CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the Study

The  development  of  human  and material  resources  have  been  the  focus of  concern,  of  recent,  towards  the  development  of a  nation. This is  due  to  the  fact  that  the growth  of  tangible  capital  stock  of a  nation  depends  to a  considerable  degree  on  human  capital  development.  Without adequate investment in developing the human and material resources of the education sector, the possibility of the growth of any nation might be hampered. Education is the vital instrument for social and economic mobility at the personal level and an instrument for transformation of society at the National level. Basic education which is the focus of this study is the first level of education. Apart from  the  home  being  the  first  agent  of  socialization,  the  basic  education  school  is  the  first  place  that  introduces  formal education or literacy to the child. In other words, basic education school is the foundation upon which all other levels of education are built.

The Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme which came into existence in September 1989 was expected  to  provide  free  and  compulsory  education  from  primary  to  Junior  Secondary  levels.  However,  researches  (Okpala  2006,  Zwalchir  2008, Maduewesi  2005,      Ibukun  2009)  have  shown  that  the  lack  of  adequate  human  and material  resources  are  the  two  critical  problems  that  could  hinder  the  successful  implementation  of  UBE.    Like every other enterprise, the success of UBE depends solely on the provision of adequate human and material resources.

Ayodeji (2004) lamented that the demand of education is growing higher everyday but the available resources are not keeping pace in terms of the development.  In  support  of  this  UNESCO’s  Education  for  all  (EFA)  Global  Monitoring Report (2005) provides a detailed analysis of factors influencing the quality of education in several regions  of  the  world,  which  it  says  could  prevent many  countries  from  achieving  EFA  goals  by  2015.  These  include  lack  of  human  and  material  resources  for  schools,  number  of  years  and  their  training,  facilities  etc.  In curriculum implementation teachers are the heart beat or key implementers.

The Nigerian education objectives according to National Policy of Education (NPE) (2004) are as follows, that goals shall be pursued through: teaching, research and development, virile staff development programs, general and dissemination of knowledge, a variety of modes of programs including fulltime, part-time, block-release, day-release, etc., access to training funds such as those provided by the industrial training fund (ITF), students industrial work experience scheme (SIWES), maintenance of minimum educational standards through appropriate agencies, inter-institutional co-operation, dedicated services to the community through extract-mural and extension services. In order for these objectives to be successfully actualized, there are some fundamental needs that must be adequately provided. These basic needs include the resources of both human and materials. The schools functions of teaching, learning, research and public service are often pursued with a view of satisfying these goals of manpower development for the society, skill development for its individuals and product of cultivated individual with survival value orientation as well as an objective view of society. There is more pressure on the socio-economic development of a developing nation like Nigeria. However, for her to actualize these goals of skilled graduates, adequate human and infrastructural facilities need to be put in place. Undoubtedly the importance of a skilled graduate cannot be over-emphasized in the life of a nation trying to meet the development standards of the world.

1.2     Statement of the Problem

The education quality in Nigeria is not like it used to be, even with the technology advancement being improved every day, the Nigeria education policy and objective is to have a skilled graduates that can compete with other graduates in the world, but otherwise is the case, Nigerians are now even sending their children to Ghana for higher education when we have over hundred higher institutions in Nigeria and a GDP that can manage over 20million students at once.

Even with the money been injected in the education sector, there is still mass failure and mass unemployment in Nigeria which however impede the education objective of quality education and skilled graduates, so many scholars have attributed this situation to many factors, including lack of students’ preparation, low salary and motivation of teachers, and lack of parents support. However, few have dwelled on importance of human and material resources in teaching and learning, therefore this research intends to find out the contribution of human and material resources on quality education in Nigeria.

1.3     Objectives of the Study

The main objectives of this study is to find out the contribution of human and material resources on quality education in Nigeria, specifically the study intends to:

1.     Find out the availability of human resources for the teaching and learning in secondary schools.

2.     Find out the availability of material resources in the teaching and learning in secondary schools.

3.     Find out if there is adequacy of available human and material resources using the minimum standard requirement of secondary school teaching and learning

4.     Find out the effect of human and material resources on quality education in Nigeria

1.4     Research Questions

1.     Is there availability of human resources for the teaching and learning in secondary schools?

2.     Is there availability of material resources in the teaching and learning in secondary schools?

3.     Is there adequacy of available human and material resources using the minimum standard requirement of secondary s