CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The Nigerian education philosophy is based on the integration of individual into a sound and effective citizen vis-à-vis the acquisition of appropriate skills, abilities and competences, both mental and physical, as equipment for the individual to live in and contribute to the development of his society. It is within this framework that adult education especially for women becomes relevant. Similarly, the United Nations Nairobi forward looking strategies for the advancement of women recognizes that education is the basic tool that should be given to women in order to fulfill their roles as full members of the society.
The acquisition of skills and knowledge is essential to the development of autonomous and productive individual women. Therefore, adult education offers a second chance to women who could not benefit from the formal school system, the opportunity to get useful knowledge and skills to improve their lots in the society. The process of development and its socio-economic challenges have modified the roles of women in our society. These changing roles call for adequate preparation of women through formal career education or through adult and non formal education. For instance, the establishment of women education units in the federal and state ministries of education in 1986 and the establishment and equipment of eighty eight (88) women adult education centres in the country by the federal ministry of education attested to the belief that education of women is the corner stone of development (Chukwuma 1993).
But that not withstanding the proportion of women in adult technical fields has been low in comparison to the number of men engaged in skill supporting labour. Most women are teachers, nurses, librarians and social workers with less preference for adult training as trades women or craft women for possible careers in the industry or in self supporting labour. Surely, the inclusion of adult education in the National Policy on Education (1981) has ushered in a outlook to the concept of skill training with the introduction of pre-adult subjects such as wood work, metal work, electronics machines, local crafts, home economics and business studies which are skill acquisition oriented.
Under the policy, the training for occupations at the junior and senior secondary schools is basically pre-adult in preparation for entry into adult skills programmes in future by both men and women based on interest, aptitudes etc. also, women could acquire adult education at the Technical Colleges, Post Secondary Institute and through adult and non formal training and retraining programmes organized by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) at designated Adult Training Centres. In fact, government programmes such as the Universal Basic Education (UBE) has amplified the demand by women for adult skills development which in turn has necessitated the expansion of existing adult training centres and the creation of new ones by public and National Directorate of Employment (NDE).
Such courses may be full time or part time, optional or compulsory ion the job or off the job. Women trained can find employment with little capital as artisans, painters, printers, plumbers, draught women etc. Adult education is a panacea against unemployment which is currently playing the nations. The major occupation areas of adult education are agricultural, distributive education, home economics, health occupations, trade and industrial education, business and office education and technical education (Osuala 1987).
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Most men are self employed as trade men, artisans, technicians and masters craft men. But the same cannot be said of the women population for reason of societal sex role, ideological and cultural perception towards them. Therefore, the women have a challenge to themselves and the nation to set it aright on a proper adult scientific and technical courses by making good use of their innate abilities through the acquisition of adult skills in both traditional and formal trades, and now that the social and economic philosophy is self reliance, it is difficult to know whether adult education as practiced now in our society, has been properly used to check idleness among our women folk.
Have women been participating effectively in adult education training as much as their male counterparts? Are women who received adult education given free hands to practice their trades in self employment or in paid employment? What are the factors militating against effectiveness in that direction. These questions raised are the problems this study sets out to investigate.