EMERGING TRENDS IN PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMMES IN NIGERIA

Educational planning and administration trends in higher institutions across the world continue to evolve due to the new discoveries, research outcomes, funding, technological and industrial advancement of the institutions. Administrators of higher education programmes in Nigeria are saddled with the task of developing appropriate administrative policies whose implementation must be in line with the sustainable development of the 21st century academia. This paper discussed the extent to which institutions of higher learning in a developing nation like Nigeria should plan and administer higher education programmes, as well as operate to achieve academic excellence, high standard, international ranking and effective administration. The authors equally provided suggestions for improvement to stakeholders that may require such transformation.   Article visualizations

Integration and Innovation in Early Childhood Education in Nigeria: Implications for Quality Teacher Production

This survey research studied integration and innovation in early childhood education and implications for quality teacher preparation. The study was a descriptive survey research, with one hundred and twelve (112) sampled preschool teacher. Eight research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. Early Childhood Programme Instrument on Integration and Innovation (ECPAI) was constructed, validated and used in eliciting responses from the respondents. The data collected were analyzed using percentage, mean, and Paired Sample tests. The study revealed a significant difference in the opinions of public and private preschool teachers toward integration and innovative practices in early childhood education in Nigeria. It was equally revealed that are Early Childhood Education (ECE) programme in Nigeria is influenced by traditional, uncreative approaches. Thus, training and retraining of focus teachers and stakeholders in ECE was highly recommende

Genetic variability among pig populations in Imo State, Nigeria using random amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR

AbstractRandom amplified Polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD DNA-PCR) was employed to access the genetic variability and phylogenetic relationship among pig populations in Imo State. Genomic DNA from 50 pigs comprising of at least 10 pigs per geopolitical zone of Imo state were extracted and two highly polymorphic primers utilized to estimate variability, phylogenetic relationship among the pigs and their genetic diversity. The genetic distance and genetic identity estimated showed that genetic distances (D) calculated ranged between 0.0300 (Songhai vs FUTO) and 0.1497 (Mbaise vs Awo-Idemili), while the genetic identity (I) calculated ranged between 0.8610 (Mbaise vs Awo-Idemili) and 0.9704 (Songhai vs FUTO). Similarity was observed between Songhai, Mbaise and FUTO populations, while Mbano and Awo–idemili exhibited dissimilarity. The phylogenetic tree showed that Songhai, FUTO and Mbaise populations are more closely related while Mbano and Awo-idemili are more genetically distant. The standard genetic diversity (h*) of total population ranged from 0.0001 to 0.4998 with an average of 0.3208, while Shannon's information index (I*) ranged from 0.0001 to 0.6929 with a mean of 0.4762. This study shows that genetic diversity of the RAPD DNA polymorphs amongst pig populations in Imo State is low while the genetic relationship between the different populations varies from population to population

A back door to globalisation?: structural adjustment, globalisation & transborder trade in west Africa

Neo-liberal economic reforms were widely expected to rein in Africa's unofficial transborder trade through liberalisation and closer integration into the global economy. Instead of disappearing in the face of structural adjustment and globalisation, however, West African transborder trading systems have been restructured and globalised. This article analyses how the West African experience of economic restructuring has led to an expansion and deepening of unofficial trade, as well as the globalisation of its activities. A clear understanding of this process has been blurred by the ideological manipulation of perspectives on informal economic activity by proponents of the neo-liberal reforms. By means of a deconstruction of populist analyses and more recent narratives of criminalisation, this article traces the contemporary evolution of transborder trade. The conclusion reached is that, while transborder trading structures represent important institutional resources for economic development, they are structurally incapable of integrating West Africa into the global economy in the absence of an appropriate regulatory framework