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Issues and Challenges from Science Education Benchmark in Nigeria: Comparative Analysis of Education in China and Nigeria for Repositioning Basic Science and Technology in Nigeria
1
Babayemi, J.O., (Ph.D), 2Akpan, I.F., (Ph.D) & 3 Babalola, G.T. 1&2
Department of Science Education, Faculty of Education, Akwa Ibom State University, Akwa Ibom State.Email:
[email protected] 2
[email protected] 3 Department of Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan, Ibadan email:
[email protected]
Abstract Repositioning the statuesque of basic science and technology education in Nigeria for dynamic, vibrant, exponential and sustainable national development should be the focus of educational researchers and concern of stakeholders. Seriously, teaching/learning of science education in schools calls for the attention of researchers, teachers, parents, government, policy makers, curriculum planners and the society. Educational system in Nigeria seems losing its standard very fast and the resultant effect is producing half-baked school leavers including University graduates. Science delivery is no longer done in a motivational environment that will influence the learners and develop their potentials for sustainable national development. In Nigeria, certain standards are recommended at all levels of education for the realization of national goals. But, national development remains almost not visible. Education that could be the solution to dwindling national development seems no longer effective to effect expected change. Basic science and technology delivery in schools, from primary to junior secondary schools are overcrowded classrooms sBasic-science/ integrated science education in most tertiary institutions lack adequate human and nonhuman resources. The quality of instructional delivery is a mess. Generally, the fall in standard of education and science education in particular could be as a result of indifferences exhibited by the stakeholders. In an attempt to possibly find solution to all these issues and challenges, this paper discusses challenges of training science teachers, quality assurance as a major challenge, the challenge of teacher/pupil ratio, science education reforms in Nigeria and China, Also, conclusion and recommendations are made Keywords: Class Size, Basic Science and Technology, Benchmark, Science Education Introduction Education is the foundation for growth and development in any developing country. Science Education is the basis for scientific and technological principles needed for the realization of national objectives. Science Education is the field which is concerned with sharing of science content and process with individuals that are not traditionally considered Vol. 3(3) 2017
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as part of the scientific community. It is making the society scientifically literate. The learners may be children, students, or adults within the general public. The standards for science education provide expectations for the development of understanding for students through the entire course of their education and beyond. The traditional subjects included in the standards are physical, life, earth, space, and human science. Benchmark Minimum Standard highlights what should be the science education standard in Nigeria. The standard may not be achieved without making provision for the quality of its teachers. Therefore, producing high quality teachers is one of the expectations and focus of the science education benchmark. However, the rate at which quality is disappearing in nation’s education system today is alarming. This problem could be traced to the workings of primary schools especially in Nigeria. The crop of teachers employed to teach at primary schools about a decade ago in reality, were political choices and recommendations. These were teachers of very low qualities. The teachers were products from part-time teacher training programme (TC II) and College of Education part-time study centres (NCE) where students from various backgrounds {artisans, students with Ordinary Level certificate problems (that is, O/L certificates), students who could not go for full-time studies because of adolescent pregnancy and some other reasons}, enrolled as teachers under training. These would-be teachers were very ‘smart’ enough to go with their certificates at the end of their training programme through crude means such as examination malpractice and ‘sorting’. The term sorting is a generic term specifically connected to the pre and post follow up activities students carry out before and after examinations with their examiners/lecturers to ensure high performance in the written examinations/tests. The various activities could involve direct consultation by negotiations or indirect consultation through colleagues or friends and relatives. Examination malpractice is a very serious threat to having quality in nation’s education system.To curb the menace of examination malpractice in Nigeria, the federal government issued a decree called Act 33 of 1999 which clearly highlighted categories of examination malpractices and their corresponding punishments. Despite this decree probably because it is not effectively enforced, students at any educational level make efforts to use the means to acquire different certificates. Acquisition of certificate is a sure hope of getting employment especially with the support of political functionaries or highly placed ‘god fathers’. The overall effect of the process is to water down education standard and weakens the foundation for national growth and developments. FME (2004) stipulates that no educational system could rise beyond the quality of its teachers. Quality teaching and learning environments have the potential to produce quality expected from trained would-be teachers. The challenges facing the training institutions and educational system in Nigeria today are enormous. Lack of fund, lack of instructional facilities, inadequate personnel, quality assurance, and infrastructure, inadequate/delayed research support grants, challenge of teacher-student ratio, unstable education policies, among others are prominent challenges. In line with the challenges facing educational system in Nigeria, Economic Section, United States Embassy in Nigeria (2012) reported other challenges facing the system as: 1) There are academic staff shortages in all areas, particularly in the critical areas of science and technology. Vol. 3(3) 2017
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2) Over 60% of academic staff in the Nigerian university system is in the category of lecturer 1 and below; due to inter and intra-sector brain drain. 3) An estimated ten million out of the 30 million school-aged children are not enrolled in school in Nigeria 4) The educational system suffers from deteriorating quality and insufficient investment to keep pace with the country’s burgeoning school-age population. Challenges of Training Science Education Teachers for Sustainable National Developments In recognition of the fact that science teachers are indispensable factors/elements in national developments particularly with reference to scientific and technological developments of any nation, Benchmark Minimum Academic Standard (2007) as set forth by the federal ministry of education, Nigeria, expects that a Faculty of Education should be able to achieve the following during the process of implementing their training programme: 1. To produce prospective teachers with proper leadership qualities. 2. To produce teachers with the knowledge, skills and attitudes which enable them to contribute to the growth and development of their communities in particular and their nation in general. 3. To produce teachers who have sound mastery of their subject areas and the ability to impart such knowledge to their students. 4. To equip teachers with a mastery of problem solving skills. 5. To produce highly motivated, conscientious and efficient classroom teachers for all levels of our educational system. 6. To help teachers to fit into the social life of the community and society at large and enhance their commitment to national objectives. 7. To provide teachers with the intellectual and professional background, adequate for their alignment and to make them adaptable to any changing situation, not only in the life of their country but in the wide world. 8. To encourage the spirit of enquiry, creativity and entrepreneurship in teachers. 9. To enhance teachers commitment to the teaching profession. 10. To enhance the skills of teacher’s in the use of new technologies. As good and standard as these objectives are, many things fight against realizing them. FME (2013, p.61) stated that “the initial teacher education component is characterized by poor training at various educational levels” (FME, 2013). Many frustrated students from Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination attempts/process that do not choose Education Programme as their primary interest find their ways into various educational programmes. Many other students from various other Faculties that have very low cumulative grade point average (CGPA) trying to escape withdrawal from the university try to pitch their tent with the Faculty of Education to continue their low performance. Unfortunately, the Faculty welcomes the weak brains to be trained as future teachers that will help realize the national objectives. The implication is simply, weak teachers are likely to produce more of weak brains. Weak brains produce developing countries with very little achievement and dwindling hope for national development. The status of teachersand teacher training institutions in Nigeriaremains low. Teacher training institutions face lots of challenges in terms of lack of human, non-human and financial resources. Teachersacross levels of education are less paid, they experience delay in promotion. Sometimes, primary and secondary school teachers experience insults from Vol. 3(3) 2017
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students’ parents. On the part of students, they have inferiority complex to become teachers or seek admission to read educationas a course of study. To take Science Education as chosen field, little or no response is received from students who are asked to fill a form on career choice. Every child likes to be an engineer, medical doctor, nurse, pharmacist, technologists, among other things. Another challenge in Science Education is the strong political influence in appointing science teachers that have completed their training. Science teachers cannot be more than enough in schools due to the nature of science. It is lamentable that in the modern time, very few ‘science teachers’ are appointed. The so called science teachers are not the trained teachers from reputable educational institutions but engineers who have political god fathers. Engineers in science classrooms! It is highly disheartening that science classrooms are manned by unprofessional personnel who are not equipped with content and context of delivering the discipline. Hence, students’ learning outcomes are at stake. Quality Assurance as a Major Challenge of Nigeria’s Educational System The Minister of Education(FME, 2013, P.51) identifies quality assurance as a major challenge of Nigeria’s educational system revealed in terms of the state of our educational institutions. The indicators identified of its poor state are: 1. Low standard and quality of schools and their products 2. Infrastructural decay 3. Obsolete facilities 4. Poor teacher quality 5. Mass failure in public examinations 6. Cultism 7. Examination malpractice 8. Maladministration 9. Weak and inadequate quality assurance mechanism (resulting in ineffective school supervision and inspection by the Federal, State and Local government agents) 10. Instability of academic calendar 11. Outdated existing tertiary education curricular 12. Non professionalization of Education Quality Assurance practice 13. Absence of a comprehensive standard and quality 14. Assurance Standards Policy document 15. Lack of synergy among relevant stakeholders in Quality Assurance, resulting in institutional constraints and role conflict 16. Weak support structure for students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) 17. Low learning outcomes in literacy, numeracy and life skills 18. Inadequate deployment of ICT for teaching and learning purposes 19. Inadequate capacity of educational institutions to undertake internal/comparative quality assessment 20. Inadequate mechanisms for identifying learners with special needs and the gifted children Therefore, appropriate measures should be put in place to address these anomalies The Challenge of Teacher/Pupil Ratio
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In order to make science teaching and learning result oriented, teacher-pupil ratio worth important deliberation. Generally, the recommended standard in National Policy on Education (2013), Federal republic of Nigeria, for teacher-pupil ratio is tabulated and presented in Table 1. Table 1: CLASS
Class Size Benchmark in Schools TEACHER
PUPIL
Creche/Day Care
1
10
TEACHERPUPIL RATIO 1:10
AGE (YRS)
Kindergarten
1
25
1:25
5
Primary
1
35
1:35
6-12
Junior Secondary
1
35
1:35
13-15
Post Basic Education (Senior 1 Secondary, higher school, continuing education) 1 Special Schools
40
1:40
16 and above
10
1:10
Variable
Practical Class in Technical 1 Colleges
20
1:20
15 and above
0-4
Table 1 reveals the expected standards for teacher-pupil ratio for Pre and Post Basic Education levels in Nigeria. Unfortunately, most Nigerian private and public schools experience overcrowded classrooms. This makes science delivery in schools, especially Basic Science and Technology instruction rarely productive. Instruction is expected to be delivered using hands-on and meaningful activities. Teachers’ instructional tasks become more complicated. To control the class for students’ success is a difficult task. Teacher eventually results into using a convenient method which will help him cover his ‘iniquity’ but may not be students’ friendly. The challenge of overcrowded classroom is a great disadvantage to both the teacher and the learners.In 4-Year Strategic Plan for the Development of the Education Sector (20112015), Honourable Minister for Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’I reported that an average teacher-pupil ratio in Nigerian schools is 1:75 whereas UNESCO recommended 1:35. The situation is even worst with Basic Science and Technology classes. In most cases, probably because of lack of adequate number of professional Basic Science and Technology teachers, the number of students offering the subject (because it is a compulsory subject for all students) coupled with inadequate facilities (lack of classrooms and laboratory), teacherpupil ratio is higher and sometimes up to 1:100 most especially in public schools. The subject will be too overloaded with much work for the teacher, he will not use the Vol. 3(3) 2017
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appropriate methodology; will always like not to engage students in practical or meaningful activities, students are deprived of the development of right type of knowledge and skills needed for individual and national developments. These among others are the effects of large class size
Challenge from Education Policies in Nigeria The Nigerian constitutions of 1979 and 1989 clearly spelt of the educational objectives in Chapter 11, section 19 (1-3). It states among other things that:a. Government shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there adequate educational opportunity at all levels. b. Government shall promote science and Technology c. Free compulsory and universal primary education d. Free secondary education e. Free university education and many more. All these exist only on paper as only very few states in Nigeria have adopted these educational objectives of the Federal Government. According to Rising Sun TV News (30th June, 2017) Nigeria currently has over 12 million children are out of school. Out of the 12 million, 10 million are from the north whilst Kano state alone has 3 million beggarsin spite of the various educational policies churned out by previous administrators to address the challenges of education in the country. Another problem with the Nigerian education policy stems from the fact that professionals are not carried along when education policy is being handled. For instance in the appointment of education policy is being ministers, stakeholders in education sector like Nigerian union of teachers (NUT), academic staff union of universities (ASUU), Association of vice chancellors of polytechnics (ASUP), Association of vice chancellors of Nigeria Universities (AVCNU) are rarely consulted or carried along for their inputs, instead political parties and politicians take upper hand in nomination and appointment of the Minister. Comparative analysis of the education system of china and Nigeria Nigeria patronizes and promotes China products over time. Nigeria as a nation has been engaging China as foreign investors which have contributed significantly to Nigerian economy and survival of individuals. The relationship that exists between China and Nigeria in years past, exponential scientific and technological advancements of China make it germane and attracts a scholarly study on how and why of her growth and development? Why is it that, Nigeria remains one of the developing countries for decades though with a big name “giant of Africa”? It is at this juncture that an intelligent examination of the education standard of other country with a view to adapting any change where necessary should be a concern. The case study in this paper is China. Education in China is a state-run system of public education supervised by the ministry of education. During the 1979-83, the government acknowledged the “9-3-4” system, which means 9 years of basic education from primary to secondary, 3 years of senior secondary Vol. 3(3) 2017
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education and 4 years of higher institution (Education in China, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). The law made it compulsory that all citizens must attend school. From primary to junior secondary schools were to be tuition free and reasonably located for the convenience of children that attend primary schools in their neighborhood or villages. Parents, however pay small fee per term for books and other expenses such as transportation, food and heating. Chinese government has achieved a very high degree of enrollment since then. At secondary school level, the educational reforms introduced stratification into four types of secondary schools:1. 2. 3. 4.
Key-point middle schools Non-key general or ordinary middle school Specialized technical secondary school Vocational schools
In 1986 the central government sent teachers to under-developed regions of China to train local school teachers. These schools however, were unable to supply the number of teachers needed to attain modernization goals through 1990 (Education in China, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, retrieved 6th march 2017). The table below presents an overview of educational system in China. Schools in China The Primary education school system in China lasts 6 years and it is intended for children aged 6-12. After completing this level, children move to Junior Middle School also known as chuzhong in China (Junior High School) which lasts for three years. After the completion of junior (lower) middle school, students can choose to enter either general (academic) senior secondary school or vocational senior secondary school. Vocational senior secondary programs last 3 or 4 years. Senior secondary school is known as gaozhong and vocational senior secondary school is known as zhongzhuan. Tertiary institution to obtain Bachelor’s Degree also known as xueshi xuewei, runs through programs requiring 4 to 5 years of study, depending on the field of study. For Master Degrees, it is awarded upon completion of programs requiring 2 to 3 years of education, depending on the major field of study. Candidates may not be older than 35 years of age. The completion of a Master Degree is required for admission to a doctoral program. Doctoral programs take 3 to 5 years to complete. It is also possible to take a combined master’s /doctoral program in which students are directly admitted to the doctoral programs upon completing the master’s program. Students are not awarded a master’s degree in the combined program and are awarded with a doctoral degree at the end of the program. This type of combined program is called shuobo liandu in China (Classbase, online education database). Repositioning Educational System of Nigeria: Analysis from China’s Educational System The two countries (Nigeria and China) believe that education is a major tool to eradicating social ill. They rolled out policies to help them achieve as they have worked for so many other countries. However, the policy implementation may have differed and the nationalistic driving spirit may not be the same. In terms of financing education in Nigeria and China, Vol. 3(3) 2017
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there has been a steady rise in the educational financing in China and a staggering up and down style of financing in Nigeria. Ozigi (2009) argued that no organization could carry out its functions effectively without adequate financial resources at its disposal. Adedayo (2010)argued that although enrolment is increasing at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of Nigeria educational system, government’s expenditure is decreasing proportionately. He observed a sharp drop in the total capital expenditure and remarked that this might not have been unconnected with the economic depression which was compounded by the structural adjustment programme. The UNESCO minimum standard for education funding is set at least 26% of the national budget. From ongoing, for Nigerian community to have a definite breakthrough in science and technology, Basic Science and Technology at all levels of her education should be give priority and adequate attention in terms of planning, administration and supervision. Most importantly, larger percentage of national budget should be directed towards achieving science education goals especially at primary and secondary school levels like China. The curriculum should reflect hands-on for children to be more creative and inventive in their daily classroom discoveries. Similarities between Nigeria and China Systems of Education 1. Both Nigeria and China have nine years of compulsory education from primary school to junior secondary school. 2. Both countries have same entry level of between 5 to 6 years into primary school and 12 to 15 for junior secondary school. 3. The control of educational system in both countries is in the hands of federal ministry of education though with a little difference local authority in China has a great input to the development of education in the local community. Differences between Nigeria and China Systems of Education 1. In Nigeria education system, there was a change from 6-5-4 to 6-3-3-4 to 9-3-4 and now 1-6-3-3-4 system of education. In China, it has been known as 9-3-4 system of education since 1985 and they are not thinking of changing the policy instead, they think of strengthening it. 2. In China, the junior secondary is popularly called the middle school but in Nigeria, it is called the junior secondary school. 3. In China, at the middle school (junior secondary level), science is offered as Physics, Chemistry and Biology while in Nigeria, at junior secondary school level (middle school), science is offered as Basic Science and Technology not as separate science subjects. 4. In Nigeria, education system is free from primary to secondary schools in few states in the government owned school though boarding fees, uniform fees and textbooks are to be paid for. In China, primary school to junior secondary school in government schools is free all through although uniform fees, feeding fees, heating and transport fees are paid by parents. 5. In terms of budgeting for education, China has maintained one percent steady rise in the budgetary allocation to education since 1979, but in Nigeria there has been a lot of rising and falling style of funding. Vol. 3(3) 2017
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6. In Nigeria, private schools are more in number and people attend private schools more than public schools especially in primary and secondary schools. In China private schools are seen as backup and not the bane of educational existence and universities are state owned and controlled. It is only in primary and nursery level of education t hat one hears of privately owned school in China. 7. In China, there is devolution of management which gave local government more powers to develop basic education. In Nigeria, the development and management of basic education is that of the state and federal government thereby reducing the job of the local government to mere nothing?
Recommendations Basic Science and Technology in schools form basis for studies in various science and technology and related fields that contribute majorly to sustainable national developments. On this note, it is strongly recommended that: 1. Nigerian government should collaborate with developed nations with a view to improving her standard of education for sustainable national development. 2. Higher schools should review their criteria for admission to reflect high standard for candidates applying to study Science Education programmes, especially Basic Science and Technology programme. 3. More teachers should be employed to face the challenge of overcrowded classrooms. 4. Adequate facilities to achieve the stated objectives and produce teachers of high quality and expectations should be supplied to training institutions by the government on regular basis. 5. Government should appoint the qualified education experts (trained teachers) since they are trained to implement the curriculum for national development. 6. Public primary and secondary schools infrastructural developments and capacity building programmes should attract more percentage from national budget and government should be more committed to realize this task. 7. Well equipped Basic Science and Technology laboratory should attract both State and National project across primary and secondary schools nationwide for sustainable national development. 8. Effective quality control measures should be put in place at all levels of education. Conclusion This paper discusses challenges of training science teachers for Sustainable National Developments, quality assurance as a major challenge of Nigeria’s Educational System, the challenge of teacher/pupil ratio, science education reforms in China. Looking at the history of education system and placing it side by side with the current state of Nigeria educational system, it is obvious that the standard of education in Nigeria is depreciating, government and individuals are confused. Some individuals who passed through the Universal Primary Education would know better that the current system, be it 6-3-3-4 or 1-6-3-3-4 system of education is yet to cure the problems in the sector. Then, a form six student can write advance level (A ‘Level) examination and were automatically admitted to 200 level of a three Vol. 3(3) 2017
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year program in the university, except for medicine. Regular change in educational policy as reflected in the present system in Nigeria can be said is one of the contributing factors to the challenges facing education standards. References Adedayo, O.A.(2010) “Finance in Education; how it affects the inspectorate” paper presented at the seminar/workshop for federal and state inspectors, principals and teachers held at the administrative staff college of Nigeria (ASCON) top O, Badagry October, 6-14. Economic Section, United States Embassy in Nigeria (2012).Nigeria Education Fact Sheet.http://nigeria.usembassy.gov Education in China. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia retrieved 6th March, 2017. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/educationinchina Federal Ministry of Education (FME) (2004).National Policy on Education.Yaba, Lagos: NERDC Press. Federal Ministry of Education (FME) (2013).National Policy on Education.Yaba, Lagos: NERDC Press. Nigeria Tribune Thursday, June 21,2012 Ozigi, A. O. (2009).An introduction to the foundations of education.Lagos :Macmillian Nigeria Publishers Limited, 70-73 The Cry of the Almajiri (Part 1) (Must Read). (Rising Sun TV News, 30 th June, 2017).https://risingsuntvnews.wordpress.com/2017/06/30
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