CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to
the Study
Sandwich study programme is a form of
Adult education which United Nations
Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 1972) described
as “the entire body of organized educational processes, whatever the content,
level, method whether they prolong or replace initial education in schools,
colleges and universities as well as in apprenticeship”. Thus, persons regarded
as adults by society to which they belong develop their technical or
professional skills and bring about changes in their attitudes or behaviours in
two-fold perspective of full personal development and participation in balanced
and independent social, economic and cultural development.
Adult education can also be seen as any
organized informal or formal plan of education for adolescents and adults that
are independent of the conventional school programme as administered by public
or voluntary agencies in so far as they believe that they will benefit from the
programme. The sandwich and
part-time degree programmes represent one of the last available opportunities
or chances for becoming university graduates in Nigeria. This is because there
are so many people who are also capable of learning but inadequately or
deliberately were not opportuned to do so because of certain reasons. Psychologically,
it can be accepted that people who are mature and socially responsible and
economically viable, technically qualified and mentally sound, may be
considered as the beneficiaries of Sandwich Degree Programme or Course.
The importance of
Sandwich Degree Education Programme can hardly be overemphasized if one
considers the percentage of admission requests and the number of students
eventually admitted into the universities in Nigeria every year. According to
Sam (2008), the National Universities Commission (NUC) Secretary, Prof. Julius
Okojie said only 20 percent of the 1,054,053 candidates who wrote
the Universities Matriculation Examinations (UME) on Saturday 17th
May 2008 would gain admission. This was corroborated by Prof. Dibu Ojerinde
when he said "we can only take 200,000 because of the capacities of the
Universities". This was just a slight increase on the 2006 figures when
868,000 candidates applied and only 148,383 candidates were admitted, (Okonjo,
2008).
This has always been
the case for the past five years and the 80 percent of the candidates not
admitted would have to turn to the Bachelor of Education Sandwich Programme to
be able to undertake a degree course, if they could not also gain admission
into Colleges of Education and Polytechnics. Closely related to this is the
need to have a well-educated workforce for better productivity. According to
Okonjo (2008), Sandwich degree programme is a means of providing opportunity to
students in tertiary institutions available for work-study in order to create
an educated and healthy work force.
There are 95
Universities in Nigeria as at 10th February 2009 when operating
license was granted for the Kwara State University by the Executive Secretary
of National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, at Abuja
(Idoko, 2009). With 95 Universities (Federal - 27; State – 34; and Private -
34) granted licenses and declaring 41 as illegal (Idoko, 2009), how can Nigeria
meet the over one million yearly admission requests for regular courses in the
Nigerian Universities? At the end of 2008/2009 admission exercise, only about
250,000 candidates got admitted representing about 25% of applicants who are
offered admission and this tends to happen on yearly basis, (Idoko, 2009).
Thus, those who could
not secure admission into universities' regular programme may turn to either
Polytechnics, Colleges of Education, other tertiary institutions or resort to
Sandwich Degree Programme. Virtually all Nigerian Universities run in Sandwich Degree
Programme including University of Ilorin; University of Ibadan; Lagos State
University, University of Lagos and others such as University of Ado-Ekiti with
its five affiliate Colleges at Colleges of Education, Oro, Ilorin, Oyo, Oto
Ijanikin and Noforija, Epe (see Appendix G). It should also be noted that the
number of Private and State Universities are the same both higher than that of
the Federal but the fees charged by State and Private Universities are
exorbitant hence they are not meant for the poor or “the common man”, as they
are called in Nigeria.
Adult and Non-Formal Education consists of
functional literacy, remedial, continuing, vocational, aesthetic, cultural and
civic education for youths and adults outside the formal school system. (NPE
2004 p.32).
The NPE further listed two of the major aims of the
adult and continuing education as:
Sandwich Degree
Programme is a form of Continuing Education under Adult, and Non-Formal
Education as embedded in the Nigeria’s National Policy on Education. The
National Policy on Education (NPE) in its Section 7 states:
1.
To provide further education for
different categories of completers of formal education system in order to
improve their basic knowledge and skills.
2.
To provide in-service on the job,
vocational and professional training for different categories of workers and
professionals in order to improve their skills.
Thus, the Sandwich programme is a means of providing education to serving teachers and other categories of workers through contact sessions run in between the long vacations of the regular College or University Academic sessions. The Kwara State College of Education, Oro in affiliation with the University of Ado-Ekiti (UNAD) runs the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.); Bachelor of Science Education B.Sc.(Ed.) and Bachelor of Arts Education B.A.(Ed.) Degrees at the Kwara State College of Education, Oro, for serving teachers and other workers who could not attend the full-time programme for a University Degree. There are other affiliate Colleges of UNAD at Oyo, Ilorin and Lagos.
The Sandwich undergraduate programme is meant to
provide opportunity for the serving teachers, essentially and other working
class students to obtain a first degree in Education in combination with their
disciplines or areas of specialization.
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