Reducing poverty in Nigeria through

home economics education

A presentation on Strategic
Eradication through SKILLS and
Entrepreneurial Development

ABSTRACT

Poverty in Nigeria has outgrown the imaginative minds of the early Nigerian economic Analysts
history has shown that it has prevailed continuously overtime across all geographical regions and
majority of Nigerians live within it adverse effects.
Graduates are faced with unemployment, hunger and other faces of poverty while many homes
strive to survive from whatever little they could dig up.
The survival of any nation or people is predicated on the level of development and where ever the
standard of living is low, the nation or people stand at risk of total economic collapse.
Home Economics Education curriculum is adequately structured to meet the challenges of today. It
is a vital tool which can be used to develop individuals since it is being re-branded and repositioned
to capture its progressive roots, make programmes more vibrant and sustainable to alleviate
poverty through creativity and entrepreneurship education.
Home Economics Education is a field where opportunities exist for promoting self-employment and
employment in private and public sector of the economy for reducing unemployment and poverty
in the country.
The purpose of this presentation is to re-orientate the general public on the diverse means through
Home Economics Education can help in alleviating poverty in Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION

Poverty is the inability to attain a minimal standard of living measured in terms of basic
consumption needs or income required to satisfy them. It is one of the most serious problems
faced by families in Nigeria today.
Past governments between 1972 and now have mounted at least eight projects that were meant to
alleviate poverty and billions of naira was spent on these projects yet Nigerians have remained poor
and hungry. Nigeria, one of the largest country in Africa and the sixth largest oil producing country
in the world has an estimated population of 150 million people living in both rural and urban areas
exposed to the economic rigors of POVERTY.
The international fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) (2007) noted that Despite its plentiful
resources and oil wealth, poverty is widespread in Nigeria. The situation has worsened since the
late 1990s, to the extent that the country is now considered one of the 20 poorest countries in the
world. Over 70 percent of the population is classified as poor, with 35 percent living in absolute
poverty.
Poverty which is the inability of an individual or a group in securing the basic necessities of life such
as clothing, food health, portable water and shelter, is deadly. It is a serious problem which has
eaten deep into the fabric of African countries.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was adopted in 2000 and the target date for achieving
the goals is 2015. Nigeria is a party to the adoption of MDGs. The year 2015 is just a year away and
poverty is still on the increase in Nigeria.
If poverty eradication strategies are the main Goal of MDGs, Then how can this be achieved..

OBJECTIVES OF THIS PRESENTATION

To appraise if Home Economics Educational can
use as a tool for empowering students in the
industries of their discipline in other to curb the
effects of POVERTY.
To explore the effectiveness of Skills &
Entrepreneurial development strategy in Home
Economics Education if implemented, towards
NATIONAL Economy.
To see if the current educational system
stimulates Home Economics Education in its
students

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Does Home Economics Education help
empower students in the industries of their
discipline?
Are the Skills & Entrepreneurial development
strategies in Home Economics Education being
implemented truly effective?
Does the classroom stimulate creativity
necessary for Home Economics Education in
the students?

STATEMENT OF THIS PRESENTATION

Unemployment prevails in the country, hence, the growth of
violence, poverty and segregation amongst citizens, because the
educational system itself fails to empower the ones passing it with
the necessary skills needed to become self-dependent.
Education in Nigeria is devoid of the element crucial to averting the
surging rate of unemployment in the country, therefore the
breeding of psychological dependence on direct access to money.
Entrepreneurial Skills development through Home Economics
Education will advance the economy of the nation and rid it of the
prevalent surge of POVERTY.
But first, the Fundamental TRUTH must be laid down through
answers given to direct questions asked Information must be
transferred from the higher source to the lower source before
Empowerment sets in.

WHAT IS POVERTY

There is a strong connection between poverty, hunger and human development.

This connective cord is very significant indeed as poverty and hunger can both be
seen as the exact opposite of human development.
All the attributes of human development are deprived by poverty. Poverty is lack
of job. Poverty is hunger, poor health, low education, low self-esteem, lack of
adequate housing, lack of land, inability to cloth oneself/family low economic
status.
Maduagwu (2007) concluded that poverty creates frustration, loss of
hope/prospects and value for life, loss of meaning for life and purpose of living.
Poverty is not only inadequate income; it is also the lack of access to basic
services and amenities, the lack of security and exclusion from community life. The
recommendation is to focus efforts to uproot the causes of poverty and to achieve
the involvement of the poor themselves taking part in the elaboration of policies
which concern them.
This is where HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION comes in as it can be reviewed in
order to be effective in the variety of life situations and everyday socio-economic
and cultural demands of people and their families who live in poverty.

CAUSES OF POVERTY
Given the magnitude and spread of poverty, and the
desire to curb its spread, there is a need to identify
the causes of poverty. There are basically two
conceptual sources of poverty, namely:
A. Factors that make the number of individuals in the
consuming unit, larger in relation to the amount of
productive services the unit is able to supply. That is,
there is an excessive family size in relation to income.
B. Factors which make the value of the productive
services the household can supply, low relative to the
household needs or physical incapacity and
discrimination in terms of age colour, race or sex.

The CBN poverty Assessment and

Alleviation study (1999) summarized
the causative factor of poverty as:
i. The stage of Economic and Social Development
ii. Low Productivity
iii. Market Imperfections
iv. Structural Shift in the Economy
v. Political Instability
vii. Corruption

The TERM DEFINED

WHAT IS HOME ECONOMICS

A
Home Economics Education, a skill oriented
course, is a field of study that offers numerous
occupations for individuals. it possesses the
capability of equipping individuals with
saleable skills that make for self-employment,
self-reliance and creation of wealth.

B
It is an all-embracing programme that focuses
on the welfare of individuals and their
families. It is a vocational and skill based
education which prepares one for gainful
employment, employer of labour, good family
living, self-employment and development of
the society. It equips individuals to attain and
live a useful and satisfying life.

C
Home Economics Education is self-reliant and
contributes immensely to national
development (Olaitan, 1996). Home
Economics Education is that aspect of the
total education programme that provides the
knowledge, skills, understanding and attitude
needed to perform in the business world as a
producer or consumer of goods and services
that business offers.

D
Home Economics Education prepares students
for the acquisition and development of skills
and competencies, attitude and attributes
which are necessary for efficiency of the
economic system. It makes people to be job
producers rather than job seekers (Audu and
Abdulkadir, 2009).

E
Home Economics Education contributes in some
measures to the objective of self-realization, so
work offered in Home Economics Education
enable the students to improve upon their ability
to solve problems. Since a skill is necessary to be
gainfully employed and fight poverty, Home
Economics Education provides such skill for selfemployment, it enables students to acquire skills,
knowledge and relevant attitudes necessary for
self-employment or employment in specific
business environment.

F
To me, Home Economics Education is
education for and about skills and business
with primary purpose of preparing students
for gainful employment in Home Economics
occupations, which will help in poverty
reduction.

THE ROLE OF HOME ECONOMICS

EDUCATION IN POVERTY REDUCTION
Home Economics Education is a conglomerate of courses that is
concerned with the acquisition development and inculcation of
proper values for the survival of the individual, the family and the
society. Every individual aims at improving his economic status by
engaging in self-sustaining activities that are meant to uplift him to
a higher level and remove him from poverty.
The basic mission of Home Economics Education is helping
individuals and families to improve their lives through:
Training for necessary manpower in entrepreneurship.
Development of improved skills, competencies, capabilities and
utilization of workers employed in government and private sectors.
Training and imparts of necessary skills to individuals who shall be self
reliant economically.
Provision of technical knowledge and vocational skills necessary for
economic development.

Role of Education
The educational goals go in line with the objectives of
Home Economics Education, which include:
Empowering the individual with desirable skills knowledge and
value to perform specific functions so as to become self-reliant.
Helping him to appreciate the world around him and contribute
maximally to the social and economic development of the
nation.
Empowering the individual in such a way that the individual will
develop his intellectual capacity that would help him to make
meaningful decisions in all spheres of life.
Helping the individual to become a judicious spender and
develop proper values for the achievement of healthy living and
growth of the nation.

Purpose of HOME ECONOMICS

EDUCATION
The recipient of Home Economics Education is expected to
have acquired basic expertise in a particular branch in
which he shows special aptitude and interest.
Home Economics Education prepares one for wage earning
or for proper use of hands and head to earn a living using
necessary vocational skills and ethics. It prepares one for
survival as one can always fall back to the skills acquired in
the course in times of emergency such as retrenchment.
Home Economics Education is a means of reducing poverty
in that it helps one to live happily in the environment by
learning how to use the goods and services available to the
family and by promoting sound attitude and adapting easily
to newer technological developments.

GRADUATES OF HOME ECONOMICS

EDUCATION MAY ESTABLISH IN ANY OF
THE FOLLOWING AREAS:

Clothing and Textiles: The following

jobs are open to clothing and textiles
major:
Fashion designing.
Clothing maintenance.
Laundry services.
Tie-dying and batik.
Textiles and clothing merchandise.
Pattern illustrator
Craft work.

Food and nutrition related jobs are:

Catering and hotel management.
Opening snack centre or restaurant
Baking.
Food processing and preservation.

Child development and family

relations: People majoring in this area
can work at any of these:
Nursery as a school director.
Proprietors of a private primary or secondary
school
Director of social/welfare centre.

Home Management: Careers in Home

Management include:
Interior decorations.
Day care and nursery management.
Managing old peoples home.
Vegetable and flower gardening
Extension worker.
Institutional home keepers.

My Take
Home Economics Education is a means of
acquiring entrepreneurial skills and knowledge
which will afford the recipients wide saleable
opportunities needed to mobilize available
resources to meet the desired self
employment.

Also
The wide employment opportunities as
identified makes it the only option which can
bring respite for the pathetic situation of
unemployment thereby reducing poverty
through its credible skills acquisition
programme in Nigeria.

FACTORS THAT CAN HINDER EFFECTIVE

TEACHING OF HOME ECONOMICS
EDUCATION FOR SKILLS ACQUISITION
AND POVERTY REDUCTION.

 The following factors according to Njoku (2002) can hinder

the teaching of Home Economics Education for
functionality and poverty alleviation:
Lack of political will by government to put in place policies and
programmes that will promote Home Economics Education.
Inadequate supply of equipment and instructional materials.
Inadequate funding for meaningful technological breakthrough.
Shortage of Home Economics Education teaching materials such
as current textbooks and journals.
inadequate security and maintenance of equipment
Poor societal perception of Home Economics Education.

Conclusion
Promoting Home Economics Education is necessary for
Nigeria to get out of the current global financial crisis.
That is, why this write-up tried to bring to lime light
government policy initiatives for poverty reduction,
Home Economics Education and poverty reduction, the
role of Home Economics Education in poverty
reduction, factors that can hinder effective teaching of
Home Economics Education for skill acquisition and
poverty reduction and recommended ways of
promoting Home Economics Education for poverty
reduction in Nigeria.

Refference
Poverty. Merriam - Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
"Measuring Inequality". The World Bank Reform. 2011.
"Poverty and Equity - Nigeria, 2010 World Bank Country
Profile". http://www.worldbank.org/nigeria
Raphael, Dennis (June 2009. Poverty, Human Development, and Health
in Africa: Research, Practice, and Advocacy Dilemmas). Canadian
Journal of Nursing Research
strategies for reducing economic poverty through home
www.scholarsworks.com Chinwendu Igbaji
PROMOTING HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION FOR ECONOMIC
GROWTH ...Global academic group 2001
the challenges of reducing poverty in Nigeria - Global ...education for
sustainable development Nwakego Molokwu 2001