An Assessment of Stakeholders’ Perception of the Implementation of Universal Basic Education in North-Central Geo-Political Zone of Nigeria

The study was carried out to investigate the perception of stakeholders on the implementation of the Universal Basic Education in the North-central zone of Nigeria. The perception of school heads, parents, teachers and the learners on the implementation of UBE were compared. The study was a cross-sectional survey which employed. The evaluative design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised the major stakeholders in the UBE in North-central zone of Nigeria. The sample for the investigation consisted of Seven Hundred and Twenty (720) respondents: 60 Head teachers, 120 parents, 120 teachers and, 360 learners. An instrument tagged: Assessment of Implementation of UBE Questionnaire (AIUBEQ) was used for data collection. The findings were as follows: (i) Implementation of the UBE Programme in the North-Central zone of Nigeria according to school administrators is not satisfactory (mean = 2.31). (ii) Parents of learners in UBE Schools in North-Central zone of Nigeria perceive that human resources are inadequate for the effective implementation of UBE Programme. (iii) Funding of UBE Programme as perceived by school administrators is inadequate for effective UBE Programme delivery in North-Central zone of Nigeria. (iv) Learners in UBE schools in North Central zone of Nigeria perceive that the programme has been satisfactory. (v) The major factors militating against the effective implementation of UBE Programme in North–Central zone of Nigeria are overcrowded classroom (32.50%) inadequate funding (25.02%) and dilapidated buildings (20.61%). It was concluded that the implementation of the UBE Programme in the North-Central zone of Nigeria is unsatisfactory. It was therefore recommended that government should consolidate on the provision of funds, recruitment of teachers, construction and renovation of classroom facilities and, carry out periodic programme evaluation to ascertain areas of needs. Key words: Assessment, Stakeholders. Universal Basic Education, Implementatio