondary school level. Pupils are between the ages of 6-12. The School-Based Assessment The education sector in Nigeria is faced with a number of reforms. Assessment is no doubt a unique part of this reform. There is the need now; more than ever before, to evolve new, effective and more practical ways of measuring, evaluating and reporting students progress towards the various targets and learning goals particularly those contained in the EFA documents, the MDGs and as enunciated in the UBE Policy. Most of the existing literature on the evaluation of pupils performance indicates that it is unfair to evaluate pupils using on one shot examination, which often comes at the end of a learning cycle. Credit ought to be given for learning expressed in multiple ways and formats. Students achievement should also be assessed at various stages of the learning cycle. Thus, assessment is for learning. It was in recognition of this significant role of assessment that the National Policy on Education entrenched School Based Assessment (SBA) and stipulates that forms 40% of overall assessment. Unfortunately, Schools-Based Assessments have been subjected to a lot of abuses by the teachers because it appears most of them lack the requisite training in assessment. It seems also that most teachers do not understand the rationale for SBA in the school system as well. Thus, teacher made tests suffer from various vices including lack of validity, reliability and non comparability of standards. School-Based Assessment (SBA) is an assessment practice that broadens and expands the form, mode, means and scope of assessment in the school in order to facilitate and enhance learning. Since the ultimate purpose is to promote learning, the assessment base is broadened to include not only the teachers but also all significant others that impact on the childs readiness, capacity and interest to learn. These include the subject teachers and other teachers, class peers, parents relevant education agencies (such as school inspectors) and of courser, the child. All of these categories of people are incorporated into the assessment process to support, motivate and enable the child to want to learn, to actually learn and to steadily make learning progress. Apart from involving more persons in the assessment process, the other major component of SBA is the expansion of the mode and means of assessment. While written tests in its different formats still play a prominent role, more attentions given in SBA to assignments, homework, projects, group work and portfolios. All the elements of continuous assessment such as planning, consideration, previous assessments, providing pupils prompt feedback and use of a variety of test (oral, written and performance) are all incorporated into SBA. Difference Between SBA and CA Continuous assessment uses a variety of test at regular intervals over a period of time (e.g. a term) to determine the ability of the child. In doing this, the teacher is perhaps, the only assessor. In SBA, on the other hand, peer groups, other teachers and parents are involved in the learning process in some informal ways. So SAB is more embracing and wider in scope. It even gives room for the child to participate in his/her own assessment. All of these are done to assist the child to keep on learning, whether alone, in class, among peers, or at home.
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Advantages of SBA SBA is of benefit to every one because it: 1. Permits the child to receive support from many sources; 2. Permits the him/her to participate actively in his/her own assessment; 3. Makes other relevant persons feel important and to be involved in the childs learning; 4. Gives pupils wider opportunities to express that they have learnt; and 5. Provides credible evidence of the childs learning experience. The Role of the Teacher The teacher is the most important of all the resources needed to actualize SBA. For SBA to be effectively implemented, there must be adequate number of qualified teachers who are also competent enough to do all of the test construction. The great responsibilities for the implementation of SBA rest squarely on the shoulders of the class teacher. Because everyone else owes it to the teacher to make it successful, he/she needs all the material and moral support to implement SBA in all its ramifications. The head-teacher in a school should form a school-based assessment committee, which should monitor the implementation of SBA in the school. Financial Support In order for teachers to implement SBA effectively, they should be given all the resources needed for designing test, instructional materials, etc most of which appear to be in short supply in most schools. Feedback from Tests After scoring/marking the test, the teacher looks at the results to assess how well the class has done. He checks for any discrepancies between his expectations and the actual performance of the pupils. Tools for Assessment Pupils learning is complex task in the classroom. There are various changes in behaviors that can take place in the pupils as you teach. Each of these changes will require a particular type of device to measure it. No one single assessment tool any be adequate to measure all the changes in behaviours or the objectives of your lesson. The objectives of your lessons have been categorized into three broad areas called domains. These are the cognitive domain, the psychomotor domain and the affective domain. The cognitive domain is concerned with knowledge and its use. The affective domain deals with emotional responses such as interest, appreciation, attitudes, feelings and values that you attempt to teach through your various lessons. The psychomotor domain is concerned with physical, motor and manipulative skills. Assessment in the Cognitive Behaviour (i) Assessment here involves determining if pupils can remember what they have previously learnt in terms of knowledge. The best instrument for this is test. (ii) Tests come in various shades and for various purposes in the classroom.
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Assessment of the Psychomotor Domain Assessment in the psychomotor domain is rooted in the manipulative and motor skills of the pupils. The learning outcomes here cannot be assessed through test alone. The objectives here stretch from handling of writing materials to activities in drama, laboratories, technical subjects, games, athletics and fluency in language. However, elements of cognitive behaviour are also present in these activities because for one to do something well, one must know how, since the activities are knowledge based. Assessment of the Affective Domain The learning outcomes in this domain include feeling, beliefs, attitudes, social relationships and interest, which are at times referred to as personality traits. Other affective qualities in this category are integrity, punctuality, cleanliness, respect for elders and other habits. Can we use a test to measure these learning outcomes in the classroom? Studies have shown that teachers tend to inflate scores thereby making nonsense of the predictive validity of such scores. Often, the correlation between such scores and those of the central examination bodies are usually negative. Again, disparity had been observed from school to school, rural to urban locations, from teacher to teacher, subject to subject etc. To ameliorate this situation, there is need to encourage a spate of continuing professional development of teachers nationwide in SBA. This write up will help in workshops and serve as a reference material in their day to day lesson delivery of primary school Teachers by way of helping to: a) Update teachers knowledge on the nature of SBA. b) Disseminate skills on the effective use of SBA e.g. the development and administration of test items for SBA and standardization of SBA scores. c) Enhance teachers understanding of the role of SBA in the educational system vis--vis public examinations It is envisioned that this will change the tie of assessment practices in the primary schools. It is also expected to be an invaluable resource for school inspectors and administrators. Introduction To School-Based Assessment (SBA) The Need for Reform in Assessment Practices in Primary Schools Introduction This writer, focuses on the weakness in our assessment practices in the primary schools and the rationale for change. In addition stated about what needs to be done to make assessment more relevant and useful for enhancing the quality of learning in the schools. The advantages of introducing the school based assessment (SBA) approach are cited. Current Assessment Practices Most of our schools still operate the traditional assessment practices of the last century. This involves assessing pupils with the sole aim of preparing them for examinations. Emphasis is placed on obtaining high marks without regard for understanding or the ability to apply the concepts learnt in solving real-life problems. For these reasons, an over- bearing emphasis is placed on pencil and paper assessments. Even then, the dominant practice is to concentrate on assessing the ability of the pupils
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to reproduce facts or steps in solving problems. very little attention is given to the higher mental tasks thinking and application skills. These include the ability to apply the knowledge in real world; to analyze the information; to synthesize new information based on what was learned; and to evaluate the outcome of knowledge new information based on what was learned; and to evaluate the outcome of knowledge applied. in a nutshell, assessment is mainly carried out after teaching has been finished (i.e. assessment is summative). One of the reforms introduced is carrying out assessment during the course of instruction (i.e. formative assessment) so that pupils and teachers can receive feedback. Negative Effects of Current Assessment Practices As you might have noticed, the assessment practices that we currently use in our primary schools have some negative effects. These include: Too much emphasis on the outcome of final external examinations lead teachers to concentrate on trying to cover the syllabus, without regard to whether the pupils understand what is taught. Teachers do not focus formative assessments and this has the effect of not correcting the mistakes that children make in learning. Since pupils are not given prompt feedback on the progress they are making in learning, they are not able to plan for their learning and this could lead to lack of motivation to learn. Advantages of Reforming Assessment Practices The advantages of reforming assessment practices in schools include: Teachers having more time to teach for understanding, rather than for examinations. This will greatly increase the quality of learning. As a result of the adoption of formative assessment, learners motivation will be enhanced. With increased quality of learning, pupils are able to apply what they have been taught in real-life settings. Rationale for School-Based Assessment Since the focus in teaching is shifting from teaching for examinations towards teaching for understanding among pupils, school-based assessment is receiving more attention from educators. One such form of school-based assessment is Continuous Assessment (CA). In CA, pupils are assessed in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains, a number of times and at certain intervals. A variety of assessment techniques are used such as tests, projects, observations, questionnaires and interviews. The results of these assessments are recorded and kept on a continuous basis for future use in decision making on the pupils, and for guidance purposes. This means that the primary objective of SBA is to assess pupils with the aim of facilitating their learning. This contrasts with the former system of assessing pupils at the end of teaching for the purpose of only identifying those that have satisfied the objectives for teaching. At present, CA school-based (i.e. continuous assessment) and end of course assessment results are combined to give a more comprehensive picture of the abilities and characteristics of learners. Types of School-Based Assessment School-based assessment may take three forms. These are pre-instruction assessment, assessment during instruction (i.e. summative) and assessment at the end of instruction. Assessment prior to teaching/instruction is usually informal. Here, the teacher observed the characteristics and 64
behaviours of the pupils which could promote or hinder learning. Some of them may have poor language (communication) skills, or could be shy and sensitive, etc. it is important for the teachers to study any previous assessments made by other teachers before him. Assessment During Instruction (Formative Assessment) In formative assessment, the learners are assessed in the course of teaching. This could take the form of observing skills used in problem solving, listening to pupils answers to questions and comment by pupils in order to note their difficulties and to adjust teaching accordingly. Assessment at the end of Instruction (Summative Assessment) The last form of SBA is the post-instruction assessment. It provides information on whether the pupils have mastered the concepts taught, and to what extent. The Efficacy of School-Based Assessment in Social Studies The main focus of social studies is attitudinal and behavioural modification in pupils. Even though cognition is a basis for attitudinal and behaviioural changes, most of the content areas do not emphasis affective and psychomotor domains of learning. Emphasis has always been on assessing the cognitive domain, mainly due to ease to measurement, almost to the utter neglect of the other two domains. Nevertheless, since affective and psychomotor domains are central to the content of social studies, attention will focus on techniques that are useful in the assessment of learning in social studies. Achievement Tests Achievement tests are of two broad types: 1. Essay test and 2. Objective tests Essay tests are of two types: (i) Extended response and (ii) Restricted response In the extended response type of essay test, learners are expected to organize their response and write them in their own words. The restricted type as the name implies, limits the responses the teachers are to give. For example, pupils may be asked to: i) List the types of transportation. ii) Mention three roles of a traditional ruler. iii) Write two reasons why young people should be respectful and patriotic. This type of essay test is suitable to measure achievement in the upper primary classes (primary 4 6). At this level, pupils would begin to develop their skills in writing and organizing their thoughts. Similarly objective tests are of two broad types, the (i) Supply type and (ii) Selection type Further still, the supply could either be in form of short answer or completion form. Techniques for Assessing Non-Cognitive Learning Outcomes There are various tools and techniques that can be used for measuring both the affective and psychomotor traits in learners. 65
Some examples are: questionnaire, resting scales, checklist, observation schedule, anecdotal records, peer appraisal, registers, notebooks and portfolios. Questionnaires The questionnaire contains statements and or questions to which the respondents react. The equations could be closed or open-ended. Rating Scales This is another popular tool for measuring non-cognitive aspects of learning. To use the rating scale, the teacher must first identify the learners traits to be rated and then decide on the type of rating scale to use-either numeric or graphic rating scales. Checklist Similar to a rating scale, the relevant behaviours to be checked are listed and the teachers puts a tick in the appropriate column as the behavioiur is elicited. Observation Schedule Assessment of attitudes and manipulative skills cannot be subjected to paper and pencil tests. This underscores the need for observing learners in their natural learning environment. Observation could either be structured or unstructured. Anecdotal Record This is a tool used fro recording information about learner as in an informal setting. Social studies teachers should keep a notebook or file for each pupil in the class (to be supplied by the school or the learners) in which they record behaviours of learners when they occur. Peer Appraisal Rather than leave the assessment exclusively to the teacher, other pupils in the class are also involved in the assessment to supplement the teachers assessment. Registers, Notebooks and Portfolios These are valuable information tools for assessing learners in almost all aspects of learning. The school registers are useful for assessing learners attendance and punctuality in school. They also contain other bio-data information such as age and sex of the pupils. Teachers are also encouraged to keep notebook in which comments on behaviours of learners are recorded periodically. While portfolios are useful for keeping special information on learners, ranging from documents derived from cognitive to affective and manipulative aspects of learning. The items could be an artwork produced by the learners; prizes won during inter schools debate and so on. Documents on the learners areas of deficiencies are also kept in their portfolios. Process Assessment Process assessment, which could also be refereed to as procedure assessment is being given prominence in school assessment practice. The fact that learning outcomes are very complex to be measured by paper and pencil test underscores the need to use the process assessment.
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Process assessment techniques are suitable to measure what the learners can do and are observable by the teacher such as in drawing a map, making a model, writing, performing experiments and other manipulative skills. For the social studies teacher to assess the manipulative skills of the learners using process assessment, the teacher himself/herself should be very conversant with the task involved in order to identify the necessary statement to be assessed, determine the criteria for assessing the steps (procedure) against which the learners performance is measured. (NTI, 2006). Recommendations Certain features and characteristic generally govern evaluation exercise in social studies. Some of these have been examined in this section of the exposition. Firstly, evaluation in social studies is an all-inclusive process. This therefore implies that all available means of collecting relevant data bearing on students learning need be exploited and utilized in the evaluation process. In this situation. Written tests and all other forms of conventional tests may not serve our purpose. In addition to the following, evaluation devices may be used, namely: through the use of reports, role playing, self reports, observed behaviour techniques etc. Secondly, evaluation is goal oriented. In other words, the need to clarify and determine what is to be evaluated in social studies always has priority in the evaluation process. Thirdly, there is a great need to select evaluation techniques in social studies in terms of the purpose to be served to improve pupils understanding of social studies. Fourthly, evaluation in social studies needs to be a continuous process. Ideally, it is expected that evaluation is an interrelated part of all teaching and learning process. It is not something that only occurs at the end of a unit or school year. Fifthly, evaluation exercise in social studies has to be as comprehensive as possible. This need calls for an application of a variety of evaluation techniques. It does follow from this reasoning that no single evaluation techniques is adequate for appraising pupils progress in terms of all of the important outcomes of instruction in social studies. Most evaluation techniques are rather limited in scope. For example, an objectives test of factual knowledge provides important evidence of a pupils achievement but the result tells us little or nothing about how well he understands the materials, the extent to which he is developing thinking skills, how his attitudes are changing, how he would perform in an actual situation requiring an application of the knowledge, or what influence the knowledge might have on his personal adjustment. Sixthly, evaluation in social studies demands that it has to be a cooperative process involving teachers, students and parents. It is observed that if learners and their parents can be involved in establishing instructional goals, the possibilities of growth will increase. It is advanced that that through the task of evaluating the extent to which goals have been achieved, students and parents become increasingly skilled in self-evaluation and committed to overcoming obstacles to learning. In the same vein, it was revealed that much learning begun in the school can continue in the home environs wherever parents and students are properly attuned to the expectation of the school. Seventhly, in social studies classrooms, instructional evaluation should not only be on continuous basis, the focus must be mainly evaluating effective learning outcomes in which case the appropriate observational techniques must be employed. Eighthly, instructional evaluation in social studies classrooms should not completely neglect cognitive learning. Ninthly, Peer groups, teachers and parents should be in cooperative or collaborative effort in the learning process. 67
Tenthly, the government, public-spirited individuals, NGOs, should provide resources in form of funds for the execution of SBA, as it is capital; intensive. This in turn will help in national growth and development. Conclusion The concepts of measurement and evaluation have been very crucial in the teaching learning process in social studies. In social studies, the use of school-based assessment is all the more crucial. The author has been able to disseminate this information to stake holders in educational sector to adopt this as appropriate or effective instrument to attain our educational goals or outcomes. If the SBA is employed in its ramification and not just as paper tiger, it will go a long way in improving pupils understanding of social studies and hence national growth and development. References Dressel, (1965:13). In Okann (1990) in Joof G.W. et al Ibid. Kuznet, S. (2006). Manual for the Retraining of Primary School Teachers School based Assessment A millennium development goals project, Kaduna NTI Press. Kuznet, S. (1971) Modern Economic Growth: Findings and Reflections. American-Economic review 3, June P.257-258. Okam, C.O. (1994). Recent Evaluation trends in social studies: Focus on affective Domains in Joof G.W. et al. Procter, (1978). In Ololobou YPS (2004). Social Studies for Effective Citizenship, Kano Zaria social studies collective. Social Studies in Schools (1994). Onitsha Outrite Publishers. Todaro, M.P. (1982). Economic for a Developing World. London: Longman.
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A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCES OF PUPILS TAUGHT IN HAUSA AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL MATHEMATICS IN ADAMAWA STATE
K. M. Fasasi
Abstract At a time all indices of leading academic indications such as achievement, interest, motivation of metacognition and understanding in mathematics are falling, there is need to empirically determine how these negative trends can be stemmed; if not reversed. This study determined the effect of using Hausa in Primary school pupils achievement in Mathematics. It also determined the deferential effect of use of Hausa Language for instruction on the achievements of boys and girls in Mathematics one hundred senior primary school pupils selected in Girei Local Government of Adamawa State were used for the study. Participants were randomly assigned into two groups. Each group was taught mathematics four times in a week. For experimental group, the medium of instruction was the Hausa while the control group was taught in English Language. The teaching lasted for one month, t-Test statistical method was used to ascertain if any significant difference exists between the mean scores of the two groups at 0.05 level of confidence. Findings indicated that the experimental group performed significantly better than control group that was taught in English Language. The study also revealed that students taught in Hausa were more active in the lesson than those taught in English Language. The educational implications of these and other finings were discussed in the paper.
Introduction Language is the most important; most often used and most highly developed form of human communication. It is, in a sense, what set humans apart from other animals which also happen to communicate in the sense of transmitting information of one kind or the other from the sender or source to a receiver. The difference in the case of human is not just that both sender and receiver are humans but also that the message is either sent vocally through the air and the vocal organs or graphically by making particular kinds of marks on paper. The language of instruction has effect on learning and this assertion has been affirmed by Olarewaju (1991) and Ojo (1991). Failure in our primary schools has been linked with the use of English as the medium of instruction (Afolayan, 1974). However, it is also important to know that credit in English Language is a prerequisite for admission into higher institutions of learning in this country. Olajide (1998), opined that in spite of the prominence given to English Language in our educational system learners at all levels seem to have refused to be competent in its use. Awodi (1991), stated that this problem affects all, from the primary level to the university. Odumuh (1998) stated that the position of English as the Official Language in Nigeria creates a problem and gives a false impression. Ugwuoti (1992), opined that sameness of language is one of the endearing instruments of intricacy. Language is the mirror through which peoples culture is reflected and it is determined by peoples experience. (Ojo 1995), posited that education aims at preserving and transmitting peoples culture, then the mode of instruction should be in the native language of the people.
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The first few years of the childs experience with Mathematics are crucial. They can affect the childs attitude to Mathematics to the rest of his life. If a child does not understand a basic Mathematical concept taught in primary school, the child may find it difficult to assimilate further concepts appropriately in post primary and tertiary institutions. Mathematics, however, is seen as abstract by students and teachers in primary schools find it difficult to explain some concepts in Mathematics in a simple form so that student will be able to understand and assimilate. This is because some of the teachers are not proficient in English Language (Adepoju, 1991). Also, Nigerians have at various occasions given thought to the issue of an indigenous national language as well as the question of the use of the local languages as media of instruction in the schools. The problem of medium of instruction had for years sparked off unending debate and generated more heat than light (Fafunwa, 1975). In an effort to see how feasible the use of indigenous national language will be, the researcher studied how the use of Hausa for teaching primary six pupils in Mathematics affects their performance in the subject. Purpose of the Study The study seeks to: i. Determine which method has greater chance of enhancing academic performance of primary school pupils in mathematics. ii. Determine the mean performance by gender of students taught in Hausa and English Language. Research Questions i. To what extent does the use of Hausa or English as medium of instruction enhance pupils academic performances in mathematics ii. What is the difference in the mean performance of students taught in Hausa and English Language based on gender? Hypotheses Four hypotheses guided this study 1. There is no significant difference in academic performance between pupils who were taught using Hausa and other pupils taught using English Language at the on set of the experiment. 2. There is no significant difference in the mean scores between pupils who were taught using Hausa and other pupils taught using English Language after the experiment. 3. There is no significant difference between the mean scores of male and female pupils in the experimental group. 4. There is no significant difference between the mean scores of the male and female pupils in the control group. Research Design The study was quasi-experimental design, which made use of experiment. The design deals with such practical problem as how subjects are to be assigned to experimental and control groups, the way variables are to be manipulated and controlled, the way extraneous variables are to be controlled, how observations are to be made, and the type of statistical analysis to be employed in interpreting data relationships.
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A Comparative Study of Academic Performances of Pupils Taught in Hausa and English Language in Primary School Mathematics in Adamawa State
Population The population of this study includes all the primary school children of the ten primary schools in Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State. Sample and Sampling One Hundred male and female (50 boys and 50 girls) primary six pupils with an average age of 10 years randomly selected from four primary schools in Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State were the subjects for the study. Dalen and Van (1978) explained that since an investigator cannot interview the entire population, random sampling could be used to get a reasonable representative of population. Research Instrument The research instrument used in collecting data was the Primary mathematics achievement test (PMAT). PMAT was made up of 40 items prepared based on primary education mathematics curriculum, an average of 10 items per week. Experts subjected the instrument to both the face and content validation. A pilot study was conducted and a reliability estimate of 0.76 was found, the validation index was 0.80. Administration of Instruments A pre-test on mathematics was administered both in Hausa and English Language. This was done to observe pupils level of proficiency in the two languages. The participants were then divided into two groups experimental and control group. Those that performed well and those that performed poorly were evenly distributed into the two groups. The control groups were taught purely in English Language and were encouraged to communicate in English. The experimental groups were taught in Hausa. Both groups were exposed to 16 lessons of 30 minutes duration. For four weeks, an average of 4 lessons per week. Four topics were selected in mathematics syllabus from National Primary Mathematics Curriculum, the Primary Education Mathematics Curriculum. The order of topics taught was the same for both experimental and control groups. They were also given four assignments. Special letters were written to participants parents requesting them to help the children with any difficulty they might encounter in the take-home assignment. At the end of the week of the experiment both control as well as the experimental groups were given the same test written in the language used for each group as medium of communication. .The items in all were based on the aspects of mathematics taught. In all 40 items were given, an average of ten items per week. All the four tests were personally administered by the researcher. After collecting the data, t-test was used for analysis. Retention or rejection of hypotheses was determined at 0.05 level of significance. Results Hypotheses 1 There is no significant difference between the mean scores of academic performance of pupils who were taught using Hausa and other pupils taught using English Language at the on set of the experiment.
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Table 1: Mean Scores of Pupils Taught in Hausa and those Taught in English Language at the Pre - test Stage Variable N X St. Dev. t cal t crit df Remark Hausa 50 5.10 4.23 1.70 1.96 98 NS English 50 5.26 4.71 NS = Not significant at 0. 05 Table 1 Shows that, pupils score in both test results written in Hausa and English Languages were not significantly different. The t value calculated is less than the critical value of t. Although the mean scores of pupils that were taught mathematics in English Language was higher, it shows that the pupils were not really proficient in either Hausa or in English Language at the on set of the experiment. Hence the null hypothesis was retained. That is, there is no significant difference between the mean scores of pupils taught in Hausa and those taught in English Language at the pre - test stage. Hypothesis 2 There is no significant difference between the mean scores of academic performance of pupils who were taught using Hausa and the other pupils taught using English Language at the end of the experiment. Table 2: Results of the Mean Scores of Pupils Taught in Hausa and those Taught in English Language at the Post - test Stage Variable N X St. Dev. t cal t crit df Remark Hausa 50 8.21 4.31 3 .10 1.96 98 S English 50 5.82 3.24 S = Significant at 0.05 Table 2 Shows that, experimental group who were taught using Hausa as the medium of communication has 8.21 as the mean score and standard deviation of 4.31 and the control group has 5.82 as mean and standard deviation of 3.24. The calculated t-value is higher than the critical value of 1.96 hence the main null hypothesis set for the study is therefore rejected. This means Hausa used as medium of instruction has greater chance of enhancing academic performance of the pupils in the classroom. Hypothesis 3 There is no significant difference (between) the mean scores of the male and female in the experimental group. Table 3 Results of the Mean Scores of the Male and Female in the Experimental Group Variable Sex N X St. Dev. t cal t crit df Remark Pre Test Male 25 4.48 4.02 0.95 1.96 48 NS Female 25 3.36 4.11 Post Test Male 25 7.92 5.10 0.95 1.96 48 NS Female 25 5.21 4.92 NS = Not Significant at 0.05 72
The e calculat calculated ed t-value of 0.95 is less than the critical value of 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance at the pre-test. Also, in the posttest, the male had a mean of 7.92 while female had a mean achievement score of 5.21; the calculated t-value is 1.87, which is less than the critical value of 1.96 at 0.05 level of significant. The null hypothesis in both cases was therefore retained. Hypothesis 4 There is no significant difference between the mean scores of the male and female pupils in the control group. Table 4 Results of the Mean scores of Sex in the Pre and Post Tests for the Control Group Variable Sex N X St. Dev. t cal t crit df Remark Pre Test Male 25 3.96 2.86 1.60 1.96 48 NS Female 25 2.80 2.12 Post Test Male 25 3.55 5.10 1.69 1.96 48 NS Female 25 3.41 4.92 NS = Not Significant at 0.05 The mean scores for male both in the pre-test and post test in control group were found to be higher than that of the female subjects but the t-value calculated in both tests are less than the critical value of 1.96, therefore, no significant difference was recorded statistically. The null hypothesis was retained. Discussion A general view of the findings of this study indicates that there is a significant difference between the academic performances of the students when Hausa or English Language is used as medium of instruction. This means that the mother-tongue (Hausa) when used as the medium of communication can enhance or promote the academic performance of primary school pupils better than English Language. An evaluation of the experiment also showed that generally the experimental group (i.e those instructed in Hausa) were not inferior to the control group and that the experimental group showed a high level of motivation and interest in school work than the control group. The experimental group also enjoyed their parents assistance in the understanding of some concepts in Mathematics explained Hausa since it is the major language spoken by their parents. This evidence was shown in the way some of the home work given to them was attempted. The study therefore, affirmed that in Hausa as medium of instruction is more beneficial to the primary school pupils than the use of English Language. On the other hand, most of the control group pupils whom the researcher taught using English Language as the medium of instruction could not receive such help from their illiterate parents. This has helped in a way to affirm that English as the language of communication has little grip on the users. The finding is supportive of Egberongbes (1991). Observation that in order to be proficient for academic purpose, there is need for environmental assistance. She further opined that, both parents of the child should be proficient in the language of instruction if the child is to benefit in any way from these adults. The finding is also supportive of Osisanya-Olumuyiwa (1986), who contended that for illiterate parents there is no continuity of the climate of the classroom if English language continues to be the medium of instruction, communication and socialization at the lower level of the primary school, perhaps this was the line of thought of Odetokun (1998), who lamented that many
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Nigerians would have contributed increasingly to the growth and development of Nigeria but have been denied the opportunity of doing so because they are not proficient in English Language. In the third hypothesis tested there was no significant difference between the mean achievement scores in mathematics for both male and female in the experimental group. This finding is in agreement with previous researchers Hyde (1981) and Ajiboye (1996), who found out that student gender has no influence on their academic achievement in science and related discipline. The fourth hypothesis was also retained as there was no significant difference in the mean scores of female and male students in the control group. This tends to support earlier findings of Hallers and Portes (1973), who pointed out that parental illiteracy and educational background, are closely related to students academic achievement in the schools. The language of instruction used for control group is purely English and most of their parents are illiterate, so assignments or home works given to the children were poorly attempted. It was also observed from this study that classroom instruction in the experimental class where the Hausa interaction was used, showed cordial relationship between the teacher and the participants. Psychologically, pupils were more confident to answer questions. They were also lively in asking questions. They were more composed and were able to express themselves fully. They were all deeply involved in the lesson, have a sense of belonging, more self-fulfilled, happier, more relaxed and fully satisfied with teaching-learning process. There are attitudinal changes. The use of vernacular enables mathematics teachers to explain relationship between steps used in arriving at answers, relationships between mathematics and other disciplines and why each operation in mathematics is important and useful. Ali (1984), has pointed out that ones language of common familiarity such as mother tongue offers a sustainable, realistic and better opportunity to understand and appreciate the structure and functions of mathematics at ones particular level of operation. Such understanding and appreciation better enhance achievement in mathematics compared to ones use of a foreign language such as English Language, alone in studying mathematics. This observation may well explain the superior achievements demonstrated by experimental group subject of this study. Also Bamgbose (1973: 6), while drawing attention to the economic prestige associated with English as both Nigerian official language and the language of higher education points out that: Competence in English, therefore, brings rewards which competence in the mother-tongue does not. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that a thorough grounding in the first language rather than being a hindrance is infact, to be desired for educational, psychological, cultural and linguistic reasons. The often-quoted opinion of the UNESCO experts on the use of the mother tongue in relation to the school language (UNESCO 1953), remains as true today as it was when it was first enunciated about twenty years ago. It is axiomatic that the best medium for teaching a child is his mother-tongue. Psychologically, it is the system of meaningful signs that in his mind works automatically for expressions and understanding. Educationally, he learns more quickly through it than through an unfamiliar linguistic medium (P. 11). The time has therefore come for a thorough re-appraisal of the current language policies in the different states in this country. Recommendations Based on the findings in this study, the following are recommended: 1. That the curriculum experts should develop the curriculum of mathematics in Hausa Language for the primary school pupils. 74
2. Government should reappraise the current language policies in different states in this country in the direction of pupils domicile. 3. That mathematics lesson in the primary school should be taught using Hausa as medium of instruction. 4. That Colleges of Education can mount mathematics/Hausa as course of study. 5. That Government should organize workshops to enlighten primary school teachers on the use of Hausa as medium of instruction to teach mathematics. Conclusions This study has shown clearly that the study of mathematics at the primary school level with the use of Hausa as medium of instruction will boost students academic performance. The policy makers are therefore advised to enforce the use of Hausa in the teaching and learning of mathematics at the primary school level in areas where Hausa is a dominant language. The hypotheses tested show that use of Hausa as medium of instruction has an effect on students performance and it also leads to greater retention of important concepts by the students. Parents, teachers and Government should co-operate and make this mode of teaching feasible as it influences pupils performance in mathematics and improve students attitude to learning of mathematics. References Adepoju, J.A (991). Factor and problems in the teaching and learning of mathematics in Nigerian school. National School Curriculum in Review Conference Proceedings, 2nd -6th Sept., Lagos Macmillan, 174 Ajiboye, J.O (1996). A self learning programme, the modified Lecture method and students cognitive and affective Outcomes in some population education Concepts. An Unpublished Ph. D. Thesis, University of Ibadan, Ibadan. Ali, A (1997). Language of educating the young in Nigeria. educates of the young in Africa, 4 (3). Bangbose, Ayo (1973). Linguistic in a Developing Country University of Ibadan inaugural lecture; University of Ibadan Press. Brown E. and Abel (1965). Research in teaching of elementary school mathematics, Arithmetic Teacher 12 547-549 Burrow, and Okey J. R (1979). The effects of mastery learning strategies on achievement. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 16 (1), 83-37. Egberongbe. E (1991). Developing linguistic proficiency in a multilingual environment. Journal of Education Issues 1 (1) 1-14. Fafunwa A.B, (1975). Education in the mother tongue: A Nigerian experiment. The Six-Year (Yoruba Medium) primary education project at the University of Ife, Nigeria. West African Journal of Education 19 (2), 213-227.
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Haller, A.O and Portes, A. (1973). Status attainment processes. Sociology of Education 46, 5-91. Hyde, J. (1981). How larges are cognitive gender differences. A mental analysis using W2xd, American Psycholoist 36, 89290. Jen, S.U (2002). Research methodology. Odetokum, A. (1998). Nigeria languages as agent of National Development: Strategies for the future. Nigeria Educational Digest 3 (1), 87-94. Ojo, J.O (1986). Improving mathematics teaching in our schools. ABACUS 17(1), 164-177. Olajide, S.B (1998). Revitalizing the use of English at NCE Level. Nigerian Education digest 3 (1), 27-33. Olanrewaju, A.O (1991). The languages factor in learning science in Nigerian schools. Journal of Science Teachers Association of Nigeria. 21 (1), 1-6. Osibodu, B.M. (1988). Mathematics at primary level ABACUS. The Journal of Mathematical Association of Nigeria. 18 (1), 13-20. Osisanya Olumuyiwa, D.O (1986). Language perspective. The early Years OMEP Nigeria. An education magazine. 24. Ugwuoti, S. (1992). Towards using unorthodox methods in effective teaching of Nigerian languages as second language: A case study of Igbo. Obudu Journal of Education Studies 1 (1), 18-27.
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IMPERATIVES FOR GENUINE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN NIGERIA: MATTERS FOR URGENT CONSIDERATION Omeje, Priscilla N.
Abstract Democracy is people oriented and therefore, embedded in social justice and equity. To this end, it is only when the democracy of our day satisfies the mental, moral and physical wants of the masses living under it can it be regarded as existent and genuine. The political actors in Nigeria do not maintain the operational principles of genuine democracy. The electoral process and governance are manipulated to suit non-democratic agenda in contravention of the established laws thereby denying the populace the much craved social equity and justice. The operational principles and bedrock of genuine democracy are: respect for the constitution and the rule of law; separation of powers between the executive, legislature and judiciary, and holding of elections at regular and periodic intervals. It is, therefore, concluded that until all these principles are practiced accordingly in Nigeria, the desired conditions of social justice and equity in our society will remain a dream.
Introduction The word democracy is coined from two Greek words Demos and Kratos meaning people and power respectively. Abraham Lincoln, has given a popular definition of democracy. He defined it as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. The definition implies that democracy is people centred. Democracy may either be direct or indirect. It is direct when exerted by popular assemblies or by plebiscites on all legislations, and indirect when exerted by representative institutions (Asogwa and Omemma, 2000). We are however, concerned with the indirect type of democracy for the fact that it is better suited to nation states with large human populations. Aristotle (384-322 BC), argued that if liberty and egalitarianism are chiefly to be found in democracy, they are best attained when all persons participate in the governance to the utmost. Commenting on democracy the former U.S. President, Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1976), was quoted in the Websters English Language Encyclopedic Dictionary (1999), to have said: Only if basically the democracy of our day satisfies the mental, moral and physical wants of the masses living under it, can it continue to exist. Similarly, Thomas Mann (1875-1955), was quoted to have perceived democracy as that form of government and society which is aspired above every other, with the feeling and consciousness of the dignity of man. The above concepts and definitions notwithstanding, the New International Websters Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language (Encyclopedic Edition), (1999), gave a definitive outline of democracy as the theory of government which, in its purest form, holds that the state should be controlled by all the people, each sharing equally in privileges, duties, and responsibilities and each participating in person in the government as in city-states of ancient Greece. The practice of true democracy in the world today is based on the theory of separation of powers: legislation carried out by a freely elected parliament or body and executive power vested in a government responsible to either the Legislature as obtained in the United Kingdom (UK) or in an executive President responsible to the people as practiced in the United States of America (US). In whichever case, the understanding is that there is free choice of parties and candidates between two or more political parties. A situation where the electorates are made to accept a single list of candidates, some of whom may not have passed through the primaries, is not in any way democratic. It should be noted here that
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the Nigerian democracy is modeled after the type practiced in the US, where a freely elected parliament and a freely elected executive are vested in a government responsible to the people. Democracy as a system of governance portends social justice and equity for the masses given the tenets and philosophy on which it is founded and operated. Two issues that mostly agitate the minds of many Nigerians are: whether the operational principles of democracy are ever put into practice by the political class, and whether the tenets of genuine democracy are maintained. It does appear that the practice of genuine democracy has eluded the political players in the country whereby those in power design and implement political programmes that are alien to laid down laws and systems, while those elected to represent the masses and carter for their interest now take to represent themselves and their families. The Bedrock of True Democracy One will make bold to observe that Nigerias democracy is tending towards a make-believe show whereby what is being practiced is different from what is universally perceived. A genuine democracy is the type that is strongly embedded in the principles of: (1) Constitution, (2) Rule of law, (3) Separation of powers, and (4) Regular and Periodic elections. Constitution: This is a body of doctrines and practices that form the fundamental organizing principles of a nation state. The constitution may be written or unwritten. Aristotle, was the first to propound on constitution the types of which he used to classify government in terms of monarchy, tyranny, aristocracy, oligarchy, and democracy, etc. To him (Aristotle), the best constitution is that which combines all forms of government in such a way that citizens of every class are enabled to enjoy their respective privileges and are encouraged to exercise their respective responsibilities in the interest of the whole. Constitution, as it were, is the major bed rock of the political state and for it to worth its salt, it must have certain attributes, namely, political, social, economic and technological stability both in form and procedure; accountability; representation of the governed, power distribution, and checks and balances among the organs of government. Rule of Law: The principle of the rule of law clearly proclaims the supremacy of the law of the land over other beliefs and bonds and over any person whether poor or rich, educated or uneducated. It implies that all are equal before the law and none is above it. One of the 19th century great advocates of the rule of law is A.V. Dicey, who popularized it in his book Law of Constitution published in 1885. Rule of law also includes impartiality in the administration of law by any approved court of jurisdiction. This means that accused persons or alleged law breakers should be treated and regarded as innocent until they are proved guilty by a competent law court and that no body should be arrested and dumped in detention and prison cells without trial by the law court. Respect for the fundamental human rights is enshrined in the rule of law. In this context, citizens are allowed to exercise their basic human rights and freedom as provided in the constitution, provided that such rights and freedom do not infringe on those of other citizens under the same law. Separation of Powers: This is a laid down rule in most democratic states where the powers of government devolve into three arms, namely, the legislative, executive and judiciary. This principle outlines that none of the three powers should impede, control, interfere, neglect or render powerless those of the others. Each of the three organs of government acts as a watchdog over the others thereby, ensuring that the respective powers do not over-step their bounds. The French philosopher, Baron de Montesquieu, in his book The spirit of law, propounded the theory of separation of 78
Imperatives for Genuine Democratic Process in Nigeria: Matters for Urgent Consideration
powers. The principle was formulated to stem the tide of monopoly, tyranny and dictatorship. Montesquieu, argued that, the rights, liberty and egalitarian status of the people could only be protected and maintained if the three organs of government are in the hands of different groups of persons at the same time because according to him, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. If each arm or organ acts as a watch dog on the other, checks and balances of political power are maintained. Thus, social justice and equity is embedded in true democracy where there is a constitutional separation of powers. In Nigeria, it seems that until our democratic process is straightened and properly practiced, the issue of justice and equity in our society would remain a farce. Regular and Periodic Elections: The constitution of a genuine democracy should outline the political offices to be contested for, the tenure of each office, time frame for elections, regularity/frequency of elections, and the mode and manner of conducting the elections as well as the method of declaring the results. Conducts outside what have been laid down in the electoral laws will amount to violation of the constitutional provisions sustaining the democracy. Factors Impeding Genuine Democratic Process in Nigeria Having expounded on the principles underlying a true democratic foundation, it is pertinent to look at some of the factors constituting the cog in the wheel of genuine democratic progress in Nigeria. (a.) Political Apathy: These days, many a Nigerian within the political suffrage class tends to show a responsive indifference to the electoral processes and activities of the country. That many people openly shy away from partisan politics is no more news; what is news, however, is the impact of the voluntary suffrage withdrawal by the masses on the evolution of true democratic process where citizens come out freely to participate. By becoming passive, isolated and withdrawn from political activities, such people shall have at the same time abandoned the political fortunes and power to the very few that dare to participate. Results? The political process is left in the hands of amateurs, mediocre, and people of questionable character who could {as has been shown repeatedly} dictate and reverse the interpretation of the electoral laws to enable them remain in power or, to thwart, manipulate, and supervise the voting process that would get themselves and their candidates elected. What can cause political apathy? The causes of political apathy are not far fetched. They include faith-driven attitude, lack of political education, ignorance of ones fundamental human rights, morbid fear of violence and mayhem which most times, come with the campaigns and total oblivion of the good changes which the electoral process and democracy could bring. (b.) Induced Poverty: For the purpose of muzzling the political will of the people, certain persons in the corridors of power introduce programmes that impoverish the masses. The period of the impoverization programme {which may assume several names, including austerity, reform, etc} may range from 1 to 3 years after assuming office. The longer the better to achieve near-total poverty across the land. When the programme is happily observed to be taking its toll on the masses, another one is cleverly brought in to alleviate, reduce, or totally eradicate the poverty during which billions of money are released most of which is diverted before they get to the people. In the end, more poverty! Towards the beginning of another round of the electoral process, most people would be left with no option than to readily accept gifts of rice, salt, soap, piece of cloth and other relief
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materials including money donations prior to and during campaigns. By so doing, the consciences of most people are so bought and mortgaged that they act according to the will of the candidates. (c.) Political Thuggery and Violence: Political thuggery has come to stay in Nigeria in spite of the seeming campaigns and warnings against it. The political player with an untoward ambition would perceive elections as a do or die affair and could go to the extent of importing and distributing weapons to the eagerly waiting youths ready to die, kill or maim opponents of their masters. In the end, the youths that survive find out that they have been used and dumped. The purpose of engaging thugs is to physically intimidate opponents and force them out of contest and to violently disrupt elections and make way for the manipulation of election results or the declaration of wrong candidates as winners. (d.) Vote Rigging: Rigging at elections involves all efforts perfected to control fraudulently, or to manipulate the electoral process in any of the following manner: thwarting the electoral guidelines, substituting popularly nominated candidates with less popular persons who might not have participated in the nomination contest, driving away the electorates from the polling and collation venues, snatching of ballot boxes and other polling materials during voting, falsification of figures, and deliberate declaration of wrong results. This practice negates the genuine democratic process in which people vote freely to elect popular candidates. When rigging is involved, candidates of popular choice loose while the unpopular ones win. These to a large extent, demoralize people from voting. (e.) Weak and Non-chalant Attitude by Religious Institutions Religious institutions, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders in Nigeria have tried much to lend vocal campaigns against undemocratic practices by the political players. This is not enough. Communiqus upon communiqus released to the press to alert the nation of the dangers of tyranny and dictatorship and wrong manipulation of the electoral laws including deliberate violation of the constitution have never mattered to the politicians and the people in the corridors of power. Efforts of the church and other stakeholders cannot as at now, be the best approach if not backed with more tangible and physical action. Street protests greet doubtful and incredible election results in other civilized and advanced democracies. Fraudulent election results and all manipulations leading to it are massively resisted in addition to resorting to the court of law where the credibility of the judiciary is not in doubt. In Nigeria, this physical action is conspicuously lacking. The religious organizations seem to get compromised in arranging church services for successful candidates in the name of thanksgiving and receptions during which the good and exemplary qualities of the host are extolled. (f.) Non-Participation of Professionals and Technocrats: Politics in Nigeria appear to have been abandoned largely to the mediocre class and touts whose sole interest is to seek and accumulate wealth but not to develop their fatherland. On the other hand, the professionals and technocrats who understand the tenets and elements of governance shy away from active partisan participation for reasons not far fetched. Politics in the hands of amateur, uneducated, undeveloped and inexperienced people has brought untold disappointments and retrogression in the land due to monumental corruption and ineptitude. Such a result is expected because it is impossible to give what one does not possess.
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Prerequisites for Genuine Democratic Process 1. The Laws of the Land and Constitution: Nigerians whether they govern or are governed should learn to respect and be guided by the constitution of the Federal Republic and should have regard for the laws of the land. All persons must respect the executive, legislative and judicial powers of the government and every arm of government should respect each other in role-play and function. The exercise of power should devolve separately into the legislative, executive and judiciary arms each of which acting in relation to the other and collectively, effect a harmonious administration. 2. Integrity of The Electoral Practice: The electoral laws must be followed to the letter while the body in charge of the elections must be established by law to make it truly independent of the executive, legislative and judiciary arms. The electoral commission that is made truly independent by law should recognize its powers, rights and obligations to the people that make up the federal republic and not to any of the arms of the government of the federation. 3. Free and Voluntary Participation: Nigerians of all classes should have courage and interest to participate in politics and have faith in the electoral process. The great philosopher Plato asserts that the penalty paid for not being in politics is to be governed by men worse than us, while another great thinker, Edmund Burke, regretfully, observes that what good people suffer for not taking part in politics, is to be ruled by fools. In Nigeria, to ensure mass involvement of the citizenry in partisan politics, all conducts and practices that scare quality people from politics (such as rigging, thuggery, disrespect to the people of law, godfatherism and the likes) should be done away with. Serving civil servants of certain cadre (example, personnel on grade levels 14 and above), should be provided a window of leave of absence of not more than five years to get into partisan politics and serve the nation if they want to. 4. The Church: Christianity can rightly discern the difference between the injunction give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God and Gods intention that man should be ruled under good governance where there is social justice, liberty and equality. Genuine Christians should, therefore, not look at politics as a dirty game. This attitude leaves politicking in the hands of people mostly with questionable characters. Unless the Christian laity gets involved deeply into partisan politics for the purpose of achieving good governance, it would continue to make a mere scratch in trying to solve the problem. It is impossible to correct a system from the outside in this country. It is expected that the church should mobilize, monitor and checkmate the system to ensure a smooth and correct democratic order. When the church mobilizes her members and encourages them to participate actively in the electoral process, it is the duty of the same church to ensure that a free and fair election is obtained. Should anything to the contrary results, the church should come out to resist it vehemently including going to the law court to challenge it. The church should reject the winners that emerge fraudulently and should have nothing to do with such people till they leave office or resign. 5. Genuine Poverty Reduction Programme: The government and all agencies of human development must work out genuine ways of empowering the people economically without considering any geographic, ethnic, tribal, religious and partisan differences. Employment opportunities should be extended to all Nigerians that are qualified. Employments through the backdoor must be stopped and all situations vacant must be advertised publicly. Contract appointments for people who have retired not more than five years ago should be withdrawn for 81
Omeje, Priscilla N.
replacement with qualified younger elements. The rural towns should be industrialized to give job positions to the teaming middle level manpower and to empower the rural people. Only economically viable people can shun money politics and enticing gifts that lure the youths to thuggery and violence. 6. Gifts Rejection: The masses should realize that, once one collects gifts from candidates seeking electoral position the individual has been settled by the politician and therefore, has no moral justification to question the politicians performance and responsibility to him. The recipients of the gifts have by so doing, exchanged their democratic right with the gift items. Stop to Political Violence and Thuggery: Political thugs are peoples children and relations. They are also their future. Parents should call the children to order before they become mere sacrificial lambs in the hands of the political gladiators. Besides, thuggery negates the whole essence of the democratic process. Recommendations and Conclusions From the discussions in this paper, one can see that democracy is people oriented and it is embedded on equity and social justice. The bane of true democracy in Nigeria is the way and manner the political actors and those in power practice it. For a genuine democratic process to be obtained in Nigeria, it is recommended that: political participation be encouraged at all levels since no one can correct the system from the outside; technocrats and professionals should not regard politics as a dirty game and as such, not leave it in the hands of touts, mediocre and people who have no business with governance. It is also recommended that the electorates should reject pre-electoral gifts from persons seeking electoral position since the gift items are meant to mortgage peoples conscience and buy their rights; the religious institution (the church) and other stake holders should mobilize, monitor, defend and protect the votes of the masses to obtain a free and fair election, and that parents should guard against their children being used as political thugs. When the number of thugs is reduced sufficiently the occurrence of electoral violence will be minimal thereby, encouraging the masses to come out in large numbers to exercise their franchise during elections. Finally, it is recommended that Nigerians, including the governed and those that govern, should be patriotic enough to tackle the national challenge of uprooting the un-democratic scepter from the polity and in its place, entrench the culture of free, transparent and participatory democracy in the country. Acknowledgement The author wishes to acknowledge the spirited concern of the Parish Priest and the Laity Council of the St Patricks Catholic Church, West End, Asaba, for the invitation to present a Lecture, which formed the basis for this paper.
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References Abonyi, N.N. (2005). Political Science: Fundamental Approach. John Jacobs Publishers Ltd, Enugu. Aremu, F.A. (2004). The nexus between democracy and development. In Nigeria Under Democratic Rule, (1999-2003), 1 (Saliu, H. A., Ed.), University Press, Ibadan. Asogwa, F.C. and Omemma, D.A. (2001). Modern dictionary of political science, ONIX Publishers, Enugu. Ikelegbe, A. (2005). Public policy analysis concept, Issues and Cases. Imprint Services, Oshodi, Lagos.
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MOUNTAIN, TREES AND BIRDS: THE ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
Rev. Fr. Mark O. Ikeke (Ph. D.)

Abstract Religious education if it is to be relevant to the needs of the contemporary world should immerse itself in the world and engage its context. One of the crucial contexts it should engage is the environment context. Both on a global and local context the plant is facing an ecological crisis. The Niger Delta situation of ecological devastation, soil erosion in Eastern Nigeria, desertification in Northern Nigeria, and deforestation in various parts of the country are all a testimony to the fact that there is an environmental crisis plaguing the earth. On a global plane, the worlds oceans are polluted by industrial wastes, and natural resources of so-called Third World countries are pillaged Religious education can help in transforming human behaviour regarding the earth and help in restoring the planet. It can do this by teaching us that we are kin with the earth and called to responsible stewardship in protecting the earth and its people. When religious education does this, it will become all the more relevant.
Introduction Bevans (2004), argues that many religious educators and theologians agree that the sources for theological reflection and religious thought are no longer only religious scriptures and tradition, but also the prevailing human experience. The importance and recognition of the human experience has led to local theologies such as Latin American liberation theology, African-American theologies, Dalit theologies, feminist theologies, womanist theologies, inculturation theologies, etc. Though many religious educators and theologians are coming to recognize the importance of the context of human experience, it is equally true that in many places especially in circles where people interpret religious text in a fundamentalist way, human experience is totally ignored. One of the most ignored forms of human experience is the environmental or ecological experience. Religious education is carried on as if it has no role or no relevance in helping to solve the ecological crisis. The fact is that religious education has a role to play and it cannot ignore the ecological context. This is why in the next section we provide theological basis why religious education should engage the ecological context. When that has been done we will examine the ecological context that religious education should engage. We will also look at how religious education can engage the ecological context. The focus is on Christian religious education, though what is written here can be applied to every form of religious education. This paper will conclude with some recommendations. Religious Education for Ecological Well Being Education, particularly religious education, should have an ecological thrust and function in the service of ecology. Religion and religious socializing systems such as education have a tremendous role to play in building a new society and ecological value system. Smith (2000), has written that religion has played a crucial role in the development of our dominant social paradigm and defining perceptions of the relationship of humans to their physical environment. Spencer (1996), posits that during the 50s many theological students discovered ecological issues outside the context of theological studies. He argues further that, there is need to design transformative ecojustice curricula and courses in theological and religious education. Dalton (1997), says: creation
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must occupy the foreground of religious education. There is a straightforward reason why the universe should occupy the foreground in religious education. OGorman (1998), drawing from the insights of Thomas Berry, says that, The universe is primary and all human institutions including education are derivatives from it and so they must work to foster the universe and not destroy it. When the universe takes the foreground in religious education, it becomes again a primary educator and religious education has deep roots, in the universe of which it is derivative. Freudenberger (1989), argues that addressing ecological issues is often a lonely frontier. Yet religious education must assume this new responsibility. Religious education must, by purpose and necessity, be ecologically conscious and contribute to the new ecological awakening. Chamberlain (2002), has also argued for religious educations task to include articulating a vision for creation. In conceiving of the role of education, Moran (1996) writes that education should further the conversation between humans and the nonhuman, help us respond to the life within our own bodies and to the living things around us. In the Statement by Religious Leaders at the Summit on Environment (1998), a broad spectrum of religious leaders recognized the power of religious education in ecological education as they committed themselves to review and promote curricula that enhance stewardship for creation in seminaries, prepare educational materials for congregations and place environment stories in faith groups and religious bulletins. Christian religious education should not ignore the earths crisis. It should place the cosmos at the heart of speaking about redemption, salvation, and liberation. Chamberlain (2000), writes that many religious educators like Thomas Groome, Maria Harris and Gabriel Moran, have spoken of religious education as a political and ethical activity. This activity involves the works and actions for social and ecological justice. In addition to these writers are many others who have posited that Christianity and religion have a prophetic and political dimension of resisting the royal consciousness and state hegemony. These writers include: Walter Brueggemann, Marcus Borg, Michael and Kenneth Himes, Gustavo Gutierrez, Leonardo and Clodovis Boff, George Omaku Ehusani, John K.A. Aniagwu, Matthew Hassan Kukah, Desmond Tutu, etc. What is needed is for these political and ethical implications of religion, which are explicated in the writings of the above authors to be radically extended to include ecological justice. We must begin to speak more openly and fully of the ecological vocation of religion. Yet we cannot do this effectively without greening the entire curricula of religious education. The Ecological Context to be Engaged Christian religious education needs to attend to its context. Hill (1988, p.63), writes, Religious education is always carried out in the context of culture, or the way of life that is led by a given people or society. Bergmann (2003), notes that: context means the parts of a text that precedes and follows the text in question and which is of importance for its understanding. This linguistic meaning of context has been transferred to other fields to denote the particular social, cultural and ecological situation within which a course of events takes place. Bergmann (2003), equally notes that every text is inter-textual for it is always connected to other texts. He notes further that two Asiatic theologians Coe and Sapsezian are notable for having pleaded in 1973 for a contextualization of theology, and theological education. This present writer proposes that, it is not only theological education that should be contextualized, but also religious education which is closely related to theological education. Contextuality speaks of the fact that Christianity must immerse itself in its context. It must speak within a peoples situation and involve them in dialogue with the gospel values which are subject to re-interpretation as had happened through history. All dimensions of the place and 85
Mountain, Trees and Birds: The Ecological Context of Religious Education in Nigeria
perspectives of people in the place, both living and dead must factor into contextual practice. Christian religious education must contextualize. Much of Christian religious education in Nigeria and in many places in Africa is done ignoring the context. Because of this, it is oftentimes irrelevant and sterile. Many dimensions of the context like religion, education, geography, economics, political, culture, social, gender, environment, religion, etc can be noticed. What is the ecological context that religious education should address or engage? For religious education to be effective, it must deeply know and understand the situation that it should address. The ecological context to be addressed is the earth and the entire planetary systems. Here, we focus on the earth. The earth is suffering globally and locally. Regarding the global suffering of the earth, Hill, Knitter and Madges (1997), say: Today, not only is the human species unjustly exploiting and killing off its own, it is also strangling Mother Earth and the ecosystem. The industrial revolution, which has brought such advantages to our species, has also created an altar of consumerism and profiteering on which the life blood of Mother Earth is poured daily. The earth is suffering; this is the context in which religious education is done. Religious education should not ignore this context but address it. The eco-theologian and religious educator Berry (1998), posits: Our industrial economy is closing down the planet in the most basic models of its functioning. The air, the water, the soil are already in a degraded condition. Forests are dying on every continent. The seas are endangered. Aquatic life forms in lakes and streams and in the seas are contaminated. The rain is acid. In Justice in the World, the Catholic Bishops (1971), noted the environmental crisis. They named environmental degradation as violence carried out by wealthy nations against poor nations. The consumption of the so-called First and Third world is destroying the world. They affirmed:
Furthermore, such is the demand for resources and energy by the richer nations, whether capitalist or socialist, and such are the effects of dumping by them in the atmosphere and the sea that irreparable damage would be done to the essential elements of life on earth, such as air and water, if their rates of consumption and pollution, which are constantly on the increase, where extended to the whole of mankind.
On a local and national level here in Nigeria, the environmental crisis has had a great impact. Almost every week, the newspapers are filled with news about the situation in the Niger delta. The hostage taking that we hear and read about are issues that are connected with the environmental degradation and human suffering in the Niger Delta. Nigeria in terms of geography and environment is experiencing a time of peril. The Sahara desert is encroaching into many parts of northern Nigeria. Soil erosion is a problem in many places especially in the East. Ecological devastation from oil spillage and oil exploration has destroyed streams and farmlands all through the Niger Delta. What Saro-Wiwa (1992), noted about the environmental degradation and pollution taking place in Ogoniland, a fraction of the Niger Delta is still happening today and impacting the entire Niger Delta. He said:
Oil exploration has turned Ogoni into a wasteland; lands, streams and creeks are totally and continually polluted; the atmosphere has been poisoned, charged as it is with hydrocarbon vapors, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and soot emitted by gas which has been flared 24 hours a day for 33 years in very close proximity to human habitation. Acid rain, oil spillage and oil blow-outs have devastated Ogoni territory
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Rev. Fr. Mark O. Ikeke (Ph. D.) The results of such unchecked environmental pollution and degradation include complete destruction of the ecosystem. Mangrove forests have fallen to the toxicity of oil and are being replaced by noxious nypapalms; the rain forest has fallen to the axe of the multinational oil companies, all wildlife is dead, marine life is gone, the farmlands have been rendered infertile by acid rain and the once beautiful Ogoni country side is no more a source of fresh air and green vegetation. All one sees and feels around is death. Environmental degradation has been a lethal weapon in the war against the indigenous Ogoni people.
The story is replete all over the Niger delta that has suffered environmental pollution. In towns like Okpare-Olomu, Eruemukowhorien, Otu-Jevwen, etc not far from where this writer lives; there are open gas flaring fields close by peoples houses. Peoples houses are cracked and the foundations are coming apart as a result of nearby oil fields. The poisonous air from the gas and oil fields are breathed in by the people, both adults and children. Children suffer from various kinds of unknown diseases and die before their time. Ekpo (2004), argues that:
For the oil-bearing communities in the Niger Deltaoil has been more a curse than a blessing. In communities, where oil exploration and production are carried out onshore, deforestation, erosion and destroyed farmlands are the main gifts of nature. Oil production activities in these communities have polluted creeks and destroyed aquatic life. And when there are spillages, losses could be unquantifiable, even where attempts are made by the companies to pay compensation. There is also the problem of acid rain, which destroys houses, which people living within the vicinity of oil exploration has to contend with everyday of their lives.
The above author also narrates the practical experience of the people in Oguagba in Edo State. The people narrated:
Our joys have become sorrows because the oil production activities have completely destroyed the ecological systems of our clan. Aquatic life is almost completely destroyed, the soil completely eroded and flora and fauna badly affected almost to the level of extinction. In addition, oil exploration and production activities have subjected us to devastating erosion and permanent pollution, forcing us against our will to lie permanently in a toxic atmosphere.
Environmental problems are not limited to the Niger Delta of Nigeria. There is the problem of soil erosion in many places in Nigeria especially, in the East. Heavy down pour of rain often washes away roads, bridges, farmlands, houses, and forests. In Northern Nigeria, there is devastation caused by sandstorms. Of what value is a religious education that teaches us about heaven, but the soil and land to which our bodies will return until the time of resurrection is ignored? Of what value is it to pray to a God in heaven, but the earth of which Jesus says: thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven, is despised and even violated through domestic and industrial waste? Of what value is it to speak of the spirit that gives living water; when our physical water sources are polluted? Orr (1992), is right when he affirms that: 87
Mountain, Trees and Birds: The Ecological Context of Religious Education in Nigeria The crisis cannot be solved by the same kind of education that helped to create the problems. Against the test of sustainability, our ideas, theories, sciences, humanities, social sciences, pedagogy, and educational institutions have not measured up. Schools, colleges, and universities are part of the problem. What passes for environmental education is still mostly regarded as a frill to be cut when budgets get tight. Environmental education is done by teachers and faculty mostly on release time or on their own as overload.
The issue is that religious education and every form of education must address seriously the environmental crises. To do this adequately some ways or issues that religious education can address are outlined below. How to Engage the Ecological Context One vital way that Christian religious education can engage the ecological context is to educate for proper environmentalism and critique non-Christian views of the environment. Royal (1997) enumerates some non-Christian views about the environment. Among such views are nature as benign and balanced interplay of forces and species, nature being perceived as God, human being are equal and not more important than non-human species. What is proper Christian environmentalism? Christianity perceives nature as Gods creature and reflects Gods glory. The natural world is not perfect and needs to be ordered within proper ethical limits. In Royals (1997), exact words:
The order of creation and Gods providence over the world, despite the Fall, tells us some important truths about how we live: We may not regard the world itself as God, or as an evil limit on us, or as a realm to be fled, or as a mechanism created by God but left to go on functioning blindly by itself. God appears both in and beyond nature. We have responsibility to foster the good of the world; God set us as stewards over his creation (cf. Gn 1: 28; Lk 12:41-48).
Human beings are more important than nature and ought to be valued more than other parts of nature. We were created in Gods image and likeness. We were given the rational responsibility to guide creation. This responsibility was not given to any other creature. Another issue important in engaging the ecological context is that creation is creative and not all of nature can be preserved. We are called to preserve both bio-cultural and natural diversity. Royal (1997), is right when he argues that:
Mans respect for creation should include not just its present configuration but its creative dynamism. As we know, the creation continually adds new forms of life, even as others disappear. The higher animals have slowly evolved from lower forms that millions of years ago gave no indications of where creation was heading. Creation, like the Creator and man himself, is creative.
Religious education must be critical of science. Science should not be glorified to the extreme. The limitations of science and the environmental hazards it can pose should be acknowledged and something done.
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Religious education should emphasize that nature was not created for the good of this present generation only. This author affirms that, nature has its own intrinsic value, but it is also true that humanity has a right to use moderately of the things of nature. The goods of nature are not meant only for us, they are also for the good of future generations. Catholic social teachings affirm that we have no right to enrich ourselves at the expense of future generations. Unjust appropriation of natural resources that leaves nothing to the future is a form of theft and a violation of the seventh commandment The National Policy on Education (2004), acknowledges that one of the aims of education in Nigeria is to enable the students know about the world around them. A very important and relevant issue crucial to the survival of the planet and human society that students need to know about is the environmental question. Even if other disciplines and courses do not put the environmental question in the foreground, religious education and the theological endeavours should do. Religious education should critique religious and other texts for their lack of environmental sensitivity. Every written text has implications for how we human persons relate to the earth, whether it is a text in biology, or geography, or philosophy or any other course. Either through what is taught or what is not taught, we are told to be friends of the earth or to be spectators watching as the earth passes through the agony of environmental pollution and degradation. Humanity should develop an authentic relationship to the earth. Religious education like every other form of education strives to change human behaviour for the better. Religious education should help us develop an appropriate relationship to the earth. Johnson (1993), a world renowned eco-feminist theologian posits that there are at least three possible ways of understanding the human relationship to the earth: the absolute kingship, the stewardship and kinship models. She writes: The kingship model is based on hierarchical dualism that sees humanity separate from the earth and placed in a position of absolute dominion over all other creatures who are made for us.This is the patriarchal pyramid again, resulting in a top-down dominion of nature by man. Of the stewardship model, she writes: the stewardship model keeps the structure of hierarchical dualism but calls for human beings to be responsible caretakers or guardians of the earth and all its creatures. We can make lawful use of the things of nature as we care for them. Here man is still at the top to dominate and control. The third model, which she advocates for is the kinship model. This model speaks of connection not separation, the relational not dualism, mutuality not hierarchy. This model sees human beings and the earth as intrinsically connected and companions in the community of life. All of life is a mutually interdependent community. The natural world existed before us and can even exist without us, but we cannot exist without the natural world. Johnson (1993) writes:
Take, for example, trees. Their process of photosynthesis creates oxygen, the most essential, life-sustaining element in the air we breathe. Without trees there would be no animal or human life on this earth; we would all be asphyxiated. Now, biologically speaking, trees do not need human stewardship. Without human beings they existed very well for millennia. Human beings, however, positively need trees in order to breathe. Who, then, needs whom more? By what standard do human beings say that they are more important than trees? At this point in the evolutionary history we form one mutually interdependent community of life. We are all kin.
While this present writer agrees with Johnson that we are all kin and ought to live in mutual kinship with all creatures, this author argues that the human person should not be flattened to the level
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of all creatures. The human person from biblical tradition holds uniqueness in creation. We were given a higher responsibility than the other creatures. In the past, critical scholars have accused Christianity of contributing to the environmental crisis. In his now famous essay, The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis, White (1967), puts the blame on the environmental crisis on the shoulders of Western Christianity. He identified the Christian reading of Genesis 1, as the source of the ecological crisis. The human person needs to rethink humanitys relationship to the earth. Whether we agree with historians like White or not, we must be concerned in ensuing that Christianity becomes or remains a voice for ecological stewardship. The resources to address the ecological crisis are there in the resources of Christianity. These resources include the announcement of Gods creation as good in Genesis 1; the human person mandated to be a steward in Genesis 2; the psalmist hymns of all creation praising God; St. Francis Canticle of Brother Sun, the mystical tradition of Christianity that perceives the spirit of God as present in all creation, insights from eco-feminist Christian writings, etc. Religious education should offer positive hope and vision. The creator God is a God of hope and a new future. God does not give up on his creation. People need joyful hope to fight and struggle for the good of the planet. The ecological problems that humanity faces are so enormous that there is danger of discouragement. This is where religious education should offer people hope. Resolving the ecological problems is a daunting one and it goes beyond human power. Hill, Knitter, and Madges (1997), say: And this is precisely where religious faith can make a valuable contribution: it can enable people to connect with Something more (often called God) that will enable them to take on a task that seems impossible. Religious faith offer people hope and the vision necessary for taking on global responsibility. It should be noted that the purpose of religious education in the classroom is not to indoctrinate, yet in the spirit of academic freedom and freedom of religion, it can present broad ethical insights for all students to face the challenges they meet in society, without being doctrinaireing. What is this vision that religious education should foster? Vision is to clearly perceive what things ought to be and what could be done about the present state of things. In the biblical paradigm God desires a new heaven and a new earth. The new heaven and the new earth is not simply something in the future. It is a reality that has begun in the life and ministry of Christ. In the Lords Prayer the kingdom of God is prayed for to come daily. The kingdom is where Gods will is done and people live in an earth that is ecologically sustainable and filled with peace and harmony. Recommendations In the foregoing we have discussed the need for religious education to be ecologically conscious, highlighted the ecological context that religious education should address, and suggested issues that religious education should highlight. In the light of the above the following recommendations are made. The environment should be placed at the foreground and not background in religious education. This means in all religious education, the implications of what the students are being taught should be related to the environmental problems of the global and the local community. There needs to be a new design in religious education. Religious scholars should mile the biblical texts for passages that speak about the goodness of creation and the responsibility of humanity to protect and keep the environment. Religious education in teacher education programs should incorporate abundant field trips that enable the teacher educate to encounter and experienced first hand what is happening to the environment. Places that can be visited include those mentioned above, and the refineries, 90
mining sites, etc. There should equally be assignments and discussion on environmental issues in the classroom. Religious education students should be taught not to accept religious texts as they are but to critique them in the light of ecological issues.
Conclusion If religious education can be greened or redesigned in the light of the entire reflection above, it will serve in a long way in educating for ecological stewardship and eradicating environmental pollution. Religious education with its moral and ethical focus has a great role to play in helping to change both individual and corporate behaviour for the ecological good of the entire planet. In doing this, religious education will be fulfilling one of its essential purposes, educating for ecological redemption. References Bergmann, S. (2003). God in Context: A Survey of Contextual Theology. Hants, England: Ashgate. Berry, T. (1998). Dream of the Earth. San Francisco: Sierra Club. Bevans, S. (2004). Models of Contextual Theology. Maryknoll, N.Y: Orbis. Catholic Bishops. (1971). Justice in the world. Roma: Vatican. Chamberlain, G. (2002). Ecology and Religious Education. Religious Education, 95 (2), 135-136. Dalton, A. M. (1997). The implications of Thomas Berrys ecological proposal for Religious Education. In C. Dooley and M. Collins (Eds.), The Echo Within: Emerging Issues in Religious Education (pp. 35ff). Allen, TX: Thomas more. Ekpo, U. (2004). The Niger Delta and Oil Politics. Lagos: International Energy communications Limited. Federal Republic of Nigeria. (2004). National Policy on Education. Yaba, Lagos: NERCD. Freudenberger, C. D. (1989). The ecology of human existence. In A.J. Allen (Ed.), Religious Education as Social Transformation (pp.191ff). Birmingham, AL: Religious Education. Hill, B.R. (1988). Key Dimensions of Religious Education. Winona, Minnesota: Saint Marys. Hill, B. R., Knitter P., and Madges W. (1997). Faith, Religion and Theology. Mystic, CT: TwentyThird. Johnson, E.A. (1993). Women, Earth, and Creator Spirit. Mahwah: Paulist. Moran, G. A Grammar of Responsibility. New York: Crossroad.
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OGorman, K. (2001). Religious Education as an Expression of the Great Work. Proceedings from Association of Professors and Researchers in Religious Education. Minneapolis: Marriot City Hotel. Orr, D. W. (1992). Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World. Albany: State University of New York. Royal, R. (1997). Environment in Russell Shaw (Ed.), Our Sundays Visitors Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine (pp. 199-201). Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor. Saro-Wiwa, K. (1992, October 18). Weekly Sunray. Smith, Z.A. (2001). The Environmental Paradox. upper Sadle River, N. J. prentice Hall. Spencer, D. T. (1996). Pedagogical issues and teaching models for eco-justice. In D. T. Hessel (Ed.), Theology for Earth Community: A Field Guide (pp. 208-220). Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis. Statement by Religious Leaders at the Summit on Environment. (1998). In J. E. Carroll and K. Warner (Eds.), Ecology and Environment: Scientists speaks (pp.x-xii). Quincy, IL: San Francisco. White, L. (2000). The historical roots of our ecological crisis. In R.J. Berry (Ed.), The Care of Creation (pp.37-38). Leicester: Inter-varsity.
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LAND AS COLLATERAL SECURITY: CHALLENGES UNDER THE LAND USE ACT
Aigbevboile, Paul A.
Abstract This paper examines the efficacy of The Right of Occupancy granted under the Land Use Act of 1978 as a security instrument for advances. The Land Use Act of 1978 has led to a great deal of controversy in Nigeria as to the efficacy of the interests created in the individual Nigerian Landholders. One of the major questions raised is whether the schemes of interests in land created under the Act has not fallen so far short of the traditionally recognised interests in land as to amount to an outright expropriation of land by the Government. This paper accordingly on a comparative nature deals with one aspect of the general question, namely whether the Certificate of Occupancy or any of the subsisting interests in land will suffice as a security for an advance made by a financier, and proffers suggestions to sustain the security efficacy of a Right of Occupancy.
Introduction This Paper seeks to examine the efficacy of the Right of Occupancy granted under the Land Use Act of 1978, as a security instrument for advances. It examines the various interests created under the Land Use Act against a general background of the Law regarding Secured transactions. One of the major questions raised in the Paper, is whether the scheme of interests in Land created under the Act has not fallen so far short of the traditionally recognized interests in Land as to amount to an outright expropriation of Land by the Government. One of the testing grounds as to whether individuals have any sole rights in Land after the enactment of the Land Statute has centred on the types of dealings, if any, that are compatible with Land holding rights in Nigeria. The Paper deals with one aspect of the general question, namely whether the Certificate of Occupancy or any of the subsisting interests in Land will suffice as a security for an advance made by a financier. Before turning to an analysis of the Land Use Act, it is important to give a review of security interest in general. Need for Security An economy where the only means of exchange of goods, services and facilities is based on barter would have no need for credit. Moreover, such an economy would be run on the basis that performance and counter performance of contractual obligations will be simultaneous. There would hardly be room in such an economy for the creation of debt as there would be no moment of time during which one party gives credit to the other. Oditah (1991), asserts that this is unrealistic because, in practice, it is difficult to conceive a situation where a debt or other obligation does not arise prior to its discharge. Even where money is paid over the counter at the time of sale, there must be a moment of time during which the purchaser is indebted to the vendor. In most, if not all transactions, there is always a Scintilla temporis (period of time no matter how insignificant or short) during which one party is a creditor of the other. This primary obligation to pay money is perhaps the most common of all types of obligation. When credit is provided, the creditor will in most cases find the debtors promise to discharge his obligations sufficient; when however default can occur, it becomes important for the creditor to receive full or partial satisfaction of his claim. This brings into focus security.
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Structure of Security Interest A financier insisting on security is not content with the normal remedy for breach of the debtors obligation to pay. Real security entitles him to take the security for the discharge of his own debt in priority to other creditors of the same debtor. A creditor may be willing to rely solely on the debtors personal credit for the fulfilment of the latters contractual obligation yet it is likely that the creditor will want something beyond a contractual remedy against a debtor who defaults and this the creditor does by taking security. Goode (1988), defines a security interest as a right given to one party in the asset of another party to secure the performance of an obligation. Securities may be classified broadly into two types namely: Personal security and Real or Impersonal security. While the latter belongs to the province of property law, the former is governed by the law of contract. A good example of personal security is a contract of guarantee or suretyship between the lending bank and a third party guarantor in consideration of a specific bank advance to a customer. Under this arrangement the guarantor agrees to pay the debt if the customer fails to pay. The implication of this is that the creditor is given a right to a secondary contractual action against the guarantor if the principal debtor defaults. Whereas an Indemnity is a contract expressed or implied by one party to keep the other harmless against loss, a Contract of Guarantee is a contract to answer for the debt, default or miscarriage of another. Therefore, in a contract of indemnity, the surety assumes a primary liability either alone or jointly with the principal debtor, while in a contract of guarantee the surety assumes a secondary liability to answer for the debtor who remains primarily liable. Pledge The common law treats only pledges of personalty; but under Nigerian customary land law; it is possible to pledge Realty. In Okoiko and Anor V. Esedalu and Anor (1974), the plaintiffs grandfather pledged the land in dispute to the defendants grandfather many years ago to secure a loan of three piece of cloth assessed at N30.00. when the plaintiffs wanted to redeem the land, defendants demanded first the sum of N2,000.00 later N1,200.00 and finally asserted that the transaction was a sale. During the period of the pledge, the defendants had made vast improvements of rubber plantations on the land. The Supreme Court held the transaction to be a pledge and stated further that a pledged land was perpetually redeemable. A customary pledge is a kind of indigenous mortgage by which the owner/occupier of the land in order to secure an advance of moneys worth gives possession and use of land to the creditor until the debt is fully discharged. A pledge at common law is a possessory security and is restricted to movable tangible property. In relation to bank advances, a pledge is a form of bailment by which an actual or constructive possession of chattels, such as goods and negotiable securities is transferred by the customer to the pledgee as security for repayment of the loan or advance given to him normally with the express or implied understanding that the property pledged is to be restored to the pledgor when the debt is paid. A customary pledge is a kind of indigenous mortgage by which the owner/occupier of the land in order to secure an advance of moneys worth gives possession and use of land to the creditor until the debt is fully discharged. A pledge at common law is a possessory security and is restricted to movable tangible property. In relation to bank advances, a pledge is a form of bailment by which an actual or constructive possession of chattels, such as goods and negotiable securities is transferred by the customer to the pledgee as security for repayment of the loan or advance given to him normally with the express or implied understanding that the property pledged is to be restored to the pledgor when the debt is paid.
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Land as Collateral Security: Challenges Under the Land Use Act
Possessor Lien In Hammonds v. Baclaws (1802), a possessory lien was defined as the right in one man to retain that which is in his possession belonging to another till certain demands of his are satisfied. In other words, it is a common law right to retain possession of someone elses goods until ones claim are satisfied. Naturally then, possession is essential and the lien lasts as long as the creditor is in possession of the good. The lien does not arise until the debt is due. The possession however, must be rightful and continuous. Hartton v. Car Maintenance Company Ltd. (1915). Oshio (1995), postulates that for the bankers possessory lien, it is the right of the banker to retain the customers property in the banks possession until a debt due from the customer is paid to the bank. It arises not from express contract with the customer but by implication from events where the customers chattel is already in the possession of the bank. Chidiak V. Bank of West Africa Ltd. (1964). It operates as a general lien existing by Mercantile Custom and binding on the customer whether or not he knows of it. A possessory lien may be terminated by loss of possession; redelivery even in error destroys a lien. Mortgages In Santley V. Wilde (1899), a Mortgage was defined as a conveyance of some interest in land or other property as a security for the payment of a debt or the discharge of some other obligation for which it is given. In relation to bank advances, a Mortgage is a proprietary security which confers property rights in the Mortgagee bank but not possession. Originally, at common law, a Mortgage was an estate upon condition i.e. repayment of the debt. If the condition was fulfilled, the Mortgagor re-entered the estate, if not the Mortgagor lost his estate and the Mortgagee had an absolute estate. Equity intervened to mitigate the injustice by stating that it was unreasonable and unconscionable that the Mortgagee should be the owner of what was intended as a mere security. Latter, the form of a Mortgage changed from being an estate upon condition to an absolute conveyance with a proviso for reconveyance on payment of the principal sum with interest at the expiration of usually six months. This is the form which subsists in the whole of Nigeria except in those parts of Lagos State where title to land must be registered and the States carved out of Old Western Region to which the property and conveyancing law applies. The property and conveyance law (P.C.L.) (1959), provides that a legal mortgage of land can no longer be created by a conveyance of the fee simple; thus it should take the form of a demise or subdemise for a term of years absolute subject to a provision for cesser on redemption; or a charge expressed to be by way of legal mortgage. Oyakhirome (1996), asserts that the Mortgagee has a right of possession but does not usually exercise it since Equity lays down stringent rules of accountability where the Mortgagee is in possession. Mortgages are significant in terms of this article because they are one of the ways in which the newly created right of occupancy has been tested in terms of the economic values as the case of Savannah Bank of Nigeria Ltd. And Anor V. Ammel O. Ajilo and Anor (1989), represents. In this case, Ajilo had an estate in fee simple to a piece of land in Lagos State by virtue of a deed of conveyance executed in 1965. In 1980, he executed a deed of Mortgage over the property in favour of Savannah Bank as surety for the 2nd defendant (Ammels Photo Industries Limited). Consent of the Governor of Lagos State to the Mortgage was not obtained as required by Section 22 of the Land Use Act of 1978. Based on the premises that the Mortgage deed was invalid by lack of prior consent of the Governor, Ajilo sought a declaration and injunctions against the Bank and the auctioneer it employed to sell the property in exercise of power of sale contained in the deed of Mortgage. 95
The High Court of Lagos State found for the plaintiff and declared the deed of Mortgage void. The Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court in turn affirmed the decision of the High Court to the effect that Mortgages require the Governors consent before they can be enforced. This decision has thrown the financial markets into a great deal of turmoil because of the uncertainty surrounding Mortgages. Right of Occupancy No definition has been proffered for the concept Right of Occupancy under the Land Use Act of 1978. However, Manyara Estates Ltd. v. National Credit Agency (1970), a Tanzanian case, defined a right of occupancy as a title to use and occupy land, a purely usufructuary right. Nature of a Right of Occupancy Sections 5 and 6 of the Land Use Act of 1978 empower the Military Governor and Local Governments to grant Statutory and Customary Rights of occupancy respectively. From the provision of sections 5 to 10 the only interest recognised under the Act is a Right of Occupancy. Section 50(1) of the Act defines a statutory right of occupancy simply as a right of occupancy granted by the Military Governor under this Act, while a customary right of occupancy is defined as the right of a person or, community lawfully using or occupying land in accordance with customary law and includes a customary right of occupancy granted by a Local Government under this Act. It is clear from the above provisions that no meaning as regards the quantum of interest can be elicited with respect to a statutory or customary rights of occupancy granted under sections 5 and 6. However, land used and held under customary tenure by an individual or a group other than customary tenancy has been loosely described to be held in Fee Simple and in Elias v. Suleiman and Others (1973), the Supreme Court stated that this term means in the context of Nigeria, absolute title or absolute ownership. But in Lagos State Development and Property Corporation and others v. Foreign Finance Corporation (1987), the Court of Appeal stated that the right of occupancy is in nature a hybrid between a license and a lease for a fixed term on terms and conditions which upon breach by a right holder is subject to revocation by the Governor. As have been stated by Fekumo (1989), the interest acquired by the Military Governor through the revocation of a right of occupancy is still the equivalent of an estate in fee simple, but the interest he could grant to a citizen under the Act, as interpreted by the courts above, is in substance a leasehold term of years. This view sounds correct considering the effect of sections 21, 22 and 23 of the Act which provide for sub-lessor. So far as can be seen, therefore, a right of occupancy is a possessory interest in land. It is devoid of the concept of absolute ownership or the radical title by virtue of section 1 of the Act. It may be acquired by express grant or by implications of the Act. The person entitled to it is called a holder. The term also includes an assignee or a successor to a right of occupancy but does not include any person to whom a right of occupancy has been sold or transferred without a valid assignment; a Mortgagee, sub-lessee or sub-underlessee. The term holder covers both the individual or group. This is inferable from sub-section 3 of section 29. Challenges Under the Land use Act Nigerian law has always recognised the mortgage and the customary law pledge as secured transactions based on the land. Adeoye (1989), asserts that Land is the most acceptable kind of 96
security because it appreciates in value overtime. Little wonder therefore, that it is commonly applied as security by way of mortgage which is either legal or equitable. Land can equally be the subject of a charge under Section 110 P.C.L. (Western Region) 1959. Generally, a Right of occupancy, when viewed against the background of section 50 of the Land Use Act, appears dangerous as a security document. Section 50 clearly derogates a person to whom a right of occupancy has been sold or mortgaged from the concept holder. Be that as it may, it means a right of occupancy is of limited value. The rationale for the view is that section 29 of the Act entitles only a holder or occupier to receive compensation; payable on the unexhausted improvement, by the state thus excluding the mortgagee. Compensation is only payable for the value of the unexhausted improvement on the date of revocation. No doubt the provision of the Act do not guarantee the essence of the right of occupancy as a security to wit: the insurance taken by any prudent creditor against the risk of non-payment to a mortgagee who advances his money to a borrower or debtor upon the security of a right of occupancy. In fact, the Act clearly inhibits Mortgage as a form of credit transaction in its section 22. In Savannah Bank of Nigeria Ltd and Anor v. Ammel O. Ajilo and Anor (1989), the Supreme Court held that the effect of the failure to comply with the requirements of Ss. 21 and 22 of the Act was to render the Mortgage transaction to be of no effect. Furthermore, the position of the Mortgagee is compounded by Section 28 of the Act which gives the Governor power to revoke a Right of occupancy on ground of overriding public interest under Section 28(2) and (3) of the Act. Section 28 clearly portrays inconsistencies for revocation of a right of occupancy and where such revocation occurs, it is the creditor or banker whose interest now depends on the compensation payable to the holder or occupier that suffers. Section 29 provides that compensation will be paid to the holder of the right of occupancy acquired by the State or Federal Government for public purposes and for mining purposes. No protection is given to a Mortgagee whom the holder has transferred his right to for the purpose of obtaining credit facility. It is equally not in all cases of revocation that compensation is to be paid. Compensation is to be paid on unexhausted improvements under Section 29(1) and (2). No Compensation is to be paid for revocation carried out under S. 28 (2) (a), 28 (3) (d), 28 (4) and (5). In all cases of revocation service of notice on the holder extinguishes the right of occupancy under Section 44(7). Revocation destroys the subject matter of the security interest since the Mortgagee thereafter relies on the bare promise of the Mortgagor to repay. Another shortcoming is the inability of the Mortgagee to claim the compensation money which is payable to the holder or occupier. The decision in Manyara Estates Limited v. National Credit Agency (1970) clearly settles the fact that the charge created by the Mortgage did not attach to the compensation into which the right of occupancy had been converted. When viewed against the background of S. 63 (1) Conveyancing Act 1881, the decision in Manyara Estates case seems erroneous since the effect of the Section is that a conveyance shall pass all the Estates and interest of the vendor to the purchaser, and this it is submitted includes the compensation to be paid. Of note is section 33 of the Act which provides for resettlement. Resettlement, is to be offered to a holder or occupier. Subsection 3 further provides that the acceptance of resettlement by the holder fully satisfies the holder without any other right for compensation. The provision of section 36 (5) of the Act greatly inhibits any form of alienation of the deemed customary right of occupancy granted by the local government under section 6. The section therefore, is an impediment to meaningful development of the non-urban sector of the economy since capital generation is inhibited. 97
Reasons for Reform No doubt the provisions of the Land Use Act of 1978 have rendered the security efficacy of a right of occupancy illusory. Omotola (1982), has extensively discussed whether the requirement for Governors consent may not mean the end of credit transactions in Nigeria. It is a weak argument though in view of other security interests that exists in the Nigerian business environment like lien, shares, debentures etc. it is admitted however, that issues pertaining to consent and revocation clearly portray danger to the security efficacy of a right of occupancy. James (1980), Olufon (1991), Oyakhirome (1996), all agree that the issue of consent be taken out of developed land completely through an urgent amendment to the Land Use Act of 1978. Alternatively, there should be an amendment prescribing mandatory period for consent whereupon it could be deemed. Another view is that the Mortgagee should be made a holder of the Right of occupancy for purposes of recouping his security. There could be a clause that in the event of revocation, the Mortgage debt shall be secured or attached to any compensation payable to the Mortgagor for the unexhausted improvement and/or any alternative accommodation provided to the Mortgagor. Conclusion Right of occupancy being a Real Security is very significant in the kinds of securities accepted by Banks as background for secured credit transactions in Nigeria. The foregoing discussion revealed that the scheme of interests in land created under the Act has led to a great deal of insecurity to be introduced into the financial market upon the heels of the Savannah Bank decision. Accordingly, it follows that the use of a right of occupancy as security for advances in Nigeria under the Land Use Act of 1978 is still merely imaginary. References Adeoye, F.O. (1989). The use of a right of occupancy as security for advances A caveat. G.R.B.P.L. Vol. 2. No.8. 17-22. Fekumo, F.(1989). The land market under the land Use Act (Pt. 1) G.R.B.P.L. Volume 2, No. 8. 2431. Goode R.M.(1988). Legal Problems of Credit and Security.(2nd ed.).London: Butter worths. James, R.W. (1980). Nigerian Land use Act Policy and Principles. Ile-Ife: University of Ife Press. Oditah, F.(1991). Legal Aspects of Receivables Financing. London: Sweet and Maxwell.
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Olufon G. (1991). Legal and Contemporary Issues in Banking and Finance. Lagos: University of Lagos Press. Omotola J. A. (1982). The Mortgagees power of Sale: Hammer or Illusion? Vol. 18. 104-125. N. B. J.
Oshio P. E. (1995). Modern Law and Practice of Banking in Nigeria. Benin City: Lulupath International Limited. Oyakhirome J.A. (1996). Land as collateral security for bank advances some Use Act. Select essays in law Vol. 1. No. 1. 171-183. problems of land
Utuama A.A. (1989). Nigerian Law of Real Property. Lagos: Shaneson C.I. Limited.
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THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER AND STUDENTS SELF-CONCEPT ON THEIR MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT
Ukpebor, J. N. (Mrs.) and Mr. Ozobokeme, J. K.

Abstract The study investigated the effect of gender and students self-concept on their achievement in mathematics. A sample of 334 purposely - selected Part II N.C.E. mathematics students from 4 Colleges of Education in Delta State was used for the study. The cognitive performances of students were examined. Mean, standard deviation and t-test analysis were performed to determine range and difference between means. The results indicated that male students have high self-concept than their female counterparts and hence achieved significantly better than the female students in mathematics. It was recommended that students should develop a positive image about themselves and high positive attitude towards themselves.
Introduction The 1982 Conference of ministers of education in African member States held in Harare Zimbabwe recognised and emphasised the need to promote the education of girls and women and to bring about the necessary conditions for them to enjoy full and genuine equality in education especially at the secondary and higher levels and in science and technology education. (NERC, 1982). The same conference advocated for the need to enhance the status of the girl-child and women and help them to participate fully in the various responsibilities of economic, social and political life for rapid and qualitative development in the continent. In line with the above, the National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004), clearly states that every Nigerian child shall have a right to equal educational opportunities according to his or her ability like in ancient Greek where education of women depended upon the customs of the particular city state, it was the practice in Nigeria to deny females formal education (Aigbomian, 2001). Some cultures in Nigeria, believe that nature has specifically defined the role of women as wife and mother. In the same vein, Azeke (1998), stated that a female was considered as not being an economically good investment since after being educated she will get married into another family where she would send her earnings and income as required by native law of wedlock. In some cultures, the female sex is to be seen and not to be heard. Their activities are confined strictly to the home and domestic affairs. This position coupled with allied postures and attitudes appear to have shaped the female emotions, interests and activity over the years. Women used to be denied and deprived of many benefits (social and economic), which their male counterparts enjoy. Such deprivation and discrimination have affected the status of girls and women in the society (Oraifo, 1989). Ukpebor (2006), maintained that girls are restricted in the profession and disciplines they go into including mathematics. Generally, it is believed that girls are weaker sex, soft minded whose natural beauty, feminity and attraction may be disturbed by active participation in the rigorous calculation, thinking and manipulations involved in mathematics at both lower and higher level. Mathematics requires hard work from its learner, and the development of hard working citizens is a primary goal of any society which mathematics provides. Mathematics is regarded as a male-dominant subject by some people. The question now is: Does a subject really need to be
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classified for male or female? Does male and female sex actually differ intellectually? A number of factors have been suggested to explain sex differences in mathematics participation. They include: Mathematics had been stereotyped as a male domain, a field of study and work appropriate only for males (Fennema, 1990; Shermam and Fennema, 1991, Brush, 1996). Sex difference in career is high as well as the lack of role models for young girls to follow (Astin, 1990; Fox, 1995 to mention a few). Relevant studies abound in gender issue and mathematics education, Fennema (1984), Bolaji (2001), Osafenti (1988), Aigbomian (2002), Balogun (1994), Ogunkunle (2006). Their findings either confirm or refute already existing results on gender issues and mathematics education. This research work is a contribution to on-going studies and it is aimed at proffering solutions to some of the inconclusive issues by determining the interactive influence of gender and self-concept on tertiary students achievement in mathematics. Gender, Self - Concept and Mathematics Achievement Ogunkunle (2006), in Balogun (1994), identified three major theoretical frameworks for sex differences in mathematics, science and technology as follows; (a) Genetic deficit model: this model relates to those biological factors as causal framework. Females have lower intellectual capacity than males. (b) Cultural deficit model: this consists of those prevailing cultural structures and practices of the society under which the ability of female to achieve is limited. (c) Bi-cultural model: this includes those gender problems derived from traditional stereotype for roles and expectations. The findings of Ogunkunle (1998), Alloca and Muth (1982), disagreed with the genetic deficit model. Their finding revealed that females do not have inferior intellectual capacities to those of the males. Ogunkule (2006), maintained that cultural deficit model reflect dominant roles, the unequal participation of the males and females in science and mathematics, which is an extension of the Nigerian society where the male plays a dominant role. According to her, these models make an individual to perceive himself as others categorize him. The students grow with attribute, which develop out of his or her relation with an appraisal by others. Self-concept develops out of an individual perception of the significant value, which others assign to his or her worth and competence. Self-concept differs between males and females, between class groups or even among peer groups (Ogunkunle, 2006). Of course, an individual needs to understand himself/ herself because ones individual activities and experiences are determined by the individual interaction with others and ones environment. Confidence - anxiety dimension is an important factor that explains self-related differences in mathematics (Fennema, 1984). The work of Akinsola (1994), Ogunkunle (1998), Balogun (1994), revealed that self-concept has positive relationship with achievement in mathematics. According to Balogun (1994), girls generally under- estimate their ability and exhibit less confidence in their competence in science, technology and mathematics. When girls begin to physically mature, they focus more on their bodies and less on their intellectual abilities or themselves as people. As a result, their self-esteem decreases. This has prompted Fennema (1984), to observe that less confidence by female students is an important variable that explains sex-related differences in mathematics courses and that females under estimate their own ability to solve mathematical problems. Girls learning style is more cooperatively based and therefore, does not mesh with the independent, noncollaboration thinking encouraged in most classrooms. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of students in NCE mathematics in Delta State. Specifically, the influence of gender and self-concept on students achievement in NCE mathematics were explored. 101
The Influence of Gender and Students Self-Concept on their Mathematics Achievement
Research Questions The following research questions are addressed in the study. 1 What is the influence of gender on students achievement in mathematics? 2 To what extent can there be a difference in the academic achievement of students who have high self-concept and those who have low self-concept in mathematics? Hypotheses The following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. 1 There is no significant difference in the mean achievement of female and male NCE students in mathematics. 2 There is no significant difference between the academic achievement of students who have high self-concept and those who have low self-concept in mathematics. Methodology Study Population The study population comprises all the students studying mathematics in the four Colleges of Education in Delta State. Sample and Sampling Technique Subjects were 334 part two (200 level) students selected randomly from the four schools used. The 200 level students were used because they have already spent one full session in the school and have already been taught the course which the research used as the case study. The part 3 students are not fully in school this time and therefore, only the part two are appropriate for the study of this nature. Table 1: Sample Size from each School Name of school College of Sports and Science Education, Mosogar College of Education Warri College of Education, Agbor Federal College of Education (T) Asaba TOTAL Number of students Boys Girls 26 20 56 41 47 34 62 48 191 143
Research Instruments Two instruments were used to generate data for the purpose of the study. Viz; questionnaire and teacher made achievement test. The questionnaire developed by the researcher called self-concept students questionnaire was used to elicit information from students. The achievement test items were drawn from basic concepts in mathematics (Mat 124), which is one of the core courses for all the N.C.E students. The researcher administered the questionnaire and the achievement test items to the students with the help of co-lecturers in the various schools.
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Validity and Reliability of Research Instruments The achievement test items and the questionnaire were moderated by two mathematics educators who have been external moderators for two of the colleges of education used. The questionnaire was also face validated by a psychologist and guidance councillor from College of Education, Warri. The test-retest method was used to ascertain the reliability of the instruments and the reliability coefficient of 0.81 was obtained. Data Analysis The data collected by administering the questionnaire and achievement test were used to answer the research questions. For the hypothesis, t-test for difference of two means at t = 0.05 was used to determine the significant difference between the mean achievement and self-concept of male and female students. Research Question 1 What is the influence of gender on students achievement in mathematics? Table 2: Mean Achievement Rating of Students in Mathematics by Sex Gender N Mean S.D Males 191 55.6 14.9 Females 143 46.1 16.0 Table 2 revels that there is gender difference in students achievement in mathematics. The male students performed better than the female students. Research Question 2 To what extent can there be a difference in the academic achievement of students who have high self-concept and those who have low self-concept in mathematics. Table 3: Mean Self-concept Ratings of Students in Mathematics Gender N X Males 158 57.18 Females 126 50.83 S.D 14.67 8.55
From Table 3, it was observed that the female students show low self-concept in mathematics than their male counterparts. The mean of 50.8 for females and 57.18 for males confirms this. This implies that there is a difference in male and female self-concept in mathematics achievement. Hypothesis 1 There is no significant difference in the mean achievement of female and male NCE students in mathematics. Table 4: Analysis of t-test of Males and Females Performance in Mathematics Achievement Test Category N X S.D t-value Males 191 55.6 14.9 Females 143 46.1 16.0 6.1
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Df = 332, tt = 1.96 , p = 0.05 Comparison of means for males and females using t-test statistics is shown in Table 4. The ttest reveals that, there is a significant difference in the performance of boys and girls at p = 0.05 and 332 degree of freedom. Then between the two means indicated that the male students performed significantly better than the female students in mathematics achievement test. Hypothesis 2 There is no significant difference between the academic achievement of students who have high self-concept and those who have low self-concept. Table 5: t-test of Group Means of Self-concept Ratings of Male and Female Students Towards Mathematics Category N X S.D t-value Males 158 57.18 14.67 Females 126 50.83 8.55 4.6 Df = 282, tt = 1.96 , p = 0.05 The calculated t-value (4.6) is greater than the table value (1.96) at p = 0.05, and 282 degree of freedom, hence there is significant difference between the academic achievement of students who have high self-concept and those who have low self-concept. This study shows significant difference in gender self-concept. Self-concept differs in male and female students as a result of individual differences and the way they see themselves. Discussion of Findings The results of the study show that self-concept differs with sexes. This finding is in line with earlier studies of Osafehinti (1988), Balogun (1994), Dosumu (1987), Fennema (1984), who earlier observed gender - difference in the self-concept of boys and girls towards mathematics. More over, the study shows a significant difference between male and female students self-concept in mathematics achievement hence the rejection of the hypothesis. The mean self-concept score for the students in favour of the male students. This shows that, male students have a higher self-image and better achievement records which make them more confident in themselves. The results indicated some interesting patterns, which raised other questions. For example, do all female students achieve less than male students? What exactly is responsible for the consistent overall superiority of male over female in mathematics achievement? The study and infact every day experiences show that some female students record by far better achievement than some of their male counterparts. The real issue therefore concerns the factors affecting the achievement of the group as a whole. An insight into this problem was gleaned from the analysis of the second hypothesis. The overall low self-concept and confidence in mathematics by female subjects may, in parts, account for their low performance. The question therefore, is what must be responsible for the general poor performance and low self-concepts of female students towards mathematics? The result of this study is not in agreement with the views of Alloca and Muth (1982) and Ogunkunle (2005).
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Recommendations The following recommendations are considered useful if we are to encourage female students improved self-concept and achievement in mathematics. 1 Regular organization of career talks in the lower level of education i.e. primary and secondary schools by professional guidance counselors to expose female students earlier to the needs of mathematics to their future career and to develop positive self-concept in life. 2 Teachers, parents and the society at large should help the female students not to see mathematics as a unisex endeavour. 3 Students should develop a positive image about themselves and high positive attitude toward themselves. 4 More female mathematics lectures should be recruited to teach mathematics in Colleges of Education so that the female students should see them as mentors. 5 Publishers of mathematics textbooks should encourage female participation in mathematics by creating female image model in mathematical materials, textbooks, pictures, and charts, which before now were all male models. Conclusion It is generally accepted that self-concept relates to ones self-image and confident. We observed from the study that female students general undermine themselves when it comes to mathematics and science in general. Girls generally tend to shy away from the mathematics topics that require strenuous work to arrive at solutions. This shows that, a lot of work is still needed to balance the differences that exist between the performances of males and females in mathematics. References Aigbomian, D. O. (2002). Gender, Science, Technology and Mathematics Gender issues in Education for National Development. Warri: COEWA Publishers. Alloca, R and Muth, R. (1982). School culture and academic achievement. ERIC 1982 June 1993 MF 01/PC 02. Akinsola, M.K. (1994). Comparative effects on mastery learning and enhanced mastery learning strategy on students achievement and self-concept in mathematics. Unpublished (Ph.D.) Thesis, University of Ibadan. Astin, H. A. (1990). Women A Bibliography on their Education and Careers. New York: Behavioural Publications. Azeke, T. O. (1988). Parents attitudes towards formal education and the education of their children in Bendel State. Journal of Research in Curriculum. 1 (2). Badger, M. E. (1981). Why are not girls better at mathematics? Journal of Nigerian Educational Research Association 2 (1) 11 17.
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Balogun, T. A. (1994). Gender issues in the teaching of science, technology and mathematics. In S. Y. Erinosho (Ed.), Perspectives on Women in Science and Technology in Nigeria. Ibadan: Sam Bookman Educational and Communication Services. Bolaji, C. (2001). Correlation between some variables and sex participation in mathematics in senior secondary schools in Kaduna State. The Nigeria Teacher Today. 9 (1) 97-106. Brush, L. (1996). Encouraging Girls in Mathematics. Boston: Abu Association. Dosumu, T. (1987). Arguments in favour of vocational and technical education in secondary schools in Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Technical Education. 4 (1 and 2). Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004). National Policy of Education. 4th Ed. Lagos: NERDC. Fennema, E. (1984). Sex-related Differences in Mathematics Achievement where and why. In J. C. Higgins and D. M. Campbell (Eds.), Mathematics People. Problems Results, 3. California: Wadsworth International. Fennema, E. (1990). Influence of selected cognitive affective and educational variables on sex related differences in mathematics learning and studying. In J. S. Shoemakers (ed): Women and Mathematics. Research Perspectives for Change. Washington D.C. National Institute of Education. Fox, L. H. (1995). The effect of sex role socialization on mathematics participation and achievement in J. S. Shoemakers (Ed): Women and Mathematics Research Perspective for Change. Washington D.C. National Institute of Education NERC Monograph: The Nigeria educational research council (1982). Future direction for African education (The Harare Declaration). Ogunkele, R. A. (2006). The relationship between sex difference and secondary school students self-concept in Mathematics Achievement. Journal of International Gender Studies.
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Oraifo S. O. (1989). An evaluation of female students achievements in secondary school science. Implication for National Development. Journal of Research in Education. 1 (1) 90 100. Osanfehinti, I. O. (1998). Sex related differences in mathematics at the senior secondary school level. ABACUS. Journal of Mathematical Association of Nigeria. 18 (1) 80 88. Sherman, J. & Fennema, E. (1991) . The study of mathematics by high school girls and boys: Related variables. American Educational Research Journal. 16 (10) 169 172. Ukpebor, J. N. (2005). An evaluation of students achievements and attitudes in mathematics. Journal of Empirical Research in Science and Technology Education. 1 (1) 90 98. Ukpebor, J. N. (2006). Strategies for making mathematics more attractive to the girl-child in the Warri urban of Delta State. Journal of National Association of Science, Humanities and Education Research. 4 (2) 87 94.
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TOWARDS ENSURING EFFECTIVE PRIMARY SCIENCE EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Chimdi, Ahamefula Miriogu

Abstract The way to produce and encourage the emergence and development of scientifically conscious citizens in this age of scientific and technological dominance is to ensure that citizens are systematically acquainted with basic scientific knowledge right from the grassroots. The approach is to begin with the primary school level since that is the foundation of our educational programme. This paper examined the concept of primary science in relation to primary education, the justification for the study of primary science and the efforts of government so far in ensuring effective teaching of primary science. The paper also examined the challenges faced by the teaching of primary science and made some suggestions and recommendations necessary for effective teaching of primary science. The paper charges all stakeholders to work in concert to ensure that primary science is given a sound footing in the 21st Century.
Introduction Science education as the bedrock of our educational system requires a very solid foundation in the area of Primary science, especially in an age when science and technology have become a dominant factor of the world culture. It is now a well accepted aphorism that all programmes (be it economical, political, cultural, administrative, military, etc) depend on education and primary education being the nucleus of the whole educational system must therefore, be accepted as an indispensable determinant of the quality of a nations educational system and the major catalyst to the growth and development of a nation. To this end, planting the seeds of a scientific technological education as a central component of the cultural education of every child will bear fruit in the form of citizens who are actively involved in decision-making and who can contribute to the functional growth of the society (M.O.E Israel, 2000). Oguniyi, Okebukola and Fatunwase (1981), noted that when a child is exposed to science early enough, science becomes to him a fixed way of life that guides his undertakings daily. The curiosity of the pupils of this age is exploited by the teacher in guiding them to discover their environment through scientific investigations and inquiries. By this process, they develop the prerequisite knowledge, skill, attitudes necessary for future endeavours in science. Primary Science in Relation to Primary Education Primary education is the education given in an educational institution to children between the ages of 6-11 years (FRN, 2004:15), section 4. The primary level is the key to the success or failure of the whole educational system. In recognition of this, the federal government laid great emphasis on the teaching of science at this level. This emphasis is pronounced in the objectives of primary education as given below.
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a) The inculcation of permanent literacy and numeracy and the 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 the contribution to the life of the society. d) Character and moral training and the development of sound attitudes. e) Developing in the child the ability to adapt to his changing environment. f) Giving the child the opportunity for developing manipulative skills that will enable him to function effectively in the society within the limits of his capacity. g) Providing basic tools for further educational advancement including preparation for trades and crafts of the locality. Also the NPE (2004), emphasized practical exploratory and experimental methods of teaching, which can lead to the development of manual skills in the children. The general objectives which can be attained through primary science include (a), (b), (e), (f) and (g) above. In order to achieve this objective, Federal government made the Primary Education Free and universal through the UPE scheme in 1976 and UBE in 2000. Government also prescribed the following curricular activities for primary school in FRN (2004): The inculcation of literacy and numeracy. The study of: Languages Language of the environment English French Arabic Mathematics Science Physical and Health Education Religious Knowledge Agric/Home Economics Social Studies /Citizenship Education Cultural and Creative Arts (Drawing, Handicraft, Music and cultural Activities) Computer Education The national policy on science and technology (NIPST) highlighted the adoption of the following strategies for the achievement of the national policy. i. ii. a. b. c. Attempts to make it possible for the average child to have early contact with the concepts of and materials related to science and technology even before attaining primary school age. Ensuring a sound science foundation during the first six years of 6-3-3-4 educational structure through: Entrenchment of science teaching in the primary school curriculum; Provision of a well-traded and well motivated science teachers and Provision of adequate teaching laboratory (NPST, 1986). 109
Towards Ensuring Effective Primary Science Education in the 21st Century
Indeed, the Federal Government of Nigeria has made enough policy framework to ensure that the teaching of primary science is carried out effectively appropriately and under conducive atmosphere. Justification for Primary Science Education Science has been defined as an attempt by human beings to organize their experiences about nature into meaningful system of exploitation (Isiyaku, 1998). Science has a role to play in the early phases of our education programme. This is indeed very imperative because if we must increase the number of scientists and technologists in the nation, then we must understand that they should pass from primary to higher education and for them to function effectively as good scientists, they must acquire the appropriate scientific attitudes and thought. This kind of attitude and thought cannot be well acquired if science starts at the secondary level. Harlen (19885) grouped the contributions of primary science into four main groups or areas of need: There is need for science at primary education because it can: a) Make contribution to childrens understanding of the world around them; understanding is seen as developing mental structure which changes in response to childrens broadening experience. b) Develop ways of finding things out, checking ideas and using evidence, it is the way in which children interact with the things around them which will assist their learning. c) Build up ideas that will help rather than hinder later learning in science; this involves exploring and investigating in such a manner that the childs own ideas can be put to test. d) Engender more positive and thoughtful attitude towards science as a human activity for themselves at a time when attitude towards it are being formed, which may have an influence for the rest of their lives. UNESCO (1983), in Harlen (1985), articulated other justifications of primary science: Science can help children to think in a logical way about everyday events and to solve simple practical problems. Such intellectual skill will be valuable to them wherever they live and whatever job they do. As the world is increasingly becoming more scientifically and technologically oriented, it is important that future citizen should be equipped to live in it. Science can positively assist children in other subject areas especially mathematics and language and Science in the primary school can be real fun. Children from everywhere are intrigued by problems, and explore ways to capture their interest the subject can be more appealing or exciting to the children. Ogunniyi, Okebukola and Fatunwase (1981), opined that when a child is exposed to science early enough, science becomes to him a way of life and not something to be encountered only within the school premises. At the primary school age, children are very curious about the environment. The teacher guides them in discovering their environment through scientific investigation and inquiries. Children easily learn to develop and display the right attitude towards science and are able to use scientific knowledge and skill in solving their daily problems. By the time we start early to explore children to their environment through scientific inquiries, they develop needed skills and proficiency requirement for future careers in science, (Ogunniyi, Okebukola, and Fatunwase 1981).
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Government Efforts Towards the Successful Attainment of the Objectives of Primary Education Before we look at the efforts of government, let us first of all look at what the national policy has presented in terms of what the government should do alongside other stakeholders. Government is to ensure that teaching method employed in the primary school deemphasize the memorization and regurgitation of facts, encourage practical, exploratory and experimental methods, and in particular that the development of manual skills is stressed and encouraged by re-orienting the present system of teacher education towards this objective. State Governments are primarily responsible for primary education. However, the contribution of voluntary agencies, communities and private individuals are also welcomed in the establishment and management of primary schools alongside those provided by the state government as along as they meet the minimum standards laid by the Federal Government. The government has on its part made available materials and manpower for the teaching of primary science. There is now science laboratories and materials at all National Teachers Institute (NTI) centres in the country. The NTI had since taken over the completion of grade II teacher training colleges formerly handled by Grade II teacher training colleges. It had also embarked on the furthering of the education of TC II holders to the level of Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE). Also, the government requires that the medium of instruction in the primary school be initially the mother-tongue or the language of the immediate community and, at a later stage, English. In pursuance of its objectives in primary education in relation to science, government has made provision for adequate educational services such as preparation of specialist teachers for the teaching of science and mathematics. It has also made provision for the establishment of a school library service and offering Teachers In-service Training in the management and organization of school libraries to cater for the interest of all curricular activities in general. Government has also integrated in the curriculum for teacher education, Science and Technology in society to enable student teachers use science to solve problems in their immediate environment and to further equip them for scientific and reflective thinking. Such student teachers, on employment will not find primary science strange. Challenges Faced by Primary Science It is rather very disheartening that despite the good policy framework and efforts of government towards the effective teaching of primary science, the programme is still being challenged by a lot of problems. Does this mean that the efforts of government have not being good enough?. Maduabum (1991), Nkang (1995) and Amatah (1991), all attributed the genesis of the problems to the introduction of the U.P.E scheme. With the take off, of the U.P.E scheme in 1976, enrolment of primary schools increased from about 10 million pupils to over 15 million pupils in just one year (Akinyemi, 1983) as cited by Maduabum (1991). This astronomical upsurge in the enrolment of pupils resulted in an explosion in school population in the subsequent years and by implication the inability of government to match primary education needs with adequate funds. Salami (1995), Makama (1998), and Oyedeji (1994), are of the view that primary science has been faced with a myriad of problems which include lack of textbooks, science equipment, inadequate and unspecialized teacher preparation, congested timetable, general infrastructural decay, lack of teacher motivation etc. In the words of Oyedeji (1994:2).
Primary science is not given the preference it desires to have in order to make any meaningful contribution to the nations technological and scientific development and that the situation may continue for a long time unless drastic steps are taken to save the situation.
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Maduabum (1991:2) had already noted that

It is a fact that the performance of teachers in our primary science classroom and the level of resources at present are far from being satisfactory for the generation of future manpower intended to solve the problems facing the country. Things have really turned against the emphasis stressed in our national policy.
Mamman (1995:2), corroborated this position by saying that:

The laying of a sound basis for scientific and reflective thinking may not be achieved because the situation in most of our primary schools is not conducive for the scientific and reflective learning. In our schools, science labouratory, are absent, equipment for practical scientific activities are nonexistent and teachers have no initiatives.
Also, the development of manipulative skills as contained in the objectives of primary education is now a mirage since the development of skill requires the manipulation of tools/equipment and appropriate expertise in the field to teach the skill. All these basic things are lacking completely in primary schools. This is corroborated by Andrews (1997); who observed that most of our primary schools today have neither equipments nor materials for teachers to conduct practical activities nor for children to carry out investigative activities to discover things for themselves. We can now see that primary science is actually faced with a myriad of problems ranging from the environment materials, buildings and general infrastructure to school administrators and specialist teachers. Recommendations In order to achieve an effective and functional Primary Science Education in Nigeria, the following recommendations are proffered; 1. For teachers to succeed in doing what is expected of them in the 21st century, the curriculum for their training should contain teaching methodologies at various levels, which will take care of the changes occurring in the teaching learning process in the context of emerging information order. The use of modern equipment/skills should be emphasized. This can only be done through the training of specialist primary science teachers and the retraining of the already existing ones. The retraining can be in the form of special in-service training, workshop programmes and seminars. For the pre-service teachers, the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) should instruct all colleges of Education and the universities preparing teachers to mount programmes on primary science teaching. 2. Also there is need for the exposure of Non-science NCE, pre-science and serving teaching staff to proper science content. In primary schools in Nigeria, one teacher teaches all the subjects in a class. Many of these teachers are non-science teachers. Their knowledge of science is very poor and as such they are ill-prepared and ineffective in teaching science foundation. This of course makes the children to develop negative attitude towards science subjects and does increase the rate at which many of them drop out from science at the post primary level. 3. To produce teachers who are to teach primary science very effectively, the content of the science course in general studies in education curriculum offered by non-science pre-service NCE teachers in Colleges of Education should be reviewed to cover at least the primary course 112
4.
5.
6. 7.
curriculum and the course should run from NCE I and II. There is need for the Ministry of Education at the state and national level, the universal basic education board and the local government education authorities to send on a regular basis NCE teachers to vacation training programmes to be organized by colleges of education to cover the content of primary science curriculum. There is also the need to improve the standard of NCE sandwich programmes operated by our colleges of education. There should be more effective and meaningful academic activities similar to what obtains in the regular programmes. The colleges should ensure that enough periods and contact hours are provided for the programme. The government should show commitment and involvement in sandwich programmes by way of injecting fund into the institutions for the programme. This will reduce the financial burdens on student teachers and even reduce the level of exploitation of these students by the lecturers. There is the need also for Government Agencies such as Federal and State Ministries of Education and local government authorities to intensify their control, monitory and supervision of teachers in schools. Science teacher education programmes as contained in NCCE minimum standards, should be expanded to include relevant and emerging science and technology issues such as biotechnology, computer technology, communication and information technology, environmental protection, pollution, conservation of resources, cloning including the ethical implication of some of these practices. Other ethical issues in scientific and technological practices should also be incorporated. Government should try as much as possible to implement those aspects of the objectives of teacher education that have to do with raising the standard of teaching profession. This is one way of attracting quality into the teaching profession. The training institutions should review the situation where teaching practice is a mere attempt to examine the teacher rather than make them grow or develop professionally on the job. Student science teachers should be better examined by the science lecturers who understand the content of what the student teacher is teaching.
Ideally, teaching practice supervision is supposed to be a daily exercise whereby the supervisor sits with the student teacher in the class and discusses mutually what is going on in the classroom. This should be done in such a way that it does not embarrass or undermine the personality of the student teacher. A regular practice of this sort dispels feelings of embarrassment and inferiority complex. It does not only prepare the student teacher professionally but increases his understanding of the subject content. 8. Government, on its own part, must provide favourable learning environment in terms of availability of books, functional libraries, tolerable working facilities as well as adequate teacher motivation and remuneration. 9. There is need to use various assessment techniques in evaluating pupils performances. Teachers should in addition to the usual classroom assessment: i. Assign projects to students which they can assess by procedure of product; ii. Involve students in gathering of relevant science materials for the teaching of a scientific concept. 10. The primary science curriculum tends to be too loaded with content with little time to give an in-dept study of these contents. The examination system places emphasis on coverage of this 113
large scheme since the greater part of the assessment is on recall of scientific information. The content should be more practically oriented with available local examples and materials so that what is taught is meaningful to the pupils. Teachers should therefore be encouraged and motivated to improvise. This is the major way through which science teachers can apply their skills and utilize the local resources available to them. Conclusion The teaching of primary science has been faced with a myriad of problems. These problems are all working together to bring the programme to total disrepute. There is therefore, the need for all stake holders (the government, the teachers training institute, etc) to work in concert to ensure that all the factors that challenge the effective implementation of the Primary Science Programme are tactically tackled. This is necessary if we want to see functional and effective Primary Science Education Programme in this 21st century. References Amatah, (1991). Manual for Effective Management of Primary Education in Nigeria. Kaduna: Atman Ltd. Andrew, B (1997). An investigation into the attitude of primary school teachers Towards inprovisation In primary school Science Teaching In Nigeria. STAN 40th Conference Proceeding, 1997. Federal Ministry of Education (1981). National Policy on Education Lagos: NERDS Press Federal Republic of Nigeria (1996). National Policy on Science And Technology. Lagos: Federal ministry of science and technology Nihort Press. Harlen, W. (1985) Teaching Primary Science. London: Longman Press Isiyaku, M. B (2003). Teaching primary science in Nigeria: problems and propects Isa Kaita Journal Isakaita College of Education, Katsina. Vol. 1 N0. 2. Maduabum, M (1991). Primary school teaching in Nigeria: A need for reappraisal. The Nigerian teacher, Vol. 1 FCE Katsina. Mamman, M, (1995). An appraisal of the National Policy of Education Gobaran Journal of Education Vol. 1, N0. 1, FCE Kasina. Makama, M and Shuiabu Makama (1998). Towards Improving primary education In Nigeria; Forum Academia. Journal of Education, Vol. N0. 1 Kaduna. M.O. E (2001) Curricula for science and technological studies, Israel. Ministry of Education, Jerusalem. Nkang, I (1995). Financing Primary Education In Nigeria; A case study of Akwa-Ibom State CVE Afaha Nsit, vol. 1, N0. 1. 114
Ogunniyi, M. B, Okebukola P. A .O and Fatunwase, A (1981), Primary School Science And Methods. Ibadan, Heinemann education books (Nig) Ltd. Oyedeji, O. A and Alanse, Y. A (1994). Primary school teachers preference for science and mathematics among other Subjects; A case study of Ogun State. The Nigeria Teacher today. A Journal of Teacher Education NCCE Kaduna Vol. 3 No. 1 and 2. Salami, K. (1995). Conditions of primary school plants in Oyo township and implications development for maintenance, FCE Journal Kaduna vol. 1 No. 1.
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PERCEPTION OF THE STATE OF TECHNICAL TEACHERS IN NIGERIA
Dr. M. Aliyu
Abstract The success of any nations economy depends on the quality of its educational development. In Nigeria education is seen as an instrument per excellence for effecting national development. The need to prepare individuals for useful and productive lives through the acquisition of appropriate knowledge skills, work habits and attitudes with emphasis on preparation for employment to meet up the human resource needs in the industrialization and modernization in country is very paramount. It therefore, follows that for men and women to be able to employ wide range of professional skills in their areas of life endeavours, there must be welltrained, conscientious, efficient and motivated classroom teachers and conducive learning environment. Consequently, the writer of this paper contributed significantly by examining the various factors that impede the teaching and learning of technical education in Nigeria. The possible innovation to facilitate the teaching and learning of technical education was also highlighted in the paper.
Introduction The success of a nations economy depends on the quality of its workers which the educational system produce. The Federal Ministry of Education, (FME, 1981), articulated the need to prepare future citizens for useful and productive lives through the acquisition of appropriate knowledge, skills, work habits and attitudes with particular emphasis on preparation for employment to meet the human resource needs of industrialization and modernization in Nigeria. The importance of education in national development and economic growth has been recognized and stressed by several policy statements. For instance, the FME (1977, 1981), stated that the Federal Government of Nigeria adopted in 1988 education as an instrument par excellence for effecting national development. In conformity with this principle, most civilized societies established schools and programmes of education in order to induct the young into the culture of development and values of the society. Ukeje (1977), noted that there is a direct relationship between the quality of the teaching personnel and the quality of the educational process, since in the final analysis it is teachers who translate educational theory into practice. In conformity with the above statement, Fagbulu (1978) and Dubey, Edem, and Thukur (1982), posited that teachers prepare students to participate in societys skilled occupations, behaviour patterns and leisure pursuits. Eyibe (1989), opined that teaching is a worth-while and demanding career which carries a high level of responsibility. Good teaching Eyibe posited, calls for men and women who can employ a range of professional skills to inform, motivate and challenge pupils. In agreement with the above statement, Ukeje (1991), asserted that the success of any educational system depends on the availability of well-trained, conscientious, efficient and motivated classroom teachers. It is therefore, no exaggeration to say that the future of Nigeria as an economically and socially, self-reliant nation depends on the quality of our childrens education.
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Dr. M. Aliyu
Establishment of In-service Training Center The educational ordinances of 1882, 1887, 1903, 1908 and 1916, Fagbemi observed, have one common characteristic, that is, emphasis on liberal education and neglect of technological education. The neglect of technological education continued throughout the colonial period. Consequently, technical schools were established only according to the demands by the colonial administration for technicians in the public service. In the period between 1901 and 1938 only five technical institutions were established and these were operated as departmental in- service training centres. Some of the training centres were: The Railway Training Institute, (1901), the Servey School Lagos, (1908), the post and Telegraph Training Centre, (1931), the Vetenary School at Vom, (1935), the School of Forestry near Samuru, Zaria (1938), and the Yaba College, (1932), (though it became operative in 1934). The Yaba College became necessary for a growing demand for a higher technical institution (Fagbemi, 1988:3435). The colonial government later realized that the technical training being provided by commercial and voluntary organizations were inadequate and the need for formal technical education was ripe between 1925 and 1935, (Inwang, 1985). In 1929, a technical training scheme began on a permanent basis. However Osuala (1987), stated that it was not until 1946, that, conscious planning of a system of technical education started. In the memorandum presented by Kaduna Polytechnic in, 1986, to the Aina Study Panel, on Technical Teacher Production in Nigeria, it was noted that governments first involvement in technical education was through the establishment of courses in various government technical departments between 1908 and 1935. Most of those who taught in the various courses however, were not trained teachers, but professionals in their own fields. Coker (1987), noted that governments first attempt to establish technical institutions was made with a 10year Technical Education Plan Launched in 1946. This gave birth to the setting up of trade centres and technical institutes at Yaba, Kaduna and Enugu. Handicraft centres/craft schools were also established all over Nigeria. Teachers to teach in the handicraft centres were trained at the Yaba Technical Institute between 1950 and 1953, before the programme was discontinued with no form of a substitute, (Maiyaki, 1987). Furthermore, Maiyaki added that most of the instructors in the technical institutes, trade centres and government colleges/secondary schools were foreigners. Towards independence in the late 1950s, however, the Federal and Regional governments embarked on technical teacher training overseas through scholarship awards. This was necessary to replace the expatriate teachers that were to leave after independence. Most of the beneficiaries were those who studied the general craft or trades in secondary schools or trade centres. The courses lasted between two and three years for the award of the Diploma Certificate in Education (Handicraft). Technical Teachers from Abroad Ebanebe (1990), observed that initially qualified technical teachers for the technical institutes were recruited from abroad on contract basis and were given attractive salaries and conditions of service. Later the colonial administration devised a scheme whereby a number of Nigerians were sent to Britain in areas which were not only less attractive, but which also did not constitute a threat to the positions of their own colonial personnel. Out of the 69 students trained under the programme, only seven returned. The other refused to return to Nigeria and complained that they would be under utilized when they come back. This can only be viewed as the colonial masters grand designs to prevent Nigerians from replacing them.
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Perception of the State of Technical Teachers in Nigeria
The Gailer report in 1964 highlighted the need for technical teachers for the different categories of technical institutions in the country, their numbers and qualifications required. This report gave birth to the establishment of the National Technical Teachers College (NTTC) Yaba, in 1966 with the help of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Its purpose was to train technical, commercial, and craft teachers for the trade centres and technical colleges. In 1967, the Nigeria Certificate in Education (Technical), (NCE(T) in technical and commercial subjects was added to its programmes. Graduates of this programme were intended to teach at the junior secondary school level. The university of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), embarked on the training of graduate technical teachers in 1962 and later added the diploma course. The university of Nigeria, Nsukka has continued to laze the trail for others being the institution in the country offering the B.Ed, M.Sc Ed, and the pH.D degree programmes in technical teacher education. The Federal universities of Technology followed suit. The Federal Government in co-operation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1980, initiated the technical teacher training programme (TTTP) in the united state of America which was later localized. The products of this programme who would have received a first degree or masters degree were to teach at the Senior Secondary School Level. The programme was deemed necessary for the successful implementation of the 6-3-3-4 system of education. The Federal Government in 1986, realizing the general shortage of technical teachers of all types, grades, and standards in the educational system set up the Aina Study Panel on Technical Teacher Production in Nigeria with the purpose of examining the capacity of our local teacher education institutions to produce graduate and post-graduate technical teachers amongst others. The discussion on the technical teacher shortage is not new in Nigeria (Aina Panel, 1986). The magnitude of the technical teacher shortage has forced the Federal and State governments to take emergency measures that have been merely palliatives. While the Federal government goes into bilateral agreements with different foreign governments and agencies, the state governments have embarked on technical teacher production in local institutions of higher learning and recruitment from external sources. The situation in some states is so acute that they have embarked on the use of technical school graduates while some have even resorted to the use of roadside craftsmen in their efforts to stem the acute technical teacher shortage, (Ross, 1988). The need to address the general technical teacher shortage in our educational system has become urgent, if a serious impediment to the rapid expansion and improvement of technical and vocational education is to be removed and if the implementation of the new system of education is not to be jeopardized. Introduction of Technical Subjects Chukwu (1986), posited that technical education in Nigeria has received considerable public attention in recent years following the introduction of technical subjects into the curriculum of technical subjects into the curriculum of secondary schools. Continuing, he said many people seem to agree that the realization of the objectives of expanding technical education depends to a large extent on the equipment and materials for teaching and the quality of the teaching staff. He cited, the acute shortage of technical teachers as a major hindrance to the implementation of innovative programmes in the sector. Not only is there a problem of inadequate number of technical teachers but also a problem of quality.
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Dr. M. Aliyu
Basically, there are three types of technical teacher certification programmes in Nigeria. These are: i. Nigeria Certificate in Education, (Technical) graduates of these programmes are expected to teach at the Junior Secondary School JSS. ii. B.Sc (Tech) B.Ed (Tech) meant to teach at the Senior Secondary School - SSS iii. Technical Teachers Certificate (TTC), or Post Graduate Diploma in Technical Education this group is intended to teach in technical schools and vocational training schools, (Implementation Committee, 1979). However, some institutions like the Universities of Nigeria and Benin have the Associateship Certificate in Education (Technical) and post-graduate Diploma in technical education respectively. The (FME, 1981:38), provides that teacher education will continue to be given major emphasis in the educational planning, because as the policy observed, no educational system can rise above the quality of its teachers. The policy sets out the following objectives for teacher education: 1. to provide highly motivated conscientious and efficient teachers for all levels of our educational system. 2. to encourage further the spirit of enquiry and creativity in teachers 3. to help teachers to fit into the social life of the community and society at large and to enhance their commitment to national objectives 4. to provide teachers the intellectual and professional background adequate for their assignment and to make them adaptable to any changing situation not only in the life of their country but in the wider world. The same FME (1981:28-31), made the following assertions in support of technical teacher education amongst others: 1. Government is aware that only limited facilities exist for technical teacher education. A conscious effort to expand the facilities for the training of technical teachers shall be made particularly since the new structure proposed for secondary school education will require more of such teachers. 2. In recruiting teachers for the technical teacher education institutions, the industrial experience of candidates will be given the highest premium. In addition, government has decided that inservice training including industrial attachment will be recognized as necessary for up-dating the competence of technical teachers 3. In designing of (technical) courses, industry and government (agencies) will be consulted with a view to giving such courses greater practical relevance. It can be summarized from the FME (1981), that the purpose of teacher education is the production in sufficient number of professionally qualified, positively motivated, adaptable, conscientious efficient, creative, knowledgeable, competent and dedicated teachers. A review of literature in the area of technical teacher education in Nigeria revealed that the provisions in the National Policy on Education, based on the integration of the individual into a sound and effective citizen and the acquisition of appropriate skills, abilities and competence, both mental and physical as equipment for the individual to live and contribute to the development of the country have not been met.
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Perception of the State of Technical Teachers in Nigeria
Conclusion Education is the greatest investment that the nation can make for the quick development of its economic, political, sociological and human resources and that education will continue to be highly rated because education is the most important instrument of change. The government is aware of the shortage in the availability of technical teachers as admitted in the policy document, and so enunciated a number of intended measures for the development of technical education in Nigeria. In recognition of changes in methodology and the curriculum teachers will be regularly exposed to innovation in their profession while in-service training programmes be developed as an integral part of continuing teacher education. There is evidence that the national philosophy and objectives of teacher education are clear and rich in imputs. If, the imputs so stated in the policy document are provided at the appropriate time, in appropriate proportion, using appropriate teaching facilities, the output (teachers) would meet the desired standards and expectations, (Ogalanya, 1991). Therefore, if the objectives enunciated by government in the supply of adequate technical teachers in the right quality and mix for the various subject offerings in the school system are to be achieved in the technological area, the situation skills requires the development of innovative strategies for meeting government intention in technical teacher education. References Aina, O, (1982). Towards adequate supply of quality technical manpower. Education and development in Nigeria. Aina, Report (1986). Study panel on technical teacher production in Nigeria Federal Ministry of Education Lagos. Aina, O. (1991). Technical and Vocational Teacher training as a strategy for technical development. The Nigerian teacher National Commission of Colleges of Education, Kaduna. Chukwu, O., (1986),.Vocational technical teacher production in Nigeria. The challenges of the new system. Nigeria Journal of Curriculum Studies. Coker, E. J., (1987). Preparation of Teacher of Technology. A paper presented at the annual conference of the Nigerian association of teacher of Technology held at the University of Lagos 30 31st August. Dubey, E. A., Edem, D. A., & Thakur, A. R. (1982). The Sociology of Nigerian Education. London and Basingstoke, the Macmillan Press. Limited. Ebanebe, C. (1990). Identification and validation of generalizable skills in Vocational programmes. Journal of Vocational Education Research Viii (3) 46 73. Eyibe, S. C., (1989). Implementation of the National Policy on Education; Critical analysis. Nigeria Educational Research Association, Benin City.
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Fagbuhi, A. M. (1978). Administratic Practice for Teachers London, Evans Brothers Limited. Federal Ministry of Education (1981). National Policy in Education Nigerian Educational Research Council Press. Lagos. Inwang, I. I., (1988). History and development of technical and vocational education and training in Nigeria: paper presented at the Seminar held in National Board for Technical Education Kaduna Sept. 5 8th. Ogalanya, G. C. A. (1991). Management of Vocational technical education in a distress economy: Towards alternative strategies for greater effectiveness. A paper presented at the 8th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Vocational Association (NAV). University of Uyo. Dec. 8 11. Maiyaki, J. Y., (1987). Teaching staff requirement for Nigerian technical Colleges in the late 1980s and beyond. Paper presented at the national board for technical education in Kaduna August 26 28. Ukeje, S. O. (1977). Education for Social Reconstruction London, Macmillan.
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STORYTELLING AS A CONTRIBUTORY FACTOR TO THE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN SOME AFRICAN SOCIETIES
Osedebamen, David Oamen

Abstract This study in storytelling defines and emphasizes the entertainment and functional nature of storytelling in Africa. It went further to unveil discrimination against women which has been embellished in storytelling using two stories titled Okonzo and Ukelo and his wife. These stories have obvious discriminatory content against women in African communities where they are dominant. The study therefore, viewed the trust and its other related implications of the embellished discrimination against women in storytelling informing discriminations against women. It recommends ways and means by the individual and the media to minimize or eliminate discrimination to enhance equity and encourage women to take up trust worthy responsibilities against the intent of some stories with discriminatory intent.
Introduction In Africa, like all other human societies which engage in one form of storytelling or another, storytelling abound. Storytelling pre-dates writing and reading and it reflects all forms of human activities by assigning symbolic and realistic roles, thereby externalizing and bringing to mind the fundamentals of social and moral principles with which the audience of an African storyteller identifies and derives entertainment and mural lessons, storytelling deals with human situation; physical, spiritual and imaginative, and it is precisely an oral art. Africans live in villages before the development of urban centers. This, in addition to technological development encouraged the art of storytelling. More so that formal education has not begun. Then, storytelling was one of the major means to impact a child who often form bulk of the audience of a storyteller. It was organized in the evenings after supper. Today, storytelling in Africa is an important art irrespective of the height of technological development in entertainment and learning. This is because storytelling holds cautionary elements as well as help listeners to understand the use of legend, parables, and idioms as well as develop retentive memory, story songs are often responsorial. This has an advantage of helping the audience to overcome attentive fatigue as they participate in the art of story telling. As listeners tell stories told to them, the listener develops and enhances expressive skills.1 However, the advent of technological development has come to aid every aspect of life including storytelling, particularly in this era that technology is romancing the arts with a view to enhance its presentation, preservation, protection and promotion. In some stories, individual communities, experience is embodied to a significant extent as reflected by their culture. This enables individual members to apprehend the communitys world view. This becomes part of the peoples experience with its own structure. It is not merely a reproducing instrument for viewing ideas, but rather, it is itself a stimulator of ideas, a means to guide the individuals mental activity, for his analysis of impressions, for his synthesis of his mental stock in trade.2 In this context, African stories would mean something else to none Africans, like wise none African stories to Africans. This suggests that man is a distinctive feature of his environmental
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influence. Man, therefore, is a product of his environment impact in which he is extricable. In the absence of informal school societal traditions predominated. As storytelling is one of the earliest forms of human communication in traditional societies, the storyteller was a sacred communicator of his traditions. The stories themselves have genealogical, historical, didactic and entertainment content, which were derived and garnished by the society, for the society from its social structure and activities. That means societal activities then were predetermined by social forces and the most powerful of these forces then was storytelling. It marks out what is relevant in the society as a means through which the content of the story becomes part of individual experience. Individual experience fulfils the intent of the essence of storytelling. This lies in the efficacy of human tradition. Storytelling, in this context presents man and his social activities as recurrent symbol of efficacious tradition through interaction, mime, imagination and narrative. Whatever means used, is to the benefit of man. If this is so, it then means, storytelling in any society will give a good insight into that societys social and artistic structure. The content analysis of a story gives useful information about the society that generates it and its content implication for its people. In an oral society, whose morality and social life depends, in part on storytelling, the relationship between members of that society in terms of trust, reliability and respect for each others views and weakness is important. Its study will allow the negative content which storytelling embodies as elements of social interaction which have served their essence to be examined. Paramount among issues to be examined in this study is gender, discrimination, particularly the discrimination against women by some stories in some societies in Africa. Storytelling has helped to generate strong discrimination and enfeebling paradox in our society about women. Although this was more common in the past, hence man has not changed and is still a subject of his culture, which he reflects, it is therefore, important to examine storytelling as a strand of that culture and how it discriminates or contribute to discriminations against women, as well as asses its implication for the art the society that generates the story and the people therein. According to Nanda Serena (1984), it provides a socially acceptable outlet for emotions that might otherwise be disruptive to the social order. Through humour, fantasy, and the creative use of imagination, or all tradition provides a channel through which hostility, ambivalence; distress and conflict can be released3. The issue of discrimination against women has been hidden one in a storytelling because it was overshadowed by its social protest. For social protest to undergo its full cause, it must not be discriminatory rather it must go with equity. R.N. Egudu (1978), stated the purpose and functions of folk literature which constituted a point of discussion and the scholars divergent opinions. He cited, H.A.S Johnstons two schools of thought which have been identified. The first being the entertainment school which believed that oral literature is a primitive art with the sole purpose to entertain. The second school of thought is the Functional which also believes that entertainment is interference as the main motif is social function. He further argued that, entertainment and social functionality are together in oral literature and that one is not predominant and the other a subsidiary4. In essence, entertainment and social functionality are two vital elements in storytelling. The social functionality deals with the relationships between a man and his society or immediate world, a child and his parents, a man and his relations and friends and man and his enemies. This learning process becomes effective because it is carried out in an atmosphere of relaxation and entertainment, without the rigidity and tears that mark formal schools and pulpits5 . To this end, I shall tell two stories Okonzo and Uwaje and his wife to accentuate my argument on how storytelling contributes to the discrimination against women in some African societies.
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Storytelling as a Contributory Factor to The Discrimination Against Women in Some African Societies
The Stories Okonzo One evening Okonzo told his wife, Onomose that they shall go to the farm early tomorrow morning. Onomose told her husband that she was not well enough, as such she does not think she will be able to go to the farm tomorrow morning. As the argument lingers, they began to quarrel and their neighbors came to settle the matter and they went to bed. At dawn, Okonzo went to Onomoses hut to wake her up so that she can prepare to go to the farm. As she was waking her up rain began to fall, and there was a great storm. It rained so heavily that no wise man will dare enter into it because he wants to go to the farm. His wife, began to laugh because she has just learnt that nobody decides what would happen the following day. Okonzo was a great hunter and fisherman in the land of Atemu and Arao, a neighboring village because of his hunting and fishing skills. Any time he goes for hunting or fishing he must come back with a big animal or fish. His success was so outstanding that people began to suspect that he has supernatural powers over animals and fish, which others have none. Onomose was a belle in the land of Arao. She loves meat and fish so much that she cannot eat without fish or meat. She was called Onomose because of her beauty. Onomose simply means the beautiful one. Onomose has rejected so many suitors. She would have rejected Okonzo, but Okonzo was not rejectable because he captured her mind with regular meat and fish supply of choice. As a result Onomose fell in love with Okonzo, whom she loves so much. After a while, Okonzo proposed marriage to Onomose and she agreed to marry him. They both informed their parents about their intention to marry and a date was fixed for the marriage. On the fixed date Okonzo and Onomose get married. There was food, meat, fish and palm wine for invited guess in abundance. Fish and meat was so much in abundance that every guest went home with some. After the marriage, as common with new couple, Onomose followed her husband home and they began to live together. After their honey moon, Okonzo started his job. Each time he goes to the bush for hunting he must come back home with meat, and if he goes to the river for fishing, he must come back home with fish. Now they have been married for some years and they have had children but Okonzos skill and ability to hunt and fish remains a mystery to his wife. This ignited Onomoses curiosity. One day, Okonzo went for hunting and returned with assorted animals which he has killed. Onomose was very happy and in the process she asked her husband, what is his secret of hunting? Her husband told her, he has no secret, but his wife suspected that he has secret which he did not want to reveal. The following day Okonzo went for fishing and returned with plenty of fish. To his wife, the success of her husband was unusual; she was forced to ask him once again what is your secret? He gave the usual reply that he has no secret. One day Onomoses curiosity increased. She vowed to find out what her husbands secret was. One evening, Onomose decided to cook her husbands best food. She also prepared a local gin to its highest point of good taste for her husband. When her husband returned from fishing he served him his food after he has eaten she brought out the local gin which she has prepared with a glass and served her husband. Her husband. drank from it and he was satisfied with the good taste of the gin. As a result he took more of the gin. Okonzo suddenly forget that, before now, he has been warned not to take local gin from anybody by his native doctor. Although, one would agree that it was not Okonzos fault, it was the good taste of the gin that made him to take more. However, he did not know that his wife deliberately prepared the gin to that taste so as to get him drunk as a means to unveil the secret of his success in hunting and fishing.
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As Okonzo was drunk and struggling under the influence of alcohol, his wife asked him over and over again his secret of hunting and fishing. Okonzo resisted. After much pressure, Okonzo told his wife that he and his friend, Amase went to a native doctor before he married her. The native doctor gave them a rope and two sticks. Each time he goes for fishing, as soon as he gets to the bank of the river he would peg the two sticks on the ground and tie the rope to it and pass through underneath it. As soon as he does that, he would turn into a crocodile and kill as may fish that he could. As soon as he has killed enough fish, he would come out of the river and assembled the fish he killed at the river bank. As he comes out of the river and pass through underneath the same rope he would turn into a human being. At the same time, when he goes for hunting, he would tie the same rope to the two sticks pegged on the ground and pass through underneath it. As soon as he passes through, he becomes a lion. He would go into the bush and kill as many animals as he could. When he is through he would pass through underneath the same rope and turn into a human being. Few days after, Onomose decided to monitor her husband to the bush and to the river where he does his hunting and fishing to find out if what he told her were true. On a certain morning, as common with husbands and wives, Okonzo and his wife quarreled. After the quarrel, Okonzo went out for hunting unknown to him that his wife was tailing him. As usual, he pegged the two sticks and tied the rope to them and passed through underneath it. Immediately he turned into a lion, his wife went there and removed the sticks and the rope and went home and burnt them. After his hunting and gathering of the animals he killed, he came out of the bush but he could not find the stick and the rope. He went round and round in search of the stick and rope but he could not find them. Meanwhile, his wife has gone to her fathers house after the incident. The lion was there in the bush because he could not turn into a human being. After four days, his friend, Omase who has not seen him for days went to his house. When he got there, behold his friend, his wife and children were not at home, so he went back home. The following day his friend, Omase went for hunting. As he arrives in the bush he saw a heap of rottening animals killed by a lion. Immediately, he knew something had happened. He began to call his friend. His friend eventually appeared as a lion. He quickly pegged his sticks and tied the rope and asked him to pass underneath it and he did and turned into a human being. What happed to you? his friend asked. He told his friend that it was only his wife that he told about his secret of hunting and fishing. Why did you tell her. His friend asked, Oh! She got me drunk and put pressure on me. Did you not remember that the native doctor warned us not to take or drink alcohol? Some time it does happen like that he replied. He told his friend to follow him home and his friend agreed and followed him home. When they got to his house there was nobody in it. He went to his neighbours to find out what happened to his wife and they told him his wife packed out the day they quarreled after she returned from the bush and burnt two sticks and a rope. Where did she do it? They took him to the spot and he went there with his friend and he found the remains of his sticks and rope. His friend was surprised and he asked What did you do to her? Nothing he replied. But we had a quarrel that same day before I went out for hunting. Perhaps she was still annoyed and that was what made her to do this. A few hours letter, he learnt his wife has gone to his fathers house with her children in the next village. Okonzo and his friend planned to go to the in-laws village after he has had enough rest. Having rested enough, Okonzo and his friend set out for his in-laws house. When they got there they went to the bank of the stream in the village where they come to fetch water and take their bath. They pegged his friends sticks and tied the rope across them and both of them passed through underneath the rope and turned into two crocodile and swarm to the side where the children from Arao, Okanzos wifes place take their bathe and hid under the grasses by the river. Each day, when the children come to take their bathe the crocodile would pick one of them and kill him or her. This was done to punish
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Onomose and her people although none of them was a party to what Onomose did to her husband, Okonzo. The killing of children by the crocodiles continued for a very long time. All efforts by the hunters in the village of Arao and neighbouring villages to kill the crocodiles did not work. As the crocodile continued with the killing of children, it had serious effect on the society as children refused to go to the river and farm. One day, the king and his chiefs in the village met and sent for an oraclist. The oraclist came and he was told the problem facing the community. The oraclist consulted his oracle and told the king and his chiefs that the cause of the problem is that there is a woman who offended her husband and ran to the village. And that the crocodiles are killing their children as a punishment for accommodating the woman. The oraclist advised the king and his chiefs to look for the woman and excommunicate her. The young men in the community took to the streets, in a short time they located the woman and she was excommunicated. Immediately, the crocodile stopped the killing of the children. Okonzo and Onomose later met and settled their rift. Peace eventually returned to both villages. Therefore, if you have a secret dont tell or reveal it to any woman. Ukelo and His Wife Ukelo was a reputable hunter in Inaba Village. Then, it was unusual for a man not to be married, but Ukelo was over forty years old and he was not married. One day, his family met and they invited him. When he came, they inquire from him why he has not been married despite the availability of beautiful and model girls in the community. They also find out if it is because he cannot take care of a woman or if he was a eunuch? No, it was because Ukelo did not trust any woman enough to be his wife. As members of his family were not happy about his marital status they put pressure on him to get married. Suddenly, he fell in love with Tabi. Tabi was a very beautiful girl, who everybody knew to be a good girl. Despite the good character of Tabi, Ukelo, did not trust her. However, one day, Ukelo and Tabi got married. After the marriage, Ukelo, decided to put Tabi to test. One night, as he was going for hunting he put a chick in his bag. When he got to the bush he killed the chick and rubbed its blood on his cutlass and returned home. On his way home he began to cry, as he get closer home his wife heard his voice and ran to meet him. What is wrong with my husband, his wife asked as she embraced him. I accidentally kill a human being in the cause of hunting, he replied as he showed her his cutlass which was stained with blood. Tabi, his wife told him not to tell anybody otherwise they will implicate him. So they decided to keep it in secret. One day, Ukelo and his wife, Tabi had a quarrel, as the quarrel rages Ukelo threatened to beat his wife. His wife, who was also amazed, ran out and began to tell people that her husband who killed somebody a few days ago also wanted to kill her. The people heard and they went to Ukelos house to confirm. Ukelo told them he did not kill anybody, that he only wanted to test his wife, hence he took a chick to the bush killed it and rubbed its blood on the blade of his cutlass and cried home to inform his wife that he accidentally killed somebody. The people were not satisfied, so they demanded to see the scene and Ukelo took them to the bush and showed them where he killed the chick, rub its blood on the blade of his cutlass and buried the remains of the chick. The people were curious and they decided to dug up the remains of the chick and they found it was there and rotting. As they were returning home, Ukelo, who was vindicated began to sing. My people, my people, let no man with purple ideas, let no man with sick morals, let no man faint hearted, with mind bent to crime, rather in crime dwell so hard, tell his wife about it, otherwise death beckons on him.
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Analysis of Storytelling as a Contributory Factor to Discrimination Against Women The first story ended with if you have a secret do not tell it to a woman. This has put the entire cause and blame of the unfortunate incidents on the woman, Onomose, whose intentions, though unguarded, but not out of place because the man, Okonzo is her husband. She is supposed to know what her husband does for a living. Her intentions became unguarded because she induced her husband with alcohol to realize her intentions. She could have also realized her intentions through petting. Similarly, when the woman, Onomose provided alcohol, her husband, Okonzo has the will to accept or reject it. If he has to take, must he be drunk? He should have taken the little good enough for him so as not to lose the control of his mind and reveal his secret. More so that, he had been warned by the native doctor to forbid alcohol. Okonzo revealed his secret because he was drunk. The woman did not do what she did immediately she got married to Okonzo. She was curious about what is behind her husbands successes. This is normal with men, women and children. If Okonzo, had told his secret to his wife when she asked she wouldnt had gone as far as inducing him with a alcohol. It was because Okonzo told her that he has no secret that she decided to unveil the secret through whatever means possible. Alternatively, Okonzo could have also told his wife that he has a secret that he was warned never to tell anybody. This would have warned her against inducement, he would have also told her about the importance of the secret to their life. This is because his profession, fishing and hunting is their means of livelihood. Onomoses action was produced by the quarrel she had with her husband and the beating she had. It is obvious that Onomoses action was circumstantial and it did not take life, although the man suffered. However, it is not enough for Okonzo and his friend to take revenge on an entire community by killing innocent children until his wife, Onomose was chased out of the community. The rendition of the story portrays the woman, Onomose as evil, without considering the actions of the man and his friend. In addition, Okonzos weak will and neglect of previous warning against alcohol led him to reveal his secret to his wife. This was after he had denied to his wife that he has no secret instead of cubing his wifes curiosity. Okonzo actually fueled the problem when he bitted his wife. Their attack on the village led to the excommunication of his wife. Weighing the actions of Onomose and Okonzo, her husband in a conscience scale will obviously proved that Onomose has been greatly discriminated against. In the second story, the man, Ukelo was afraid of the woman he has not married because he was told the first story. That was why he intended to test his wife after marriage. Hi wife did not tell anybody that her husband has killed somebody immediately after her husband has returned and told her. Although Ukelo loves Tabi, he did not trust her because of the story he has heard. Moreso, it concerns a fellow hunter. His wife Tabi advised her husband after he told her his experience s not to tell anybody to avoid further implication. It became a secret unknown to only the two of them until Ukelo had a quarreled with her and threaten to beat her up. She has cause to be afraid and to ask her husband if he wanted to kill her the way he killed someone else. Of course, she did not know the conditions that led to the killing of someone else by her husband, perhaps they quarreled or there was any form of disagreement she wouldnt know. No matter the relationship a murderer is always feared. It is true that Tabis husband Ukelo, was only trying her, but she was not aware. The matter in question murder was a very serious and sensitive one. I wonder how many people can pass that test. Again, Ukelo summed Tabis failure up in a song that also discriminate against the woman. According to him let no man with purple ideas, sick morals, faint hearted, bent to crime tell his wife about it. Apart from purple ideas every other thing he mentioned are so immoral that no man will
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tolerate them in fellow man. Why should a woman then tolerate them? The two husbands, Okonzo and Ukelo ended up blaming the woman without considering the circumstances the women were when they took the action they took. To better appreciate it, they must put themselves in the womens position. Storytelling is an artistry which embodies social communication technique with a high sense of responsibility necessary for information and reconstruction in the society. This means it is intended towards moral balance but when there is gender discrimination as we have analysed from the two stories above, it negates one of its essence of moral balance to gender inequality which enhances discrimination in society. If one takes the pains to look around one shall find that storytelling still have realities among the most important sections of our societies, the rural masses6. Therefore, storytelling in Africa must be re-engineered for effective gender equality and moral balance. In as much as storytelling remains importance in human activities in our society, they have the power to inform and educate even now than ever before due to modern means of communication storytelling as an art can take advantage of. In the long run, when gender and moral equity are not maintained, the discrimination against women in storytelling shall continue to expand. This, certainly, will create bias which strengthens the struggle against gender inequality and discrimination in the struggle against discrimination. One side must be at advantage, the side that is at advantage has upper hand. In African societies where most stories favours men as a result of the discrimination against women, the men have upper hand. The attempt to use storytelling for the purpose of discrimination makes storytelling casuistic as well as stokes mistrust. The two stories told above striped the women involved of trust. Trust is central in the foundation building and sustenance of relationship either in marriage or in business. In essence, this is one of the ways in which women are discriminated against. In a situation where a woman is not trusted no responsible assignment will be handed over to her. Even if any is handed over to her, she will not be trusted to have the capacity to execute it, except she proves otherwise. As every relationship is built on trust, any women that I not trusted is at disadvantage. A good percentage of the men who grew up in an environment where stories with discriminatory elements against women are told must be consciously or unconsciously discriminatory against women. However, in such stories less emphasis is given to mens unruly behaviour. Storytelling in Africa is an art, which every community sees as a viable medium of information, education and entertainment. The information and educational intent of storytelling makes it very important to the individual and society at large as a social factor. Every adult who grew up in an African community is expected to have received folk education, information and transformation as well as entertainment through stories told by their parents. These stories are in turn transferred to their own children as a responsibility. The stories becomes more appreciated, imbibed in and effective because they are told in mother tongue with familiar environment structure which makes the form and content apprehensive. Overtime, storytellers, from experience have learnt to handle re-occurring questions from listeners. In order words, questions on why some stories enhance discrimination against women have ready answers. Often times, female children who grew up in such communities imbibe the principles of some stories even up to the recent past especially in less western educated communities. The acceptance of these discriminatory values is seen as virtue. This is one of the major reasons why most women in such communities help to propagate discrimination against women through storytelling. Those who do not respect these recriminating values are seen as deviants. One of the purposes of storytelling is to impart acceptable values and simple moral or ethical education. At this dimension of storytelling, emphasis is consistently placed on man and his relationship with his neighbours which if is healthy becomes instrumental to the growth of a
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harmonious society. This social relationship indeed implies both positive and negative attitude which include likes and dislikes, admiration and aversion, assistance, hindrances and so on. In a society, the good and accepted norms of behaviour-virtues in general are loved and admired while social disvalue and vices are hated and decried. The individuals in the society who represents these groups of appoint traits are liked or disliked by others as the case may be.7 It is these attitudes of likes and dislikes that determined the type of relationship which we find expressed in storytelling. It is important to note that in this study of storytelling the relationship between two characters could be amicable or antagonistic or both depending on the situation that motivates it. Some stories are discriminatory because the varying social cultural and backgrounds of the indigenous peoples in Africa have fashioned beliefs and attitudes of its peoples. These in turn are difficult to throw behind as they have become established and formed part of our culture. Storytelling has more of social protest content in most African societies. Conclusion Storytelling is a medium through which a society reflects its norms and values. It involves the concocting of the successes and frailties of human actions and inactions, sometimes with a blend of supernatural phenomena. This add colour to storytelling and gives insight into the societys beliefs about the unknown. The features of a story are basically meant to improve the moral and entertainment well being of the people. Moreover, the three central terms of a story are to educate, inform and entertain. This means stories are meant particularly for the well being of the people, even when it satirizes some situations. In recent times, storytelling has been used to initiate, encourage and sustain peaceful atmosphere and reconciliation especially in the western world. In the same vein, Africa stories that are told or performed in some African societies which consciously or unconsciously discriminate against women can be restructured to reflect equity that will enhance the dignity of women. Stories that satirize women discriminately must do same to men because action leads to reaction. At the same time the constraints of both the male and female as it affects moral imbalance should not be exaggerated to affect the woman discriminately. Recommendations (a) Storytelling is originally oral. Therefore, the media: print and electronic, though storytelling is originally oral, should be programmed to eliminate or at least minimize discrimination. The individual for instance is a major factor in storytelling because he is a reservoir. That is, he has the story memorized from where they are recalled and told. The individual is in control when stories are memorized and when they are told. The individual is also responsible for its transfer and processing control in the print and electronic media. At the point of transfer and processing control of any story the individual is in a position to modify or restructure the content in gender friendly ways. In essence, the individual is in control of his actions as regards storytelling and the media through which it is propagated. Meanwhile, the media has a responsibility; this is to inform and educate the people about the recent modification and restructure of existing stories that have discriminate content. Media discussions, symposia and related programmes, can be organized to educate the masses on the need for the restructuring and modification of the gender unfriendly stories, especially those that are women oriented. (b) This is a vital area that governmental agencies that are gender inequality sensitive should launch into to sensitize the masses on the need to modify or restructure discriminatory stories. This is
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because some stories stores discriminatory elements. It is therefore a primary factor, which if properly and timely modified or restructured by the conveyor; the storyteller, it will help a great deal to reduce discrimination against women. (c) The women being principal conveyors; storytellers must be agent of modification or restructuring. They are agents because a larger percentage of women are mothers who tell stories to their children. Children being the propagators; receivers and future storytellers would then receive gender friendly stories which are void of discrimination. At the same time it will assist women who tell discriminatory stories to acknowledge the effect on women and do a positive shift. (d) On the other hand, the print and electronic media must ensure that writers and editors take cognisance of current modified and acceptable storytelling standard. This is to ensure that all stories that are for the print or electronic media conforms and combat discriminatory elements. This will go a long way to restore the trust and dignity of woman in her society. This will enhance womens chances to compete favorably for trusted positions. This however, does not mean that women in societies where discriminatory storytelling strives have not been holding trusted positions. They have, but very few with much agitations and restrictions as a result of the peoples belief which sterns from parents who often tell stories as one of the major means to impact knowledge. (e) The government has a major role to play in the elimination or drastic reduction of all forms of discrimination against women considering the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The United Nations General assembly adopted the convention in 1979. This convention is also referred to as an international bill of rights for women it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and initiates a process for national action to end such discrimination. The convention defines discrimination against women as any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their material status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. States who ratified the convention commit themselves to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in all forms. Three areas were identified, among them most related and important to this study is ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by persons, organizations or enterprises. 8 Storytelling has been identified above in the analysis of this study as a contributory factor to discrimination against women in some African societies. The above mentioned international bill of right for women therefore, must take cognizance of these facts and pursue them vigorously within its provisions to savage the problems of discrimination against women in storytelling within these communities.
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References Hawkes, Terence. (1973). Shakespeares Talking Animals Language and Drama in Society, Edward Arnold, London. Nanda, Serena. (1984), Cultural Anthropology, Wanswearth Publishing, USA. Nwoga, D.I (Ed.), (1978) Literature and Modern West African Culture, Ethiope Publisher, Benin City, Nigeria. Oamen, Osedebamen, (2005). Mothers Moonlight Folktale A Collection of African Stories and Mythns, Forthspring, Benin City, Nigeria. Okpaku, J.O. (1986), The Arts and Civilization of Black and African Peoples, Vol.10, Lagos, Nigeria. United Nations, (2007). Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women Retrieved from http://www.un.org/womenwatch/draw/cedaw on 26/3/2007
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IMPROVISATION AS A MEANS OF IMPROVING TEACHING AND OF SCIENCES: A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN TARAUNI L.G.A OF KANO
Nurudeen, Ayeni and Mairo, Garba

Abstract The setback facing the teaching and learning of sciences were reviewed. Lack of equipment and materials were identified as one of the numerous problems. This was further compounded by the teachers inability and lack of skills to improvise materials where genuine ones are lacking. Questionnaire were administered to science teachers in four secondary schools in Tarauni Local Government Area, of Kano State to sought their opinions on improvisation and improvised materials for the teaching and learning. The findings shows that, 75% of the schools sampled do not have enough laboratories to serve each of the science subject taught just as over 70% of teachers had no improvisation skill to compliments the little materials available for the increasing number of students and 60% strongly believe that improvised materials, if made available could be effective in the teaching and learning of sciences at secondary schools.
Introduction Effective science teaching and learning has long been recognized as the only gateway to the attainment of scientific and technological greatness, which many nations have come to see as a great deal. It is interesting to note that the changing economic fortunes of the world have placed immense stress on the finances made available for the materials needed for teaching and learning of sciences in our schools. Also the increasing number of students enrolment in schools is posing undue stress on the materials available for conducting science teachings. Consequently, many researchers have proposed improvisation as an alternative approach towards improving the teaching and learning of sciences at secondary school level. Some researchers suggested that science teachers should aim at doing more practical with the students, as laboratory works, when organized convey a sense of science and inquiry and create situations in which students participate in the inquiry. Thus, improvisation as an alternative and effective supplement to materials needed for the teaching of science become inevitable as resourceful teacher uses whatever is in his locality to improve his teaching. Improvisation has been defined from various points of view. Eniayeju (1991), defined improvisation as the act of using alternative materials and resources to facilitate instructions wherever there is lack or shortage of specific first hand teaching aids. Olarewaju, (1994), see improvisation as the making of science teaching and learning materials from locally available resources. Alonge (1983), views improvisation differently. To him, improvisation is not only the production of import substitution of materials, rather it is an activity in promoting curiosity, creativity, alertness, endurance and perseverance, all of which are in dispensable to science, scientists and learning as a whole. Balogun (1982), believed that no effective instruction could exist without an abundant provision of science instructional materials. In the absence of such materials, teachers response to instruction would be negative and only provision of such materials or their subsequent substitution would make the lessons effective. He further stated that, instructional materials enable the teacher to; (a) Develop problem solving skills (a scientific approach to instruction) (b) Develop functional knowledge and manipulative skills
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(c) Acquire scientific appreciation and innovations And that improvised materials make abstract concepts more concrete and therefore, if it should be constantly used, there is need to motivate teachers. This view was supported by Ador and Azeke (1986), whose opinion was that improvisation place undue demand on teachers time, leisure and mental ability therefore to encourage them to improvise, this tedious task must be compensated for. According to Johnson (2000), motivation of teachers for improvisation could come from school, community education authority or from the State and Federal Government since it encourages skills acquisition, creativity as well as enriching the school curricula. Some of the materials required for school science practical include: heating source, meter rule, skeleton model, first aid, skeleton, first aid box, pin-hole camera, pendulum, reproductive system, water bath, kidney, ear, skin, eye models, glass wares, ball globe of earth, diffusion chamber, magnifying lenses, aspirator etc (S.S.C.E minimum standard for sciences). However, this paper is aimed at identifying positive impact, which improvisation may have made as supplement for materials needed for school science teachings and proffer recommendation on how to improve teaching-learning process using improvised materials. Methodology Four out of the existing secondary schools in Tarauni Local Government Area of Kano State, were randomly selected for study; 2 State Government Owned, 1 Private Owned, and 1 Federal Government Owned. The science laboratory facilities on ground were recorded. Data were equally collected through questionnaire designed as a statement, which demand the response of the teachers who teaches various science subjects and which relies on their perception towards improvisation and the use of improvised items for effective teaching and learning. A total of fifty questionnaire were administered in all and completed. The distribution covers 75% of science teachers in each school visited. All these were done to ensure reliability and validity of the paper since the teachers themselves knows the achievement of their students over some period of years. Table 1: Selected Secondary School for Data Collection
Schools Selected Fatima Mohammed Girls Secondary School (F.M.G.S.S.) Government Secondary School, Tarauni (G.S.S. T) Hassan Ibrahim Gwarzo Secondary School (Girls) (H.I.G.S.S) Federal Government College, Kano (F.G.C.K.) Respondents 17 10 8 15 No of Science laboratories 2 2 2 3
The data were obtained from questionnaire served to the science teachers who teaches any of the following subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Integrated Science and Agricultural Science and were analyzed on percentages. The questionnaire contain some eight items which covers teachers qualification to test their competency and experience, rating their students in S.S.C.E, improvisation skills to see if they posses any knowledge on improvisation, others includes; availability of improvisation books, attendance of seminars/symposia on improvisation to aid improvisation skills, effectiveness of science teaching with improvised items to see their perception on improvisation as well as motivation to improvise.
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Results and Discussions The data gathered from the respond to the questionnaire were given as follows Table 2: Teachers Rating of Students Average Performance In Sciences at SSCE for the Past 5 Sessions % Responses Schools Excellent Good Average Below average Poor F.M.G.S.S 0 0 20 80 0 G.S.S.T 0 0 10 80 10 H.I.G.S.S (G) 0 60 20 20 0 F.G.C.K 0 0 20 70 10 Table 3: Qualification/Competency of the Teachers in Selected Schools as a Whole Qualification Respondents Percentage N.C.E 14 28 First degree/Equivalent B.Sc., 32 64 B.Ed., B.Tech. HND Masters degree: (M.Sc. M.Ed) 4 8 Total 50 100 Table 4: Improvisation skills % Response Yes Provision of incentives and motivation to improvise 33 Availability of improvise books 16 Attendance of seminar, symposium or conference on on 26 improvisation or related theme Ability to improvise basic science equipments for schools 24 Availability of enough science equipments and materials for 0 Teachings No 67 84 74 76 100
Table 5: Views of Teachers on How Science Teaching Could be Using Improvised Materials Response Respondents Percentage Very Effective 30 60 Not So Effective 15 30 Not Effective At All 5 10 Total 50 100 Discussions The changing economic fortune of the nation has placed immense stress on the funds made available by the government for the purchase of imported or genuine science equipments. Thus equipments from locally available materials appear inevitable and more mandatory than ever before (National Policy on Education 1977). For the fact that there is a keen competition between and within schools in Local Government area of Kano State on achievement made in sciences by students made
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this study a good reference. Our findings shows that over 70% of the teachers had first degree or above with professional teaching qualification which may implies adequate experience fairly enough to cope with knowledge of simple improvisation of science equipments where genuine ones are lacking. Since 70% of the teachers claim there is no suitable resource books and have neither improvised nor have the skills to do so since they are not acquainted with workshops, seminars and symposia to give them such knowledge. To this end, students may have cope with inadequate materials particularly in practical which might be responsible for the overall performances of the schools in their S.S.C.E, which fall below average, has rated by the teachers. 60% are of the opinion that science teaching and learning using improvise materials could be effective. For the fact that 100% of schools sampled have problem of adequate equipments and materials in one form or the other calls for improvisation where genuine ones were lacking. Table 1 shows that, most of the schools do not have enough science laboratories and teachers may have to cope with carrying out practical in two or three science subjects using one laboratory. If however there are enough laboratories each designated for one science subject taught, it will not only create avenue to carry out enough dosage of practical lessons but enhances improvisation of materials for different science subjects taught where necessary. The overall poor achievement over the past years may therefore, be averted subsequently. Recommendations Exhibition of teachers made teaching materials should be annually organized so as to give science teacher(s) the spirit of creativity and innovations. 1. Government administrators and other philanthropist organization should motivate the teachers to improvise science teaching materials by giving them incentives like money, awards, materials e.t.c. 2. Serving teachers should attend regular workshops, seminars/symposia on improvisation, maintenance and repair of simple science equipment and materials which may be organized by the State Educational Research Department, Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN), Colleges of Education, Universities. 3. Government should provide fund to schools for the purpose of buying some materials or tools they need for improvising science materials. 4. School authorities should ensure laboratories are build or spaces provided within the school structures meant for each of the sciences subjects to encourage and create room for activities ranging from practical demonstration and improvisation 5. The government and other private organization should help in providing resource books on improvisation in science References Ador, E. and Azeke T.O (1988). Beyond current Practices of Improvisation in Schools JSTAN. 25:1 Alonge, E.I. (1981). Improvisation in integrated science. A practical demonstration in Okebukola, P.A.O (Ed.), Proceeding of the 24th Annual conference of STAN. Archenhold, W.F. Jenkins, E.W. and Wood-Robinson C. (1978). School Science Laboratories-A Handbook of Design, Management and Organization. Center for studies in science education. University of Leeds. John Murray, London Balogun, T. A. (1980). Improvisation of School Science Equipment. JSTAN. 20:2
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Improvisation as a Means of Improving Teaching and of Sciences: A Case Study of Selected Secondary Schools In Tarauni L.G.A of Kano
Eniayeju, P. .A. (1983). Improvisation in Integrated Science: A practical demonstration. 24TH annual conference of STAN, University of Jos, Jos. Johnson, S. .I (1994). Improvisation and low-Cost production for science education: concepts and information. A paper presented at room 803, during school of science Seminar Series At FCE, Kano on 30th Sept. 1994. Johnson, S. .I. (1999). Improvisation Techniques for College and School Science Equipment. MBF. Publishers, Kano. National Policy on Education 1977 Olarewaju A.O. (1994). Improvisation in Integrated Science teaching in New Approach to the Teaching of Integrated Science. Alafas Nigeria company, Ibadan. End Note 1. Oamen, Osedebamen (2005) Mothers Moonlight Folktale. A collection of African Stories and Myths, forthspring, Benin City, Nigeria, 108. 2. Hawkes, Terence (1973). Shakespeares Talking Animals Language and Drama in Society, Edward Arnold, London, 11 3. Egudu, R.N. (1978).Igbo Traditional Poetry and Family Relationship A Contribution to Literature and Modern West African Culture, edited by D.I Nwoga, 1975.Ethiope Publisher, Benin, Nigeria,15. 4. Ibid, 36 5. Bukenya, L.A.Z. Oracy as a skill and as a tool for African Development, A contribution to. The Arts and civilization of Black and African peoples, Vol.10 Lagos Nigeria, edited by Okpaku suo et al 1986,99 Nadsworth Publishing, USA, 338. 6. United Nations, 2007. Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against women retrieved from http:11ww.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw on 26/3/2007. 7. 1bid.,1-2
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THE COMPONENTS OF ORAL EXAMINATION IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Umezinwa, Rose N.
Abstract Examination is a process prescribed or assigned for testing qualification, capabilities, knowledge, progress, and the like. Test on the other hand, is an instrument before evaluation and a tool of evaluation. Test could be essay, objective, performance or oral test. The essence of test or examination is to assess the extent and degree of students progress in classroom teaching and learning. This paper will look into the components of oral examination in English Language.
Introduction As important as the task of conducting oral examination is, both to the teacher and the learners, one cannot effectively discuss the subject without recourse to the concept of spoken English. Like any other language, spoken English is characterized by the preponderance of vocal sounds in verbal utterances. It is the form of language whose medium of communication is largely oral. The sounds in this form of speech act are classified into two main forms, vis-a-vis the vowels and the consonants. The systematic combination of these sounds in continuous utterance give rise to speech. Essentially, speech sounds are categorize according to their specific features. While some are considered discrete others are seen as supra-segmental. The vowels and consonants constitute the discrete sound. This is because of the possibility of analyzing the composite phonemes on the basis of their manner of articulation, place of articulation and other specific characteristics of the sounds. On the other hand, other features of speech which cannot be broken into individual units like the vowels and consonants are classified as the suprasegmental features. These are elements like stress, rhythm and intonation; all of which function within the larger units of speech such as words, phrases and sentences. In articulating English sound, more pressure is exerted on the production of certain units of words, phrases and sentences than other units. Equally, some syllables are pronounce with much emphasis than others thus, giving rise to either primary, or secondary stress. Stressing is perceived of in three dimensions. The primary, secondary and the unstressed syllables. The concern in oral English examination therefore, encompasses the totality of standard articulation of the component sounds, the right type of variation in the voice pitch as well as the use of the right type of tune for the right type of discourse. It is the design to assess the learners level of achievement or progress in this direction that oral examination concerns itself with. According to Bright and McGregor (1970:196), they say, it is not easy to design tests that explore the ability to behave (conversationally) with social ease and competence or to take part in serious discussions. The artificiality of most oral English examination situations, Bright and McGregor, remarked invalidates the results got from their administration. The intention behind most oral English examination is to determine the speech competence of the learners having been exposed to the target language consciously and superficially in and out of the classroom. The Nigerian situation like those of all other second language learners calls for attention. Quite often the examiners expectation of the performance of the Nigerian students is for them to equal or approximate those of the native speakers in terms of competence.
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Hindrances The conduct of these examinations is not without some hinderances. At the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) as well as in the Teachers Grade Two (TC II) Certificate examination oral English examination has become a nightmare to students. They (students) think, it as mandatory to strain their voices to sound British or American in order to impress. The result is that of affectation and artificiality in their laboured attempts. Components of Oral English Essentially, the test of orals seek to ascertain the mastery of two major categories of speech work. These are the discrete features and the supra-segmental features. In doing this, the following test components have been designed and meticulously upheld by public examination bodies in Nigeria. They include i) Listening comprehension test ii) Oral production test iii) Passage reading test. The administration of oral examination indicates that the examiners are subjected to the series of tests mentioned above. The listening comprehension test is usually accompanied by a playing back of pre-recorded test items. The tape recorder is expected to play although uninterrupted except for undue interference from noises beyond the control of the examiner. Such disruptions include noises from heavy duty engines close to the hall where the test is being administered or a scarce created by such things like the presence of a live snake in the hall of use. Usually, the pre-recorded tape contains between 50 to 75 question items. This is not a rule. The question items reflect several aspects of the oral English components. It is predominantly a test of the learners acoustic acuity. The examiner must posses a high level of auditory discrimination skills. Other items of the listening test, include those of syllable stress, intonations and attitudinal responses, listening comprehension and conversational vocatives. The second component of the oral examination is the oral production test. According to Obanye et al (1987) oral composition significantly demands the use of verbal communication for the purposes of narrating, describing, explaining, arguing, persuading or instructing. This component involves listening and speaking skills. The examiner and the examinee share these skills interchangeably. Factors In planning an oral production test, three factors must be taken into consideration. They include, the topics or subject matter, the audience, the style of delivery. The topics to be selected should reflect the learners experiential background. This is particularly important as the test is more of an impromptu situation. It would be unwise to expect majority of Nigerian students to discuss topics like Life in the polar regions with ease fluidity of pupils from such homelands. Thus, topics on agricultural practices in Nigeria, sports, commerce, Nigeria politics, marriages, death and other issues from the students cultural milieu should transcend the range of topics to be featured for the Nigerian learners. The conduct of oral production test is one-way directional, the examinee is faced with three topics from which he is expected to pick on one and speak comprehensively for three minutes. Most of the talking is done by the examinee except where the examiner may have suspected some manifestations of pre-planning on the part of the examinees only then can he ask one or two questions
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The Components of Oral Examination in English Language
to sway the examinee off from recitation. The examiner is of necessity expected to provide some form of prompting or leading statement should the examinee exhibit such psychological traits of stage fright, loss of composure, withdrawal syndrome or outright blankness. He can do this through useful chatting, pointer questions etc. The scoring of oral production test centres around the following: 1. Relevance of content to the topic of discourse. 2. Logicality of the presentation. 3. Comportment of the candidate. 4. Fluency 5. Grammaticality of the candidates expression. 6. Relevance of the registers to the topic discussed. The third component in the oral examination is the passage reading. The candidate is made to read aloud a given passage with some selected phonemes that are most likely to pose a problem to the candidate. The examiner pays special attention to the articulation of these phonemes. At a second reading, the candidates is expected to read for stress and phrasing. The examiner on his part watches out for regular pauses and stress as already indicated in his marking scheme. As part of the reading passage texts, certain sentences with specific reading difficulty are selected for the candidates to read aloud. The examiner listen to the intonation and accentuation patterns of the candidates attempt. The tunes often watched out for include. i A rise, rise, rise and fall or fall, fall fall pattern as in the sentence. He sent greetings to his brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles. ii Contrastive stress as in the sentence. I asked for bananas, not plantains. iii A rise tune followed by a fall as in. As he walked up to the Governor, a policeman pulled him back. iv A high fall, followed by a low-level tag, as in: stop talking and come out here! He ordered angrily. v A rising tune followed by a rising tag as in: Did you call me, sir? she asked politely. It is clear from the foregoing discussion, that the expectations of the examiner in oral examination are seen to be far above the candidates competence. Why Oral Examination It is important to know the purpose of conducting oral English examination. Generally, examination in educational circle, serves various useful purposes. They include: i) Placement purpose ii) Certification purpose iii) Diagnostic function iv) Achievement assessment v) Progressional (promotional) purpose The use of oral examination is often preferred when the examinee lacks the competence to express himself in writing, usually at the kindergarten stage or Nursery School. Byrne (1976), says to make examination measurements accurate is a very difficult task. And since according to him many educationists believe that the essay type of question is not a very reliable method of testing a
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pupils knowledge of facts. The adoption of the multiple choice approach in recent times for testing oracy skills is not seen as a surprise. If the concept of oral examination is to encompass: routine classroom assessment, non-formal verbal questioning, as well as formalize a standard terminal test, then oral examination has been extended to give practice to the examinee in the use of oracy skills beyond the certificate examinations. At the certificate examination especially at the senior secondary school and Teachers Grade II certificate examinations, the purpose of oral examination is for achievement evaluation of the impact of the teaching task on the students after having exposed them to a course of studies over the years. For candidates seeking admission into foreign institutions, proficiency examination is often administered to determine their level of competence in the language of instruction of the institutions of their interest. Weaknesses Associated with the Administration of Oral Examination The current practice in the administration of oral examination is one which is gradually stripping the oral examination of all the ingredient of oracy. The students tend to see oral examination as another multiple choice test. This is because in the WAEC conducted oral English examination for Senior Secondary School Certificate for instance, candidates no longer have the basics of acoustic production. They do what I consider as phonographic test. That is, a test of the candidates ability to recognize the written sounds than the spoken sound. Equally disturbing is the fact that, the administration of oral examination especially in most Nigerian secondary school is never done until the final certificate examination period. One wonders how pupils whose developmental performance has not been monitored could be presented for a certificate examination. The simple reasons for this occurrence are that well trained personnel to administer the true oral test are in short supply couple with the fact that funds to finance the examination is usually unavailable. Where the tests are administered, they are conducted in highly unnatural form. Some have even advocated for the abolition of certain aspects of the oral examination such as reading aloud. In the words of Bright and McGregor, it is difficult to avoid tests involving reading aloud altogether, but it is not satisfactory to select one passage from a reader to listen to thirty examinees and to mark on comprehensibility. The solution according to them is for each candidate to read a different passage. But how are we to ensure that each passage contains the same number and kind of difficulties. Another added dimension to the problems faced by the Nigerian examinee is the use of taperecorder. This is a practice in which the examiner records the attempts of every tenth or twentieth candidate during an oral production test. The recorded candidate considers himself unluck to face the wrath of the examiner and that of the moderator. In support of tape-recording, Bright and McGregor (1970:196), say It is almost essential to record the examinees on tape because of the difficulty of simultaneous administration and assessment and because, in a large examination, this is the only satisfactory way of co-ordinating standards. There is also the problem of sound to letter correspondence. The candidates in an oral examination situation is forced to engage the four language skills in answering questions. They listen to the tape, make suitable choice from test items corresponding with the utterances played in the tape and write the answer in an answer booklet. In doing this, the candidates draw relationship between the spoken and printed words. This association is often misleading as there is no direct one to one, letter sound correspondence.
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Improving the Conduct of Oral Examination In order to ensure that the conduct of the oral examination proceed in as near natural environment as possible, the following suggestions have been given. i Simulated instances from the society reflecting various professional parlance should be provided for the pupils. ii Self assessment test in which students could be made to work in pairs should be provided. The scores of such tests should be made part of the continuous assessment which would eventually be added to the cumulative score. iii Numerical rating should be discouraged and in its place, performance rating, measuring the candidates efforts on the basis of how well or how poorly the candidates perform should be adopted. iv Test items should be drawn based on the pupils level of exposure in the target language not on a universal that would place some students at a disadvantage to others. Conclusion While there is no doubt about the enormous benefits of oral examination in English Language to a developing country like Nigeria there is the need for review of the strategies on how this important examination should be conducted. The suggestions contained in this paper if carefully considered and implemented, will go a long way in ensuring that there would be an improvement on the procedure of assessment which would consequently lead to enhancement in students/pupils communicative competence and international intelligibility in the use of spoken English. References Bright, J. A.. and McGregor, G.P. (1970). Teaching English as a Second Language. London: Longman. Byrne, H. J. (1976). The Teacher and His Pupils. London: Oxford University Press. Obanya, P. et. al (1987). Understanding and Using English. Onitsha: Leadway Books. N.C.E./DLS Course Book on PES Language Arts Methodology II. National Teachers Institute Kaduna (1990).
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THE NEED TO INCLUDE TRADO-MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS IN THE INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HIV / AIDS IN NIGERIA
Ogharaerumi, B. S. U. (Mrs.)
Abstract HIV/AIDS affects mainly young and middle aged men and women in their most productive years, which have serious economic implications to the individual and the nation. This paper explored the need to include tradomedical practitioners in the intervention strategies for the campaign against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (A Case Study of Warri metropolis). A purposive sampling technique was employed to select 90 respondents in Warri metropolis from six (6) Clinics / Hospitals (Shell Clinic, Central Hospital Warri, NPA Clinic, Chevron Clinic, NNPC Clinic (Ekpan) and Ekpan General Hospital and College of Education, Warri. An eleven item questionnaire developed by the researcher was used to elicit information from the subjects. This was validated and toppled for reliability. 84% of the respondents agreed that orthodox medical practitioners have not been successful for now in the fight against HIV/AIDS and 77% opined that there is need to include trado medical practitioners in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Recommendations were made that there should be planned legislation for a system of recognising traditional herbal medicine but with regulatory control.
Introduction Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is by definition, the late stage of infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which attacks and gradually destroys the immune system thus rendering the bodys defence mechanism against pathogens useless and inefficient. Major signs of AIDS include, loss of weight, persistent fever, diarrhea and severe fatigue. The minor signs include skin rashes (dermatitis), oral thrush, persistent lymphadenopathy herpes, constant cough, swollen gland, pneumzeystis Carinii pneumonia (PCP) and cold sores all over the body (Ottah, 2001). Infections with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are urgent problems with severe implications (WHO, 1992). The societal and economic impact of HIV/AIDs are becoming health issues of great concern as the pandemic continues to spread. The chronic nature of the disease, its associated life threatening conditions and the cost of anti-viral drugs make the healthcare cost for HIV infected patients tremendous (Piot, Kapita, Ngugi Mann, Colebunders, and Wabitseh, 1992). This places a heavy burden on the already limited budget of families and governments. The increased morbidity and mortality due to AIDS affects the lives of children (AIDS action 1995). The fact that the disease affects mainly young and middle-aged men and women in the most productive years have serious economic implications to the individuals and the nation. Thus, HIV/AIDS constitutes a big burden to the individual, the family and the nation (Achalu, 1993). Traditional herbal medicine is just one of the many different approaches to using plants as medicine. Traditional herbal medicine has been used in Britain for centuries and it remains popular, even in the era of scientific medicine and modern pharmaceuticals. Many well-established medicines come from plant. For example morphine comes from poppies, aspirin from willow bark, and dioxin (a treatment for an irregular heart beat) from foxgloves. Herbal medicine is a complementary therapy that uses plant or plants extract to treat illness. There are numerous herbal products available that
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claim to treat a wide range of problems, from depression to colds and flu. Herbal remedies can have side-effects and can interact with other drugs. There have been reports of fatal toxic effect with some herbal products that originated in the United Kingdom. Some herbal treatments are more established, and have undergone some clinical testing. These include: Herbal remedies for self-treatment are available as tablets, capsules, ointments and creams and are on sale in health food shops, pharmacies and even supermarkets. The study showed that, traditional healers have some practices and beliefs, such as the use of the mouth for sucking blood (blood-letting), use of sharp instruments which is risky behaviour and the belief that HIV/AIDS is not a new disease. The first case of AIDS in Nigeria was reported in 1986, putting the period of introduction of HIV infection into Nigeria to late 1970s to early 1980s. From 2 cases in 1986, 10,803 cases have been reported to the National AIDS and STD Control Program by June 30, 1997. The trend of HIV infection in the various population sub-groups has shown a rise from a prevalence of 1.4% in 1991 to 4.5% 1995 among women attending antenatal Clinic (Arabs, 1998). Currently; nearly 30 million of those infected with HIV are in Africa; where AIDS has become the leading cause of death; the pattern of HIV infection reflect complex social, economic, and behavioural factors of the populace (UNAIDS, 2002). In Africa, paediatric HIV infection is acquired largely through the vertical route from mother to child while transmission rates in Europe and United States have ranged from 13% to 29% rates in Africa have ranged from 25% to 39%. Most African children develop AIDS and die in infancy and early childhood. (Ekanem and Umotong, 1998). While data collection in Nigeria is far from adequate, there is enough to show that Nigeria is already in the mainstream of countries with HIV/AIDS epidemic and something should be done urgently. President Obasanjo, noted that, African Countries where the greatest sufferers were found, were now resolute in the determination to stamp out the AIDs scourge is necessary. Therefore, the need to include trado-medical practitioners in our determination to stamp out the HIV/AIDS scourge is necessary. Traditional medicine refers to the indigene medicine of our people; traditional medicine which grew up and developed with society and the culture of the people in relation to their belief. However, as you are aware, Nigeria faces a grave and alarming threat of the scourge of the HIV/AIDS killer disease. The figures are alarming. (Menakaya, 1991). He stated further that, his proposal on traditional medicine in Health Care delivery system were enthusiastically accepted and complemented by the presidential forum and health consultative meeting. In Nigeria, traditional healers have been used as diagnosticians and as guides and directions of psychotherapeutic management of mental patient (Lambo, 1969). Akinbeyewa (1985), was of the view that besides using the orthodox medicine that many Nigerians have been advocating for the return to the roots. He also, stressed the fact that, herbal medicine known by our forefathers has many advantages. It has been shown that the main difference between traditional and modern medicine rest in conceptual belief. At all stages in history, medicine was practiced in all parts of the world in one way or the other. Traditional medicine is positively equipped to offer hope to those affected with illness or repeated medicine mishap. Ekpe, claimed that seven HIV/AIDS positive patients have visited his stand, seeking remedy since he arrived for the 11-day fair, at the 12th Enugu International trade fair. While many patients and their relations had visited him for consultation for different ailments that went beyond orthodox health care. Ekpe, stated that, there is nothing fetish or diabolical about my feat, which is entirely dependent on God-given herbal powers. The Akwa-Ibom born herbalist described his approach as nature pharmacy, has a Clinic in Port-Harcourt (Obayuwana, 2001).
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The Need to Include Trado-Medical Practitioners in the Intervention Strategies for the Campaign Against HIV / Aids in Nigeria
Advantages of Traditional Medicine to Health Care Delivery System in Nigeria 1. They render primary health care to individuals and communities all day long. 2. The preparation of their drugs is cheap and easy compared to high hospital bills. 3. They may be useful for self-testing minor illness. 4. They are effective in some aspects of psychosomatic medicine and in the use of Local herbs, roots and backs for symptomatic treatment. 5. They help to control some modern medical problems like Insanity; Epilepsy and Dislocation of bones. 6. There is no fear of paralysis and abscess formation which can result from injection in which orthodox medicine practices. 7. Oneyaywepke (1991), was of the view that traditional healers specialize and treats some disease which the orthodox doctors may be able to treat easily. He therefore, suggested that government should try all she can to merge the two health care systems together to reduce the rate of death in the country. This, he said is in view of the significant role the traditional healers are playing in the health care delivery system for the majority of Nigerians. Kelly (1984), was the view that traditional medicine has its merits but it is very secretive and lacks proper classification. Disadvantages of Traditional Medicine to Health Care Delivery System in Nigeria (1) Most time their drugs administration are overdose. (2) Sometime the preparation of their chemotherapy are unhygienic in nature. (3) They interfere with other drugs. (4) There have been reports of fatal toxic effects with some products (5) Some fall outside the regulation of medical ethics. Statement of Problem Achalu (1992), opined that the AIDs pandemic continues to be a major threat to public health globally and meanwhile, as the controversy over HIV/AIDS cure claims rages another Nigerian has said he can cure HIV/AIDS in 19days during the trado-medical practitioners stand at the 12th Enugu international hence this research that there is need to include trado-medical practitioners in the intervention strategies for the campaign against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Purpose of Study Traditional medical practices have some advantages to health care service of some ailment as conformed to orthodox medicine. Orthodox medicine alone cannot guarantee the cure for all diseases. The challenge of Medicare for all is a duty which no Government can shoulder alone and which no good Government should ignore in terms of the HIV/AIDS pandemic issues. The way forward is the inclusion of trado-medical practitioners in the fight against HIV/AIDS or the integration of both to find a lasting solution to the HIV/AIDS scourge in our nation (Nigeria). Research Questions 1. Will there be answers to HIV\AIDS campaign in Nigeria by modern (orthodoxy) medicine alone? 2. Is it true that trado-medical practices can help in the campaign against HIV/AIDS if they are allowed to operate?
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3. Will there be evidence of patients treated of HIV/AIDS by traditional medical practitioners? 4. Is there any need to include trado-medical practitioners in the intervention strategies for the campaign against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria? 5. Will there be safety health practices of traditional medicine in the treatment against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria? Methodology The population of the study was 90 senior civil servants (both male and female drawn from Warri metropolis). The sampling technique was a combination of stratified sampling technique and accidental sampling technique of 90 respondents. The study was limited to Warri only because it was supposed to be expanded or spread to other parts of the State. The first 10 (ten) matron in each Clinic/hospital were picked; 3 medical doctors and 12 senior lecturers from College of Education, Warri. Instrumentation The instrument was a self designed questionnaire by the researchers. It consists of 11 question items to elicit responses from the respondents. The questionnaire was given to a panel of (5) five jurists; made up of (2) two senior lecturers in the school of science; and a Senior lecturer in Measurement and Evaluation in College of Education, Warri; two medical doctors from general hospital Warri for validation and professional ethics. The medical doctors were selected because they may be threatened by traditional medical practitioners success against HIV/AIDS. Senior lectures were selected for reliability and validity for the questionnaire. The questionnaire was subject to a test-retest method of reliability. The co-efficient of 0.80 was obtained. Significance of Study The study will serve as an additional intervention strategy for the campaign against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. It will also help in further research work on trado-medical practitioner efforts on HIV/AIDS and other Health Care Services in Nigeria. It may be the 1st research in this direction. It will serve as a foundation for future research study which will be spread using the whole state and not only Warri metropolis.
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Results The Inclusion of Trado-Medical Practitioners to Combat HIV/Aids in Nigeria

S/N. 1. QUESTIONS HIV/AIDS is now a global problem Nurses Doctors Lecturer Total Nurses Doctors Lecturer Total Nurses Doctors Lecturer Total Nurses Doctors Lecturer Total Nurses Doctors Lecturer Total Nurses Doctors Lecturer Total Nurses Doctors Lecturer Total Nurses Doctors Lecturer Total YES 54 10 20 84 93% 59 10 19 88 98% 33 2 14 49 54% 52 8 15 75 84% 43 2 14 59 66% 48 5 19 72 80% 45 6 18 69 77% 19 2 21 23% 48 7 1 56 62% 43 3 9 55 61% 44 7 14 65 72% 8 3 15 26 23% 6 7 9 27 30% 16 3 3 22 25% NO 1 UNDECIDED 5 5 6% 1 1 2 2% 3 3 3% 3 3 3% 4 4 4% 2 1 3 3% 1 1 2 8% TOTAL 60 10 20 90 100%
2.
HIV/AIDS can be prevented
3.
HIV/AIDS can be treated
4.
do you agreed that orthodox medical practitioner has not been successful for now in the fight against HIV/AIDS
5.
orthodox medicine alone cannot guarantee the cure for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria
6.
Modern (Orthodox) medicine combined with traditional medicine will serve as a good intervention strategy for the campaign against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.
7.
There is need to include the traditional medical practitioner in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria
8.
Have you seen a patient treated of HIV/AIDS by traditional medical practitioners in Nigeria
01 1% 27 8 3 38 42% 8 2 2 12 13% 17 8 2 27 30% 12 5 15 17% 15 3 1 19 21% 41 10 18 69 77% 4 4 8 9%
90 100% 60 10 20 90 100% 60 10 20 90 100% 60 10 20 90 100% 60 10 20 90 100% 60 20 20 90 100% 60 10 20 90 100% 60 10 20 90 100% 60 10 20 90 100% 60 10 20 90 100%
9 .
Most herbal medicine are fetish and secretive in their practices against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria
Nurses Doctors Lecturer Total Nurses Doctors Lecturer Total Nurses Doctors Lecturer Total
1 0 .
What is best in modern (orthodox) medicine treatment of HIV/AIDS, may be better than either one alone as intervention strategies against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.
1 1 .
Traditional medical practitioners can help in the treatment of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.
2 8 9% 3 3 3%
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From table 1, item 1 showed that 93% (84) respondents agreed that HIV/AIDS is now a global problem while 6% (5) respondents were undecided. 98% (88) responded that HIV/AIDS can be prevented while 2% (2) respondent were undecided. 54% (49) respondents were of the view that HIV/AIDS can be cured. 42% (38) have no knowledge if HIV/AIDS can be treated and 14% (15) respondent were undecided. This shows that, most respondents are aware of HIV/AIDS as a global health problem. However, 84% (75) respondents agreed that orthodox medical practitioner has not been successful for now in the fight against HIV/AIDS, 13% (12) disagreed and 3% (3) respondents were undecided. 66% (59) respondents agreed to the fact that orthodox medicine alone cannot guarantee the cure for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, 30% (27) disagreed and 4% (4) respondent were undecided. Furthermore, 80% (72) respondents agreed that modern medicine combined with traditional medicine will serve as good intervention strategies for the campaign against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria while 17% (15) respondents disagreed and 3% (3) respondents were undecided. 77% (69) stated that there is need to include the traditional medical practitioners in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, 21% (19) disagreed and 80% (2) respondent were undecided. It was also revealed that 23% (21) respondent have seen patient treated of HIV/AIDS by traditional medical practitioners in Nigeria while 77% (69) disagreed to this fact 62% (59) stated that most herbal medicine are fetish and secretive in their practices against IV/AID in Nigeria, 23% (26) respondent disagreed while 9% (8) respondent were undecided. This suggest that, there is hope for the eradication of HIV/AIDS if trado-medicine practitioners are allowed to operate fully in herbal treatment of HIV/AIDS. It was also revealed that 61% (55) respondents opined that what is best in modern (orthodox) medicine treatment of HIV/AIDS may be better than either one alone as intervention strategies against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, 30% (27) disagreed and 9% (8) were undecided. 72% (65) stated that traditional medicine practitioners can help in the treatment of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, 25% (22) respondent disagreed and 3% (3) respondent were undecided. Discussion of Findings Question 1 results indicate that HIV/AIDS is a general disease world wide which needs to be look into. Which confirms UNAIDS (2002) that 42 million people around the world are infected with HIV. Question 2 indicates that HIV/AIDS can be prevented if good cultural habits are practiced; sexual abstinence among the youths till marriage; individuals take measure to curb their sexual urge; mass educational campaigns and prevention through behavioural change; dealing with problems of drug abuse; poverty; and resistance from social and religious institutions and the taboo on openly discussing sexual issues are tackled. Question 3 reveals that, there are antiviral drugs to combat HIV falls into 3 major categories: reverse transcripts inhibitors, protease inhibitors and fusion inhibitors. They help in inhibiting the ability of the virus to replicate itself. Question 4 and 5. Although there is no known cure for HIV infection, medications can significantly alter the course of the disease and extend life (CDC, 2002). Researchers are still looking for various ways to attack HIV; this paper recommend the need to include and use trado-medical practitioner to combat HIV/AIDS in Nigeria since orthodox means alone cannot handle HIV/AIDS treatment. Questions 6 and 7 reveal that, since efforts to combat AIDS are often hampered by various resistance, there is need to adopt and use various therapeutic measure to combat this deadly disease.
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Question 8 indicates that this could be true since Ekpe a traditional practitioner claimed seven HIV/AIDs positive cases were cured by him at the 12th Enugu international trade fair. Question 9 confirmed Robert (2000) that many well-established medicines comes from plant; like morphine come from poppies; aspirin from willow bark, etc. This shows that, if trado-medical practitioners are allowed to operate fully, they will not be secretive about their practices. Question 10 confirmed Insel and Roth (2003), that traditional Chinese medicine; Kampo Ayurveda (India); Native America; Aboriginal African; Middle Eastern, Tibetan; Central and homeopathy; naturopathy are employed to treat ailment of patients and are continually adjusted according to the changes in the patients health status. Therefore; what is best in modern medicine may be better than either one alone as intervention strategies against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Question 11 reflect the need that trado-medical practitioners may be the answer to the permanent cure to HIV/AIDS since there are evidence that acupuncture was effective in relieving nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy and pain after surgery; including dental surgery (NCCAOM, 2002). Recommendations (1) The Government should enforce that they constitute bodies for the regulation of traditional medicine at the Federal, State and Local Government Levels. The Government in conjunction with traditional healers should establish a model botanical Garden, a model traditional medicine clinic and training schools and compile an essential Herb list in respect to HIV/AIDS urgently. (2) Since traditional doctors are now being trained in the basic Anatomy and physiology and happily, some have documented their procedure and many have graduated their prescriptions into dosage, the federal Government. Should integrate both profession in the fight against HIV/AIDS. (3) There should be planed legislation for a system of recognizing traditional herbal medicine but with regulatory controls. (4) Traditional Health Care System should be supported particularly for conditions that increase vulnerability to HIV/AIDS e.g. Sexual Transmitted diseases, Tuberculosis and malnutrition, promotion and support of such services and integration with either reproductive Health Services are necessary. (5) Orthodox medical practitioners should not be afraid that their profession is at stake if tradomedical practitioners are allowed to work with them in the fight against HIV/AIDS. (6) Religious worshippers especially Christians should not contradict the efforts of trado-medical practitioners in the campaign against HIV/AIDS because of the spiritual implication; cause not all herbs have spiritual implication. (7) The Federal Government should encourage the trado-medical practitioners on HIV/AIDS by assisting them financially and otherwise. (8) Our Society should not frown at the trado-medical practitioner claims to cure HIV/AIDS because not all their herbs are fetish in their make-up. (9) Government and Orthodox medical practitioner should encourage trado-medical practitioners that have claims and proof of curing HIV/AIDS in Nigeria with herbs. (10) The use of herbs should be encouraged and not fetish things. (11) The government and Orthodox medical practitioners should seek for sponsor and financial assistance to include VCT (Voluntary counselling and testing) for food and management of nutritional effects; follow-up counselling; protection from stigma and discrimination etc.
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Conclusion Conclusively, it was revealed from the research on the table that 61% of the respondents opined that modern medicine and traditional medicine should be integrated in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. 77% (69) respondent agreed that there is need to include the traditional medicine practitioner in the fight against HIV/AIDS In Nigeria. 23% (21) respondent have seen a patient treated of HIV/AIDS by traditional medicine practitioners in Nigeria. However, the best method of tacking HIV/AIDS is prevention through provision of voluntary counselling and Testing (VCT) which is an important part of any national prevention/control programmer. There should also be rapport between traditional healers and scientific medicinal practitioners for effective and successful intervention strategies against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. HIV/AIDS is a pandemic issues which the orthodox medical practitioners have been able to find a solution to, apart from the lack of drugs to cure or prevent HIV/AIDS other factors work against suppressing the disease. Trado-medical practitioners inclusion will serve as one of the factors for suppressing the disease. It is desirable to work out a modus vivendi based on mutual respect between the two professions. modern medicine in Nigeria should train those progressive traditional healers who came forward in the rudiments of their discipline such as clinical observation, systematic examination and deductive and evaluation of therapy with results. Sanitation, asepsis and simple pharmacological principle should be inculcated in them, but above all the necessity for early referral of difficult or refractory cases to hospital. Once traditional healers have accepted these and have upgraded their professional standard, we should support government recognition of their practice within the defined limits in order to be convinced that these suggestions will not lead to lowered standard of medicine practice. We need only to remember modern China and in particular acupuncture. There are various efforts to combat AIDs globally but very complicating issues like political, economic; and cultural barriers abound in many parts of the world; especially Africa (Nigeria). The inclusion / recognition of trado-medical practitioners will help in combating HIV/ AIDS in Nigeria. References Achalu, E. I. (1993). AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases what Everyone should know Simarch Nig. Ltd 80 Herbert Macaulay Street, Ebute-metta, Lagos. Standard Printers and Binders. AIDS Action, (1995). Caring for children AIDS Action Dec-Feb 1995, 25: 1 and 2 Akinbeyewa, A.C. (1985). In Imansa, A. the role of traditional medicine in health care delivery in Ughelli, North Local Government Area Unpublished Lecture Note. Arabs, D. R. (1998) Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Nigeria Journal of Medicine Vol. 7 No. 1 Jan. - March, 1998. Center for infections diseases provides extensive information on infectious diseases; including emerging infections 888 CDC FAXX Ekanem, E. E. and Umotong, A. B. (1998). Interactions of HIV infection and childhood Malnutrition in Africa. Epidemidogical, Immunological and clinical parameters The Nigeria Postgraduate Medicine Journal Vol. 5 No1,March 1998.
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http://www.cdc/gov/ncidod. Insel, P. M. and Roth, W. T. (2003). Core Concept in Health. McGraw Hill companies Inc. 1221 Avenue, New York. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (2002) AIDs epidemic update; December, Geneva. Kelly, J. V. (1984). The influence of native customs on obstetrics, Nigeria obstetric and gynaeco-logy, 30:608-612. Lambo, A.T. (1969). Traditional African Cultures and Western Medicine and Ethnology: Selected Essays by Erwin H, H.A. Wales and H.M. Ackernecht (Editors). Menakaya, Tim (1999). 44th national council on health held in Akwa Ibom State Wednesday 6th October 1999. Vanguard Oct. 21st, 1999. Lagos. National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Chinese herbology and oriental bodywork therapy. http://www.accaom.org. Obayuwana, O (2001). U.S. Warns over Gaddafis remarks on AIDs. The Guardian Newspaper Limited Rutam House, Isolo Lagos. Nigeria May 1st, 2001. Oneyavwekpe, B. (1991) in Ademuwayun Z.A. the relevance of Yoruba Medicine Men in Public health Practices in Nigeria, American Journal of Public Health, 84: 105 109. Ottah. H.N. (2001) AID/HIV Infection, Care and Management Unpublished seminar paper in the University of Benin, faculty of science department of microbiology. Piot, P., Kapita B. M. Ngugi E.N, Mann, J.M, Mann R, Colebunders R. and Klabitsch R. Alos in Africa. A Manual for Physicians World Health Organisation Geneva, 1992. Robert, E. Rothenberg Lexicon Publication Inc. New Illustrated Medical Encyclopedia and Guide to Family Health. World Health Organisation/United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation School of Health Education to prevent AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases WHO AIDS Series 10, 1992: 1- 9.
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A REVIEW OF FUELWOOD EXTRACTION AND ITS EFFECT IN THE SAVANNAH REGION OF NIGERIA
Matthew, Titus
Abstract A review of literature on fuelwood extraction in the Guinea and Sahel Savannah zones of Nigeria was done. Attempt was made to define the key terms and zones, sources and extent of extraction with the attendant consequences highlighted. The situation of fuelwood extraction seriously contributes to deforestation, desertification and global warming. Alternative sources of energy like use of solar energy and ethanol were recommended.
Introduction Fuel is a substance that reacts chemically with another substance to produce heat. The term is generally limited to those substances that burn readily in air or oxygen emitting large quantities of heat. They are used for heating, for the production of steam for heating and power purposes (Encarta, 2005).Wood is the hard fibrous material forming the main substance of the trunk or branches of a tree or shrub, used for fuel or timber (Soanes, 2001). Fuelwood therefore, refers to the wood (firewood) used to produce heat energy usually for some domestic and industrial purposes. Savannah is the open tropical grassland sometimes with a scattering of shrubs and trees. The word Savannah is derived from the 16th Century Spanish word Zavannah, meaning treeless plain, but today is applied to a more diverse set of landscape from the truly treeless grassland of South America and the tree dotted grassland of Africa, to the highly wooded Savannas of Northern Australia. The biome occurs in areas where rainfall is sufficient to prevent the establishment of desert vegetation but too low to support rainforests (Encarta, 2005). In Nigeria, Guinea and Sahel regions traverse about sixteen states of Bauchi, Gombe, Benue, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Nassarawa and Sokoto. It lies beyond the plateau and stretches to the semi desert Sahelian zone in the extreme north. It is Nigerias agricultural area. In the plateau Savannah region, forest give way to grasslands and to such hardy trees as the baobab and the tamarind. In the extreme north-eastern Sahel region, semi-desert vegetation prevailed (Encarta, 2005). Reasons for Fuelwood Extraction Fuelwood is widely consumed in the Savanna region by a large cross-section of the population. Families consuming fuelwood represent a wide range of income levels, occupations, family size and social status. Indeed, fuelwood is virtually indispensable to the vast majority of the households. Urban families purchase their fuelwood needs from the market place. The most important use of fuelwood is for domestic purposes, for cooking and preparing the familys food. Families to boil water for bath in the harmattan season sometimes use fuelwood. Firewood is extensively used for barbecuing meat (suya), which is a major food industry in the Savanna. This use of fuelwood is next in importance to domestic cooking. Fuelwood is also used for commercial food preparation and in educational institutions, hospitals and churches (FMA, 1981). Families purchase their fuelwood needs in the cities in bundles. Usually, a member of the household purchases the days requirement one bundle or two at a time. One small bundle cooks at most 2 meals. Urban families therefore, purchase fuelwood daily, except those on relatively high income who have the means to purchase and carry home requirements for up to 2 weeks in advance (FMA, 1981).
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Extent of Fuelwood Extraction In 1980, nearly half of the world population depended for its energy needs on fuelwood. Wood is thus, the most commonly used source of energy in the world. For the inhabitants of the developing countries, it is much more than that; it is the staple energy resource of three-quarters of the population. In some of the poorest African nations it still accounts for more than 90 percent of national energy consumption (FAO, 2003). Although firewood and charcoal provided only 6.2 percent of world energy supplies in 1981, most of the wood removed from forest was used for energy 59 percent of it in the world as a whole and 85 percent of it in the developing countries. On the average, every person in the developing countries consumed about 0.45m3 of wood, as firewood or charcoals a year. This is the energy equivalent of about 4.2 giga joules (GJ) or 1200 kilowatt hours (KWh) a year (FAO, 2003). In 1981, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) published map of the fuel wood situation in developing countries. It revealed that of the 200 million people who depended on wood, 96 million were already unable to satisfy their minimum energy needs for cooking and heating. A further 152 million people were in a deficit situation and could meet their needs only by depleting wood reserves (FAO, 2003). FAO estimates that 40% of the world (2.3 billion) people rely on fuelwood or charcoal as their primary source of energy for cooking and heating. Fuelwood consumption has increased by 250% since 1960 (the worlds population only increased by 90% since 1960) and the number of people relying on fuelwood expected to reach 3 billion by the year 2000 (Adediran, S., Akinbamijo, O. & Akinbamijo, Y. 2003). Irrespective of the merits of natural resource conservation, the overwhelming compulsion to rely on fuel wood consumption especially in the third world nations remains a cause for concern. Wood is still the most significant fuel source in developing countries accounting for 35% of their demands (Encarta, 2005). The estimated area of reserved forest land in 16 states is 78,828.6km2. distribution of forest reserves by state is shown in Table 1. Nearly 45% of the total forest reserve area of the 16 states is located in Adamawa, Taraba and Sokoto States and comprises mainly of Sahel Savanna vegetation (Booth, 1979). Table 1 Area of Forest Estate of 16 States in the Savanna Region of Nigeria. Total Land Area 67,650 71,631 116,589 102,067 69,798 43,072 74,260 74,245 29,194 94,475 742,981 Forest Estate 7,441.4 1,815.7 8,942.0 14,392.0 8,920.0 1,190.0 9,425.7 4,080.4 2,621.3 20,000.0 78,828.6
State Bauchi Benue Borno (Borno/Yobe) Gongola (Adamawa/Taraba) Kaduna Kano (Kano/Jigawa) Kwara (Kwara/Kogi) Niger Plateau (Plateau/Nassarawa) Sokoto Total
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A Review of Fuelwood Extraction and its Effect in the Savannah Region of Nigeria
Source:
Nautiyal, J.C. 1979. Afforestation programme in Arid Zone of Nigeria. Field Document No. 2 NIR/75/053. FAO, Rome.
The dominant source of fuelwood supply in the Savanna region is the natural forest. This supply source contributes between 70% and 95% of total annual production volume. Some fuelwood is also obtained from fallow farmlands and plantations, but these are still insignificant sources in the majority of the States. More than 500 wood species are harvested for fuel, the most popular ones being the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Botanical Name Isoberlinia doka Anogeissus leiocarpus Butyrospermum paradoxum Acacia spp. Ficus spp. Daniellia oliverii Tamarindus indica Prosopsis oblonga Combretum verticillatum Khaya Senegalensis Cassia kotschyna Terminalia avicennoides Sesamum indicum Odina barteri Piliostigma thonningii Hausa Name Doka Marke Kadanya Bagaruwa Gamji, Chediya Maje Tsaminya Kiriya Tarani Madachi Malga Baushe Marasiri Faru Kalgo
The main species available for firewood from the plantation are Neem (A. indica), Eucalyptus (various species), and pines (in Sudan Savanna) (FAO, 1985). In the open forest areas, fuelwood production is uncontrolled and is only limited by accessibility. Both subsistence and commercial producers of fuelwood can be found cutting trees in open forest areas. These areas are subject to the greatest damage from uncontrolled exploitation of timber. The basic production technique by commercial producers is to organize local tree cutters in a given area to cut as many good size trees, buck to size and stack at roadside at affixed rate per cord. Whole areas are clear-felled by the cutters since all species are suitable for fuelwood and only trees too large to fell with axes or cutlasses are spared (FAO, 1985). The commercial producers, who normally reside in the cities, collect the stacked wood from the roadside using 5 ton or 10 ton lorries to transport the wood to the cities. The majority of subsistence producers cut dead branches or stems of small trees to meet their domestic fuel requirements. An average subsistence producer collects less than 0.05m3 of wood and transports the quantity to his house by head (in the case of women) or by donkeys and camels (in the case of men). Commercial fuelwood producers in the northern states are capable of 3 lorry loads of fuelwood per week, amounting to a total of over 500m3 (FAO, 1985).
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Table 2: Per Capita Consumption of Firewood in Some Major Cities In Northern Nigeria (Cu. m). Thulin Grut (Nautiyal, 1979) City (1970) (1972) Below Average Average Above Average Ali Combined Income Group Kaduna Kano Katsina Zaria Source: * 1.513 1.212 0.674 1.901 Income Group 1.597 1.472 1.054 1.066 Income Group 0.971 1.411 2.030 1.247 1.297 1.318 1.211 1.259 1.246 1.246 1.246 1.246 2.3 1.7 2.5 1.9
Nautiyal, J.C. 1979. Afforestation programme in Arid Zone of Nigeria. Field Document No. 2 NIR/75/053. FAO, Rome. Figures are given in stacked volume, which is twice the solid volume.
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Table 3: Present Consumption of Fuelwood in the Savannah Region of Nigeria, 1980, 1990 And 2000 (Million M3). STATE Bauchi YEAR 1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000 POPULATION (Million) 3.76 4.81 6.16 4.01 5.13 6.57 2.40 3.07 3.93 2.36 3.02 3.87 8.87 11.23 14.38 3.65 4.67 5.98 2.08 2.66 3.40 6.58 8.42 10.78 40.08 51.30 65.66 CONSUMPTION ALTERNATIVE A B 2.18 2.53 2.40 2.93 2.53 3.23 2.32 2.54 2.67 1.37 1.51 1.59 1.36 1.50 1.58 5.08 5.61 5.89 2.10 2.32 2.44 1.22 1.35 1.42 3.80 4.19 4.40 23.18 25.56 26.87 2.69 3.12 3.44 1.59 1.84 2.04 1.58 1.83 2.02 5.89 6.58 7.26 2.45 2.84 3.14 1.40 1.62 1.79 4.41 5.11 5.65 26.87 30.89 34.11
Benue
Adamawa / Taraba
Kaduna
Kano / Jigawa
Kwara / Kogi
Plateau/Nassarawa
Sokoto
Total (16 States)
Consumption alternatives: Projections between 1980 1990 = A @ 1%, B @ 1.5%; 1990 2000 = A @ 0.5%, B @ 1% (FAO, 1981).
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Consequences of Fuelwood Extraction Nigeria has lost about 84% of its total forest cover and about 90% of its moist forests, the remainder of which exists in small reserves. Woodland now accounts for only about 29% (1995), of the countrys total land area (Encarta, 2005). Fuelwood that is being supplied for domestic energy consumption needs is resulting in deforestation. During the 1990s, for instance, Nigeria lost nearly 500 square miles of forested land annually, in part due to fuelwood consumption (Encarta, 2005). As fuelwood becomes scarce, women and children who are usually responsible for heating the home and cooking the food are the first to suffer. Rural dwellers have to walk farther and further to collect the bare minimum of wood needed for survival. Difficulty in acquiring sufficient fuel, whether because of distance or cost, leads to hygiene and nutrition problems. As a result of the scarcity of fuel wood, substitutes are eagerly sought. In rural society, agricultural residues are virtually the only alternative and such materials as straw, dried dung; rice husks and even plant roots are burnt. Where these materials formerly provided a useful animal feed, there is a consequent loss to the food production system. Where they where formerly returned to the land, the later becomes impoverished, deprived both of the essential nutrient in the waste and of the humus it would otherwise provide (FAO, 2003). Tree cover of species, which are naturally nitrogen fixing, such as acacia, is removed. Soil fertility declines and the land must either be abandoned or brought back into production with expensive artificial fertilizer. The few forests, which are removed before then, served as carbon sink taking away the excess carbon in the atmosphere and consuming it to form plant material. Their removal leaves much of the carbon in the atmosphere thereby adding up to a heated environment (global warming). It contributes to changes in weather patterns, rainfall distribution and temperature. Some highly economic and medicinal plants like Azadirachta indica, Perkia nilotica, mahogany, acacia, cassia are lost to extraction amounting to huge economic and scientific loss. The country faces environmental challenges from air pollution and desertification, with the encroachment of the Sahara Desert in the north and severe air pollution in overcrowded cities such as Lagos and Abuja (Adediran et al; 2003). In many states, the timber resources have dwindled to precariously low levels and the lack of vegetation in causing soil erosion and declining agricultural yields, growing scarcity of wood supplies for fuel and building construction. (FAO, 1985). The availability of clean cooking and lighting locally, which is renewable and can be grown locally, will be the first and an important step in raising the quality of life of rural population. No modern society uses solid fuel like coal or wood for cooking. Liquid or gaseous fuels are far more superior to solid fuels for cooking because of their clean combustion and existing supply chain convenience (Rajvanshi, 2006). Alternative Energy Sources Solar Energy: Situated approximately between 40N and 130N, Nigeria is geographically favourably located to tap unlimited solar energy, the most dependable renewable energy source. It has been estimated that a yearly average of about 2,300 kwh/m2 of solar energy tails on a horizontal surface in Nigeria, and that in Lagos the intensity of solar radiation is about 930w/m2 on a clear sunny day. (Today, 2006).
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Ethanol as Alternative Fuel: Ethanol fuel may prove to be less costly, easily sourced and environmentally friendly. With even subsistence agriculture, ethanol fuel could be easily sourced from a variety of sources such as beet sugar, vegetables or vegetable oil and cassava, materials for which Nigeria need not import or borrow. What more, its cleanness may put Nigeria on the list of environmentally-friendly nations. (Daily Trust, 2006). Recommendations An embracive enlightenment campaign and actual planting of forest trees in all states of the federation. Government at all levels should be at the forefront for spearheading the raising and provision of seedlings to the general populace. Laws protecting forests and economic trees should be made stricter and defaulters penalized. Alternatives like provision of cheap kerosene, cooking gas should be enhanced to complement, not substitute, the use of fuelwood. Nigeria requires an affordable solar energy technology and cheap appliances, and I highly recommend this. I suggest an integrated and sustained research and investment into a large-scale cultivation of high yielding, disease resistant cassava and sugar cane in Nigeria. Consequently, facilities for extraction of the ethanol from these crops should be built or provided. References Adediran, S.A., Akinbamijo, O.B., Akinbamijo, Y. (2003). Environmental Implications of Fuelwood and Gender Roler Farmers Perception of Sustainable Forest Management in West Africa. Internal Trapanotolerance Centre,Gambia.Pp.1 22. http://www.tropentag.de/2003/proceedings/node.336.html Booth, G.A. (1979). A review: Arid Zone Afforestation in Nigeria. F.O: NIR/75/053.FAO, Rome 46pp. Daily Trust, (2006). Nigeria: Ethanol As Alternative Fuel. http://www.allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Ethanol As Alternative Fuel. FAO, (1979) High Forest Development: Project Findings. FAO, Rome 22pp. FAO, (1985). Wood for Energy: Forestry Topics Report No. 1. FAO, Rome. 3 12 pp. FAO, (2003). Forestry Outlook Study for Africa: Regional Report Opportunities and Challenges towards 2020. FAO, Rome. 40 41 pp. Federal Department of Forestry (FMA), (1981). Wood for Energy in Nigeria. Final Report and Proposal. FMA, Lagos. 42 125pp. Encarta Microsoft Encyclopedia (2005). Standard Edition. Redmond, U.S.A.
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Matthew, Titus
Nautiyal, J.C. (1979). Afforestation programme in Arid Zone of Nigeria. Field Document No. 2 NIR/75/053/FAO, Rome. Rajvanshi, A. K. (2006). Publication of Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute, Maharashtra. Soanes, C. (2001). Oxford Dictionary of Current English. Third Edition. Oxford University Press, London. 1069p. Today (2006). Biomass Energy. File://D:\Documents and Settings\cox.a\My Documents\Nigeria - Biomass Energy - Online
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STYLISTICS AND THE STUDY OF LITERATURE
Mrs. Kassim-Oghiator, Florence E.

Abstract The analyses given in this paper showed that stylistics and literature should be studied side by side. The literary artist needs a stylist for a complete analysis of his works, since stylistics is the linguistic investigation of style. Many examples and stylistic analyses of different literary works are examined in this paper. Finally, a critical stylistics analysis of a poem, Tintern Abbey is analysed in order to give a clear understanding of stylistics and the study of literature.
Introduction Stylistics is simply defined as the study of style. It is the linguistic investigation of style, and linguistic is an academic discipline which studies language scientifically (Widdowson, 1975). Stylistics studies certain aspects of language variation, therefore, is essentially a part of linguistics. It is the study of the social function of language and is a branch of what is now called sociolinguistics. Literature, on the other hand, is any work of imagination. It could be oral or written works, particularly those of high and lasting artistic value. There is a relationship between stylistics and the study of literature, because stylistics works on data provided by others, particularly, the literary artist. Stylistics aims at characterizing text as pieces of communication. According to Crystall and Davy (1969), stylistics is the study of the awareness of the kind of structures language has, and the kind of features expected to be of stylistic significance, the awareness of the kind of social variation which linguistic features tend to be identified with. The purpose of stylistics therefore, is to develop in the learner sensitivity of language use in a literary text; to develop in the learner an analytic strategy. Stylistics and the Study of Literature Stylistics usually embark on linguistic analysis of texts in order to examine how the resources of language codes are used to investigate literature as a work of art. And linguistics is a discipline which studies the nature and use of language. The new lexicon Webster Dictionary of the English language defines stylistics as the study and art of the selection of language characteristics created by a situation especially a literary language. Widdowson, (1975), says. By stylistics, I mean the study of literary discourse from linguistics orientation, and I shall take the views that what distinguishes stylistics from literary criticism on the one hand and linguistics on the other is that it is a means of linking the two. Leach and Short (1981), on their own, interpret stylistics as the study of the relationship between the significances of a text, and the linguistic qualities in which they manifest. This means that stylistics is the linguistic study of literary discourse. An extract from Achebes text Arrow of God will make an illustration of linguistics and literature, as shown below;
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Mrs. Kassim-Oghiator, Florence E. All our gods Idemili Ogwagwu Agbala
is
+ weeping
All the others Our dead fathers
are
In the above text, there is syntactic repetition of VP, which is foregrounding. The normal language code, the use of a single expression All our gods would serve the same purpose of the VP being repeated six times. Literature is the art that uses language in its concrete form, beyond the pedestal (Chapman, 1973). It is not what is written per se, but that which has been captured in point. To appreciate a work of literature, it is necessary to know what the linguistics codes connote especially in their context of use, because the words are a symbol of something from which meaning construes. It is this notion that Chapman (1973), argues that meaning cannot be confined but they can be investigated through linguistics codes in order to arrive at styles used by individual writers to get at meaning objectively. The literary artist sometimes uses indirect form of expressions to express his ideas. He may hide information under a symbol, a metaphor, or a simile. Figuratives used in works of literature come from unconscious mind of the artist. And sometimes, the artist works with inspiration. For instance, the poet is unable to compose until he is inspired and his reason is no longer with him. This is where the stylist uses his linguistic knowledge in the analyses of the work of the literary work. As Adagbonyin (2002), asserts, the aim of stylistic analysis is basically to investigate the resources of language which are used for communicative purpose in texts. Consequently, as an approach to literary explication, which leans a good deal on the insight offered by linguistics, stylistics studies literary discourse from a linguistic orientation (Adagbonyin, 2002). Stylistics is the study of social function of language, and societys influence on language is manipulated in literature. There is no use of language that is not open to stylistic analysis. But literature contains a higher incidence of special linguistic features than other uses of language. As Chapman (1973), puts it, literature shows far more diversity of individual usage of deviant features to special effect than other uses of language or other styles do in the exploration of meanings conveyed by language. Since language is from society, the writer of literature uses language in the manner that is creative. The linguistic utterances that involve imagination have quality in the use of works to convey referential meaning. No wonder Cluysenaar (1976), posits that;
Linguistic conventions are in themselves no barrier to creativity or its reception: they are their condition; background out of which verbal work is made.
Literature stands out unique among other writings because the choice of words of literary artist and the overall language employed in a literary text is always different from what may be termed the everyday conversational language use of a speech community. While a school of thought believes that literature should be studies without the application of the scientific and descriptive methods of linguistics (stylistics) and that literature could only be approached with all the literary devices for analysis. Yet the literary artist and linguist know that literature cannot be studied in isolation without recourse to linguistic criteria, because the context of literature, which is drawn from the society of the artists, depends on language for its realization.
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Nwogo, in Yankson (1987), notes that; there are several occasions when the beauty of word usage (in literature) contributes to the joy of communication it leads into the appreciation of language in literature not only language in its global use, the various (linguistic) stages by which the creative writer enhances his communication (P.i). Infact, there is not other way we can fully respond to a literary work of art except through an understanding of literary language of texts, which the creative artist patterns language at the linguistic levels, in order to create unique vision of life. Cluysenaar (1976), notes again that the language of literature can deviate against the language system itself and can involve departures from expectations regarding different levels of languages: semantic, lexical, grammatical, phonological and different ranks within grammar and phonology. The stylist is in a better position to make an analysis of these levels of language in literature. Similarly, Palmer, in Chapman (1973), stipulates that, even if there are some who would regard the linguistic analysis of a poem as phasphemy, the linguist has so much to contribute to literary criticism. Ozimede (1999), maintains that since literature is an art form whose stuff is language, then it follows that we can employ linguistic method in the examination of literature. An illustration to this can be seen from Chomskys famous nonsense sentence colourless green ideas sleep furiously sounds semantically nonsensical at the surface level. But when put into verse by Bassnett-Mac Guire, becomes meaningful (Akwanya, 1996). Thus; Colourless Green ideas Sleep Furiously In this form, it is a text and no longer a nonsense sentence. As a text can be given a full stylistics analysis, which involves linguistics and literature. In a similar vein, Adejare (1995), attempts successfully to apply linguistic justification to the perfectly grammatical structure of the so-called nonsense sentence. According to him;
The seemingly antonymous epithets (the semantic contrasts), colourless (colour) and green (+ colour) which modify the noun, ideas (+abstract) could be said to be ungrammatical. But such a position would amount to theoretical illusion. The sentence is perfectly grammatical as can be demonstrated at the deep structure level (in a tree diagram and) each item in the sentence generates a bundle of semantic meanings which the situational category transforms into a specific semiotic meaning in context (pp. 163-64).
Adejare, summarises that the nonsense could better be semiotically read as ill-formed new ideas rest uneasily or ideas yet to be properly formulated are difficult to fix in the mind. The foregoing shows the use of linguistics to unravel the study of literature. The opinion in Fowler (1971), is wrong which says that the linguist, offering but a new jargon which gives him that sense of exclusiveness often beloved by new groups in academic society, a new system of analysis, a new set of categories to set against those of his rival colleagues. Adagbonyin (1999), disagrees with the foregoing assertion, and agrees that;
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Mrs. Kassim-Oghiator, Florence E. artistic vision and poetic achievement (of a literary artist) will be illuminated through an exegesis of linguistic approach (to literary explication) can be a useful aid to the analysis of texts and can complement the efforts of literary criticism.
To add to the foregoing, Ozimede (1999), posits that descriptive linguistics and literary criticism are both companions because they are both text-centred, involving analysis and accuracy in description. Adagbonyin (2002) also share a similar view, as he says the meeting point between language and literature is stylistics. With the stipulations above, it means that stylistics analysis is very essential to the study of literature. As Yankson (1987) says of African student, thus;
for the classroom teacher to focus his attention on the sound patterns, semantic relations and syntactic organization of literary texts. This is how the students linguistic intuitive insight can be developed so that he can appreciate the higher aims of literature; the aesthetic moral, social values, the messages etc.
He further states that, literature must be seen as language use a shift from the present preoccupation with themes towards a greater exploration of the language of literary works (p.iv). There is no doubt that the foregoing assertion will come to useful results when the literary artist who is aware of the potentialities of language does not hesitate to exploit language for the stylist to do a linguistic justification which could be at the linguistic level of analysis. One of the stylistics central concern is the contrast of the language system of a literary work of art with the general usage of time (Welek and Weren, 1963). Stylistics gives analytical techniques in the study of a text. For example, Butler (1985) states that in Robert Graves poem, The legs, the structures of sentences, clauses, nominal, verbal and adverbial groups are all examined in some details. Also, the verbs of the poem are classified as general, specific or rare and the use of definite article is investigated. These features in the text are discussed and are related to the public meaning of the poem. The integration of linguistic techniques and literary interpretation is seen in stylistics and the study of literature. For instance, in Carters analysis of Hemingways short story Cat in the Rain, (Butler 1985). Carter states that the story is about the breakdown in a relationship between a man and his wife, and that the cat in the story is symbolic. The area of grammar which contributed to the story are shown. These include; the nominal group, and the verbal group. Anaphora is also used to convey a sense of cohesive harmony. An example of a stylistic analysis to a literary work is examined below; Tintern Abbey by William Wordsworth And I have felt A presence that disturbs me with joy elevated thoughts A sense sublime Of something far more deeply interfused Whose dwelling is in the light of the setting suns And in the round ocean And in the blue sky And in the mind of man A motion and a spirit that impels all things
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All objects of all thinking things And rolls thought all things. The verse talks about the presence of supernatural in nature, the controlling force of nature. The lexical items such as ocean, sun, sky and man suggest nature, which is semantically represented as (+ Nature). The poet also uses lexical items like; spirit, motion, sublime and interfused, which have semantic representation as ( + supernatural). Liquid sounds /l/, and /r/ are used in the poem. This is used to enact the movement of the supernatural force. The fricative /s/ sound is also used, which depicts the serene nature of the environment. The preponderance occurrence of liquid suggests the slow movement of the poem. There are conjunctions and and also prepositional phrases used in the poem. Four prepositional phrases are used in the light of in the round ocean in the blue sky in the mind of men These prepositional phrase show that the supernatural exist in all of nature. The use of pattern repetition And in the And in the blue And in the mind, shows that in the impact of supernatural, all objects are controlled. Pattern repetition also gives a clearer meaning of the poem. The pattern repetition breaks down to: And+Prep+Det+Noun. The poet uses heavy subornation, for example; A motion and a spirit that impels all things All objects of thinking things. The grammatical use of definite article are 5 places; the light, the setting sun, the round ocean, the blue sky, the mind The shows the continuous existence of supernatural in nature. Also, the conjunction and used in 5 places reveals the possibility of supernatural in all nature. In line 10, there is a collocational violation; all thinking things. The verb, thinking has selected the NP, things as its object. Things has a semantic feature (+/-ABSTRACT ANIMATE). The verb thinking would have selected an NP with semantic feature, (+ CONCREATE + ANIMATE + HUMAN). Also, Thinking and things is chiming of sounds (alliteration) the stylistic effect is to create music and to enact meaning in the poem. The foregoing analysis is a stylistics analysis of a literary art work, which is relevant to the study of literature. Conclusion One can say that stylistics is an academic discipline which is comfortably situated between language and literature without putting any of the two in jeopardy. One must take into consideration, the language use, and discuss linguistic organization of texts and the literary significance of such linguistic style and respond fully to a work of literature. In a nutshell, not all the levels of linguistics analysis can be present in a text. A level that is present in one text may not be present in another text. But there is a sense of explication to literary appreciation and criticism would serve to yield absolute and relevant meaning in the study of literature.
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References Adagbonyin, A. (1999) The Stylistics Significance of Personal Forms in Niyi EJOLLS Vol ix. Benin City: tide books Ltd. Achebe, C. (1961). Arrow of God. Great Britain: Wyman Ltd.
Osundares
Poetry
Adejare, O. (1995). Communicative Competence in English as a Second Language. New Englishs. Ibadan: Mosuro. Akwanya, A. (1996). Semantics and discourse: Theories of Meaning and Textual analysis. Enugu: Acena Publications. Akwanya, A. (1998). Discourse Analysis and Dramatic Literature. Enugu: Acena Publishers. Akwanya, A. N. (2002). The criticism of African Literature Opata, D.U. (Ed.), Major Themes in African Literature. Nsukka: AP Express Publishers. Awosika, O. (1997) Form and Technique in African Novel. Ibadan: Sam Bookman. Butler, C. (1985) Systemic Linguistic Theory and Application. London: Briddles Ltd.
Chapman, R. (1973) Linguistics and Literature. London: Edward Annold Publishers. Cluysenaar, A. (1976). Introduction to Literary Stylistics. London: Batsford Ltd. Fowler, R. (1979). Linguistic and the Novel. London: The Chauser Press. Fowler, R. (1966). Essays on Style and Language. London: Routledge. Fowler, R. (1971). Languages of Literature. London: Routledge and Kegan. Ogunsiyi, A. (2002). Introduction to Semantics Adeyemi, B. (ed) Studies in English Language. Ibadan: University Press. Ozimede, M. (1999). Frontiers of Language and Literature Egede, B. (ed) EJOLLS Vol ix Benin City: tide Books Ltd. Smith, N. and Wilson, D. (1979) Modern Linguistics. England: The Chaucer Press. The Major Authors (1996). The Norton Anthology of English Language. New York: Norton and Company Inc. Welek and Warren (1963). Theory of Literature. London: Peregrine Books. Yankson, K. (1987). Introduction to Literary Stylistics. Obosi: Pacific Publishers.
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IMPACT OF ICT ON THE SECRETARIAL PROFESSION
Onwuachu, Rose Nkechi

Abstract This study which investigated the impact of information and technology on secretarial profession explored the changes and innovations brought about in secretarial services by ICT. The population of the study constituted all categories of secretarial staff of FCE (T), Bichi. The researcher formulated hypothesis to test the significant impact of ICT on secretarial profession. Questionnaire was the instrument for data collection, while Chi-square statistics was used in testing the hypothesis. It was discovered that ICT has made significant impact on secretarial profession. Therefore, the null hypothesis which said that there is no significant impact of ICT on secretarial profession was rejected. Based on the finding of the study, recommendations were made that secretaries should be trained and retrained to enable them function effectively and efficiently in todays office, among others.
Introduction Before the advent of information technology, secretaries were held in great admiration by many organisations and certainly could not afford to ignore their services in office at all levels of administration. However, the recent technological development brought about great innovations in office automation as well as in telecommunications equipment, hence changes left some impacts on secretarial job. Secretarial jobs are those schedules of activities or duties a secretary is required to perform in the office on daily bases. Secretarial jobs have some similarities with computer-andinformation and communications technology (ICT). For instance, both of them share in common the manipulation of keyboards, use of communications technology etc. To comment further on secretarial jobs it is important to define and describe the word secretary. Many experts in the profession such as Austin (1983), Jennings (1981), Nwaokolo (1996), etc have defined the word secretary in their ways. However, the definition suitable for this study is the one by Professional Secretaries Association of America in Soukanow (1990), which sees a secretary as an executive assistant who possesses a mastery of office skills, who demonstrates ability to assume responsibility without direct supervision, who exercises initiative and judgment, and who makes decisions within the scope of assigned authority. The secretary needs some basic knowledge of general administration and business such as finance, marketing, insurance, psychology, sociology, principles of law, accounting, business management, human relation, computer application, good command in English Language as well as good speed in shorthand and typewriting. A secretary is therefore, an officer who is versatile, a generalist, who understands language of modern business, who effectively utilizes intelligence in presentation of communication to enhance his/her organizational image, who through the application of good human relations creates harmony and motivates others to co-operate within the office setting. To buttress this fact, La Valle et al (2005), said that, secretaries are expected to have good oral and written communication skills, interpersonal skills such as tact and diplomacy, and an understanding of the organizational structure and nature of the business. He/she is always on top and not on tour. This
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is so because secretary is an image-maker of an organisation, and as such expected to be available and

Onwuachu, on her dutyRose postNkechi especially during the official hours.
Technological advancement brought about lots of innovations and changes in education generally, and technical and practical-oriented professions in particular. Worth mentioning among them are secretarial profession. Information technology (IT) otherwise known as information and communications technology (ICT) is defined as a set of tools that help to provide the right people with right information at the right time. It is technology that merges computing with high-speed communication links carrying data, sound, and video. It is a computer-based tool that people use to handle and support information processing needs of an organisation. Adamu (2004), defined information and communications technology (ICT) as a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate and to create, disseminate, store and manage information. He further stressed that, ICT is at the very heart of educational process; consequently, ICT use in education has a long history and impacts. Some of these ICT equipment are computer, word processor, electronic typewriter, facsimile (fax machine), picture phone, Global System for Mobile telephone (GSM), Modem, Cable TV, etc. The general aim of information and communications technology is to provide secretaries with the intellectual tools and practical experience to enable them to act as a bridge between the users and technical computer experts (Eze, 2000). The focus of ICT is therefore, on the application of computer, which will help people carry out their works effectively and efficiently. These new technologies left secretarial services with some impact some of which are to the secretarys disadvantage. With these changes in office automation, the secretary is now faced with challenges of developing himself/herself to fit into the modern way of rendering services with computer-andcomputer related equipment. As a result of this advancement in office equipment, there are pressures from non-secretarial staff to use information technology/telecommunications. The question now is whether the confidentiality in office matters will still be ensured and maintained? There is also need for mastering skills to manipulate the newer equipment in computer-ICT-based offices and/or organisations. The question again is with the use of ICT, will the secretarial services be saved from fraud and corruptions? The issue of job security is no longer assured. In fact secretarial profession has been threatened with redundancy and retrenchment because of the introduction of computer and information technology. Statement of Problem The most notable changes and impact of information and communication technology is in the area of office automation. Secretarial services have drastically changed from the use of manual machines to the use of electric/electronic machines. Office automation system as described by Williams et al (1999), are those machines that combine various technologies to reduce the manual labour required to operate an efficient office environment. These are used throughout all levels of organisation. Office automation system technologies include fax, voice mail, e-mail, scheduling software, word processing, desktop publishing, etc. The backbone of office automation system is a network such as Local Area of Network (LAN), Internet, extranet which connects everything together. All office functions for example dictation, typing, filing, copying, fax, microfilm and records management, telephone calls and switchboard operations are candidates for interaction into the network. These challenges of ICT on secretarial practice call for appropriate staff training and development because many practicing secretaries are still lagging behind in area of ICT. The acquisition of appropriate skills and competence are undoubtedly strong instruments for an individual
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to live and contribute to the developments and changes in the world around him. In line with this,
Impact of1(7) ICT of on the Secretarial Profession Section National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004), reviewed stipulates among others; the
acquisition of appropriate skills and development of mental, physical and social abilities and competencies as equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of his society. Acquisition of right skill for computer, and information and communication technology (ICT) therefore becomes a pre-requisite for secretary to fit into the modern organisations. This again demands ability and willingness of a secretary to be taught. Skill development here should go beyond competence in operating typewriter and computer keyboarding to the mastering of the features of newer office machines to deliver result. The word secretary today is bastardized. Every individual that sits behind typewriter/computer assumes himself/herself a secretary. In a situation where every computer typesetter handles information and communications technology in the office, the confidentiality of such organisation is at risk. The question now is, would the secretary still maintain her integrity and keep office secrets in situations where the users of ICT cannot protect the organizations secrets? It should be noted here that the word secretary is derived from the word secret. To differentiate secretaries from the users of ICT is very difficult and poses a very big challenge to the secretary. Similarly, the computer users who interfere with secretarial services, who are also ignorant of rudiments of typewriting (e.g., accuracy, display methods, spacing, etc) dabble into the profession and present documents in an unprofessional ways, thereby doing disservice to the profession. Furthermore, threats of retrenchment and redundancy posed to secretaries by the use of ICT are another side effect of the innovation. In fact, the saying that computers will displace secretaries is not a palatable news. As a result of this, fear has gripped students, and their interest in making a career in secretarial profession is on the decline. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of ICT on Secretarial Profession in modern offices/organisations. Scope of Study This study on the impact of ICT on secretarial profession covered Federal College Education (Technical), Bichi and focused on the use of information technology and secretary. The study was strictly restricted to the secretarial staff only. This includes all categories of practicing secretary and lecturers in Secretarial Education Department. Hypothesis There is no significant impact of Information and communication technology (ICT) on secretarial profession. Instrument for Data Collection and Analysis Questionnaire of 9-items was used in collecting data. Copies of the questionnaire were personally distributed and collected by the researcher. Chi-square statistics was use in testing the hypothesis at P < .05 level of significance (see appendix I for questionnaire). Validity of the Instrument
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The face and content validation of the instrument were ascertained by two experts in Measurement and Evaluation and two experts in Secretarial Education. Final copies of the instrument were produced with strict adherence to the observations made by the experts.
Reliability of the Instrument Spearman Brown prophecy formula was used to calculate the reliability of the instrument. A reliability coefficient of 0.82 was obtained. With is high reliability indices of the instrument, it was considered capable of yielding data for the study. Results (a) The hypothesis raised in this study is tested by the use of chi-square. There is no significant impact of ICT on secretarial profession.
The Table of Chi-square ( 2) difference on the Impact of ICT on Secretarial Profession 2 calculated 117.11 2 critical 26.5 Significance level 0.05 Degree freedom 32 of Decision rule Ho rejected
The calculated value (117.11) is greater than the critical value (26.5) at 0.05 level of significance. We therefore reject the null hypothesis, which states that there is no significance impact of ICT on secretarial profession. Finding of the Study The major finding of the study was that ICT has made significant impact on Secretarial Profession. Discussion of the Finding The null hypothesis which, says that there is no significant impact of ICT on secretarial profession was rejected. This showed that ICT has made significant impact on secretarial profession. This tallied with the findings of Kraemer, Danzinger, Dunkle and King (1993), cited in Omonu (2003), which said that computer based information and technology provides managers/secretaries with data that are more timely, comprehensive, and accurate and enables them to perform more precise, systematic and sophisticated analyses of these data and also provides access to information. It is clear that ICT has made significant impact on secretarial profession hence shorthand writing and transcription may not be needed any more in offices. This is because better facilities for recording and storing information such as computer, video camera, picture phone and other recording devices are available. In support of this, Usman (2004), said that, the use of ICT may reduce demand for other group such as clerks, typists and some other lower-level executive. The study shows that, secretaries are still relevant in the office even though computers and other modern facilities are made available. This is because office automation system cannot perform all the duties of a secretary. La Valle et al (2005), affirmed this from the findings of their study that, the secretarial roles and functions have become broader; secretaries will need to be even more highly competent in broader range of technical and social skills.
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Furthermore, the study shows that, there are convincing evidences that ICT brought about fraud and corruption in disseminating information. The use of ICT has also tampered with the secrecy of secretaries. Computer operators alter information in the system and also disclose official matters to Impact of ICT on the Secretarial Profession unauthorized person(s), as a result individuals privacy is no longer protected. From the finding again, it was discovered that the use of ICT has nothing to do with students interest, and choice of making a career in secretarial profession. Rather the introduction of modern facilities on the profession attracts more students to secretarial services. In support of this, Lawal (2003), in their study on the status of ICT in teaching science technology and mathematics (STM) discovered that children learn more effectively using ICT and that its use does motivate pupils who have been disillusioned with education. In addition, it is has been established from the result of hypothesis tested that secretaries without computer experience stands chances of being redundant. Omonu (2003), has observed that every job in office during this century will involve computers in some ways, those not able to use them will be at serious disadvantage. Recommendations Based on the finding of the study, the paper recommends the following: 1) Secretaries should be given a thorough training on the new equipment/facilities to enable them maintain their positions in the office and also be relevant and versatile in this new trend of innovations and technological advancement. 2) The modern/technological equipment/facilities should be made available for secretaries to enhance there services. 3) Secretarial staff should be encouraged and sponsored for seminars and workshops to acquire the skills necessary to match and move with the innovations in office automations. Conclusion The study deliberated on the impact of ICT on Secretarial profession specifically, challenges it posed on the secretaries. Questionnaires were used for data collection while Chi-square was used in analyzing the data. The population of the study involved all secretarial staff of FCE (T), Bichi. It was discovered that ICT has made significant impact on secretarial profession. Based on these recommendations were made such as training and retraining of secretaries to match the new trends in the profession. If the recommendations are accepted and applied, that will go a long way eliminate the threats, and restoring the confidence in secretarial profession.
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Appendix I Sample Questionnaires on Hypothesis Formulated

Responses Statements SA (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii (ix) The use of office automations will eliminated the use of shorthand in the offices. In this era of computer, secretaries are still relevant. Computer and information technology will displace secretaries. Office automation system performs all the duties of a secretary. 02 The use of computer and information technology enhances the productivity of a secretary The use of ICT has increased the rate of fraud and corruption in Nigeria in particular. The use of computer has brought about lack of secret and privacy, hence disclosure of office information to an authorized person(s). The use of computer and ICT brought about declining interests of students in secretarial profession. Secretaries without computer experience stand chances of being redundant. 20 09 03 02 22 05 06 08 09 07 06 04 00 04 01 02 00 05 03 04 07 07 02 15 02 06 11 13 01 14 13 02 A 11 10 03 U 02 02 03 D 03 04 06 SD 01 02 17
Note: SA: = Strongly agreed (5); A = Agreed (4); U = Undecided (3); D = Disagreed (2) SD = Strongly Disagreed (1). References Adamu, A. U. (2004). Computer application and use of ICT for teaching and learning. Being a workshop paper presented at Train-the-Teacher for ding for lecturers in Colleges of Education organised by ETF and NCCE, at F C E, Katsina. Austin, E. (1983). Senior Secretarial Duties. Britain: McDonald and Evans Ltd. Eze, M. O. (2000). Developing secretarial training in the 21st century and beyond: Introduction of specialty areas. Workshop Proceedings of National Association of Professional Secretarial Staff in Nigeria (NAPSSON). Yanakri, 2000. Pp. 38-51 Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004). National Policy on Education. Abuja, Pp. 24-25 Jennings, L. M. (1981). Secretarial General Office Procedures. London: McGraw Hill Books Company Iji, C. O. (2003). Information and communication technology (ICT) in school mathematics: Implication for Primary Schools. Proceedings of 44th Annual National Conference of Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN). Pp. 172-176
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Impact of ICT on the Secretarial Profession
La Valle, I; Giles, L and Perryman, S (2005). A New Deal for Secretaries: IES Report 313. http://www.employment-studeies.co.uk/summary/summary.php?id=31 Lawal, D. (2003). The status of information and communication (ICT) in teaching science technology and mathematics (STM). Proceedings of 44th Annual National Conference of Science Teachers Association of Nigeria. Pp. 37-40
Nwaokolo, P. O. (1996). The role of Business Education in the achievement of professionalism in Secretarial Administration. NAPSSON 7th National Workshop/Exhibition, Asaba 96 Proceedings. P. 9 Omonu, J. B (2003): Impact of ICT on the teaching of physical health education. Proceedings of 44th Annual National Conference of Science Teachers Association of Nigeria. Pp. 210-21 Soukhaonow, A. H. (1990). Professional Secretarys Handbook. Ohio: South-Waste Publishing Company Ltd. Usman, H. N. (2004). Secretarial services in business communication: A tool for national development. BAHF; Journal of School of Vocational Education: Vol. No. 1, Pp.1-10 Williams, B. K; Sawyer, S. C; and Hutchinson, S. E (1999). Using Information Technology. Practical Introduction to Computers and Communications. Irwin/McGraw-Hill. 3rd edition. A
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LITERATURE: AN IDEAL INSTRUMENT FOR RECONSTRUCTING NIGERIA: A FAILED SOCIETY
Idegwu, Clement Chukwuka

Abstract This discourse is an exposition of the Nigerian Nation as a failed society characterized by the wanton wastage of human life and property. The fact that the degree of destruction in all spheres of life is alarming calls for an urgent reordering of the nation. This article, therefore, tries to show how Literature which is a reflection of the sensibility of a people at a particular time and place could serve as an ideal instrument for reconstructing Nigeria: a failed society, in order for her to nobly stand towering as the giant of African in the comity of nations.
Introduction We are living in a very dangerous time. Everyone is aware of that, we are in a revolutionary situation, no matter how unpopular that word has become in this country. The society in which we live is desperately manacled. (p.3). James Baldwin 1988. James Baldwins (1988), postulation in his article A Talk to Teachers prefaces this piece: Literature: An Ideal Instrument for reconstructing Nigeria, a failed society. To say that Literature is a vessel of honour for such a reconstruction is stating the obvious. Another truism is that Nigeria is a failed society. William Blake (1975) did ask: Is this a holy thing to see/ In a rich and fruitful land/ Babes reduced to misery/ fed with cold and usurious hand? / And so many children poor?/ It is a land of poverty! (p.33) This is a beautiful description of Nigeria. A nation so blessed, yet the citizenry greatly deprived. Blake, did create a very pathetic state when he sums it up thus: And their sun does never shine, /And their fields are bleak and bare, and their ways filled with thorns:/ it is eternal winter there. (p33). It is on this note of pessimism that Nigerians live today. In spite of the hue and cry about democracy in Nigeria, it is very clear that if the term ever means anything it is nothing less than Them all crazy. Even recent displays of acrimony, insults and counter insults, accusations and counter accusations from the office of the president and his vice show that they, and the entire nation are the worst degenerates ever known in the history of man. It is on this premise, that I wish to state that Nigeria is a failed nation, that which literature could restore its dignity. Having given a prelue to this discourse, Nigerians starving in the midst of plenty, the unwholesome abuse of power by past and present leaders, daily killings and the need for a reconstruction and rehabilitation of the people, it is pertinent to talk about what literature entails. Richard Taylor (1977), sees literature as a
Reflection of human experience, an expression of the sensibility of a given culture and a record of the changes in its moral outlook and sense of order or beauty. Literature can be described as people talking to themselves about their values, fears, and aspirations in such a way that even the literary forms and devices they develop reflect that sensibility. (p 193).
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Such a record of our experiences, depicting our culture at a given moment will help in sensitizing and conscienticizing the citizens, and directing them towards making a good choice: to live for the good of man. H.L.B. Moody (1982), gives a very simple definition of the term Literature. According to him:
Literature springs from our inborn love of telling a story, of arranging words in pleasing patterns, of expressing in words some special aspects of our human experience. It is usually set down in printed characters for us to read, though some forms of it are performed on certain social occasions. There are a number of different branches such as Drama, Poetry, the Novel, the short stories; all these are works of the imagination or the capacity for invention.
A critical look at Moodys simplistic approach to the definition of Literature will show; the love of telling a story, the arrangement of words in beautiful patterns or order, expressing certain aspects of human experience. Still on what Literature entails, I wish to quote the West Indian Literary artist, Wilson Harris as cited by D. Ibe Nwoga (1978), who sees literature as
a Drama of living consciousness, a drama within which one responds not only to the overpowering and salient features of a plane of existence but to the essence of life, to the instinctive grains of life which continue striving and working in the imagination for fulfillment, a visionary character of fulfillment. (p vii)
Nigeria: A Failed Society The question is not whether Nigeria is a failed society, but the degree, for surely, Nigeria is. Omafume Onoge as cited by Iyorwuese Higher (2002) gives the answer thus:
When a Nigerian president moves, the full intimidating symbolism of awesome power of state apparatus is brought out to public glare. Not so in Nyeres Tanzania. The culture of the piercing sirens more frightening than the nocturnal howls of the Yoruba Oro or the Uvie Urhobo Egri did not seem to be a visible part of Tanzanias public state culture under Nyerere (p.142).
It is even more intimidating now than before. Other road users are forced to run into a ditches to make way for the presidents, governors, even their personal Assistants (P.As) and what have you. They would prefer running into a ditch than to be manhandled by the security agents of the powers that be. Ayi Kwe Armah, laments the situation when he asked how long will Africa be cursed with its leaders? (p. 68), as cited by Hope Eghagha (2004), in his article; why writers tackle Nigerian Leadership of the Guardian, Monday, March I, 2004. Right from the amalgamation of the entities called Nigeria to the present there has been a great gap between a mans conviction and his vote in Nigeria. This has been a major problem in Nigeria. J.F. Kennedy (1964), citing Daniel Webster, states that,
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Literature: An Ideal Instrument for Reconstructing Nigeria: A Failed Society Inconsistencies of opinion from changes of circumstances are often justifiable. But there is one sort of inconsistency between a mans conviction and his vote, between his conscience and his conduct. No man shall ever charge me with an inconsistency of that kind. (p. 26).
That, which Daniel Webster of blessed memory swore never to allow any man charge him of, is Nigerians main preoccupation. The side Nigerians take on each discourse or issue is dictated by their stomach. This is why there is a great variation between what they profess and their conduct. This was why Nigerians who came out to vote on June 12, 1983 for a president of their choice, an election in which late Bashorun Moshood Kashmawo Abiola, was said to have won, could allow their mandates to be taken away without putting up a resistance. That even the supposedly vice-president elect to Late Abiola, could give the vice presidential portfolio away for a ministerial post in a government that stole their mandate shows how sick Nigerians are as a people. That General Babagida who spent billions of the nations oil money to conduct an election considered as the freest and fairest in our nation, and annulled same for something very inconsequential, making millions of Nigerians to die including the president- elect, could come back wanting to contest the presidential election of the same nation shows Nigeria as a real-failed state. The Abachas reign of terror, the judicial murder of the writer and Environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and all other abnormalities of the regime added weight to the degree of degeneration. Hear Ken (1994), in his piece Before I am Hanged
My Lord we all stand before history. I am a man of peace, of ideas. Appalled by the denigrating poverty of my people who live on a richlyendowed land, distressed by their political marginalisation and economic strangulation, angered by the devastation of their Land, their ultimate heritage, anxious to preserve their right to life and a decent living, and determined to usher to this country as a whole a fair and just democratic system which protects everyone and every ethnic group and gives us all a valid claim to human civilization I have devoted all my intellectual and material resources, my very life, to a cause in which I have total belief and from which I cannot be blackmailed or intimidated , I have no doubt at all about the ultimate success of my cause, no matter the trials and tribulations which I and those who believe with me may encounter on our journey. Neither imprisonment nor death can stop our ultimate victory (p 23).
That was Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa (aka Ken-Saro-Wiwa) before the Kangaroo judicial Pannel set up by late tyrant General Sanni Abacha. Commenting further, Ken Saro-Wiwa as quoted in ANA Review, November, 1995, said Shell is here on trial On trial is also the Nigerian Nation, its present rulers and all those who assist them. I am not one of those who shy away from protesting injustice and oppression, (p. 23) Ken was hanged on 10th November, 1994. Ever since the issue of the Niger Delta has remained unresolved. The ultimate victory Ken Saro-Wiwa talked about is the victory of humanity over every act of injustices. Late Bola Ige, was murdered in cold blood in his residence even as a serving minister of Justice of Nigeria. And till date his murderers are still at large. A failed society is marked by the wastage of human lives and property among other things. In the evening of December 23, 2001, Ajibola Ige, a serving Minister of Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was murdered in cold blood in his residence. About six years later nothing is heard about
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the assassins. Various categories of people are murdered daily in Nigeria for various reasons ranging from political to religious. But that a serving minister of Justice is murdered and it remains as if an ant was dropped in an open field unheard of and unsung, shows how bad our state is. If this could happen to a serving Minister of Justice of Nigeria, how safe then is the life of the common man whose life is very much unsung. You can imagine the degree of lawlessness in our country, Nigeria. Professor Wole Soyinka (2002), in his funeral oration at liberty stadium Ibadan, for Chief Bola Ige, titled Ajiobola Ige: An Ecumenical Spirit opened his speech thus:
The murderers are among us. Let no one be in any doubt they sit among us, right within this somber gathering that honours the passage of a hero. There are the unwitting collaborators whose blind politics brought this moment to be, whose primitive notion of contestation offered up this land of sacrificial platter. Perhaps they are contrite. Perhaps now, they realize that they have been mere tools in the hands of diabolically far-sighted, deeply calculating partners. Those latters are the gloating presences in the assemblage, mocking, ever cynical, triumphalist cold bloodedly, they have begun to debate who shall be next on the list of those whose social resolve will always plague their walking hours, those who stand between them and their nefarious ideologies, their internal obsession to expropriate and waste peoples material heritage and their immaterial pulpable will (p. 16).
That was Wole Soyinka commenting on the gruesome murder of a serving justice minister, Late Bola Ige of blessed memory, whose murderers are yet to be apprehended. Matthew Hassan Kukah (2000) gives credence to the exactitude of the above assertion by taking us back into recent history. He dedicated his book Democracy And Civil society in Nigeria to
the many martyrs for democracy especially Ken Saro Wiwa, and his Ogoni, brethren, General Shehu Yar Adua, Chief M.K.O. Abiola, his wife kudirat and many more who perished in the turbulent seas of Nigerias democratic quest. To many more foot soldiers especially those in the media who gave their lives, personal freedoms, security and comfort for a just, fair and democratic Nigeria (p iii).
On October, 19,1986, Dele Giwa, one of the foremost and forthright Journalists, a founding father of Newswatch magazine, was killed in a Letter bomb, the first in Nigeria, and the second in Black Africa. Twenty one years after, the murderers are yet to be apprehended. Nobody ever remembers; perhaps pretentiously for those who ever bother to, that there was such a man, whose prose style magnetized its readers drawing them to itself, a toy in the hands of a skilful child. In The Guardian of 14th January 2007, Joseph Oketunmbi comments on the conflict between the president, Obasanjo and his vice Atiku Abubarkar thus:
Most Nigerians are worried over the bone of contention between the first two citizens of the nation and the persistent conflict that has negative impact on the image of the country economically, politically, socially and religiously (p.14).
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Literature: An Ideal Instrument for Reconstructing Nigeria: A Failed Society
Things are what they are today because we need only to ask, for instance, if the constitution to which we consider ourselves bound today truly represents the will of the people. Its dominant tone of centralization does this articulate the desire of the nation? as Prof Wole Soyinka (2003), did ask. Professor Wole Soyinka (2003), further illuminates the dark thus:
I shall not even bother to remind us that the 1999 elections were held and the present government sworn into office without public knowledge of the contents of the enabling constitution. It is sufficient to demand do we, or do we not need a radical shift that restores our stolen voices? Does the call for a national conference not ground itself in the illegitimate antecedence of our current democratic pretensions? (pp 4-5).
Having x rayed these various spheres of Nigeria as a failed state, I wish to look at the state of the religious life of Nigerians before proceeding to talk about how literature can solve these problems. Karl Marx did see religion as the opium of the masses. In a hopeless situation, the Church and the various religious sects ought to be a beckon of hope. Unfortunately, the economic managers of these various religious sects seem to have abdicated their roles. Instead of serving as a succour to the oppressed and hopeless, they exploit and milk them to their bones. No wonder Karl Marx, as cited by Iyorwuese Hagher (2002), opines that.
Religion is one of the forms of spiritual oppression which everywhere weighs down heavily upon the masses of the people, overburdened by their perpetual work for others by want and isolation. Impotence of the exploited classes in their struggle against the exploiters just as inevitably, gives rise to the belief in a better life after death as impotence of the savage in his battle with nature gives rise to the belief in gods, devils, miracles and the like. Those who toil and live in want all their lives are taught by religion to be submissive and patient here on earth, and to take comfort in the hopes of a heavenly reward. But those who live by the labour of others are taught by religion to practice charity while on earth, thus offering them a cheap way of justifying their existence as exploiters and selling them at a moderate price ticket to well-being in heaven. Religion is opium of the people. Religion is a sort of spiritual booze, in which the slaves of capital drown their human image, their demand for life more or less worthy of man. 9 (p. 220).
This is why Ngugi Wa Thongo believes that the missionary robbed people of their soul (p32). Today every church leader quotes Romans 13vs1-2.
OBEY THE GOVERNMENT, for God is the one who has put it there. There is no government anywhere that God has not placed in power. So those who refuse to obey the laws of the Land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow. Idegwu, Clement Chukwuka
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To quieten those who question. Believers are even told that the sin of rebelliousness is like that of witchcraft. This is why in spite of the various churches and numerous religious sects, in Nigeria, Nigeria and Nigerians remain a failed nation and people. Hence Pope St Gregory, as cited by Matthew Hassan kukah (2000), says that
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Negligent religious leaders are often afraid to speak freely and to say what needs to be said for fear of losing favour with people. they are acting like hirelings, because hiding behind the wall of silence is like taking flight at the approach of the wolf If a religious leader is afraid to say what is right, what else can his silence mean but that he has taken flight (p 177).
Could it be that Nigerian religious leaders are afraid to proclaim the truth, or that greed which makes them slaves to money and every power that be, or both, make them abdicate their functions, for the pleasure of earthly riches to use their words. Literature an Inevitable Tool for Reconstructing. Nigeria, a Failed Society Having explained thus far why Nigeria could be regarded as a failed society, it is pertinent, therefore, to state unequivocally that the task of a speedy and permanent reconstruction and rehabilitation lies to a great extent on the literary artist, the unacknowledged legislator of the world, as Shelley would put it. James Baldwin (1988), did opine that the purpose of education is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make decisions, to say to himself this is black, or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is God in heaven or not (p4). The fact that such premium is attached to education shows how much literature remains a very viable tool for reconstructing Nigeria a failed society. Gregeon (1973), stressed that all language is concerned with the communication of ideas, and poetry is very often the most effective form of communication (p 15). Commenting further Gregeon J.M. (1973), states that:
Good poetry will be a highly effective method of enlarging experience and awareness of a wonder world. This is the most important personal development for children. As poetry of quality has directness and integrity, it will often be the best way of communicating complex ideas and emotions (p.115 116).
This as one of the genres of literature helps in illuminating the childs life, and path, helping him to ease or worm his way through the dark jungle that our world is. This is because Osayimwense, Osa (1988), opines that:
The Nigerian Junior novel touches the lives of Nigerian youths. It differs from contemporary American Junior novels in its hardline moral stance. It essentially presents a view of lives which understand, and not a tedious mass of information experimentally irrelevant to Nigerian youth. The novel makes literature meaningful, at least to the Nigerian adolescent, by making contact with cultural values, social functions and individual lives. To do less makes literature irrelevant in a Nigeria that cannot afford more irrelevancies (p. iv). Literature: An Ideal Instrument for Reconstructing Nigeria: A Failed Society
The above quote is an attestation to the beauty of Literature as a viable means of reconstructing Nigeria, a failed society, and making the teaming, populace human beings who can cross the rubicon, leaving behind an unenviable past; Ojogan Izehiese and Ojogan Henry (2005), show the pathetic state of our nation thus:
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The adolescent girls are worst because some of the behaviours they manifest today are frightening. The girls while they are going to school usually hide their muftis in their school bags which they use to change their school uniforms, from the school. These girls will change their uniform and move into the town. Besides, these girls go to the extent that they visit tertiary institutions and other boys school searching for men (p 139)
Ojogan Izehiese and Ojogan Henry, above gave shocking tale of our youths on whom we would have anchored our hope for a better tomorrow. It is a perfect explanation of our troubled state. It shows the degree of lawlessness, and degeneration. These are characteristics of a failed nation. However, they were quick to add that Literature is a reformative tool. To quote Ojogan Izehiese and Ojogan Henry (2005).
The use of Literature can change this dangerous trend among our adolescent girls. Literature is a veritable tool that can change and reform the attitude of the adolescent girls in particular. The use of Literature can keep a child emotionally, socially and socially sound and consequently improves ones intellect (p 139)
Gladys Williams, as cited by Clement C. Idegwu (2006), gives credence to the above assertions thus:
Books provide him with stories that help him to understand that some people have the same kind of feelings. They introduce him gently to a recognition of the fact that there is evil in the world, even within himself but they show him also the forces of good, of courage, and of wisdom In stories after stories, we also allow our children to glimpse a brief fleeting reflection of evils, cruelty, anger, jealousy and to gain, this protecting awareness without experiencing fear, guilt or a sense of inadequacy of faceto-face encounter (p.152).
This, indeed, will make our children as well as adults to be courageous enough to face the realities of life. Andrew Jackson cited by John F. Kennedy (1964), opines that one man with courage makes a majority (p.ix). As identified earlier, in this article, one of the reasons why Nigeria is a failed state or society is that the actions of Nigerians show that, they lack the grace to remain true to their callings. J.F. Kennedy (1964), cited George W. Norris as saying:
I would rather go down to my political grave with a clear conscience than ride in the chariot of victory as congressional stool pigeon, the slave, the servant, or the vassal of any man, whether he be the owner and manager of a legislative managerie or the ruler of a great nation I would rather lie on the silent grave, remembered by both friends and enemies as one who remained true to his faith and who never faltered in what he believed to be his duty, than to still live, old and aged, lacking the confidence of both factions (p. 168). Idegwu, Clement Chukwuka
George W. Norris, was a fearless and courageous advocate of the good of all. He was well inundated with the tragedy of poverty from his childhood. His father died when he was four and had to eke a living by hacking. Literature shows that, one needs to be a man of deep conviction, fearless,
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courageous and honest in order to make a meaningful living anywhere, anytime, and that one needs not to do evil to prosper. The development of critical mind is one of the functions of literature. And for Nigeria to have a stable political and economic base, Nigerians have to examine things critically before taking a stand. Reading the novels of Ngugi Wa Thiongo, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, AbubarKa Gimba, Idegwu Clement, George Orwel, Femi Osofisans, etc and the plays and poems of other African and Western writers will expose the child as well as the adult to what it takes to live a decent life. This is why James Baldwin (1988), talking about the child in A Talk to Teachers said:
I would teach him that he doesnt have to be bound by the expediencies of any given administration, any given policy, any given morality; that he has the right and the necessity to examine everything (p.12).
This is exactly what literature does. It exposes the reader to all that life entails, and even help him in making the right choice taking into cognizance what the ends of humanity are, p 100 as stated by Kolawole Ogungbesan (2004) citing Wole Soyinka, in Literature and society in Africa: selected Critical Essays of Kolawole Ogungbesan, compiled and edited by David I. Ker. Romanus N. Egudu (1977), did attest to the postulation above when he states that modern African poetry, and by extension Literature, explores the troubled state of man, through all ages. According to Romanus N. Egudu (1997).
Modern West African Poetry deals essentially with the African predicament, which is an aspect of the tragedy of mans existence. It is the crisis of the past, the present, and the future the past being hideous, the present confused and harassing, and the future uncertain and intriguing (introduction).
Egudus Postulation above, demonstrates most essentially the major preoccupation of every literary artist. Be that as it may, literature, therefore, exposes Nigerians (children and adults) to the crises of the past, the present, and the future, It thus inundates them with all it takes to live happily in our kind of world. And because of the universality of the tragedy of mans existence, literature, therefore, helps in the understanding of the hideous nature of the past, the confused and harassing state of the present, and equips them with the tools necessary for conquering the future that is an embodiment of uncertainties and devastating intrigues. Ezekiel Mphahlele (1982), approves of the above, saying writers:
Such as John Osborne, Arnold Wesker, Wole Soyinka and so on all these writers are concerned with the predicament of man in a hostile environment and with the sickness that we all see in highly developed societies. They dramatise this predicament, showing us in the process a portion of life and pleasurably teach us without any offensive propaganda, precisely because this is a medium which leads itself easiest to the propagation of ideas. (p. vii-viii). Literature: An Ideal Instrument for Reconstructing Nigeria: A Failed Society
To a very great extent, that is what Literature is all about. Hence an inevitable tool for reconstructing Nigeria, a failed society.
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Conclusion The task of reconstructing Nigeria, a failed society is a task I have chosen to undertake. There is a desire to ensure not only the reconstruction but a sustenance of, and improving upon the reconstructed. This is why I am in tone with Nelson Mandela, as cited by Hagher (2002), it is an ideal, which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die (p. 14). Taxass Declaration of independence reads thus: unless a people are educated and enlightened it is idle to expect the contrivance of civil liberty or the capacity for self-government. This is why Nigerians need first to know that they live in a failed nation, accept this naked truth, and appreciate the need to revolutionize the country through literature, and make the country a habitation where progressive growth is possible. The corruption in all spheres of life which occasioned all the anomalies mentioned in this discourse show the degree of failure as a nation. Alexander Pope, as cited by Drew (1960), calls literature O sacred weapon left for truths defence. Elizabeth, Drew commenting further sees poetry as having a deliberate moral purpose. In it the past speaks directly to his society and holds its shortcomings for general recognition (p 149) and how to correct the mistakes. In conclusion, therefore, I believe in the effectiveness of Literature as an inevitable tool for reconstructing Nigeria, a failed society. This could be likened to William Wilberforces, as cited by Jimmy Essien (1985), They charge me with fanaticism. If to be alive to the sufferings of my fellow creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics over permitted to be at large This, therefore, is my submission, that literature is an ideal instrument for reconstructing Nigeria, a failed society. References Baldwin, J. (1988). A Talk to Teachers in Graywolf Annual Five: Multicultural Literacy (Ed.), ReckSimonson et al Minnesota Graywoly Press. Blake, W. (1975). Songs of Innocence and of Experience Cambridge: University Printing Press Drew E. (1960). Poetry A Modern Guide To its Understand and Enjoyment N.Y. Dell Publishing Co, Inc. Eghagha, H. (2004). Why writers tackle Nigerian leadership The Guardian Monday, March 1. Egudu R. N. (1977). Four Modern West African Poets. Lagos. NOK Publishers (Nigeria) Ltd. Essien (1985). Giant of The Clementry. Enugu: Delta Publications (Nig). Ltd. Gregeon, J.M. (1973) Studies in Middle Years English. London: Macmillan Education Limited Hagher, I. (2002). Leading Africa out of Chaos A God-Centred Approach to leadership. Ibadan: Spectrum Books Limited
Idegwu, C. C. Writing For Special Purpose. Agbor: Royal Pace Publication 2006.
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Kennedy J.F. (1964). Profiles in Courage Memorial Edition. New York: Harper and Row, publishers Kukah, M. H. (2000). Democracy and Civil Society in Nigeria Ibadan Spectrum Books. Moody, H.L. B. Literary Appreciation A Practical guide to Understanding and Enjoyment of Literature in English (Tenth Impression) U.K. Longman. Mphahlele, E. (1982). Writers and Commitment Ed Ulli Beier Introduction to African Literature U.K. Longman Group Limited. Ngugi, Wa Thionglo Homecoming Ibadan: Heinemann 1982 Nwoga, D.I. (1978). Introduction (Ed.), D.I. Nwoga Literature and Modern West African Culture Benin City Ethiope Publishing Corporation. Ojogan I. and Ojogan H. (2005). Adolescent literature and adolescent development in Nigeria: An integrative approach. (Ed.), Anagbogu M.A. International Journal of Forum for African Women Educationists Nigeria Vol. No. 2 October 2005 Lagos: Forum for African women educationists, Nigeria. Oketunmbi, J. (2007). The Guardian January 14. Osa, O. (1988). Introduction (Ed.), Osayimwense Osa Youth Literature International. A selection of Readings Benin Citry: paramount Publishers. Saro-Wiwa, K. (1995). Before I am Hanged ANA review Soyinka, W. (2003) The Deceptive Silence of Stolen Voices Ibadan: spectrum Books Ltd Soyinka, W. (2007). Ajibola Ige: A Ecumenical Spirit. The Guardian Saturday, January Taylor R. (1977). The Twentieth Century Contemporary Trends (Ed.), Richard Taylor, Background Lectures in English Literature. Benin City: Ethiope Publishing Corporation. The Living Bible, Self-Help Edition Paraphrased. (1997). Kaduna: Evangelical Publishers Ltd.
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EFFECT OF OVER-CROWDING ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND SURVIVAL OF THE LARVAE AND PUPAE OF THE CONFUSED FLOUR BEETLE (TRIBOLIUM CONFUSUM) IN SORGHUM FLOUR
David, Timothy
Abstract This research work was carried out under laboratory conditions for 18 weeks of storage period. The environmental mean temperature ranged from 250c to 360c and the humidity ranged from 43% to 84%. Samples of stored products and beetles of various species or T. confusum were collected from different market areas in Minna. Such markets are Kpakungu, Chanchaga, Bosso, Maitumbi and Dutsen-kura. These samples of infested grains were collected from farmers stores, large storage mills and also from different grain types which include semovita, wheat, sorghum, millet, maize and animal feeds. The samples were then taken to the laboratory in which adult T. confusum were used to set-up the research work. The result showed that, crowding increased mortality for all the three initial population densities of 4,8 &16 beetles per 100g of sorghum flour. The Fecundity decreased with increase in population build-up in the beetles. The generation mortality was density dependent. Mortality among the T. confusum is caused as a result of predatory interactions by the larvae and adult of T. confusum on egg and pupae respectively which is the major limiting factor in the survival and development of the larvae and pupae of T. confusum under laboratory condition.
Introduction Since the time of the early explorers; the importance of insects to Agriculture and Health has Multidisciplinary of Research Development Volume 9 particular. No. 1 December, been realized in Journal West Africa in general and in Nigeria in It is a 2007 known fact that over threequarters of a million species of insects are known in the world today and a large proportion of these occur in the African continent. Insects are known to be pests or disease carriers; from bedbugs, houseflies and cloth moths to Japanese beetles and aphids. They also constitute nuisance such as mosquitoes, fleas, houseflies, and hornets; and the conspicuous butterflies and moths. Indeed it ought to be clearly understood that insects are by far the most persistently devastating agents, which tend to drastically curtail the expected benefits for man of booming agricultural development. Man seems to survive by constant vigilance against encroaching natural forces that he deems inimical to his own highly organised society. Although his mastery does not yet extend to the overwhelming physical phenomena on all sides, it does include an influence over the organisms such as insect-pests that not only compete with man for food or space but also damage his possessions or attack him personally. This sad aspect of insect-man relationship has been with man since he graduated some 10,000 years ago from a primitive food-gathering and hunting culture, passing through a farming phase, and presently at the level of a highly sophisticated urbanized industrial culture. The confused flour beetles, Tribolium confusum, are well-known pest of flourmills. They are cosmopolitan and they belong to the class insecta, order coleoptera and family Tenebrionidae. Tribolium confusum spend their whole lives in flour, burrowing through it, eating it, defecating in it,
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laying eggs in it, hatching, growing as maggots, pupating, emerging and mating in it. A heavy infestation spoils the flours making it grey and stinking from the accumulation of feaces and corpses. The remains of Tribolium confusum that were found in a grain jar on an Egyptian tomb dated back to about 2,500 B.C is an indication that this beetle genus has been in existence for a long time. Tribolium confusm was first observed in the United States in 1893 (Metcalf 1962). Chapman and Hall (1970) observed and compared the rate of egg-laying by the flour beetles. Tribolium confusum and Tribolium castaneum over a range of temperatures from 250c to 300c. The result shows that Tribolium confusum laid three times as many eggs at 300c as at 270c where as Tribolum castaneum laid twice as many eggs at 270c as at 250c but no more at 300c than at 270c but no information is available on the effect of overcrowding on the survival and development of the larvae and pupae of the confused flour beetle; Tribolium confusum in sorghum flour. This research work was therefore designed to study in details the effect of overcrowding on the survival and development of the larvae and pupae of confused flour beetle for a period ranging from 1 8 weeks at three levels of initial infestation. T. confusum has a length of about 2.6cm to 4.4cm. They are very active and they move very rapidily when disturbed. The colour is reddish brown to reddish-bronze. This species has eleven segment antennae with a feebly differed club of four to five segments. The narrowest part of the eyes is not broader than a facet. Elytral or T. confusum have first and second intervals flat or most carinate only at the apex (Kranz, sehmutterer and koch 1978). The life cycle of T. confusum takes at least 6 weeks and thus, 12 weeks are needed before an f2 generation can be obtained. The female adult of T. confusum lays 5-15 eggs per day (Metchalf 1962) which are about 0.4mm long and 0.6 mm wide. The burrowing larvae are yellow-brown with yellow intersegmental rings, covered with wing brown hairs and when mature reach a length of about with long. The larvae develop through 6 to 11 instars, depending on temperature and culture medium. The pupae watch into the small polished brown image which are 3.3 3.5 mm in length at 280c it takes approximately 30 days from egg to adult (metchalf 1962). The easiest time to distinguish between the sexes is when the beetle are in the pupae stage. Pupae the external genitalia are more prominent than in the male pupae. The external genitalia lobe in male pupae is shorter, and the tip is closer together while the external genitalia lobe are longer, and the tip further apart in female pupae (Stephen and Gary 1980). Cannibalism has frequently been observed in insect species, especially at times of overcrowding or when food is in short supply. Cannibalism or when individuals suffer accidental injury or when they are temporarily incapacitated by moulting (Clark, Geier, Highes and Morris 1967). T. confusum is a nation-wide insect of flour and other stored agricultural products. They infest mostly the mills, factories and the warehouse in the following ways:- From infested food-stored in the mill near the milling machinery - Through the entrance of beetle with the grain stream. - From infested second hand machinery. - From infested flour used in blending operations. - From infested second hand flour bags. - From infested flour returned to the mill from grocers, warehouse.
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Effect of Over-Crowding on the Development and Survival of the Larvae and Pupae of the Confused Flour Beetle (Tribolium Confusum) in Sorghum Flour
Research Questions - Where are the confused flour beetle, mostly found. - What are the preventive measures that can be taken to avoid the spread of confused flour beetle. Hypothesis - Tribolium confusum spend their whole lives in flour. - Tribolium confusum is reddish brown to reddish-bronze in colour. - Tribolium confusum are very active and move very fast when disturbed. - Overcrowding of Tribolium confusum a hugs brings about cannibalism. - To stop the spread of Tribolium confusum, here is need to make our kitchen clean and spray insecticide regularly. Materials and Methods Samples of stored products beetles of various species were collected from different parts of Minna such as Kpakungu, Chanchaga, Bosso, Maitumbi and Dutsen-kura. The samples were collected from infested produce of different grain types from markets, farmers storehouses, large storage mills and food processing factories. The infested flour collected from all the above mentioned sources was taken to the laboratory where the stored products beetles were sieved out using sieves of 20, 40 and 80 mesh sizes. After sieving, Tribolium species were separated from all the other beetle species such as T. destruction, T. ferrugineum, oryzenphilus spp and Rhizopertha spp. T. confusum were identified & cultured in millet flour. The culture was observed in the laboratory in order to produce larger numbers of one-day old adults for release into the sorghum flour to study the effect of overcrowding on the survival and development of the larvae, pupae of the confused flour beetle. The millet flour was disinfested in small quantities of 200g in glass jars by heating in an oven for 3 hours at a constant temperature of 800c. After sterilization the millet flour was kept over night to cool down to room temperature. The confused flour beetles (T. confusum) were then released into sorghum flour. Grains of sorghum were obtained from Minna Markets. The grains were cleaned & grounded into flour. The grinded sorghum flour was sieved with 40 wire mesh size sieve to remove the particles and small fragment from the flour. The flour was weighed in small quantities of 100g using a mettler balance after which they were placed in glass jars and disinfested by heating in an oven at constant temperature of 800c. After the disinfections the sorghum flour was kept over night to cooldown to worm temperature. The insect species rare sieved out from the breeding medium and one-day old adults were selected and released into the sorghum flour in infestation, 4,8 and 16 beetles per 100g of sorghum flour. There were five replicates in each treatment. The research work was observed for eight weeks. The sorghum flour from each specimen bottle was sieved thoroughly with 40. Wire-mesh size to living dead larvae, pupae and adults present every week. The live adults, pupae & larvae rare counted a recorded and then replaced into their bottles of initial infestation. This procedure was repeated weekly for eight weeks. On each occasion, the number of adult insect pupae and larvae were counted and the number of death a live larvae and pupae and adults were computed.
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Results / Discussion Effects of Overcrowding on the Development And Survival of T. Confusum Larvae The emergence of Larvae started during the second week of the infestation storage period. The raw data for the larvae (APP. Table 1abc) of T. confusum was subjected to an analysis of variance (Tab 1) to test for significant differences in the number of larvae between storage time, between initial beetle densities and between replicates. There was a significant difference (P20.001) between time but none between density and replicate. The maximum mean number of larvae (Tab 2 occurred during the sixth week and was 121.0, 122.0 and 142.2 at 4, 8 and 16 initial beetle densities of infestation storage period respectively. The decline in the number of larvae at week seven and eight was as a result of the overcrowding effect in which the pupae predate on larvae. Table 1 ANOVA for the Number of Tribolium Confusum Larvae Over Eight Weeks of Storage Period at Three Initial Density Level of Infestation Source of Variation DF SS MS F P 6.85 <0.001 9,090.04 63,637.32 Time 7 1.28 NS 1,629.25 3,258.51 Densities 2 0.31 NS 410.82 1,643.27 Replicates 4 1326.82 140,642.89 Residual 106 209,181.99 119 Table 2 Mean Infestation Time weeks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (+ S.E) Number of Tribolium Confusum Larvae at Different Levels of Initial Initial 4 10.6 0.9d* 26.8 2.2cd 48.8 2.9bcd 87.8 2.2ab 121.0 9.5a 84.8 6.3ab 47.2 2.6bcd Beetle 8 17.8 0.3c 28.8 2.2c 46.2 2.3b 93.0 4.6ab 122.0 6.4a 96.0 2.4ab 66.0 2.0b Densities 16 28.2 0.8d 44.6 1.6cd 60.2 2.2bcd 95.6 3.3abc 142.2 4.09 102.8 2.8ab 63.8 4.3bcd
Mean followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 5% level according to Duncans multiple range test.
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Effect of Overcrowding on the Survival and Development of the T. Confusum Pupae The emergence of the pupae of T. confusum started at the end of the fourth week of storage period. The raw data for T. confusum pupae (App Table 2a,bc) was subjected to analysis of variance (Table. 3) to test for significant difference in the number of pupae between storage time, between initial beetle infestation densities and between replicates. There was a significant difference between time (P < 0.001); between densities (P < 0.001). The fall in the number of pupae at the seventh and eight week was due to the crowding effect which allowed cannibalism whereby old T. confusum are both the young adults and pupae. Similar cases of cannibalism of T. confusum was reported by Clark et al (1967), that T. confusum when overcrowded, individuals suffer accidental in jury. Young (1970), also reported similar cannibalistic acts of T. confusum when over-crowded that old adults eat young adults, larvae eat eggs; that male beetles often so injure females with their thrusting make organ that the females die; that crowded males thy to copulate with each other sometimes, inflicting serious injury. Table 3 ANOVA for the Number of Tribolium Confusum Pupae other Eight Weeks of Storage Period at Three Initial Density Level of Infestation Source of Variation DF SS MS F P <0.001 124.65 13899.43 97,296.00 7 Time <0.001 42.56 4746.23 9,492.47 2 Densities <0.001 24.60 2743.60 10,974.42 4 Replicates 111.51 11,820.11 106 Residual 129,58.0 119 Table 4 Mean (+S.E) Number Tribolium confusum Pupae at different Levels of Initial Infestation Time weeks Initial Beetle Densities 4 8 16 1 2 3 55.2 2.2cd 33.4 1.2c 18.4 0.7b 4 74.8 3.3b 65.5 2.8bc 32.6 1.6ab 5 101.2 4.6a 88.0 2.09 39.8 2.2a 6 80.4 5.2b 66.6 2.8b 28.8 0.8ab 7 55.0 2.8d 51.8 3.3bc 18.2 0.6b 8 Mean followed by the same later are not significantly different at the 5% level according to Duncans multiple range test. Recommendations Since T. confusum is a nation-wide insect of flour and other stored agricultural products. They infest mostly the mills, factories etc. The following recommendations are made the guide against further infestation.
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Second hand machinery should be refurbished before put into use. food stores, mill, kichens and factories should be kept tidy always. Second hand flour bags should be made clean before use. Kitchens should be sprayed with insecticide to guide against the spread of T. confusum. Unuse bags in the home should be thrown away to prevent a source of hide-out for the confused beetles.
Conclusion Results in this research work shows that the number of T. confusum increased with increase in storage period which resulted into further loss in weight of sorghum flour and also subjected the insects into more crowding. Overcrowding of T. confusum leads to mortality irrespective of the initial population density. Mortality was density dependent because mortality varies according to the initial infestation density. Mortality among the T. confusum is caused by predation of the eggs, larvae, pupae and young adult by older adults, which is the main limiting factor in survival and development of T. confusum in the sorghum flour. T. confusum are common, but do not appear to be harmful in the flours; if they oviposit in flour, however, infestation will develop when it is in storage thus the three major ways of controlling the existence of T. confusum are insecticides, fumigation & climatic control. References Chapman, R.N and Hall, D.W (1970) Introduction to the Study of Animal Populations. New York: MC GRAW Hill. Clark, K. R; Geier, P.W, Hughes R.D and Morris R.F (1967). The Ecology of Insect Population in theory and Practice. London: Chapman and Hall Ltd. Kranz, J. Schmutterer, H and Koch, W (1978). Diseases, Pests and Reeds in Tropical Crops. New York: John Wiley and sons. Luker, A. J and Luker, H.S (1971). Laboratory Exercise in Zoology. London: Methuen and co. Ltd. Metcalf, C.L (1962). Destructive and useful Insects their Habits and Control. U.S.A: Mcgraw Hill Books. Stephen, D.W and Gary, L.A.F (1980). Field and Laboratory Exercise in Ecology. New York: John Wiley and sons.
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Appendix Table 1a: Number of T. Confusum Larvae During Eight Weeks of Storage Period at an Initial Infestation Density of 4 Beetles Per 100g of Sorghum Flour TIME REPLICATES (WEEKS) 1 2 3 4 5 1 8 12 13 11 9 2 21 29 34 27 23 3 41 57 53 49 44 4 63 110 104 83 75 5 147 94 135 123 106 6 63 78 96 88 79 7 41 54 53 45 43 8 Appendix Table 1B: As Appendix Table 1a but for an Initial Infestation Density of 8 Beetles TIME (WEEKS) 1 2 3 4 5 1 16 17 19 17 18 2 31 29 28 19 22 3 54 48 46 40 43 4 63 101 97 81 83 5 132 138 126 106 108 6 96 101 99 87 97 7 4 73 61 64 68 8 Appendix Table 2a: Number of T. Confusum Pupae During Eight Weeks of Storage Period at an Initial Infestation Density of 4 Beetles Per 100g of Sorghum Flour TIME (WEEKS) 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 17 18 19 21 17 4 31 30 32 39 31 5 41 37 46 43 38 6 30 26 29 31 28 7 18 16 18 20 19 8
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Appendix Table 2b: As Appendix Table 2a, but for an Initial Infestation Density of 8 Beetles TIME (WEEKS) 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 36 34 29 35 33 4 68 67 56 73 64 5 91 87 85 94 83 6 74 63 62 73 61 7 63 54 51 48 43 8
Appendix Table 2c: As Appendix Table 2a, but for an Initial Infestation Density of 16 Beetles. TIME (WEEKS) 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 54 51 61 57 53 4 76 63 83 78 74 5 107 87 114 103 95 6 88 64 93 84 73 7 57 47 64 56 51 8
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