Background to the study
The the destiny of any civilization is dependent on the type and kind of education imparted to the younger generation. Education is vital to human growth and development, making it a necessary instrument for every country's social and economic prosperity. According to Oshokoya (2015), no country can prosper without first making education its ally; hence, each nation's potential to grow and develop is dependent on the quality of its educational system. These points of view indicate that education provides opportunity for a country to achieve long-term growth. According to Ogbonnaya (2018), providing quality education is a vital instrument in creating possibilities and benefits for social and economic development. He saw education as a powerful tool for achieving national development.
Importantly, educating people implies placing opportunities in the hands of citizens, which translates to an anti-poverty approach made feasible by enlightenment aimed at eradicating ignorance and illiteracy. According to Kalusi (2015), education via literacy empowers individuals politically and economically, assuring social prosperity and competitiveness among individuals and, by extension, the nation. Literacy is etymologically related to light, which allows a country to grow. Literacy, as a concept, refers to the capacity to read and write. However, numerous academics have agreed on a precise definition that properly embodies what literacy truly implies. Literacy, according to Alokan, Ayodeji, and Babalola (2018), is defined as the ability to be informed, read, and write. Literacy refers to the capacity to process information. Thus, establishing literacy programs for children will assist to improve the country's economic situation while also acting as a catalyst for long-term growth. This is because empowered children translate to youths and adults who can contribute constructively to the growth of the economy rather than relapsing to various forms of crime or begging. To support this, Ozoemena (2013) believes that building a self-sufficient society necessitates the mobilization of the illiterate, destitute, and undeveloped, many of whom have untapped potentials and, if fully developed, will be of tremendous benefit not just to themselves but to the nation as a whole. This is clear when one analyzes the goals of establishing elementary literacy programs and how they relate to the long-term growth of any nation.
Recognizing the significance of the primary literacy program, the Federal Government of Nigeria adopted Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that children have the right to education and that education is free and obligatory up to the elementary levels. In this regard, Nigeria did not rush to sign the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, 2000) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, 2015) in response to a worldwide call to action for equality and inclusive education and literacy for all. These accords were given legal basis in the 1999 Constitution as modified, which stated that education should be free and obligatory from primary through university levels wherever practicable. These treaties were put into operation on June 25, 1990, when the Mass Literacy, Adult, and Non-Formal Education Department was founded with the primary goal of increasing the country's literacy rate.
On the primary school level, the action was followed by the introduction of the Universal Basic Education Act of 1999, which provided every Nigerian with free, obligatory, and universal basic literacy for 9 years. According to the National Policy on Education (2014), primary education is the education provided at institutions to students ages 6 to 12. Because the future education system is founded on primary-level education, the key to the success or failure of the whole education system is reliant on what happens at this stage, making government intervention necessary.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
In recent years, the Nigerian education system has struggled with the efficient implementation of elementary literacy programs, since most government programs aimed at increasing children's education have not been successful. Some examples are the regional UPE programs of the 1950s and 1960s, the 1976 national Universal Primary Education (UPE) where disagreements among the tiers of government led to the promulgation and repeal of various National Primary Education Commission decrees between 1988 and 1993, and later the Universal Basic Education (1999). According to Nwosu (2015), the current status and products of elementary education in the country are inadequate, making it difficult for secondary school administrators to successfully manage this group of pupils for increased productivity. Similarly, Igidi (2019) stated that Nigeria's primary literacy program is plagued by massive issues such as insufficient money, bad educational facilities, a polluted learning environment, and the recruitment of incompetent teaching professionals.
Conversely, as the foundation for all other forms of education, primary education is expected to be dependable, strong, and capable of withstanding all forms of socio-cultural, ethnic, and economic pressures; however, efforts for the effective administration of primary literacy programs will be thwarted in the absence of necessary resources, school facilities, and government involvement (inclusive of Federal, State, and Local Government). Although the account in the preceding paragraph indicates that early primary education in Nigeria has yet to receive the necessary attention from the government, some studies have failed to examine the level at which the government has engaged in ensuring the success of the primary literacy program with reference to Nnewi North Local Government Area in Anambra. Upon this background, this researcher seeks to assess of government involvement in primary literacy programmes in Nnewi North Local Government Area.
ABSTRACT
This research study is an online effort with global research to explore the extent and influen...
ABSTRACT: This study explores strategies for addressing the needs of diverse learners in vocational settings, focusing on creating inclusive e...
ABSTRACT
This study examined the use of social media and mass media in the campaign against the spread...
EXCERPT FROM THE STUDY
Mahmood, Hafeez and Rasheed (2009) concluded that inflation causes poverty. Day to day incre...
Abstract
Authenticated Key Exchange (AKE) is a cryptographic scheme with the aim to establish a high-entropy and secret session key over...
ABSTRACT
Advertising has been identified as one of the factors that increase the likelihood of alcoholic beverage consum...
This paper explores the analysis of Obasanjo administration in International diplomacy. Since ind...
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the contributions of Foreign Direct Investment inflows on growth of Nigerian econom...
Abstract: The impact of work-integrated learning on vocational skill retention is vital for...
ABSTRACT
Post-Stroke Depression (PSD) is one of the commonest complications of stroke. There is no clear evidence that PSD is either rela...