ABSTRACT
This study analysed 60:40 ratio admission policy implementation for science and arts related courses in Kwara state tertiary institutions between 2011/2012-2015/2016 academic sessions. Content Analysis Research Design Approach (CARDA) was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised of Thirty-Six Thousand Two Hundred and Eighty-Seven (36287) candidates offered admission for five academic sessions (2011-2016) was used. Purposive sampling technique was used for the study. Three research questions were raised and three hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The data collected were analysed using One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with the aid of computer Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.00. The result of the study revealed that an average of 48.35% candidates offered admission into Kwara State tertiary institution were in the area of science related courses as against 51.65% offered admission in area of art related courses. This fall short of 60% policy in favour of science courses as against 40% in favour of art courses by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Policy on Education. The finding revealed that there was not significance difference between students offered science related courses and student offered art related courses in Kwara state tertiary institutions between 2011-2016. There is need to showcase successful female scientists and engineers and create a culture of mentorship and role models.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Today the significance of science in human life cannot be over emphasized, because science is everywhere and it make our life more secure and convenient than it used to be. Science and Technology plays an important role in human. For example, in natural calamities, Science and Technology helps in timely informing, warning and so no. with an end goal to help prevent disasters. On the other hand, along with the experiment, science likewise to help generate new medicines, antibiotics and vaccines and so on to tackles diseases and much more. We all accept that science has changed the world we live today with scientific experiments, researches, innovation, and inventions. Science has made human life much more convenient and easier by saving labor time and much more with new technologies. Indeed, its series of discoveries has helped understand the nature of the world and has improved for the betterment of the society. (Akpan, 2010). Science and Technology are very important in the development of any country.
In the development of any nation, science technology and mathematics plays a vital role (Ukeje, 2011) observes that without mathematics there is no science, without science there is no modern technology and without modern technology there is no modern society. In other words, mathematics is the precursor and the queen of science and technology and the indispensable single element in modern societal development. So, if any nation must develop, the study of science, technology and mathematics should be given adequate attention in the various levels of her education. Nigeria as a developing nation appears to have been prepared to resolve the issue of developments in science, technology and mathematics through her policy on education. The policy provides for a 60: 40 admission ratio in the tertiary institutions in favour of science, technology and mathematics (FRN, 2013). Efforts in this direction appear to be yielding dividends as indicated by the admission ratio of Art to Science of 46:54, 34: 66 and 33: 69 for 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 academic years respectively (Aguele and Uhumuavbi, 2013). This is an improvement over what it used to be in the past where the ratio was in favour of Arts related subjects.
According to Bajah (2010), it is critically important that the nation‟s work force attain and maintain a state of technological and scientific readiness that will enable it to thrive in the global economy. Nigerian educational system prioritized Science and Technology with policies that are favorably disposed to Science and Technology Education. Policies can be defined as sets of principles, rules, and guidelines formulated or adopted by an organization to reach its long-term goals, and those are typically published in a booklet or other form that is widely accessible (Ziman, 2010). The National Policy on Education (2004) and the National Policy on Science and Technology (FRN, 2013) made good provisions for Science and Technology Education. Government through the education policy empowered the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), the Basic Education, the senior secondary education, technical and scientific education and tertiary education with robust plan for science and technology education in the programmes (FRN, 2013).
Meanwhile, the aims and objectives of Nigerian education according to the policy include:
i. The inculcation of national consciousness and national unity.
ii. The inculcation of right type of values and attitudes for the survival of the individual and the Nigerian society.
iii. The training of the mind in the understanding of the world around.
iv. The acquisition of appropriate skills, abilities and competencies both mental and physical as equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of the society.(NPE, 2004)
The Federal Government specified the goals of science education in the policy and states as follows; “Special provisions and incentives shall be made for the study of the sciences at each level of the National education system. For this purpose, the functions of all agencies involved in the promotion of the study of sciences shall be adequately supported by government. In addition, Government shall popularize the study of the sciences and the production of adequate number of scientists to inspire and support national development” (FRN, 2013). It further states that “science and technology shall continue to be taught in an integrated manner in the schools to promote in the students, the appreciation of basic ideas”. (FRN, 2013). These are clear indications that the national policy on education gives premium to science and technology education (NPE, 2013).
The gap that often exists between policy formulation and implementation provokes inquiry to identify factors that constrain the effective implementation of educational policies. The problem of policy implementation is traceable to the planning stage which comes immediately after policy formulation. Okeke et al. (2008) and Ukeje (2011) have stated clearly that good planning will ensure effective implementation. Good planning that can facilitate effective implementation ought to consider such factors as the planning environment, social environment, political environment, and financial and statistical problems. It is in recognition of this observation that (Aghenta 2009) noted: For education to achieve all ends, it has to be carefully planned. The plan must take into consideration: the needs of the society; the political, socio-cultural, economic, military, scientific, and technological realities of the environment are very important to its survival. Adesina (2010) notes that planned implementation is constrained by the following factors.
1 Over-estimation of available resources – this is a situation where estimated resources are greater than actual available resources to implement a program.
2 Under-estimation of the costs of implementing a plan – this happens when cost- estimates do not make adequate provisions for inflation and actual implementation costs become unmanageable.
3 Over-reliance upon external assistance – plans that substantially rely upon assistance from foreign sources for their implementation run into hitches when such aid fails to come.
4 Inaccurate statistical data – planning education requires accurate and up-to-date data. Plans that do not adequately provide for this usually have implementation problems. Furthermore, (Aina, 2010) have also advanced three general explanations for unsuccessful implementation of programs, namely:
1. The communication process – effective implementation requires that implementers know what they are expected to do; as messages pass through any communication network, distortions are likely to occur which can produce contrary directives, ambiguities, inconsistencies and incompatible requirements;
2. The capability problem – ability to implement policies may be hindered by such factors as incompetent staff, insufficient information, political support, inadequate fi nancial resources and impossible time constraints.
3. Dispositional conflicts – implementation of a policy may fail because those charged with the responsibility of implementation refuse to carry out their own assignments.
The researcher is motivated by these problems to carry out an investigation into 60-40 admission policy implementation in Kwara State tertiary institutions. With the continuous rise in tertiary education in Nigeria, admissions into tertiary institutions have been very contentious (Aina, 2010). Ogbonnaya (2009), opines that students‟ admission into tertiary institutions is the formal acceptance into school or program of study for which certain requirements must be met.
Tertiary institutions are guided by admission policies such as quota system, catchment area, carrying capacity, and educationally less developed states, among others. Obielumani (2008) defined quota system as any selection method whereby a certain set of percentage of those selected must be of a given ethnic or racial background and/or of a particular sex. According to Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN; 2011), Catchment Area refers to the geographical and/or sociocultural areas contiguous to the institution candidates apply to. Some consider the quota and catchment area policies equitable while others consider it inequitable.
According to Enemuo (2012), the quota and catchment area policies encourage social discrimination of a group against another. Akani (2011) believes that as a result of the Federal Government admission policies which apparently do not emphasize quality, the quality of University education in Nigeria has consequently been lowered. Akindutire (2010) also stated that: The quota system of admitting candidates into Federal Government institutions gives room for inequality which affects the much talked about standards in education. It seems there is no definite cut-off line for all candidates. A candidate from State Y may score 65% and may not be offered admission because there are many others from the same State with higher scores; while another candidate from State X who scored 45% is admitted because only a few candidates from that State scored above 45%. The system seems to contradict some of the major national objectives such as free and democratic society; just and egalitarian society.
Ajayi (2009) opined that these policies ensure equity and fairness in admission processes. Another policy that guides the admission process into tertiary institutions in Nigeria is the 60-40 ratio of admission to the science and liberal arts disciplines, respectively in the university.
The rationale behind 60:40 ratio of admission to the science and liberal arts disciplines, respectively in the Nigeria universities and colleges of education is that the country needs more scientists in all sectors of the country, especially in the oil industries and for economic development and transformation. The Federal Government is responsible for the overall policy framework for the education sector. The attainment of universal basic education by 2015, in line with the international Millennium Development Goals for education is the main objective of the National Education Policy which was adopted in 2004. The state and federal ministries of education have recognized the problem of getting an accurate data on the enrolment in schools and have made an effort to solve this problem through an annual censor in schools and data collected has shown a gradual increase in enrolment at both primary and secondary school levels between 2009 and 2013.
In Africa, Okojie (2011) reported the existence of disparity between science and arts education and gender disparity in education. She asserts that, in general, primary school enrolment rates are higher in the Middle East and Northern Africa as well as in Southern Africa than in sub-Sahara Africa. The sub- Sahara Africa has performed very poorly compared to other region in Africa with respect to Gross Enrolment ratio at the primary and secondary levels combined; the same is equally true of third-level
enrolment (tertiary education). Thus there is a gender gap in enrolment at all levels of education (United Nation, 2009). In Nigeria, the Universal Basic Education (UBE) law was enacted to fast-tract attainment of Education For All (EFA) goals. The legislation provides for a 9 year continuous education (6-year primary and 3 – year junior secondary) known as basic education. The 2012 National School Census (NSC) exercise revealed a net primary enrolment ratio (NER) of 83.71% (male = 87.01% and female = 81.39%)
The Federal Government of Nigeria made several efforts to increase access to science and technology education in the following ways: create more science secondary schools, science and technical colleges, university of science and technology, university of technology, increase enrolment into science and technology through 60:40 admission policy among others.
Because STEM degrees are growing increasingly popular, many look at Humanities as not popular and very cheap to study. Studying humanities is as good as studying sciences. Many people studied humanities because of the following reasons.
1. The humanities help us understand others through their languages, histories and cultures.
2. They foster social justice and equality.
3. They reveal how people have tried to make moral, spiritual and intellectual sense of the world.
4. The humanities teach empathy.
5. They teach us to deal critically and logically with subjective, complex, imperfect information.
6. And they teach us to weigh evidence skeptically and consider more than one side of every question.
7. Humanities students build skills in writing and critical reading.
8. The humanities encourage us to think creatively. They teach us to reason about being human and to ask questions about our world.
9. The humanities develop informed and critical citizens. Without the humanities, democracy could not flourish.
It was discovered from the Kwara Annual Education Sector Performance Report of 2010 that in Kwara State 12 out of 16 LGAs have gender parity index greater than 0.95 at the primary level meaning most LGAs have either achieved or are very close to achieving gender parity. The overall gender parity index is 0.94 at the primary level and is 0.90 at the junior secondary level suggesting a lower transition rate to junior secondary level for girls. In junior secondary education, the gender parity index is above 0.95 in only 6 out of 16 LGAs. The aforementioned background motivates the need for this study having seen that Kwara state tertiary institutions has an important role to play in the effort to produce more scientists in all sectors of the country and closing the gender gap in science and technology education particularly in Kwara state.
1.2 Statement of the Research Problem
Economic and Technological advancement of nations are driven by human resources in Science, Technology and Mathematics. In recognition of this, many nations in the world and the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) established the 60:40 ratio in admission policy between Science, Technology and Mathematics (STM) and Arts and social sciences related courses respectively (Ajakaye, 2011). Nevertheless, the extent to which this policy has achieved its set objectives has not been extensively researched, hence
there is limited studies on the extent of the implementation of the policy. The lack of effective implementation of this policy will have negative implication for manpower development in Science, Technology and Mathematics in Nigeria. It will also jeopardise the aspiration of Nigeria to be one of the top twenty (20) economies by the year 2020. The Federal Government of Nigeria in an effort to bridge the educational gap between the states introduced some educational polices which includes: The quota system, catchment area and in the National policy on Education (NPE) the 60:40 ratio admission policy (NPE, 2004). In the North Central region there has been low number of Science and Technology Education professionals with Kwara state having the lowest number of professionals in the region, (Olabode, 2015). According to Babatunde (2014), Kwara state has low and unqualified professionals like Medical doctors, Pharmacists, Engineers, Nurses, Science and Technology Education teachers which make one wonder if the 60-40 ratio admission policy in favour of science related courses are strictly adhered to and its impact felt in the society. This research will therefore investigate the extent of the implementation of 60:40 ratio admission policy for Science and Arts related courses in Kwara State tertiary institutions between 2011 and 2016 academic sessions.
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of this study is to investigate the extent of implementation of 60:40 ratio admission policy for science and Arts related courses in Kwara State tertiary institutions. The study strives to achieve the following objectives.
1. To determine the extent to which 60:40 ratio admission policy for science and arts related courses in kwara state tertiary institutions have been implemented between 2011 to 2016.
2. To determine the difference between male access to science related courses and male access to arts related courses in Kwara State tertiary institutions between
2011 to 2016 academic sessions.
3. To determine the difference between female access to science related courses and female access to arts related courses in Kwara State tertiary institution, between 2011 to 2016 academic sessions.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were addressed in the study.
1. What is the extent of implementation of 60:40 ratio admission policy into Science related courses and Arts related courses in Kwara state tertiary institutions.
2. Would there be difference between male access to Science related courses and male access to Arts related courses in Kwara state tertiary institutions.
3. Would there be any difference between female access to Science related courses and female access to Arts related courses in Kwara state tertiary institutions?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 significant level.
HO1: There is no significant difference between students access to science related courses and students access to arts related courses in Kwara State tertiary institutions..
HO2: There is no significant difference between male access to Science related courses and male access to Arts related courses in Kwara state tertiary institutions.
HO3: There is no significant difference between female access to Science related courses and female access to Arts related courses in Kwara state tertiary institutions.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study is meant to investigate the level of implementation of 60-40 ratio admission policy for science and arts related courses into Kwara State tertiary institutions. The study will be of benefit to the following; students, policy makers, state government and education planners. The study will encourage students‟ participation in science and technology which will have positive impact on the Nation‟s economic development.
The findings of this study will help policymakers and administrators to re-evaluate admission criteria. The study can also provide insight into the pressing issues in Kwara State tertiary institutions regarding admission and ways to improve admission policy.
The study may benefit higher education planners by helping them to formulate policies for higher education that will increase access to science and technology education. The results of this study may contribute to persuade the state government to provide more incentives to science and technology education profession.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The scope of this study is limited to Kwara State which is a State in North Central Geo political zone and part of Northern Nigeria with capital at Ilorin and with 8030‟N and 5000‟E. The study is limited to admission placements into five tertiary institutions in Kwara State (Kwara State University, Kwara State College of Education Technical Lafiagi, Kwara State College of Education Ilorin, Kwara State College of Education Oro) for the period of five academic sessions (2011/12-2015/16).
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
ANALYSIS OF 60:40 RATIO ADMISSION POLICY IMPLEMENTATION FOR SCIENCE AND ARTS RELATED COURSES IN KWARA STATE TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS
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