DWINDLING ENROLMENT OF PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS: IMPLICATIONS FOR FUNCTIONAL EDUCATION IN THE NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

OCHEPA-MURTALA, I. T OCHEPA-MURTALA, I. T

OCHEPA-MURTALA, I. T Federal College of Education, Okene, School of Education, Department of Educational Foundation

Abstract

The study is a descriptive survey which sought to ascertain the dwindling enrolment rate at primary level of education in Nigeria. This study was conducted in Benue and Nasarawa States. The sample comprised 1554 primary school teachers in which were drawn by simple random sampling techniques. Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The instrument for data collection was 16 item questionnaires tagged ‘Socio-economic variables question (SEVQ) and school location factors questionnaires (SLFQ) developed by the researchers. The instrument was validated and an internal consistency of 0.89 and 0.81 respectively was calculated using Cronbach Alpha techniques. The data collected was analyzed using means and percentages for research questions and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for hypotheses at p<0.05. The finding revealed that children from a low stratified home with a low income were not allowed to have enrolment to primary school. Based on the findings, recommendations were that government should provide financial assistance or full scholarship to children at all levels and evolve strategic planning method before new primary schools are established.