Reducing poverty in Nigeria through home economics education

A presentation on Strategic Eradication through SKILLS and Entrepreneurial Development

ABSTRACT

• Poverty in Nigeria has outgrown the imaginative minds of the early Nigerian economic Analysts… history has shown that it has prevailed continuously overtime across all geographical regions and majority of Nigerians live within it adverse effects.

• Graduates are faced with unemployment, hunger and other faces of poverty while many homes strive to survive from whatever little they could dig up.

• The survival of any nation or people is predicated on the level of development and where ever the standard of living is low, the nation or people stand at risk of total economic collapse.

• Home Economics Education curriculum is adequately structured to meet the challenges of today. It is a vital tool which can be used to develop individuals since it is being re-branded and repositioned to capture its progressive roots, make programmes more vibrant and sustainable to alleviate poverty through creativity and entrepreneurship education.

• Home Economics Education is a field where opportunities exist for promoting self-employment and employment in private and public sector of the economy for reducing unemployment and poverty in the country.

• The purpose of this presentation is to re-orientate the general public on the diverse means through Home Economics Education can help in alleviating poverty in Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION

• Poverty is the inability to attain a minimal standard of living measured in terms of basic consumption needs or income required to satisfy them. It is one of the most serious problems faced by families in Nigeria today.

• Past governments between 1972 and now have mounted at least eight projects that were meant to alleviate poverty and billions of naira was spent on these projects yet Nigerians have remained poor and hungry. Nigeria, one of the largest country in Africa and the sixth largest oil producing country in the world has an estimated population of 150 million people living in both rural and urban areas exposed to the economic rigors of POVERTY.

• The international fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) (2007) noted that “Despite its plentiful resources and oil wealth, poverty is widespread in Nigeria. The situation has worsened since the late 1990s, to the extent that the country is now considered one of the 20 poorest countries in the world. Over 70 percent of the population is classified as poor, with 35 percent living in absolute poverty”.

• Poverty which is the inability of an individual or a group in securing the basic necessities of life such as clothing, food health, portable water and shelter, is deadly. It is a serious problem which has eaten deep into the fabric of African countries.

• The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was adopted in 2000 and the target date for achieving the goals is 2015. Nigeria is a party to the adoption of MDGs. The year 2015 is just a year away and poverty is still on the increase in Nigeria.

• If poverty eradication strategies are the main Goal of MDGs, Then how can this be achieved..

OBJECTIVES OF THIS PRESENTATION

• To appraise if Home Economics Educational can use as a tool for empowering students in the industries of their discipline in other to curb the effects of POVERTY.

• To explore the effectiveness of Skills & Entrepreneurial development strategy in Home Economics Education if implemented, towards NATIONAL Economy.

• To see if the current educational system stimulates Home Economics Education in its students

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• Does Home Economics Education help empower students in the industries of their discipline?

• Are the Skills & Entrepreneurial development strategies in Home Economics Education being implemented truly effective?

• Does the classroom stimulate creativity necessary for Home Economics Education in the students?

STATEMENT OF THIS PRESENTATION

• Unemployment prevails in the country, hence, the growth of violence, poverty and segregation amongst citizens, because the educational system itself fails to empower the ones passing it with the necessary skills needed to become self-dependent.

• Education in Nigeria is devoid of the element crucial to averting the surging rate of unemployment in the country, therefore the breeding of psychological dependence on direct access to money. Entrepreneurial Skills development through Home Economics Education will advance the economy of the nation and rid it of the prevalent surge of POVERTY.

• But first, the Fundamental TRUTH must be laid down through answers given to direct questions asked… Information must be transferred from the higher source to the lower source before Empowerment sets in.

WHAT IS POVERTY

• There is a strong connection between poverty, hunger and human development. This connective cord is very significant indeed as poverty and hunger can both be seen as the exact opposite of human development.

• All the attributes of human development are deprived by poverty. Poverty is lack of job. Poverty is hunger, poor health, low education, low self-esteem, lack of adequate housing, lack of land, inability to cloth oneself/family low economic status.

• Maduagwu (2007) concluded that poverty creates frustration, loss of hope/prospects and value for life, loss of meaning for life and purpose of living. “Poverty is not only inadequate income; it is also the lack of access to basic services and amenities, the lack of security and exclusion from community life. The recommendation is to focus efforts to uproot the causes of poverty and to achieve the involvement of the poor themselves taking part in the elaboration of policies which concern them”.

• This is where HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION comes in as it can be reviewed in order to be effective in the variety of life situations and everyday socio-economic and cultural demands of people and their families who live in poverty.

CAUSES OF POVERTY

• Given the magnitude and spread of poverty, and the desire to curb its spread, there is a need to identify the causes of poverty. There are basically two conceptual sources of poverty, namely:

A. Factors that make the number of individuals in the consuming unit, larger in relation to the amount of productive services the unit is able to supply. That is, there is an excessive family size in relation to income.

B. Factors which make the value of the productive services the household can supply, low relative to the household needs or physical incapacity and discrimination in terms of age colour, race or sex.

The CBN poverty Assessment and Alleviation study (1999) summarized

the causative factor of poverty as:

i. The stage of Economic and Social Development

ii. Low Productivity

iii. Market Imperfections

iv. Structural Shift in the Economy

v. Political Instability

vii. Corruption

WHAT IS HOME ECONOMICS The TERM DEFINED

A

• Home Economics Education, a skill oriented course, is a field of study that offers numerous occupations for individuals. it possesses the capability of equipping individuals with saleable skills that make for self-employment, self-reliance and creation of wealth.

B

• It is an all-embracing programme that focuses on the welfare of individuals and their families. It is a vocational and skill based education which prepares one for gainful employment, employer of labour, good family living, self-employment and development of the society. It equips individuals to attain and live a useful and satisfying life.

C

• Home Economics Education is self-reliant and contributes immensely to national development (Olaitan, 1996). Home Economics Education is that aspect of the total education programme that provides the knowledge, skills, understanding and attitude needed to perform in the business world as a producer or consumer of goods and services that business offers.

D

• Home Economics Education prepares students for the acquisition and development of skills and competencies, attitude and attributes which are necessary for efficiency of the economic system. It makes people to be job producers rather than job seekers (Audu and Abdulkadir, 2009).

E

• Home Economics Education contributes in some measures to the objective of self-realization, so work offered in Home Economics Education enable the students to improve upon their ability to solve problems. Since a skill is necessary to be gainfully employed and fight poverty, Home Economics Education provides such skill for self-employment, it enables students to acquire skills, knowledge and relevant attitudes necessary for self-employment or employment in specific business environment.

F

• To me, Home Economics Education is education for and about skills and business with primary purpose of preparing students for gainful employment in Home Economics occupations, which will help in poverty reduction.

THE ROLE OF HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION IN POVERTY REDUCTION • Home Economics Education is a conglomerate of courses that is

concerned with the acquisition development and inculcation of proper values for the survival of the individual, the family and the society. Every individual aims at improving his economic status by engaging in self-sustaining activities that are meant to uplift him to a higher level and remove him from poverty.

• The basic mission of Home Economics Education is helping individuals and families to improve their lives through: – Training for necessary manpower in entrepreneurship. – Development of improved skills, competencies, capabilities and

utilization of workers employed in government and private sectors. – Training and imparts of necessary skills to individuals who shall be self

reliant economically. – Provision of technical knowledge and vocational skills necessary for

economic development.

Role of Education

• The educational goals go in line with the objectives of Home Economics Education, which include: – Empowering the individual with desirable skills knowledge and

value to perform specific functions so as to become self-reliant. – Helping him to appreciate the world around him and contribute

maximally to the social and economic development of the nation.

– Empowering the individual in such a way that the individual will develop his intellectual capacity that would help him to make meaningful decisions in all spheres of life.

– Helping the individual to become a judicious spender and develop proper values for the achievement of healthy living and growth of the nation.

Purpose of HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION

• The recipient of Home Economics Education is expected to have acquired basic expertise in a particular branch in which he shows special aptitude and interest.

• Home Economics Education prepares one for wage earning or for proper use of hands and head to earn a living using necessary vocational skills and ethics. It prepares one for survival as one can always fall back to the skills acquired in the course in times of emergency such as retrenchment. Home Economics Education is a means of reducing poverty in that it helps one to live happily in the environment by learning how to use the goods and services available to the family and by promoting sound attitude and adapting easily to newer technological developments.

GRADUATES OF HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION MAY ESTABLISH IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING AREAS:

Clothing and Textiles: The following jobs are open to clothing and textiles

major: – Fashion designing.

– Clothing maintenance.

– Laundry services.

– Tie-dying and batik.

– Textiles and clothing merchandise.

– Pattern illustrator

– Craft work.

Food and nutrition related jobs are:

– Catering and hotel management.

– Opening snack centre or restaurant

– Baking.

– Food processing and preservation.

Child development and family relations: People majoring in this area

can work at any of these:

– Nursery as a school director.

– Proprietors of a private primary or secondary school

– Director of social/welfare centre.

Home Management: Careers in Home Management include:

– Interior decorations.

– Day care and nursery management.

– Managing old people’s home.

– Vegetable and flower gardening

– Extension worker.

– Institutional home keepers.

My Take…

• Home Economics Education is a means of acquiring entrepreneurial skills and knowledge which will afford the recipients wide saleable opportunities needed to mobilize available resources to meet the desired self employment.

Also…

• The wide employment opportunities as identified makes it the only option which can bring respite for the pathetic situation of unemployment thereby reducing poverty through its credible skills acquisition programme in Nigeria.

FACTORS THAT CAN HINDER EFFECTIVE TEACHING OF HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION FOR SKILLS ACQUISITION AND POVERTY REDUCTION.

• The following factors according to Njoku (2002) can hinder the teaching of Home Economics Education for functionality and poverty alleviation: – Lack of political will by government to put in place policies and

programmes that will promote Home Economics Education. – Inadequate supply of equipment and instructional materials. – Inadequate funding for meaningful technological breakthrough. – Shortage of Home Economics Education teaching materials such

as current textbooks and journals. – inadequate security and maintenance of equipment – Poor societal perception of Home Economics Education.

Conclusion

• Promoting Home Economics Education is necessary for Nigeria to get out of the current global financial crisis. That is, why this write-up tried to bring to lime light government policy initiatives for poverty reduction, Home Economics Education and poverty reduction, the role of Home Economics Education in poverty reduction, factors that can hinder effective teaching of Home Economics Education for skill acquisition and poverty reduction and recommended ways of promoting Home Economics Education for poverty reduction in Nigeria.

Refference

• Poverty. Merriam - Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 2013-11-18. • "Measuring Inequality". The World Bank Reform. 2011. • "Poverty and Equity - Nigeria, 2010 World Bank Country

Profile". http://www.worldbank.org/nigeria • Raphael, Dennis (June 2009. Poverty, Human Development, and Health

in Africa: Research, Practice, and Advocacy Dilemmas). Canadian Journal of Nursing Research

• strategies for reducing economic poverty through home … www.scholarsworks.com Chinwendu Igbaji

• PROMOTING HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH ...Global academic group – 2001

• the challenges of reducing poverty in Nigeria - Global ...education for sustainable development Nwakego Molokwu 2001