CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.1 AIMS
AND OBJECTIVES
This study, aims to
examine the impact of western education on Offa using Offa Grammar School as a
case study, specifically. I will examine the history and developmental stages
of Offa Grammar School and also move to examine the socio-economic, political
contribution of Offa grammar school to its immediate environment (Offa
community). I also intend to investigate and observe the religious and moral
influence Offa has on its environment and neighbouring town. The project will
also be focusing on seeing if there are other negative influence Offa grammar
school has on its immediate environment and also check and research or
investigate the challenges Offa grammar school faced in her quest of achieving
the mission and vision of this school in the 19th century.
1.2 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study covers the period 1943 to
2014. The work on study begins in 1943, when the school was founded “1943” and
ends in 2014. The study will also include studies of some of the prominent sons
and daughters produced by Offa grammar school and also the project and
development the community has enjoyed as a result of the school presence from
1943-2014.
1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
The significance of this study might not
be over-stated due to the present state of educational system in Offa.
Knowledge of if the so-called white man educational system has been a blessing
or curse, if there is any significant impact of these western education on the
way of life of Offa people will be explored. Offa Grammar School has been
established since 1943 yet some school of thought believes the inception of the
school has washed away our tradition and instilled other social vices adopted
from our western neighbours.
This project will help in enlighten
everyone to see the importance of investing on education in Offa as the number
one agent of development. Mores so, few
or little literatures has been written as to this regard which will make this
study a very important one. Most of the literatures and articles that have been
written on the above subject has generally been influenced by personal gains
and sentiments. On the contrary, this work will focus on available facts and
evidence in respect of the topic with an aim to make an objective appraisal of
the issues under reference. Thus, the significance of this study lies on the
honesty of the research in recording and documenting without any bias.
1.4 RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
The study is based on a
thematic examination of the impact of western education in Offa, using Offer
Grammar School as a case study. The materials for the study will be obtained
from both secondary and primary source of data. They consist of books,
Journals, articles and project reports, Magazines and other published and
unpublished works were also consulted. Also respondents will be interviewed as
regards to the influence of the school on is immediate environment.
This data will be analyse through
qualitative method of analysis, which is explanatory in nature. This would help
in finding out the degree of effectiveness of the impact of the school on its
environment.
1.5 LITERATURE REVIEW
Sociologists believe there is a strong
connection between education and society. Most concluded that the fact that it
is not possible to separate or draw any line of demarcation between the two
concepts. This was drawn from the point that what happens to the educational
system undoubtedly affects the society, and whatever occurs in the society
influences or shapes the educational system in all its ramifications.
Durkheim
was one of the first sociologists to appreciate the relationship between
education and society. He saw education as a social phenomenon through which a
society assumes its own continuity by socializing the young in its own image.
They are inter-related internally, so that a given education system has unity
and consistency, and also externally so that the education system reflects a
society's moral and intellectual values.
Ottaway defined society as the whole
range of social relationships of people living in a certain geographical
territory and having a feeling of belonging to the same kind of group. In every
society, whether developing or developed, complex or primitive, there is always
an education system. Education systems are not the same, as no two societies
are identical. Therefore, education systems differ from society to society and their
aims, contents and techniques also differ from one society to another. From the
foregoing, one might postulate that educational institutions are
micro-societies, which mirror the entire society. This is one of the reasons
why societies try to evolve education systems and policies that would meet the
needs, beliefs, attitudes and the aspirations of their people. Havighurst17
observed that the way to understand a society's education system is to
understand how it is related to the other basic institutions of that society,
in particular the family, the church, mosque, the state, the polity and the
economy. There are some vibrant Co-Relations between the Society and Education,
Cultural transmission from generations to anther has been passed through the medium
of education. As he said in his song, Fela Anikulapo Kuti18 noted that parents
are first teachers of the child and they still maintained an educative function
throughout the early and formative years of a child. This was also concurred by
Daramola19. In most of the developing nations of the world, including Nigeria,
parents are responsible for sending their children to school. Since these
nations are undergoing rapid socioeconomic and political changes, they witness
special problems in evolving the appropriate education system, which will be
able to produce the adequate manpower needs in all the segments of the society.
Schools are established in many societies of the world so as to instil in the
pupils those skill’s which will afford them the opportunity of taking their
rightful positions in the society; but this function cannot be adequately
accomplished without the assistance of the home because both the home and the
school perform complimentary functions in the moral and intellectual
development of the child. This means that the child cannot be educated in a
vacuum or in isolation. Therefore, for a child to be educated there must be
interaction between him and his physical and social environment. By this
Daramola20 believes that education is the development of personality. It is
something which goes on both inside and outside the home and in the school. In
other words, education is an activity of the whole community.
Clarks21 observed that a general
knowledge and acceptance of the ideals and aims of our society is essential for
all its citizens, and it must be achieved through education but in a form,
which makes it compatible with freedom. So he reconciles the double purpose by
saying that admittedly, the purpose of the educative society may be to make men
conformable. But overmastering that must be the purpose to make men free. A
society needs a stable and dynamic set of values and a, unified purpose. It is
when this is ascertained that meaningful economic, political and social
programmes can be embarked upon for the overall benefits of the citizens. To be
a fully developed person in such a society, implies full and creative
membership of it with powers to change it. Ottaway22 contended that cultural
transmission of culture still remains a vital function, and deemed conservative
in terms of being old fashion. Explained that education is the socialization of
the young. This is because our children being the future of the society still
belongs to the non-social community and education in this regards help in
blending them in. Education depends on the total way of life of a people in a
society. This suggests that the type of education provided will differ from
society to society. Besides, each society has her own norms, values and her own
ideal persons who stand out clearly for the younger generations to emulate.
Since all these societies are not the same, then it means that a man regarded
as a hero in one society because of his contributions to educational
development of the society may not be regarded as such in another society where
education is not given priority in the scheme of their daily activities. It,
therefore, implies that children have different people to emulate in different
societies.
Another area of the relationship
between education and society is through the arrangement of the entire society
into a hierarchical order that is, through the social structure in which
education plays a prominent and significant role in fixing educated individuals
into social classes. Ottaway23 observed that education is the process of
preparing people to fit into this complex social structure and to play
particular social roles as members of more than one institutional group.
Individuals have to learn to be fathers or mothers, school teachers or civil
servants, shopkeepers or priests. They have to learn to keep the law, to
understand how they are governed and to be prepared to try and change the
social moves when they see that they can be improved. School aid citizenship
training. Patriotism is an aspect of economic development. This is one
attribute that is lacking in most Nigerian today. Efforts of the government to
re-inform the people have not been very fruitful because of the relatively high
rate of illiteracy. These people do not seem to be making their maximum
contribution to national development because they are not aware of their civic
rights and obligations. Education, which is subjected to school, is therefore
seen as a tool for increasing the awareness of the citizens. This promotes
their participation as members of the society. For example, mass literacy of
the masses of the population is expected to improve their awareness and
understanding of the socio-political development in the country. They would be
able to assess the economic problems of the country such as fall in the
nation’s foreign earning due to unfavourable condition in world market.
Moreover, education would make them to know their civic right and duties. They
may no longer shy away from exercising their voting right or accepting
leadership responsibilities in the community.
The school and the society have a
close relationship. In this wise, there are ways by which the community and
contribute to the development of the school. According to Oribabor and Adesina,
they are stated as follows24: Provision
of infrastructural facilities such as buildings and equipment to facilitate
children learning. The provision of school materials by parents. The materials
include pencils, books, chalk, exercise books, etc. The provision of land by
community for buildings and possibly helps in clearing it. The community also
organizes communal labour to aid the school. This is in areas of provision of
laboratory equipment, textbooks, and building of school blocks, quarters,
library, plastering of school buildings, painting of school structures and the
decorations of school environment. The school land could as well be fenced by
the community and playgrounds or games’ pitches could be provided by the
Parents’ Teachers Association (P.T.A.). The community could also make
provisions of conveniences in the home for the pupils that make for healthy
living. The society provides good shelter, feeding, and proper dresses for
their children so that they could be healthy and thus be able to learn well in
the school. Individuals and community could also make donations to the school.
The donations may be made for the purchase of library books, games equipment,
teaching materials and laboratory apparatuses. The Parents Teachers Association
also provides funds to aid the school. Through the P.T.A., the community could
help build/ innovate school buildings in the provision of many school needs.
The community in many cases is charged with the responsibility of providing
security for the school and its equipment. The community through the P.T.A.
could make arrangement for fencing the school or making iron gates for
entrances leading to where important school materials are stored. The society
takes active interest in what goes on in their school and the society in many
cases helps the school in the area of inculcating discipline in students. They
served as watch dog for both the students and the school. They take keen
interest in school matters and at times report case to the government when the
need arise. School faces some challenges in instilling educational goals to the
communities especially in rural areas. The below are some challenges the school
faces as reported by Daramola25. During the farming season, pupils in the rural
areas may be compulsorily absent from school. Some rural schools do not have
secure places to pack school books and registers. In the rural areas, pupils
seldom speak or converse in English language. Teachers are reluctant to go to
the rural areas to teach. Classrooms are not sufficient in most schools. Many
school pupils are dirty. Some wear ragged school uniforms. Roads to rural areas
are sometimes not accessible. This makes teachers to shun transfer to rural
areas and supervision here is not as such keen and regular. Some students in
rural areas hawk before coming to school in the morning. They therefore become
tired and inactive or inattentive in the class. Certain schools are far from
some rural inhabitants. Children will have to trek long distances daily before
getting to school. The situation makes students get unfit for academic acumen.
Some school buildings are not fit enough for conducive academic attainment as
they are dilapidated, un-ventilated and poorly maintained. Sitting
organizations and equipment are lacking in most schools located in villages. Most
students find it impossible to get places to seat and many chairs and lockers
are already damaged. Most Sociologist concluded that education and the society
are inter related and have come to appreciate the relationship between these
two. It has been observed that the educational system of any nation must be
based on the needs and demands of the society, and that any educational system
that fails to meet the needs, aspirations and ambitions of the society is not
relevant and is bound to fail. The educational system of any nation therefore
should be designed to transmit today’s cultural values to those who will live
tomorrow and also strike a balance with its contents. Dubey 26 observed that a
good educational system, in all its full substance and ramifications, is
related to the level of culture, industrial development, rate of urbanization,
political organization, religious climate, family structure, stratification and
other institutions of the total social system.
The goal of education should be
designed to meet the societal need as well as the individual and most keep in
touch with the social and cultural changes as both variables are inter-related.
This study will then look at the relationship that Offa Grammar School shears
with its environment and the opportunities it offer for the socio-economic
development of Offa community ranging from preservations of cultural values to
economic and technological advancement.
To download the complete project go here
No comments:
Post a Comment