Rejigging Handiwork and Craft Education in Secondary Schools in Obudu L. G. A. of Cross River State Nigeria: An Intervention Strategy for Poverty Reduction, Economic Empowerment and Insecurit

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue IX, September 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

Rejigging Handiwork and Craft Education in Secondary Schools in Obudu L. G. A. of Cross River State Nigeria: An Intervention Strategy for Poverty Reduction, Economic Empowerment and Insecurit

Abel White Iheagwam, Julius Undiukeye Adie & Willie Stephen Eteng
Department of Educational Foundations
Federal College of Education, Obudu, Cross River State, Nigeria.

Abstract. The importance of the re-introduction of handiwork/craft Education in our secondary school system cannot be over emphasized. This study therefore Investigated how the rejigging of handiwork/craft Education in secondary schools can serve as an intervention strategy in reducing the level of poverty, ensure economic empowerment and guarantee adequate security of lives and property in Obudu Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria. To achieve the purpose of this study, three research questions were posed, survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was all the junior secondary school students in the Local Government Area numbering about three thousand eight hundred and sixty (3860) students. The sample size was five hundred (500) students randomly selected from the population. The questionnaire was used for data collection, and the data obtained was analysed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation. The result obtained from data analysis revealed that rejigging handiwork/craft Education will help in promoting poverty alleviation, tackle insecurity and economic empowerment. Based on the result of findings, it was recommended among others that the teaching of handiwork/craft Education as a subject should be made compulsory in all secondary schools in Cross River State, as this will empower students economically.

Key Words: Handiwork, Craft, Education, Poverty Reduction, Economic empowerment and Insecurity

I. INTRODUCTION

There is no gain saying that education plays a catalytic role in the all-round growth and development of every nation; as there exists a positive functional link between education (which deals with human capital development) and national development. However, presently in Nigeria and Cross River State in particular, the rate of graduates or youths unemployment has undoubtedly become a monster that has thrown much questions at the functionality of handiwork/craft and entrepreneurship education. Bolaji and Nneka (2012) supporting this assertion, argued that the rate of growth of students/graduates population is at a geometric progression while the growth of job opportunities can at best be described as being in arithmetic progression.

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