SUMMARY OF NOMADICEDUCATION IN NIGERIA
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE
Nomadic
education is a programme designed for the children of nomads. The aim of the
programme apart from equipping the children with the skills with which to take
part in the development of their immediate environment and the country in
general, include, making the child able to improve his living conditions,
eliminating the hardships and constraints in his life; to help him modernize
his techniques of herdmanship and animal management. In order to realize these
goals, the National Commission for Nomadic Education was established in 1989
and charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the children of nomads
gain access to free and compulsory qualitative education. In consonance with
the Education for ALL (EFA) and. Millennium Development Goals (MDGS), there is
need to appraise the extent of the implementation of nomadic education
programme
Nomadic Education in Nigeria
The
ultimate purpose of human existence and education is happiness. It is the
function of primary education to help every pupil to have a happy childhood so
that he may consequently become a happy adult. The Bororo Fulanis, both as
children and parents, are entitled to a share of happiness which primary
education is expected to give. Everyone is entitled to education so as to live
a happy life. This is clearly stated in Article 26 of the 1984 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights as follows: “Every-one has the right to education.
This shall be free at least in the elementary stages.” This belief in human
right to education is strongly upheld by the Federal Government. Thus, it was
deliberately entrenched into the Nigerian constitution of 1979. It is stated in
this Constitution that “Government shall direct its policy towards ensuring
that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities for all.” (Nigerian
Constitution, 1979: 18).
Education is viewed by the
Federal Government as indispensable for both progressive leadership and
enlightened followership. In recent years, we have witnessed an increase in the
efforts of the Federal Government to spread literacy. The Universal Free and
Compulsory Primary Education Scheme launched in September 1976 and the Mass
Literacy Campaign in Nigeria from 1982 to 1992 are examples of such efforts.
Equal educational opportunity to a child must include the provision of special
formal learning experiences that will not adversely disrupt the life style of
the learner. The declared intention of universal primary education at its
inception in 1976 was, to cater for all sons and daughters of Nigeria. This
intention did not materialize during implementation because these ‘sons’ and
‘daughters’ did not equally benefit from the programme. The nomads could not
benefit from UPE because, the Nigerian conventional school system did not suit
their roles, needs and circumstances.
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NomadicEducation in Nigeria
According to Akinpelu (1993), the
contemporary definition of ‘nomadism’ refers to any type of existence
characterized by the absence of a fixed domicile. He identifies three
categories of nomadic groups as: hunter/ food gatherers, itinerant fishermen,
and pastoralists (a.k.a., herdsmen).
In Nigeria, there are six nomadic
groups:
- The Fulani (with population of
5.3 million)
- The Shuwa (with population of
1.0 million)
- The Buduman (with population of
35,001)
- The Kwayam (with population of
20,000)
- The Badawi (with population yet
to be established)
- The Fishermen (with population
of 2.8 million)
The last group, The Fishermen, is
concentrated in Rivers, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Cross River, and Akwa-Ibom States
(FME, Education Sector Analysis, 2000). The first five nomadic groups listed
are considered pastoralist nomads.
Principles of Nomadic
Education in Nigeria
The nomadic education program has a multifaceted
schooling arrangement to suit the diverse transhumant habits of the Fulani.
Different agencies are involved in the educational process. These agencies
include the Ministry of Education, Schools Management Board, the National
Commission for Nomadic Education, the Agency for Mass Literacy, and the
Scholarship Board. They work together to offer a mobile school system where the
schools and the teachers move with the Fulani children.
To improve the literacy rate of
Nigeria’s nomads, the National Commission for Nomadic Education employed
various approaches such as on-site schools, the ‘shift system,’ schools with
alternative intake, and Islamiyya (Islamic) schools to provide literacy
education to the nomads. The nomadic education programme has a multifaceted
schooling arrangement designed to meet the diverse habits of the Fulani people,
with the largest population of 5.3 million. In Nigeria, the government set up
different agencies to implement education for the nomads; these agencies
include the Federal Ministry of Education; Schools Management Board; National
Commission for Nomadic Education; Agency for Mass Literacy, and the Scholarship
Board. Together, they offer a mobile school system wherein the schools and the
teachers move with the Fulani children.
Mobile Schools
Mobile
schools use collapsible classrooms that can be assembled or disassembled within
30 minutes and carried conveniently by pack animals. While a whole classroom
and its furniture can be hauled by only four pack animals, motor caravans are
replacing pack animals to move the classrooms. A typical mobile unit consists
of three classrooms, each with spaces to serve 15 to 20 children. Some
classrooms are equipped with audio-visual teaching aids.
Radio and Television
Education
In
a study jointly carried out by the Federal Government of Nigeria and UNESCO in
2004, “Improving Community Education and Literacy, Using Radio and Television
in Nigeria,” it was established that 37.0 percent of Nigerians owned only
radio, while 1.3 percent owned only TV sets. Nearly forty-eight percent (47.8%)
owned both radio and TV sets, while 13.9 percent had neither. Findings from the
study revealed that radios are easily affordable, accessible, and often more
handy to use than TV. Those without TV and radio, however, still have access to
the media through socialization in their local communities.
The pastoral Fulani as a captive
audience for radio and television programmes have radios, which they carry
along during herding. The literate world can, thus, reach itinerants Fulani
without disrupting their nomadic life or livelihood. To improve literacy,
especially in the rural areas, the Nigerian Government has introduced radio and
television educational programmes. The government supplies hardware such as
radio, television, and electric generators, and builds viewing rooms for public
use.
Although the Nigerian Government
has spent millions of naira (the currency of Nigeria) to support its nomadic
education programme, educational attainment among the Fulani remains low, and
the quality of education among them is mediocre at best. The current form of
nomadic education, therefore, has truly yet to lift the literacy and living
standards of the Fulani people as children of farmers rather than fulanis
constitute up to 80 percent of the pupils in nomadic schools. In Plateau State,
for example, only six of 100 children in the Mozat Ropp nomadic school are
Fulani (Iro, 2006).
SOLUTION TO NOMADIC EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
Nomadic Resettlement Programme,
Rural Development Campaign and
Nomadic Education Centers.
Conclusion
To
conclude, education plays a key role in the socioeconomic development of the
Nigerian society. Despite the importance of education, many Fulani have not
embraced it. Mobility, lack of fund, faulty curriculum design, and dependence
on juvenile labor are some of the causes of paltry participation of the Fulani
in schooling. Of serious concern to the Fulani also is the fear that Western education
will have a Christian influence on the Fulani children who are predominantly
Muslims. The Fulani express their grudges on the N.C.N.E. and its management,
accusing it of alienating the Fulani in educational planning and
implementation. Despite these obstacles, there is prospects that education will
spread among the Fulani, especially with the bleakness in the future of
pastoral nomadism.
References
Abiona, K. (2003). The Use of Media in Adult
Education. A paper presented at a one day workshop organised for Local Adult Literacy Officers of Agency for Adult and Non-Formal Education. Oyo
State, Nigeria.
Aderinoye, R. A. (2005). Innovation in Mass
Literacy Promotion in Nigeria: the intervention of the Cuban Radio Literacy
Model. 2005 ICDE International Conference, November 19-23. New Delhi,
India.
Akinpelu, J. A. (1993). Education for special
groups. In O. O. Akinkugbe (Ed.) Nigeria and Education: The challenges
ahead (p. 23). Second Obafemi Awolowo Foundation Dialogue. Ibadan:
Spectrum Books.
Aleyidieno, S. (1985). Education and Occupational
Diversification Among Young Learners: The problem of harmonising tradition
practices with the lessons of our colonial heritage. In Issues on
Development: Proceedings of a Seminar held in Zaria. January 12-13. Zaria,
Nigeria: Ahmadu Bello University Press.
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