Sunday, January 26, 2020

Free Education In Nigeria Education Essay

Free Education In Nigeria Education Essay Education in Nigeria  is managed by the  Ministry of Education. And the  Local and state authorities  take charge for implementing guidelines for state and public education  and  schools  at a regional level. The education system is divided into Nursery education,  primary education,  secondary education  and  tertiary education. Nursery education begins at age of 2 for most Nigerians: students spend three years in nursery education and graduate with a school leaving certificate in other to progress to primary education. Primary education commences at the age of 4 for most Nigerians; students spend six years in primary school and graduate with a school-leaving certificate. Primary schools students are required to take a Common Entrance Examination which is supported by the government in order qualify for admission into the Federal and State Government Secondary schools, as well as private ones. Students spend six years in Secondary School that is 3 years of JSS (Junior Secondary School), and 3 years of SSS (Senior Secondary School). By Senior Secondary School Class 2 (SS2), students are taking the GCE OLevels exam, which is not mandatory, but most students take it to prepare for the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, The Senior Secondary School Exam is taken in the last year of secondary school (SS3). They also have to take examinations like WEAC (West African Examination Council) and JAMB (Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board) Private organizations, the State government or the Federal government manage secondary schools in Nigeria. (author, education in Nigeria) What contributions are made by the Nigerian government to promote free primary education in Nigeria? In 1948, Sidney phillipson,The Financial Secretery of the Nigerian Government appointed to review grants in -aid to education,recommended a univerasal ,free compulsory system of primary and secondary for Nigeria. Seven years later,1955,free primary education was inroduced in the Western Region, and in 1957 in the Eastern Region and in 1957 in the Eastern Region and in Lagos. However,free universal was not introduced in the Northern Region during the period under review.Infact, it was not launched until after the independence. (author, www.equip123.net) As you can see from the text sidney Phillipson constucted a plan to promote free primary education in Nigeria,This is a good because literacy improves the economy, country and improves the way of living. What steps are needed to implement the plans. The government would have to locate areas where children have little or no education The money gotten from the production of crude oil would be used to finance free primary education in Nigeria. The government is going to find teachers to teach in the schools. The government would check the education budget based on the actual needs of the educational sector. The Nigerian government would distribute free notebooks and textbooks. What challenges have been incurred during implementation of plans? One of the greatest challenges that Nigeria is going to face implementing free primary education in Nigeria is financial issues considering it is a developing country with other problems e.g. corruption, poverty and crime. In addition to finance-related issues including teacher training programs, funds for the school, there would also be different arguments about if the plans are going to be a progress. The implementation of free primary education in Nigeria would be hard because it is a matter of political convenience rather than planned education development. Lack of recourses has considered as a challenge because of the increase of children. (author, www.equip123.net) Due to rise of the terrorist group Boko Haram teachers similarly felt abandoned did not make efforts to teach which leads to strikes, they go on strikes because the is no getting enough pay and conditions for themselves? Another problem is shortage of qualified teachers, the government not being able to locate the children in numerous villages that dont go to school. Corruption among government officials, while many stats officials claimed to be spending so much money on books and supplies, teachers werent paid well, students didnt have books and they had to bring chair from home every morning because they lack proper seating. In order to ensure the implementation of free education in Nigeria these steps must be followed and considered: 1. Supervision of teachers and educational workers 2. The government should monitor the way the money is spent in order to check for fraud. 3. Adequate planning and enrollment of teachers, equipment should be acknowledged. 4. Funding should be adequate 5. Implementation of the program by all stakeholders 6. Teachers should be supervised and be paid equally. 7. Teachers should take training in order to improve their techniques 8. Anticipation of increased enrollment 9. Coordination of various levels of the free education in Nigeria program 10. The government should motivate those who have graduated by giving them small loans to start small businesses Several factors may contribute to the failure of the free primary education program in Nigeria, including 1) poor planning; 2) inadequate funding; 3) lack of qualified teachers. 4) Poor implementation; and 5) population explosion. (author, www.equip123.net) What quality of education would be provided? No situation analysis and evaluation of both the quality and extent of primary education preceded its implementation. As such, problems related to adequate funding allocation and infrastructure needs are being accommodated. Furthermore, in some countries, the amount of financing and the way it is distributed may be undercutting the quality of education that is being provided. (author, www.equip123.net) According to the text above no situation analysis of the quality of education has preceded its implementation; The Nigerian government should try to focus on the quality of education that would be provided because it is very important. Does literacy affect Nigeria Economy? Literacy is the ability to use reading and writing to widen and display ones intellectual and economic horizon well enough to be able to tackle very effectively many of the socio-economic problems confronting individuals and the country as a whole. the south Western Nigeria remains the first part of the country to have a major literacy campaign for its people ,They introduced an ambitious literacy programme in form of free and compulsory primary education before other regions began their own programme . The programme guaranteed basic literacy for people this setting the pace for literacy development in Nigeria. Thus, it can be argued that Nigerians had access to basic literacy early enough to prevent a situation where most citizens are illiterates. So, it can be well argued that the major cause of socio- economic problems, that have become endemic in the area, is not lack of basic literacy but functional literacy because most of the people can read and write. it has been realized that not only aim at just reading, writing and calculating but also helps in improving the social ,political and economic systems of given society as a whole. The aim of this study was to examine the strategies that could be used to develop functional literate citizens in the South Western part of Nigeria. (Wang, 1995) Problems of education in Nigeria Experts in the education sector has been able to identify examination malpractices with poor preparation of students for an examination, and lack of self- confidence In view to identify examination malpractices with poor of the rising costs of education (school fees, enrolment fees, cost of books and other materials)students and even their parents will not ordinarily want to be held back by any form of deficit or failure in any of the required subjects, hence will go to any length to ensure success. In some cases, some teachers at the secondary school level are involved by the way of encouraging student to contribute money (cooperation fees) in order to secure the needed assistance during such examinations because they, the teachers are left with no alternative considering the fact that they are aware of the inadequate preparation of their students as well as the lack of facilities to get them properly prepared for the exam. Interview with 50 school heads in Benin City, reveals that more than 50% of our secondary school students on annual basis choose to enroll and write their final year external examination in schools in the interior and some private schools where they are very sure of success at the end of the day (Omofonmwan) Cheating should not be supported because it brings dishonesty, lack of confidence and other problems. What type of education is offered in Ibadan The first university to be set up in Nigeria was the University of Ibadan. There are also a lot of local teach in the native language (Yoruba)There are also numerous public and private primary and secondary schools located in the city. Other noteworthy institutions in the city include the University of Ibadan Teaching Hospital, also known as University College Hospital (UCH), which is the first teaching hospital in Nigeria; the internationally acclaimed International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA); the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER). Also the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, the Nigerian Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), and the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IART), all under the auspices of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria; and the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria Before the dissolution of the Western Region, Nigeria, Ibadan and its environs were the home of the most sophisticated and liberal scientific and cultural community on the continent of Africa, as personified by the immortalized Ibadan School of historiography. In 1853, the first Europeans to settle in Ibadan, Reverend Hinderer and his wife, started Ibadans first Western schools. They built churches and schools and the first two-storey building in Ibadan, which can still be found today at Kudeti. The first pupils to attend an elementary school in Ibadan were Yejide (female) and Akinyele (male) the two children of an Ibadan high chief. (Ibadan) Another country that is supporting free primary education is Ghana Ghana has abolished all primary school fees and increased its financial support to schools. Since then more than 1.2 million more children have been able to attend school; this is the equivalent of twice the population of Frankfurt. In 2006 Ghana set aside one fifth of its total budget to spend on education. In conclusion majority of Africas population are poor, and abolishing school fees may not make sense if these children complete primary education and are unable to join secondary school because they are unable to afford fees. I think every child should be given the opportunity to attend school because through education we learn new things every day and it helps people become better and stronger every day. Education makes people brighter every day and improves the way if life. (oxfam international) Bibliography athor, n. (n.d.). oxfam international. Retrieved october 18, 2012, from www.oxfam.org: http://www.oxfam.org/en/about/issues/aid-effectiveness/aid-works/germany-ghana-education author, n. (n.d.). Retrieved october 18, 2012, from www.equip123.net: http://www.equip123.net/docs/e2-SF-PIS.pdf author, n. (n.d.). Retrieved october 18, 2012, from www.equip13.net: http://www.equip123.net/docs/e2-SF-PIS.pdf author, n. (n.d.). Retrieved october 18, 2012, from www.equip123.net: http://www.equip123.net/docs/e2-SF-PIS.pdf author, n. (n.d.). education in Nigeria. Retrieved october 18, 2012, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Nigeria author, n. (n.d.). education in Nigeria. Retrieved october 18, 2012, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Nigeria Ibadan. (n.d.). Retrieved october 18, 2012, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibadan Omofonmwan, L. O. (n.d.). Educational System in Nigeria Problems and Prospects. Retrieved october 18, 2012, from http://www.krepublishers.com: http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/JSS/JSS-14-0-000-000-2007-Web/JSS-14-1-000-000-2007-Abst-Text/JSS-14-1-081-086-2007-541-Odia-L-O/JSS-14-1-081-086-2007-541-Odia-L-O-Tt.pdf

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Stomata Density

Stomata are tiny pores found on the epidermis of the leaf, surrounded by guard cells. [1] Their main function is gas exchange [1] for photosynthesis and respiration. The development of stomata on the leaves of a plant is determined by interaction between different genes and environmental factors. A few studies have been conducted in order to establish a relationship between stomatal densities and given environmental factors. Research has shown that stomatal densities are controlled by environmental conditions during leaf development, but are fixed after the leaf matures. [2]The article â€Å"The influence of light on stomatal density of a tomato† by A. P. Gay and R. G. Hurd describes their findings that plants grown under high light intensity have more stomata per 1 mm 2 than plants grown under low light intensity. [3] The purpose of my investigation is to determine whether there is a correlation between the light intensity and the stomatal density on lavender leaves and wheth er the initial height of the plants influences the stomatal densities. The hypothesis is that an increase in the light intensity will lead to an increase in the stomatal density of the lavender leaf.The first aim of this investigation was to find whether there is a significant correlation between the stomatal density of lavender plants and the light intensity under which they are grown. The second aim of the investigation was to find out whether the initial height of the plant influences its stomatal density. Cuttings were taken from lavender plants to ensure that all the plants were genetically identical and that the only changes occurring in the stomatal density would be due to environmental conditions. Four cuttings were short (3 cm initial height) and four were tall (6 cm initial height).The cuttings were put under compact fluorescent light bulbs with four different power ratings (8, 11, 14, and 20 W). One short and one tall cutting were put under each of the four light bulbs fo r 28 days in order to grow them. Both the short and the tall plants showed a positive correlation between their stomatal densities and the light intensity. The correlation was statistically significant at a 0. 025 significance level according to the Pearson product-moment correlation test.The short and the tall plants grown under the same light intensity did not show any  statistically significant difference between their stomatal densities. The first aim of this investigation was to find whether there is a significant correlation between the stomatal density of lavender plants and the light intensity under which they are grown. The second aim of the investigation was to find out whether the initial height of the plant influences its stomatal density. Cuttings were taken from lavender plants to ensure that all the plants were genetically identical and that the only changes occurring in the stomatal density would be due to environmental conditions.Four cuttings were short (3 cm ini tial height) and four were tall (6 cm initial height). The cuttings were put under compact fluorescent light bulbs with four different power ratings (8, 11, 14, and 20 W). One short and one tall cutting were put under each of the four light bulbs for 28 days in order to grow them. Both the short and the tall plants showed a positive correlation between their stomatal densities and the light intensity. The correlation was statistically significant at a 0. 025 significance level according to the Pearson product-moment correlation test.The short and the tall plants grown under the same light intensity did not show any statistically significant difference between their stomatal densities. When trying to explain the correlation, it is important to consider what stomata are in the first place and what their most important functions are. Stomata are tiny pores [1] found on the epidermis of the plants and their main role is gas exchange between the leaf and the environment. Although stomata l development is essentially controlled by different genes, the environment also has a significant effect on stomatal development.Using plants that are clones in the investigation means that they all have the same genetic material and any changes in stomatal density on their leaves should be due to environmental factors. [9] Both light intensity and carbon dioxide concentration have been shown to influence the frequency at which stomata develop on the leaves of plants. [8] Plants can respond to changes in environmental conditions by changing their stomatal frequency. Recent research has shown that signals from older leaves can influence the development of stomata on the younger leaves.In that way, if the environmental conditions to which the older leaves are exposed change, then the younger leaves can increase or decrease their stomatal density; this physiological adaptation can help the plant cope with the changing environment. Why is the increased light intensity leading to increa sed stomatal density? Photosynthesis is the process by which plants synthesize glucose from carbon dioxide and water. The energy of the reaction is supplied by the sunlight. However, there are two main stages in photosynthesis – light-dependent and light-independent stages.The light-dependent stage depends on the light because the energy from the light is used to split water in the process of photolysis and excite electrons in the chlorophyll. [11] The products from the light-dependent stage are ATP and the electron acceptor – reduced NADP. [11] The products from the light-dependent stage are fed into the light-independent stage of photosynthesis, the Calvin cycle. [11] Carbon dioxide is fixed in the light-independent stage and converted to glucose; in the Calvin cycle, the products of the light-dependent stage are needed. So, more ATP and reduced NADP will result in an increased rate of carbon fixation.If the rate of carbon fixation increases, the rate at which carbon dioxide diffuses in and out of the leaf will increase. The light intensity is simply the energy per second per unit area carried by the incident light and it is proportional to the number of photons per second carried by the incident light. [12] Higher light intensity means more photons per second resulting in more electrons per second that would be excited during the light-dependent stage of photosynthesis, and more ATP and reduced NADP are produced. Therefore, increasing the light intensity will increase the overall rate of photosynthesis.The rate of gas exchange will increase as a result. Coming back to the main function of the stomata, increasing the rate of gas exchange may lead to increased stomatal density on the epidermis of the leaf. The adaptation leads to higher carbon dioxide assimilation as the results of recent studies have shown. [2] However, the energy of the incident light arriving per second is also proportional to the wavelength of the light. Therefore, the light intensity depends on the light wavelength. Plants have combinations of chlorophyll pigments [11] that absorb sunlight from the visible spectrum.The light of wavelengths 400-500 nm and 650-700 nm [11] is absorbed the most. These are blue and red light, respectively. Lavender grows well under compact fluorescent light bulbs. [13] By placing colored filters in front of the light bulbs, it can be established which color of light is most suitable for growing lavender and whether the color of light affects the stomatal density. To determine whether there is a statistically significant difference between the stomatal densities on the tall and short plants grown under the same light intensity, the Mann-Whitney U test is used.The null hypothesis is that there is no statistically significant difference between the stomatal densities of the tall and the short plants grown under the same light intensity. The null hypothesis may be rejected if the calculated value of U is equal to or smaller th an the critical value. The critical value for U for 10 sets of data is 16. [7] Looking back at the results section, all the calculated values of U are bigger than the critical value, so the null hypothesis is accepted. The initial height did not seem to influence the stomatal development in my investigation.

Friday, January 10, 2020

“A Scandal in Bohemia” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The short story, â€Å"A Scandal in Bohemia,† is one of the many stories that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote that starred his most famous character, the master sleuth, Sherlock Holmes.Being that it is a detective story, the type of which most of the later detective stories by lesser known writers were modeled after, the story follows the model for the stages of narrative perfectly, almost strictly. First, the narrator, Dr. Watson, gives the exposition. It is assumed, of course, that the reader is already familiar with the other Sherlock Holmes stories, his friendship with Dr. Watson, their previous adventures together, etc.Dr. Watson starts by introducing the character of Irene Adler; he also makes a quick mention of his previous adventures with Holmes, Holmes’ own odd habits and even odder habits, and even of Watson’s marriage that was introduced in a previous Sherlock Holmes story. Next, the conflict is introduced into the story.As with most detective stories, es pecially one with such an established character as Holmes, the conflict starts with the introduction of the new case to be solved.The rising action stage, then, involves the rest of the story that led up to the climax: the explanation of the king, Holmes’ initial investigation of the Adler house, Irene’s marriage to Norton. Most of the action in the story occurs as Holmes and Watson carried out Holmes’ plan: the organized scuffle, Holmes’ entry into the house, all up to his explanation of the whole plan to Dr. Watson. In the next scene, where Holmes invited the King of Bohemia to join them in retrieving the portrait would have then, naturally, been the part that concludes the entire case.This, however, though not exactly a false climax, was intentionally misleading. The discovery and reading of Irene Norton nee Adler’s letter is the actual climax.This part not only gives a conclusion to the King’s case, but also explains why Sherlock Holmes, and even Watson at the beginning of the narrative, gave such an importance to Irene Adler; she was one of the very few people ever to outwit Holmes and the only woman to do so. The falling action occurs right after they read the letter, as they thought about the implications of its contents. Holmes even admired Irene so much that he asked for her portrait as his only reward, even though he knew he could have had any sum of money from the King, had he asked. Another element included in the story is foreshadowing.The introduction that centered around Holmes’ special perception of Irene Adler above all other women made it very obvious that she was a unique character in some way. Also, Watson’s statement that â€Å"So accustomed was I to his invariable success that the very possibility of his failing had ceased to enter into my head† hinted at Holmes’ pending rare failure.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

How Does Low Socioeconomic Status Affect the Development...

Question: How Does Low Socioeconomic Status Affect the Development and Academic Performance of Children? Introduction Throughout my classes at DePaul’s College of Education, I have wondered how and why socioeconomic factors have such a profound effect on childrens school readiness, development, and future of learning. With the addition of clinical experiences in various schools and grades, a passion and focus area of mine has been multicultural perspectives, often volunteering at schools where students and their families live below the poverty line. I have personally witnessed that the lack of family income makes it difficult or impossible for children to learn and develop at the same capacity as their higher socioeconomic counterparts. It is under these conditions that roadblocks can occur, making academic performance difficult for at-risk students. My direct interest in this topic stems from personal relationships I have made with students, parents, and other teachers at observation sites. While working at a Head Start program in Chicago, a group of teachers and volunteers were responsible for supplying at-risk, mostly minority students with the wealth of knowledge they need for a smooth transition into the primary grades. Through these personal relationships, I gained knowledge; however, I also left with many unanswered questions. Through this literature review and research proposal, I will seek to answer these questions on low socioeconomicShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Poverty And Student Achievement : Does Poverty Affect The Culture Of A School?1195 Words   |  5 PagesAchievement: Does Poverty Affect the Culture of a School? Veronica Curtis, B.A, M.Ed Stony Brook University ABSTRACT Research Questions The following research questions guided this study. 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