Re-Focusing Animal Management Education to Encourage Nomadic Career Life Skills in Adamawa State, Nigeria
Abstract
This paper sets out to study the re-focusing of animal management education to encourage nomadic career life skills in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) is charged with the responsibility of providing education to children whose parents are in nomadic life, as well as adult and non-formal sectors. The paper is based on two research questions, two objectives, and two corresponding hypotheses tested at a 0.05 level of significance. The research design for this study is correlation research design, and it used a multistage sampling technique in selecting 465 respondents comprising 12 supervisors, 51 head teachers, 228 nomadic teachers, 153 pupils, and 51 parents. The instruments for data collection include a questionnaire, observation checklist, and interview guides. The hypotheses were tested using simple linear regression analysis at a 0.05 level of significance. The first hypothesis revealed an unstandardized coefficient value of 0.341 and p = 0.00, which is less than the hypothetical value of 0.05. This stated that elementary science encourages nomadic education curriculum on critical thinking in Adamawa State. The second hypothesis revealed an unstandardized coefficient value of 0.434, with p = 0.00, which is less than the hypothetical value of 0.05. This stated that animal management induces nomadic career life skills in Adamawa State. The acceptance of all alternative hypotheses makes it feasible for the study to conclude that animal management encourages nomadic career life skills in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The study recommends, among others, that key actors (teachers) in nomadic schools should be provided with career life skills to encourage nomadic career life skills.
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Introduction
Education is a social right in itself and a key means of realizing other human rights, particularly the right to education. It is seen as an empowerment right. Education is the primary vehicle by which economically and socially disadvantaged adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and acquire the means of full participation in their communities. It also plays a significant role in empowering women, protecting street-working children from unequal and dangerous labor and sexual abuse, promoting human rights and democracy, protecting the environment, and controlling population growth (UNESCO, 2014).
The philosophy of Nigerian education is based on the integration of the individual into sound and effective citizenship with equivalent educational opportunities for all and at all levels through the formal and non-formal school system. More significantly, the government of Nigeria believes that the provision of well-designed education is the crucial means of improving the socioeconomic condition of the rural populace. Among such populaces, predominantly pastoralist nomads and migrant fisherfolk are difficult to reach. This was revealed by their participation in existing formal and non-formal education programs, which are abysmally low, with literacy rates ranging between 0.02% for pastoral nomads and 2.0% for migrant fisherfolk as at the early stage of implementing Nomadic Education (National Commission for Nomadic Education [NCNE], 2017).
Conclusion
This study, through its findings, has established that nomadic pupils are gaining meaningful development through the teaching of agricultural and animal management aspects of nomadic education curriculum. The study showed that nomadic pupils gained significantly in the aspects of herd size management, milk yielding, livestock management skills, para-veterinary skills, and animal feeding. Though other aspects such as vocational skills, daily income generation, and animal breeding are less developed across studied nomadic schools.
References
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