ANALYSIS OF SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN TARAUNI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KANO STATE, NIGERIA

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Education is fundamental to development and growth. It is one of the most important investments a country can make in its people and its future and is critical to reducing poverty and inequality (World Bank 2014). All over the world, primary education has been regarded as the most important as well as the most patronized by the people. This perhaps may be due to the fact that it is the foundation of the whole educational pursuit, which is expected to provide literacy and enlightenment to the citizens. The importance of primary education can therefore be seen in the sense that all beneficiaries of the other levels of education by necessity have to pass through his level (Labo-Popoola, 2009).

World Bank recommended that the following data were needed for rationalizing and drawing up of both the urban and rural school map. Schools which includes physical aspects, site, type of building, usage, capacity, teachers (numbers, qualification, and age), students enrolment in school, individual data on age, sex, previous schools, home, location, mode of transport, time taken in home/school journey, parental background, rural and urban area data which include land use administration map on a large scale, planning reports, settlement patterns etc. The facility also includes classrooms, toilets, furnishings, materials and supplies, fire suppression systems, security, information technology etc. The school infrastructure consists of mechanical, plumbing, electrical and power, telecommunications etc (World Bank, 2014).

Several studies have examined the locational planning and their attendant consequences on achievement of students in various states of the Federation. The studies were intended to assist decision makers of various states to decide where a particular type of school should be located or the size of school in each location, whether a new school should be built or otherwise among others. Among the studies some has shown mapping the distribution of facilities and analyzing to show how the schools are distributed, it could be clustered, dispersed or randomly distributed and to see whether the facilities serves the people of the area (Olubadewo, 2013).

Geographic information system (GIS) application are tools that allow users to create interactive queries, analyze spatial information, edit data, maps and present results of such operations. GIS Establishes a relationship between school information and their geographical location. For example, when determining the location of a school, the application of GIS tool like Geographic Positioning System (GPS) will help to identify the schools. GIS is a versatile tool that allows schools information to be displayed as maps (Ige, 2009).

The focus of the project is to emphasize the use or applicability of GIS in determining the location and facilities of public primary schools, create school mapping and help decision makers to know the problems which are related to location and facilities in easily and quickly.

1.2       Statement of the Research Problem

The number of schools, facilities and teachers available for basic education remain inadequate for the eligible number of children and youths. This is more so in urban areas where there is population pressure (UNICEF, 2014).

The federal government reported that the falling standard of education in Nigeria is caused by “acute shortage of qualified teachers in the primary school level” with a large number of Grade II teachers and secondary school leavers teaching; uneven distribution of teachers between urban and rural schools; poor remuneration and motivation and low teacher support (Federal Ministry of Education – FME, 2009).

Also, a digital school map of which shows the location, distribution of schools and other relevant information. At present, such maps are not available in some Nigerian States (Sani, 2011).

Kano’s education system is under enormous pressure. The state of educational facilities especially the public primary schools has been overstretched and there has been a backdrop in the manpower that assists in the running of these primary schools. In addition, the schools facilities (classrooms, toilets, libraries, reading materials etc) were not adequately provided, as well some of the schools are associated with inadequate infrastructure such as power supply, water supply, telecommunication as well as bad roads leading to some schools etc (Sani, 2014).

There are over 2 million primary school children in Kano State (47.7% female and 52.3% male). About 30% of the public primary schools in the urban areas run double shift to cope with the demand, this is attributed to the population concentration makes most of this areas. There are approximately 23,000 primary class rooms, 94.4% of which are usable, approximately 87 pupils per class room in primary, 35.4% of primary class room have sufficient seating and 61.5 have a good blackboard. Out of the 45,000 primary teachers, just 1 in 3 is qualified, meaning there is 1 qualified teacher per 114 primary children. Half of the primary schools have no safe drinking water. 47.4% have no toilets; the average pupil to toilet ratio is 200:1. The worst LGA for pupil to toilet ratio at primary level is Nassarawa LGA with a ratio of 1214 pupil per toilet (Educational Special System Programme in Nigeria – ESSPIN, 2012).

 

 

 

1.3       Aim and Objectives

1.3.1    Aim

The aim of this study is to analyze the spatial distribution of public primary schools in Tarauni Local Government Area with a view to aid planning and decision making.

1.3.2    Objectives

The specific objectives of the study are to:

  1. Determine the spatial distribution of public primary schools in Tarauni Local Government Area;
  2. Compare the available primary education facilities with the set standards of UNESCO, UBE and Reviewed Kano Metropolitan Plan – RKMP (1980); and
  3. Assess the qualification of teachers in public primary schools in Tarauni Local Government Area.

1.4       Justification for the study

In the past, few attempts and initiatives involving GIS at the State level by the Ministry of Land & Physical Planning at which GIS unit was created but little was achieved. The main issue is that there is inadequate digital infrastructure as digital base maps, information technologies and geographic/spatial coverage’s in metropolis. Though the lists of all the public facilities are available, but lack of precise knowledge of how they are spatially distributed, this makes planning and decision making very difficult in the study area. This necessitates the government in the creation and establishment of Kano Geographic information System (KANGIS) in 2014, which is a parastatal under the same ministry.

As a step towards improving the standard of public primary schools’ education in the study area, it will be necessary to provide the public and decision makers of the state with information such as location, staff strength, available facilities, status of public primary school, to enhance proper planning and decision making. The information provided will enable the government and educationists in policy and decision making such as planning for the future expansion, distribution of materials or facilities among these schools in the study area.

1.5       Scope and Limitation

The scope of this research is formal education and it is limited to the distribution of public primary schools in Tarauni Local Government Area, Kano State.

1.6       Study Area

1.6.1    Location

Tarauni is a Local Government Area in Kano State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the locality of Unguwa Uku within the City of Kano.  The study area lies within the Latitudes 11057’00”N and 12002’00”N and Longitudes 08033’00”E and 08036’00”E. Tarauni Local Government Area has 10 political wards. Covering an area of 28km2 and a population of 281,413 projected figure 2014.

Tarauni Local Government Area is bounded by the north by Nassarawa Local Government, by the east and south by Kumbotso Local Government and on the western by Municipal Local Government. The study area is predominantly inhibited by Hausa/Fulani tribe. Other ethnic groups in the local government area include Yoruba, Igbo, Ebira, Kanuri etc.

1.6.2    Climate

The climate of the area is a microclimate setting of the Nigeria as it is influenced by the movement of the two air masses, the maritime air masses originating over Atlantic Ocean and the dry air masses coming from the Sahara desert. Consequently, the area is characterized by wet season (May – September) which is characterized by south western maritime winds that carry warm and humid air; the dry season (October – April) is characterized by the tropical dry continental wind (Harmattan) from north. In fact, it is a tropical wet and dry type (AW) by Koppen’s classification (Umar, 2009).

1.6.2    Economy

Kano is the second largest industrial and commercial centre in Nigeria after Lagos (Ahmed et al, 2012) it is referred as the center of commerce in the country due to long flourished marketing activities. This is based on the fact that marketing and trading has been the dominant economic activity of the populace of the metropolitan Kano.

1.6.3    Academic Institutions in the study area

The study area has a total of nineteen (19) public primary schools, twenty two (22) public secondary schools, and eight (8) existing institutions namely, School of Nursing, School of Midwifery both managed by the state government. Also, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Federal College of Agricultural Produce Technology, Institute for Agricultural Research, A.B.U., Kano Station, National Board for Technology Incubation all these managed by the Federal Government. The International Crops Research for the Semi-Arid Tropics and IITA Research to Nourish Africa both managed privately.

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