THE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATES IN PRIMARY EDUCATION FINANCING
CHAPTER ONE
THE STUDY’S BACKGROUND
There is no denying that education is critical to any nation’s social, political, and economic development. This is why most countries strive to devote a significant portion of their cross-national income to educational development.
According to the World Bank (2002), between 7.6 percent and 7.9 percent of our annual expenditure in Nigeria is devoted to education.” Primary education management refers to the process of planning, directing, staffing, coordinating, budgeting, and reporting our primary education system.
In Nigeria, primary education refers to the education that children receive from the age of six to eleven. It is the foundation level of the educational system that lasts six years and aims to develop basic literacy, numeracy, communication skills, and the transmission of people’s culture to the younger generation.
The federal government of Nigeria has taken sole responsibility for financing education in Nigeria, dissolving all other sources of funding and establishing education as a national duty to be performed. However, community, individual, and organization in the financing of education, but this is not true in the true sense since government has taken over primary schools completely from voluntary agencies embarking on a laudable program such as U.P.E and carryout the wages in school alone without a slighted resources other source.
Despite the fact that this government hold step was greatly appreciated. It did not last long because the government does not find it easy to bring in the community to participate in financing education because of the economic recession caused by the depreciation of oil prices in the global market, and the financial aspect of education is one of the major problems confronting educational development in Nigeria.
Prior to the introduction of formal education, education in Nigeria went through a developmental stage. Nigeria used to have an indigenous system of education that included the participation of all members of the communities. The introduction of western education into the country was welcomed by the local communities because it allowed for the participation of the local communities and thus the members of the missions.
When the government assured the full control of education responsibility, all alone with financing it with oil money, local community participation was not encouraged, which increased distortion in the entire education system.
However, prior to the government’s takeover of schools, voluntary organizations such as Christian, Muslim, and other organizations were in charge of education. Communities did not go unnoticed in their efforts to contribute to the financing of education, some events beyond the construction of schools, and staff rooms for teachers. One such example is Iguogun Primary School in Edo State’s Ovia South West Local Government Area. Communities did participate in the construction of schools and even teacher staff rooms.
Prior to the government’s takeover, efforts were directed toward education administration. However, the scope of government spending has expanded, and the nation’s economy is in a state of paralysis. In their opinion, the government’s ability to provide necessary school materials is limited, and the government is now looking for ways to share responsibilities with other sources of income.
Sincerely speaking, there is no escaping the fact that Nigerian schools fall short of international standards due to a lack of resources to fund their schools, facilities that are not in use, and irregular payment of teacher salaries. The situation in which the government transferred the funding and administration of primary education to local governments has caused many problems in the educational sector because local governments cannot afford to shoulder these responsibilities of primary schools.
Primary education has been neglected because the federal government has been unable to make an authentic policy statement about who is responsible for this critical level of education, and this has been a problem since.
The federal government now handles primary education, but things are not done in a normal manner; thus, this research set out to analyze community participation in primary school administration in Ovia South West Local Government.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In the past, analysis has revealed that primary education in Nigeria is in a critical state due to the federal government’s inability to seek alternative sources of founding education, particularly from local communities, voluntary organizations, individuals, and philanthropists, despite the fact that government alone cannot provide necessary or required materials. This has thrown the teaching and learning situation in primary school into disarray, as unrest is the order of the day.
Ovia South West Local Government, as part of a larger society (Nigeria), has its own share of problems, and even presents a complex and peculiar situation, such as teachers’ salaries not being paid on time, the teaching and learning situation being jeopardized, teaching materials not being available, school buildings being out of date (dilapidated), and primary school management being in a state of confusion due to lack of participation of the community.
Education plays a significant role or is therefore required for communities to contribute or rather participate adequately in the financing of primary schools, particularly at the primary school level, as the bedrock on which the progress or failure of the entire nation depends.
QUESTION FOR RESEARCH
The following questions must be thoroughly answered because they will shed more light on the extent to which primary education can be encouraged in Nigeria as a whole, and in particular in Ovia South West:
1. Does the availability of instructional materials and other classroom necessities affect the quality of primary education in Nigeria today?
2. To what extent will community participation in funding primary education help to improve our students’ education?
3. To what extent can collaboration between the government and local communities improve primary education?
4. To what extent will community participation improve the management of primary school facilities and funds?
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this research is to investigate, analyze, and examine the point at which community participation in financing education in the Ovia South West Local Government Area. It is abundantly clear that the financial burden of primary education in Nigeria in general, and specifically in Ovia South West, cannot be overlooked, and it cannot be left solely to the local government, lest primary education deteriorate and the entire nation collapse.
Furthermore, the study will aid in the correction of the following primary education standards by encouraging and challenging both individuals, voluntary organizations, and local governments/communities to reconsider their response to pounding basic facilities and adequate financial and adequate financial predicament.
THE STUDY’S IMPORTANCE
The importance of education in our society and nation at large cannot be overstated because it makes people easy to read but difficult to rive, easy to govern but impossible to sustain. Throughout this research work, we will learn the extent to which the people of the land have satisfied the above statement.
Again, there is no record of Ovia South West Local Government’s literacy educational program. As a result, it is critical to conduct these types of studies because they will be useful to educational planners and organizers of various educational programs of local government in particular.
The greatest challenge that our education programs have faced to date is a lack of sufficient funds to carry out already planned educational activities.
So, what should we do to address this dire situation? This research will propose appropriate solutions that will be of interest to those involved in educational development plans.
THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this research is to look into the role of community participation in financing primary education. While this impediment of communities not participating in this financing of primary education can be observed throughout the state and country at large, this research work is focused on primary schools in Ovia South West Local Government and is limited to some villages in Edo state known as Iguobazuwa, Umaza, and Iguogun.
TERMS DEFINITION
The definitions of some key terms used in this study are provided below.
(1) Community: A group of people who live together and have similar interests. In this passage, the term “community” referred to various towns and villages in the ovia south west local government area.
(2) Primary Education: The beginning of raising our children in a formal setting to meet the needs of the community. It is a basic knowledge institution, but in this study, primary education specifically includes government-owned public schools.
(3) Financing: It is the involvement of individuals or communities in the sharing of ideas in terms of labor or finance in order to improve proper management and development.
(4) Participation: It is the involvement of individuals or groups in the exchange of ideas in the fields of labor, finance, and human resources.
a resource for improving management and development
(5) Growth of the community. This implies the advancement of this
Democratic participation in the execution that allows people to cooperate and embrace the spirit of self-help
Of a program concerning their development.
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