This paper discussed primary Education for sustainable development in developing countries. The objectives of primary Education as stated in the National Policy on Education (NPE) were highlighted. It presented problems facing primary schools and the nation’s constraint in development and fine-tune the channel where education can be improved for sustainable development in Nigeria. For basic education to be sustainable in Nigeria, corruption must be dealt with in the country. Methodology should be reviewed and constant training for the teachers should be emphasized in such a way that will bring positive impact to teaching and learning. Constant monitoring and evaluation should be adopted since primary education is the bed rock of citizens’ development; these are among the suggestion proffered.

1. PRIMARY EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRY
Being a paper presented during the 2nd
International Conference on Education for
Sustainable Development (ICESD-2016) at the San-Diego Hotels. Abakaliki, Ebonyi State,
Nigeria.
Date: 27th -28th July, 2016.
By:
OGUNDEJI, RASHIDAT ADESEUN
ogundejirashidat@yahoo.com
08059794772
School of Early Childhood Care and Primary Education,
Federal College Of Education (Technical) Bichi,
Kano State.

2. Abstract
This paper discussed primary Education for sustainable development in developing
countries. The objectives of primary Education as stated in the National Policy on
Education (NPE) were highlighted. It presented problems facing primary schools and the
nation’s constraint in development and fine-tune the channel where education can be
improved for sustainable development in Nigeria. For basic education to be sustainable
in Nigeria, corruption must be dealt with in the country. Methodology should be
reviewed and constant training for the teachers should be emphasized in such a way that
will bring positive impact to teaching and learning. Constant monitoring and evaluation
should be adopted since primary education is the bed rock of citizens’ development;
these are among the suggestion proffered.

3. INTRODUCTION Development has been an integral part of humanity right from the onset. Development becomes
apparent when the way and manner, things were done previously have changed in a progressive
pattern. Sustainable development suggest a development that spans over a long period of time, a
development that can be preserved, a development that once embarked upon can serve as a solid
foundation upon which subsequent developments can be laid. There is no gain saying when
education is referred to as the major instrument of development. Education here should not be
quickly seen as formal training alone as even the informal plays a pivotal role in its own capacity in
development.
 An article published by UN (2012) views education as the transmission, acquisition, creation and
adaptation of information, knowledge, skills and values. This is an all round definition and if viewed
carefully and intently, the tools for development is so apparent. Ban Ki-Moon in UNESCO [n.d.]
expressing how indispensable education is and stated that “education is a fundamental right and the
basis for progress in every country...with partnership, leadership and wise investments in education,
which can transform individual lives, national economies and our world.” UNESCO’s Education for
all Global Monitoring Report in conjunction with Global Education First Initiative policy paper will
strive to encourage individual to contribute a quota to the full success of education. all over the
world. The report emphasize on “providing a succinct, evidence based overview of the numerous
ways in which education can advance the proposed post 2015 sustainable development goals. It
underscores the notion that sustainable development for all countries is only truly possible through
comprehensive cross-sector efforts that begin with education”.
 These numerous ways in which education can advance sustainable development as put forward by
the policy paper can be summarized under the following headings: poverty reduction, nutrition
improvement, health gain, education provision, gender equality and empowerment, water and
energy sustainability, economic growth, inequality reduction (reduce inequality within and among
countries), urban development, environmental protection/resilience and peaceful, just and inclusive
societies. These goal could be achieve through effective and sustainable educational programme at
all level for the development of society.

4. EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
 Dambudzo (2015) believes that education for sustainable development (ESD) aims at changing the
approach to education by integrating principles, values, practices and needs in all forms of learning. Also,
according to Wong (2003) in Dambudzo (2015),view sustainable development as an essential direction for
the whole world to move towards. Wong”s statement and Dambudzo’s belief could be as a result of the fact
that there is a seeming loss of focus in what societies appreciates as education today.
 UNESCO (2005) paints this situation clearly when she explained thus…..”there is therefore, growing
pressure on schools to teach learners for sustainable development in developing as well as developed
countries” and Dambudzo further said, “there is an increasing outcry over the irrelevance of the education
given to the children today. Employers on their part have expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of basic
skills and work ethics among many school leavers. This has led them to label the education currently
provided by the education system as irrelevant. School leavers are unemployable. If employed they become
an unbearable cost due to the fact that they need to be trained or a lot of time is spent showing them how to
work. This is a cost on the employers which they are not willing to pay”.
 With a situation such as this, one question that will be hanging around the corner of the heart is what then is
happening with the learner? Sustainable development therefore, as a new movement is a clarion call to bring
us back to order. It is a call to remind us where, how, and why we embarked on the quest for education.
Having established the fact that education is instrumental to sustainable development, it is pertinent to
explore the changes in education over time, so as to see its potentials in bringing about lasting development.
The UN task team in their 2012 article stated thus ‘while there has been rapid progress made in expanding
access to formal basic education worldwide, significant inequalities between countries persist and national
averages in many country continue to mask striking inequalities in levels of educational attainment and
outcomes’. The implication of this statement is that the challenges confronting the desired outcome from all
the efforts put into taking education to every doorstep remains the disparity between countries in terms of
developed and developing and then even within countries the national averages can be misleading because
there is a possibility that the figures that generated the averages could be from a few region and not the
entire nation.

5. Education for Sustainable Development (Contd.)
 Again, UNESCO in her 2007 policy dialogue stated that “Monitoring of the achievement of MDG2 (achievement of
universal primary education) indicates that both universal coverage and high learning are required for sustainable
development. It further stated that progress has been made in achieving universal coverage or access to education,
(however) an intensive effort is needed to enhance quality and learning goals to ensure that learning is effective and
relevant”
 From the foregoing, there is an agreement in both statements of the UN and UNESCO with respect to the popularity
formal education is gaining universally, but apparently, its effectiveness and relevance is coming up really slowly.
Effectiveness of learning is one thing, its relevance is another. The effectiveness can be measured against the
backdrop of the change in learner’s behavior while the relevance can be measured using the need of the society which
is sustainable development. In other words, is the emerging outcome towing the desired path?
 It is obvious that progress is being recorded in the accessibility of education albeit the pace is quite slow for even as
at 2014, Bruns & Luque 2014; Filmer & Fox 2014; UNESCO 2014 in Evans and Popova (2015) reported that
“education quality remains an elusive goal in many developing countries. While countries around the world have
made great strides in increasing access to education, much of this education is still of low quality, with low learning
outcomes reported in Africa, Latin America, and elsewhere”. From this report, learning again strikes as a major area
of concern. The only proof that learning has taken place is its reflection on the society. A concern such as this forces
one to ask the same question Evans and Popova (2015) asked: “What really works to improve learning in developing
countries?” The duo analyzed divergent findings in systematic reviews and had this to say “in the past two years
alone, at least six systematic reviews or meta-analyses have examined the interventions that improve learning
outcomes in low- and middle-income countries……..Across the reviews, the three classes of programs that are
recommended with some consistency (albeit under different names) are pedagogical interventions (including
computer-assisted learning) that tailor teaching to student skills; repeated teacher training interventions, often linked
to another pedagogical intervention; and improving accountability through contracts or performance incentives, at
least in certain contexts.”
 When a building collapses, or is on the verge of collapse, though the imminent disaster might not be avertable, but
findings will still be made for the sake of subsequent buildings. The first point of call is usually the foundation of the
building. What went wrong? What should be watched out for to avoid a reoccurrence?
 Thankfully, education though is a building but not one whose errors cannot be corrected in order to get it back on its
feet again. In the light of this, primary education which is the foundation of formal education is the next point of call.

6.  Primary education is the bedrock of education in any country. If the educational foundation of a
country is weak, the country cannot build a strong educational foundation. The quest for
development will be difficult to achieve in such country (Onyebuke 2014).
 Federal Republic of Nigeria (2014) Defines Primary Education as the education given in institution
for children aged 6 to 11 plus. Since the rest of the education system is built upon it, i.e secondary
and tertiary, the primary level is the key to the success or failure of the whole system. The duration
can be six years
 In pursuance of the goals of its establishment:
 Teaching shall be practical, exploratory and experimental methods.
 The medium of instruction in the primary school shall be language of the environment for the first
three years. During this period, English shall be taught as a subject.
 From the fourth year, English shall progressively be used as a medium of instruction and the
language of immediate environment and French, shall be taught as subject (NPE1998).
 From the fore going, there is awareness that most of the Nigeria government schools are neither
practical exploratory nor experimental.
 This goes far indeed to hamper the quality of communication and standard of performance in the
children. Primary schools being the first level of education refer to formal level of education where
government has direct interest and control with respect to the development of teacher, salaries,
enrolment, provision of facilities and equipments.
 In the Nigeria system of Education, primary education is the most badly organized, managed and
supervised level of education. paradoxically, the primary schools which is supposed to be a place for
the children to develop their mental alertness, gain fundamental knowledge, skills, thoughts, feeling
and actions which are considered necessary for all citizens regardless of social status, vocation or sex
seem neglected by the government(Oladipo, 2011).
PRIMARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

7. OBJECTIVES OF PRIMARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
 Inculcating permanent literacy and numeracy and ability to communicate effectively.
 Laying a sound basis for scientific and reflective thinking.
 Giving citizenship education as a basis for effective participation in and contribution to the society.
 Moulding the character and developing sound attitude and moral in the child.
 Developing in the child the ability to adapt to the child’s changing environment.
 Giving the child the opportunities for developing manipulative skills that will enable the child
function effectively in the society within the limits of the Childs capacity; and
 Providing the child with basic tools for further educational achievement, including preparation for
trades and craft of the locality.
 From the above objectives it is clear that emphasis is laid on building sound bases for scientific and
reflective thinking in the child. This is a solid way of laying a good foundation for technological
development of the country.

8. PROBLEMS OF PRIMARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
 Poor funding of education sector affect its effectiveness in achieving its objective because it is a major
problem affecting all levels of education. As a matter of fact, the actual money spent on education annually
is usually lower than the budgeted allocations and very little of the actual money spent on education goes to
the school level. This is coupled with the fact that Nigeria’s annual budgetary allocation to the education
sector fall short of the UNESCO recommended 26 percent for developing countries.
 Inadequate infrastructures/facilities; many primary schools in the country do not have adequate facilities
for effectives learning to take place. This includes inadequate classrooms, furniture’s, and poor lightening
conditions etc.
 Unqualified teachers; this is another major problem facing primary education in the country. Some of the
teachers do not use appropriate teaching skills, strategies and techniques’ that will enhance pupils
comprehension.
 Staff welfare; Primary school teachers are poorly paid. Their salaries and others incentives are not enough
to motivate them to put in their best. This discourages others who are competent from joining the system.
 Political instability; within the government there are instability. Each administration comes up with one
policy or the other sometimes rejecting the existing ones. Also each administration has its own way
handling staff welfare.
 Inconsistent reforms; within a short period, Nigeria have had a lot of educational reforms from UPE to
6,3,3,4 and to UBE, not knowing the next. Implementations and funding of the program is always a
problem. If care is not taken, what led to the fall of other may still lead to the fall of the present one.
 Corruption: whereby our politicians are quite in the knowing of the importance of education and how it
depends largely on funding and are yet overtaken by avarice which causes them to divert government funds
to their personal account.
With all of the aforementioned staring us in the face, the Promised Land is most elusive.

9. CONCLUSION
So much has been said, quite a number of facts have been expounded, and
discoveries made all of which can be summed up as this: sustainable
development is tantamount to educational development, educational
development begins with what happens at infancy in other words, early child
care and especially primary education, it is when learning has taken place that
education can be termed relevant and effective yet actual learning is
inundated by a number of factors causing progress to go at a slow tempo. It is
in view of this that recommendations will be proffered.

10. RECOMMENDATIONS
 If education is to sustain development, then society must first identify what education
should achieve and be design to suit the need. That said, the following areas/factors are
to be given keen attention
 Anti-corruption: corruption should be fought against with the same intensity with
which deadly diseases such as AIDS is being fought. This is the major starting point for a
country like Nigeria. When corruption is dealt with, funding, infrastructures, and
teachers remuneration, will be adequately taken care of. It should be noted that the
fight against corruption is not for the government alone, everyone is involved.
 Pedagogy: if teaching and learning starts and end only within the confines of the
classroom, then it is not worth it. To this end, whatever takes place in the classroom
must be translated into will keep the society moving. To achieve this, true to life
approaches should be used in imparting knowledge to the learners. This will prepare
them for what they are to expect in the society where they will function. The way this
applies in the primary school is a reiteration to the pupils that the primary level of
education is a foundation of their academic pursuit and what they make of it will
determine what happens to the next levels.
 Capacity building for teachers: after the fight for employing relevant and qualified
personnel have been won, they should not be left where they are. They should be
trained in order to meet emerging needs. We live in a dynamic society and it is by
constant training and retraining that teachers can be relevant.
 Sincere Monitoring and Evaluation: monitoring and evaluation is not a new song. Rather
what is new is the sincerity with which it should be done. Padding up facts and
presenting evasive reports have not in any way been helpful. It is time to try sincerity, to
lay facts bare so that stakeholders and policy makers will know exactly what issues to
address to move the train forward.

11. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION