ABSTRACT

Grassroots education is imperative if economic development is to be actualized. Therefore, it becomes necessary to study the primary school teachers’ perception of the Universal Basic Education (UBE). This study attempted to find out the primary school teachers’ perception of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme and their perceived contribution towards the success of the programme. It further examined how favorable perception towards the scheme could be a catalyst in the successful implementation of the UBE. To accomplish this task, two research questions and a hypothesis were raised to guide the study.School Counsellor

The opinion of one hundred and eighteen (118) teachers, out of four hundred and forty-seven teachers (447) that constituted the population of the teachers in Esan West Public Primary Schools was obtained. The respondents were randomly selected. The questionnaire was used for data collection. A 1-4 Likert-type scale ranging from Strongly Agreed to Strongly Disagreed was used to score the responses of the subjects. The data collected were analyzed using percentages, means, standard deviation and chi- square (X2). A significant difference existed among primary school teachers in their perception and operation of the UBE scheme.School Counsellor

The result revealed that 58% of the respondents had favorable perception of the UBE programme. And since perception affects our attitude towards a programme, this positive response will go a long way in enhancing the implementation of the UBE scheme, which invariably will contribute immensely to economic growth and national development.School Counsellor

Education lies somewhere in between pure public goods and pure private goods. Though education could be financed privately and even provided privately, not all the benefits of educations could be confined to those who paid for it and it is not possible to exclude the less educated from the various spillovers generated by the more educated (Ndagi, 1977). Education is regarded as quasi-public good.

Usually, there are budget cuts and we are given less to spend and each naira is buying less educational goods and services because of inflation. A process of tackling the economic problems of development would entail a political development – a development in the way power is distributed in the region, in what institutions have, what functions and how community participates in the entire process. As Dr. Kwame Nkruma’s dictum asserts “seek ye first the political kingdom and all others will be added unto it”.

Education is a basic necessity for good life, economic development and natural development. Globalising world economy is a farce until education is globalized. It has been observed in many quarters that no nation could become stable, prosperous or achieve a sustainable development and enduring democratic rule without an educational citizenry.

Each year, about 130 million primaryschool-age children are denied access to education. Two-thirds of them are girls (UNICEF, 1999). More than 150 million children start primary school but drop out of school before they have completed five years of education (UNICEF, 1999). It is estimated that one in five individuals in the developing world will still be illiterate in 2010 (UNESCO, 1997). Less than two percent of children with disabilities in developing countries are included in formal education (Walkins, 2000).School Counsellor

From the foregoing, it is quite clear that there is a global campaign for education. It has been observed that there is no universally accepted definition for the word “education” right from Plato to the present day. The definition varies according to the individual perception of life or his sociopolitical and the culture of the community. Nevertheless, there are components of education, which are common to all societies and cultures. Based on the above observations, education has been defined in many ways.School Counsellor

Ehiametalor (1985) defines education “as the acquisition of knowledge, the aggregate of all processes through which a person develops ability, skills, attitudes and other forms of behaviour with posilive value in the society in which he lives”. Majasan (1995) sees education as a life long process, which enhances the individual’s quality of life, builds up his personality and enables him to contribute effectively to the development of his society at any stage of his life career. Dewey (1924) defines education as:School Counsellor

A process of fostering, nurturing, cultivating a process. All these words mean that it implies attention to the condition of growth. We also speak of rearing, raising, bringing upwards which express the different levels which education aims to cover. Etymologically, the word education means just a process of leading or bringing up. When we have the outcome of the process in mind, we speak of education as shaping, forming, molding activity – that is shaping into the standard form of social activity.School Counsellor

Education, therefore, entails more than acquisition of knowledge, it is the aggregate of one’s ability, skills, attitudes, values, perception and acceptable pattern of behaviour by the society. Apart from parents who are involved in the process of moulding of the child, the teachers have important roles to play.School Counsellor.