School of Basic Education

Primary Education (PED) aims at training students to become teachers with sufficient knowledge of the Primary School Curriculum, skills, attitude and methods to enable them teach the subjects of Primary 1 – 6 as contained in the National Curriculum, produced by the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council.
OBJECTIVES
a.   At the end of the course students should be able to:
b.   Demonstrate familiarity with the contents of the Primary School Curriculum.
c.   Communicate effectively in a classroom situation
d.   Teach effectively at Primary School level;
e.   Exhibit a working knowledge of at least one major Nigerian languages, other than mother tongue;
f.    Exhibit appropriate behavior in classroom management;
g.   Demonstrate school management skills and supervisory roles;
h.   Implement the curriculum, write lesson plan, and teach effectively;
i.    Improvise/produce instructional aids using local materials; and
j.    Develop the attitude to continue learning.
k.   Write an intelligible report of a project which he/she has undertaken;
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

• A Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSC) or G.C.E. ‘O’ Level with credits in 4 subjects (including English Language and Mathematics )at no more than two sittings.
• A Grade II Teacher’s Certificate (TC II) with 4 credits or merits in 4 subjects including English and Mathematics.

All candidates wishing to be considered for admission must write and pass the selection examination organised by JAMB.
Successful candidates in the Pre-NCE final examination who take and succeed in a selection examination organised by JAMB are also qualified for admission.
The present scope of the Primary School Curriculum in Nigeria Covers;
Primary School Subjects
i.    Mathematics  
ii.   Basic Primary Science and Technology
iii.  Social Studies
iv.  Cultural and Creative Arts
v.   French
Nigerian Languages
i.     Hausa
ii.    Igbo
iii.   Yoruba
a.    Home Economics
b.    Agricultural Education
c.    Religious Studies (CRK/IRS)
d.    PHE
e.    English Studies
f.     Computer Studies
g.    Arabic
PERSONNEL
ACADEMIC STAFF
a.   A minimum of B.Ed. second class upper will be required to teach the NCE programme.
b.   The staff/student ratio should be 1:30.
c.   The spread of lecturers should cover all the 13 subjects listed above.
NON ACADEMIC STAFF  
The Non –Academic staff of the department should include;
a.    Resource Centre Attendant (1).
b.    A Computer Operator with  experience in Graphics.
c.    A minimum of three Educational Technologists.
d.    A library attendant.
MODE OF TEACHING
a.    Learner – Centered Approach  
b.    Lecturing
c.    Tutorial
d.    Questioning Response, Practicals, Demonstration, Group/Individual projects, Discovery/Inquiry methods, Play method, Exhibition, Excursion or Educational visits, etc.
e.    A (model) demonstration Primary School should be established by each College of Education (COE) offering Primary Education (PED) for the purposes of demonstration and practical teaching.
f.     A PED week is recommended as a yearly activity.
FACILITIES
a.    5 Classrooms to accommodate at least 40 students in each.
b.    1 HOD Office
c.    1 Office for Department Staff
d.    1 Resource equipped with materials e.g. computers.
e.    Each College of Education is encouraged to establish a model/demonstration Primary School, which will serve as a readily available laboratory for teaching practice.  
f.    Each subject offering in the College of Education should also have a current National Curriculum guide as produced by the NERDC.
FURNITURE
There should also be adequate sitting accommodation /office for each lecturer, to enable him/her perform his/her counseling role

Philosophy
The early years (0-5) are crucial for the development of an individual and any support given at this stage helps to promote development.  This period requires people who are knowledgeable, such as specialist care givers and teachers.  Such people should be equipped for the task, hence the need to train them in ECCE to be able to handle these children effectively. Caregivers and teacher of young children therefore, should possess such qualities as enthusiasm, kindness, gentleness and tolerance. In addition they should possess academic and professional qualifications, Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE).
Aim
By the end of NCE programme in Early Childhood Care and Education students should be able to identify and discuss the nutritional, social, emotional, cognitive, physical and health needs of the child. More importantly they should be able to display and apply the knowledge and competencies acquired in appropriate situations.
Objectives
Specifically the care-givers/teacher should be able to:
•    Assist the child to develop good eating habits.  
•    Assist the child to develop good social habits.
•    Facilitate emotional stability in the child.
•    Assist the child to develop communication, reasoning and expressive skills.
•    assist the child to develop  fine and gross motor  skills,  
•    Assist the child to develop good health habits with emphasis on sanitation and safety needs.
•    Assist the child to develop inquisitiveness and to explore his/her environment.
•    Utilize resources and improvise materials to stimulate the child through play.
•    Keep records of the child’s developmental progress in terms of major mile stones.
•    identify children with special needs for referrals
•    Discuss the needs, progress and development of the child with parents and caregivers.
•    assist the child to acquire desirable attributes e.g. good morals, norms and values
•    participate actively in professional associations/organizations relevant to  Early Childhood Care and Education
•    Manifest desirable administrative competence in Early Childhood Care and Education.

Academic Guideline
ECCE shall be offered as double major.  
Special Needs: Children with special needs should feature in every course.   
Demonstration Center: For a College to operate an ECCE Department, it must establish an Early Child Care Centre to serve as demonstration center for students’ practicum, with teacher/child ratio of 1:20 for 3-5 year olds, and caregiver/child ratio of 1:10 for 1-3 year olds
Room size should conform to NERDC/UNICEF minimum standard requirement.  
ECCE Teachers: In view of the fact there is no ready pool of teachers for ECCE, it is recommended that lecturers from Primary Education Studies and allied departments such as educational psychology, home economics, science, music, art should be given some orientation to enable the programme take off, thereafter, concerted effort should be made to train specialists in this area.  
Playground: Setting up a suitable play ground should be a pre-requisite for establishing a Department of ECCE.  
Resource room:The ECCE department should have a Resource Room for exhibiting /displaying ECCE learning materials
Project: ECCE students should carry out their projects on early childhood education (with children within 0-5years)  
Teaching Practice should be done in ECCE centers.  
Mentoring should be established as a regular feature for professional development as a help for capacity building.
Admission Requirements

• A Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or GCE O Level with credits in any five subjects including English and Mathematics, at not more than two sittings.
• A Grade II Teachers’ Certificate (TC II) with credit or merit in five subjects including English and mathematics. 
• Associate Certificate in Education awarded by an approved institution in Nigeria or abroad, is also an acceptable qualification.
• Successful candidates in the Pre- NCE final examinations would be required to regularize their admission with JAMB examination as the case may be. 
• All candidates wishing to be considered for admission must write the selection examination organized by an accredited body such as JAMB. 
• It should be noted that colleges in addition to all of the above should administer their own qualifying tests and interviews. This is legitimate.

Staff Requirements:
Academic Staff: For effective delivery of the ECCE programme, at least (8) academic staff are required with professional teaching qualifications. Minimum qualification for any lecturer shall be the Masters Degree, however First Degree not below 2nd class lower can be employed into training positions. The Academic Staff should be made up of 1 language teacher, 1 science teacher, 1Tech/computer teacher,1 art/music teacher and 6 ECCE teachers.  The HOD should be a specialist in ECCE.  
Non Academic Staff: The following departmental support staff are required: Secretary/Computer Operator, Clerical officer, Care-giver Assistants, Messenger  
External Examiners: The recruitment of at least two external examiners not below the rank of principal lecturer for the purpose of moderating examination questions and answer scripts is necessary for proper implementation of the programme.
Facilities
A.) Books and Library Materials: There must be enough books to cover all the areas of the subject to the ratio of one student to ten books in the college library. A well-equipped departmental library must be in place to complement.
B.) Classrooms: the classrooms must be spacious enough and well equipped

C.) Demonstration Centre with Play Ground: The demonstration centre must be equipped with facilities as stipulated in the appendix

D.) Resource Room and Staff Offices: each senior staff must have comfortable well-furnished office. there should be an office for support staff with relevant equipment such as computers, printers, etc

E.) Mode of Teaching: The recommended modes of teaching in the ECCE programme are in broad terms, as for General Education. However, for ECCE emphasis should be on effective use of play, practical demonstration, storytelling, use of songs and rhymes, discovery/inquiry method, and experimentation.  
Practicum is compulsory for ECCE student in the second year.  
F.) Graduation Requirements
Distributions of minimum credits required for graduation are:
–    Education(including T.P)         =     36 credits
–    General Studies Education     =     18 credits
–    ECCE Double Major                =     64 credits
–    Total credit units                      =     118 credits