Childhood Education Components of the UBE

Early Childhood Education

As we have already discussed in unit one, Early Childhood period covers the period from birth till 8years. This means that children who are yet to start pre-primary or nursery school (0 – 3 years) as well as those of pre-primary school (3 – 5) years are now included. We can therefore say that the target groups for the Early childhood education component of the UBE program include the following (Blue print 1999).

1.  Children in early childhood. That is, those who may be attending day care centres or play groups, which are common in the urban centres. 
2.  Children in pre-primary school. As we have discussed earlier on, the pre-primary schools are established mainly by private, individuals and organizations. They are now springing up in every corner in the urban as well as sub-urban areas in Nigeria. 
3.  Children of migrant fishermen. This refers to fishermen in the riverine areas of Nigeria who move from place to place in the process of fishing. 
4. Children of Nomads — we tend to be more familiar with the Fulani cattle rearers who move from place to place particularly in the dry season in search of pasture for their cattle. Originally, they were found mainly in Northern states. They are now found in some of the Southern States. 
5. Children in especially difficult circumstances such as street children. 
6.  Children with special needs. 
7.  Early childhood care givers, counsellors, teachers, administrators and proprietors. 
8. Parents and guardians. 

You will notice from this list of the target groups that all categories of children are included. It is not just a matter of taking care of the normal or privileged children alone. Also, those who are challenged and those who are less privileged will be taken care of. In addition, their parents and guardians as well as all those involved in the care and education of pre-school children are covered in the programme.

The question you should be asking now is how does the government intend to do this? Well, the approaches to be adopted by government in ensuring that the target groups benefit from the program are many. We shall only highlight a few of them here. The first thing government intends to do is to raise the level of awareness of parents and guardians, the community, the NGO, and other voluntary organizations, to participate in the care and education of pre-school children. Government also intends to encourage interested individuals or groups to establish and manage pre-school institutions.


There is also going to be a staff development through formal and non-formal approaches. This will follow the same pattern like the ECCD project which we discussed in the last unit. In the same way, government will help in the production of early childhood educational and instructional materials, which will be adapted to local conditions.

The implementation of the UBE programmes as they affect early childhood education is to be a joint effort. In other words, it is not to be only a government affair. The Ministry of Education at both the Federal and State levels and their parastatals as well as the Local Government Education Authorities will be involved. Their various activities will be in collaboration with the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Community based Organizations (CBOs), the Mass Media, individuals and the International Donor Agencies. If all things go on well, it is hoped that the pre-school age children in all parts of the country will benefit from the program. This will therefore make it possible for the children to receive the much needed stimulation and encouragement for their development.

Primary Education

Primary Education as you already know refers to the education given in an educational institution to children aged 6 to 11+. This level of education has always been lucky in the sense that it has always received government attention. You will still recall that all the UPE programmes in the country have always been centred on primary education. The present UBE programme has also included primary education as one of its components. Why is primary education enjoying the patronage of all programmes aimed at making education accessible to all? This is because; primary education is the level of education that lays the foundation for the inculcation of permanent literacy and numeracy. It therefore follows that any program aimed at bringing education to the door steps of all citizens must include primary education. Everybody needs primary education as we discussed earlier on in one of the units. The modern day social, economic and political activities require at least literacy in the mother tongue for individuals to become relevant in the society. One does not need a University degree for example before you can be a good driver, carpenter, trader or bricklayer. However, a good primary education is necessary for anybody to become a driver who will be able to read the road signs, or a good tailor who will be able to design good clothes and so on.


Now that we know why primary education is one of the components of the UBE programme, let us now see the target group and the approaches to be adopted in the programme. The target group, that is, the particular group of people for whom the UBE primary education programme is meant for. They are:-

• Children of school age (6-11+) 
• The Girl child 
•  Children in especially difficult circumstances 
• Children with special needs 
•  Children of nomads and migrant communities. 

You can see that the list of the target group, like the early childhood education level, covers all categories of children of school age irrespective of their socio-economic background. Like we mentioned earlier on, the UBE programme is planned to equip every Nigerian child, youth and adult with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enable him or her develop to the best of his or her ability.


How does the government intend to do this so that the goals of primary education can be achieved? The government intends to achieve the goals of primary education in the following ways (Blue print 1999).

1. Establishment of more primary schools; 
2. The use of incentives advocacy and mobilization to achieve higher enrolment and retention rates; 
3. Training and re- training of teaching and non-teaching staff; iv. Involvement of the communities in the primary education programme; 
4. Proper gender mainstreaming in schools and classes; 
5. Excursions and field trips to relevant sites and facilities; 
6. Public enlightenment through the print, electronic and other media; 
7. Improvement and effective utilization of existing facilities in primary schools. 

All these approaches and strategies for achieving the goals of primary education under the UBE programme will be in cooperation with some, other bodies or organizations. As we mentioned under the early childhood education aspect of the UBE programme, the government cannot do it alone. This is why there is going to be some degree of collaboration with private individuals and organizations. The existing Federal and State Ministries and Parastatals involved in the management of primary education will still be involved. These include, the Federal and State Ministries of Education, National Primary Education Commission, National Commission for Nomadic Education, State Primary Education Boards, Local Government Education Authorities. Some educational institutions involved in the training of primary school teachers and agencies responsible for curriculum development and publication of course materials will also be involved. These include the National Commission for Colleges of Education, National Teachers' Institute and the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council.


As we said earlier on, they will all work in collaboration with the various non-governmental organizations, voluntary organizations, the Parents Teachers Associations, the United Nations and other donor agencies, individuals and groups in the community and the Mass Media. There is no doubt that if all these bodies can cooperate with government, primary education will be adequately equipped to perform its roles in the overall development of the individual and the society.

Special Education

Special education according to the National Policy on Education (1998) refers to; the education of children and adults who have learning difficulties because of different kinds of handicaps – blindness, partial sightedness, deafness, hardness of hearing, mental retardation, social mal-adjustments, limb deformity, or mal-formation, etc due to circumstances of birth, inheritance, social position, mental and physical health patterns or accidents in later life. As a result, such children and adults are unable to cope with the regular school class organization and methods.

Also included in this category are children of nomads and migrant communities as well as gifted and talented children. As you are aware, all the people under the category of people in need of special education may not profit much from the regular schools. That is to say, such people in most cases require specialists who are trained to teach them in a special way different from what goes on in the regular schools. Have you ever visited any school for the handicapped? You must try to visit one and see how the deaf and dumb as well as the blind are taught.

The UBE programme does not want to leave anybody out of the desire to help everyone to develop to the best of his or her ability. Many parents in Nigeria often neglect their handicapped children. This is why we see many of such children begging on our streets in towns and villages. The reason why many of them are begging is because they are not adequately taken care of by their parents or the society. That a child is blind, deaf and dumb does not mean he cannot be helped to live a happy and decent life. It is in the new desire of helping all citizens to become the best of what they are that the UBE program has not excluded the handicapped. So, the target group of the UBE Special Education Programme includes the physically handicapped children and adults, the mentally retarded children, the disabled, the gifted and talented children and those in special circumstances.


In order to achieve the goals of special education which includes the inculcation of permanent literacy, numeracy and the ability to communicate effectively in the handicapped people, the government through the UBE programme will do the following among other things. Government will establish special education schools. As at now, such schools are very few to adequately cater for such children. Therefore, through the UBE programme, if more of such schools are established, more physically and mentally challenged children and other forms of disabilities will have access to formal education. As people say, there is nobody that cannot be educated. Have you ever seen a deaf and dumb person write or the blind child read? That is what the UBE is after. Everybody irrespective of his location or condition should be able to read and write.


The government can only achieve this through cooperation from the parents, the various societies, International organizations, non-governmental organizations and the mass media among others. Parents and relations of handicapped children should not be ashamed to bring their children to such schools. We should all do whatever we can do to assist them even if it is only by telling parents where such schools are available.

CONCLUSION

The UBE unlike the previous UPE programmes covers more levels of education and different groups of people. This is in the desire to eradicate illiteracy and all the ills that go with it in Nigeria. The introduction of the UBE program is therefore planned to cover early childhood education, primary education, the first three years of secondary education, basic and functional literacy for out-of-school children and adults. This is a remarkable step aimed at making education accessible to all Nigerians without any discrimination.