Suchergebnisse

Public secondary school education is rapidly growing in Nigeria, requiring huge investments by government. To justify the level of investments and improve the quality of education in the secondary schools, there is need for proper monitoring and evaluation through inspection. This paper examines the extent to which inspectors complied with inspection principles of independence, impartiality, transparency and mutual respect in public secondary schools in Ekiti state, Nigeria. This is with the view to improving the quality of education in the state. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 147 respondents, comprising 120 teachers, 12 principals, and 15 inspectors. Data were collected using survey questionnaires complemented with interview guide. Data were analysed with the use of frequency counts, percentage and means. Results showed that 46.7% of the inspectors indicated compliance with the inspection principles of independence, 40% with impartiality and transparency, and 53.3% with mutual respect. On the average, about 47% of the inspectors indicated compliance with all the inspection principles. The study concluded that inspectors' compliance with inspection principles is low and therefore, intensifying their compliance with inspection principles is imperative to improving the standard of education in public secondary schools.

Cassava is a major staple that supplies more than 50% of daily energy to more than 200 million persons in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Cassava roots are known to be low in micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron, and zinc. Micronutrient deficiencies threaten the lives of millions of poor households and those located in remote rural areas of SSA often not targeted by fortification programmes. This paper presents results from an ex-ante evaluation of nutrition and health benefits of increased vitamin A status of cassava roots through biofortification for at-risk-target-groups using the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) approach. Results showed that Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) causes an annual loss of about 553,000 years of healthy life in Nigeria with children constituting more than forty percent. Biofortified cassava would reduce VAD by 4.42%, 11.73%, and 3.14% for children, pregnant women, and lactating women respectively in the pessimistic scenario. Results for the optimistic scenario are 28.79%, 76.39, and 20.45% respectively. The biofortification of cassava roots would result in annual gains of about 33,000 years of healthylife and avert 166 child deaths per year for the pessimistic scenario and about 220,000 years life and 1272 child deaths per year for the optimistic scenario. In economic terms, such a programme would bring gains amounting to about $10 million per year, which Biofortification, DALYs, Economics, Health, corresponds to an internal rate of return (IRR) as high as 92.4% in the pessimistic scenario. Results in the optimistic scenario are about $63 million per year and an IRR of 165.3%. A research and development effort aimed at the biofortification of cassava roots is a powerful strategy in the fight against hidden hunger from micronutrient deficiencies, which African governments at the national and local levels, and international investors should support to improve the standard of living of the people in SSA. ; Peer Review

First published online: 2 December 2015 ; Several efforts have been made through research, government programs and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) interventions to improve yam production in Nigeria. In addition, some policies targeted at improving agricultural production have weakened the production and consumption of different commodities, especially yam. This study analyzed the effects of policy changes on yam production and consumption in Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 700 respondents for the study. Primary data was collected using pre-tested structured questionnaire while interview guide was used to collect information in a Focus Group Discussion. Data were analyzed using Multi-Market Model. The results showed that that policy changes on yam substitutes, particularly rice, sometimes have negative effects on yam production, prices, land share and real income among yam farming households in Nigeria depending on the nature of the policy. ; Peer Review