CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Nigeria is a signatory to the key treaties for the protection of children and women, particularly the conventions on the right of the child, and it acknowledges that the right to get an education is one of the most basic of all human rights. as well as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CRC) (Egenti, 2019). The Child Rights Act was enacted into Nigerian law by the country's government in the year 2003. The purpose of this legislation is to make it easier to realize and defend the rights of all children. It implemented the Universal basic education legislation in the question to accomplish the objectives of the millennium development goals, which allows for a 9-year free and obligatory education to fast speed education interventions at the primary and junior secondary schools. In Nigeria, there is a countrywide gender discrepancy in the atmosphere of basic education, the retention of female students, and the level of competition faced by female students, with rural populations being particularly disadvantaged (Egenti, 2019).

Access to traditional forms of education is still a contentious issue. It is estimated that there are 7.3 million children who are not attending school, with females making up 60% of this population. More than 17 percent of pupils drop out of school each year while they are in primary 6, making this the grade when the dropout problem is most prevalent. Its many facets, the most important of which are early marriage for girls in the worth and the participation of boys and girls in activities that provide cash to augment home income in the south eastern region.

The poor quality of the education system and the projected poor work future for school and university leavers are two important variables causing dropout and low transition from elementary school to junior secondary school. Another key issue is poverty. In addition, the high rate of dropout may be attributed to a number of factors, including inadequate instruction, a lack of sufficient educational resources, overcrowded classrooms, and an atmosphere that is not conducive to learning in general. Egenti (2019) made the observation that denying girls the opportunity to receive an education makes it more likely that they will be left out of the main stream of development in the future, which leads to an increase in the dependency ratio of the population and results in the underdevelopment of a nation. According to Anan (2020), there is no development plan that is superior than one that incorporates women as major participants since doing so has immediate advantages for the health of institutions, as well as for the reinvestment of funds into the family, the community, and eventually the nation. A successful strategy for the growth of schools is to prioritize the education of females. It is an investment that has to be made over the long term but will bring in extraordinary and enormous profits.

According to Adeyemi (2019), who stated that the general Universal Basic Education program is a response to the Universal declaration of human right (1948), which stipulated the right of every citizen to basic education, the Universal Basic Education program is a response to the Universal declaration of human right (1948). As a consequence and as a follow-up to this proclamation, section 19 of the Nigerian constitution from 1999 mandated that the government must focus its strategy toward ensuring that there are equal education opportunities at all levels in accordance with the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Educational guidelines at the national level (2004). The objectives of the Universal Basic Education scheme include, among other things, the provision of universal access to basic education, the provision of a conducive learning environments, the eradication of illiteracy within the shortest possible time as well as the ability to communicate, the objectives also include laying of sound basis for scientific reflective thinking development of social attitudes giving every child the opportunity to develop manipulation skills that will help them succeed in life, and the objectives also include laying of sound basis for scientific reflective thinking development of social attitudes giving every child the opportunity.  One of the most important areas to work on in order to promote gender equality and women's empowerment is education. It has an influence on bettering the circumstances of women's life by increasing the opportunities for public involvement and work that are available to them. Education also has the ability to increase the status of women by giving them with the skills necessary to negotiate for better working conditions, compensation, and household rights. This is one of the ways in which education may strengthen the position of women. The Nigerian government has made the belief that education can play a positive role in improving women's condition and position a central tenet of their administration. Education also plays a role in reproducing inter generational benefits for children, which is another reason why this belief is so important.

Engenti (2018) proposed that in underdeveloped nations such as Nigeria, parental engagement would need to be established and improved before girls' access to educational programs and participation in such programs could be attained. This nexus is the path tracer factor or determinant of girls enrolment rate, which helps in changing parental attitudes, regarding the value of girls, and in educating females about the benefits of educational programming for the boy child. Additionally, this nexus contributes to the education of females about the advantages of educational programming for the boy child. Even the girl kid may be coerced into helping pay for the education of the male child by being forced to work as a housemaid or by supporting her parents in activities that bring in money to pay for the boy child's education. Even in situations when the girls have access to education, the activities they participate in at home often limit the academic success they achieve in school. This is due to the fact that the labor that is required of them at home leaves them with either very little time or none at all to complete their assignments or attend additional classes. When there exist biases against basic education, it is often assumed that the rates of prostitution, early marriage, and adolescent pregnancy will put a stop to the education of the females. According to FGN/UNICEF (2016), this problem is especially prominent in rural regions and in the northern part of Nigeria, where 55 percent of females aged 15-19 already have a child or are pregnant with another child. The potential to produce a breakthrough in the field of universal basic education requires courageous effort, unless those in command of the mental set of the power elite in the area are already in charge.

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

There is gender discrepancy between boys and girls in schools enrollment in Nigeria in favour of males. Education of the male kid is often seen as being more significant than that of the girl child because to internal and external discontinuous issues, such as the obligations of maintaining a household. direct costs of education are a constraint on girl participation because of the perception of low economic returns to female labor. School environments can be deterrents to pupils learning and completion of schooling, including the availability of sanitation facilities for adolescent girls, schools that are secure from abuse including by fellow pupils and teachers, well-it roads and transport arrangement to minimize threats to girls' safety, and school culture norms and traditions such as hazing. Direct costs of education are a constraint on girl participation because of the perception (Engenti, 2018). The ever-increasing number of students around the nation, along with the limited and deteriorating amenities such as building seats and equipment, has made it more difficult for people to have access to a decent education. In a nutshell, the student-teacher ratio is an average of 130 students to one instructor, which is considered to be overcrowded and is having a negative impact on the quality of education that is being offered. As a result, this research will investigate whether or not Nigeria has universal basic education.

1.3   PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The general objective of the study is to examine the universal basic education  in Nigeria. Specifically, the study will be guided under the following:

i.          To examine the objective of the universal basic education in Nigeria.

ii.        To find out the challenges of universal basic education in Nigeria.

iii.      To investigate the contribution of universal education on the Infrastructural facilities in schools.

1.4       RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following questions have been prepared for the study:

i.          What are the objective of the universal basic education in Nigeria?

ii.        What are the challenges of universal basic education in Nigeria?

iii.      What is the contribution of universal education on the Infrastructural facilities in schools?

1.5   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study is significant because it intend to give expert opinion on the implementation of universal basic education bringing to fore, inequality of girls child enrolment, retention, completion and access to quality education.

In addition, it is also significant because it examine the level of disparity in the economic and political empowerment that exists between men and women.

The study is significant to the academic community as it will contribute to the existing literature.

1.6   SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will examine the objective of the universal basic education in Nigeria. The study will also find out the challenges of universal basic education in Nigeria. Lastly, the study will investigate the contribution of universal education on the infrastructural facilities in schools.hence this study will be delimited to Ogun State.

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