CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Education as defined by the National Policy on Education revised (2004) is a dynamic instrument per excellence for effecting National development and a potent means for ensuring the welfare of the people and the equalization of life chances. In the same vein a renowned Nigerian Educationalist, Fafunwa (2004) defined Education as “an aggregate of all the processes by means of which a person develops abilities, attitudes and other forms of behaviour of positive value in the society in which he lives.

Business Education which is an integral part of general Education grew in Nigeria as a Private Business Schools. The earliest type of business Education was the apprenticeship training of book keepers. In later part of the 19th century, private business schools i.e. commercial schools as they are popularly called had a virtual monopoly, in training the skilled employee needed by all types of business organizations and government offices. Indeed, many of the successful business executives of the early 1900s were graduates of private business schools. When the government took over schools in 1971, most of the business schools were merged with secondary and grammar schools. There was an emergent shift in emphasis and orientation towards a more functional approach to secondary education that better fulfils the socio-economic needs of the nation1 (Igboke 2008).

With the introduction of the 6-3-3-4 system of education in Nigeria, greater emphasis has been placed on Business Education known as Business studies in the junior secondary and the vocational business subjects such as shorthand, typewriting, Accounting, Office Practice and Commerce, in Senior Secondary Schools. (Igboke, 2008).

The new National Policy on education (6-3-3-4 system) requires a child to spend six years in primary, three years in Junior secondary school, another three years in Senior Secondary School before proceeding for a 4-year university education.

At the end of the three years in junior secondary school, the students are examined on a number of subjects including Business studies for the award of Junior Secondary School Certificate.

According to Everiet (2002), Business studies is an inter-disciplinary integrated subject which draws its contents from other five distinct subjects namely:-

i. Office Practice

ii. Commerce

iii. Book Keeping

iv. Type writing, and

v. Shorthand.

During Junior Secondary school certificate examination, Business studies questions are set from all the five subjects listed above. And to ensure that all the subject areas are done, the normal rubrics given the students in the examination, requires them to attempt all the questions in the five subject areas of the paper without any subject options. This has been the practice in some states like Imo, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu where business studies is offered in J.S.S. Examination.

However, it is observed that students do avoid answering questions in typing and shorthand which affect their cumulative result in Business studies JSS Examination.

Osuala (2004) observed that this has contributed to a significant decrease in the production of secretaries and typists at this level to work in our private and public offices as their services are seriously needed in our growing economy. For instance, to support the case being made for typewriting and shorthand, investigations conducted by the researcher at the JSC Examination marking centres at Enugu, Nsukka, and Abakaliki education zones in 2006, 2007 and 2008, revealed student’s subject choice pattern in the JSS Business studies examination to be in favour of office practice, commerce and book-keeping.

This choice of three subject areas in the examination, draws together all the problems arising from the examination structure might be that government either avoid obligation or does not see the justification to build workshops, provision of fund, instructional materials and equipment, qualified manpower and incentives to both teachers and students since students do not offer typewriting and shorthand. While Ministry of Education ironically gives certificate to students in Business studies in typewriting and shorthand for passing office practice, commerce, and Book –Keeping even when, in fact, the questions are not enough to cover the subject areas.

If this situation is allowed to continue, the future of Business studies in general and typewriting and shorthand in particular, will continue to be bleak unless urgent remedial action is taken to reverse the trend.

It is against this backdrop that this study is strongly being pursued.