HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR ACHIEVING BASIC EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Home Economics Education plays a vital role in national development especially with the view to providing requisite skills for graduates in order to enable them fit into the industrialized society. Furthermore, through Home Economics, students are able to learn practical skills that can help them in their daily lives. By incorporating Home Economics Education into the curriculum, Nigerian students would be able to develop important life skills that are essential for their future success. In view of the preceding, this paper highlighted the philosophy of Home Economics and its objectives in Nigeria. It also discussed the concept of Universal Basic Education programme of the government, the demand it has placed on the nation’s philosophy, objectives of Home Economics Education and how Home Economics Education can be an instrument for achieving the Universal Basic Education goals. By incorporating Home Economics into the curriculum, schools can help students develop permanent literacy and numeracy, lay a strong foundation for scientific and reflective thinking, provide citizenship education, mold character and morals, foster adaptability, develop manipulative skills, and prepare students for further educational advancement. The paper therefore, concluded that Home Economics is a vital tool in effecting and achieving basic education in Nigeria, and recommended among others, that Government should assist by providing adequate fund to support the students.