Availability and Utilization of Educational Resources in Selected Rural Communities of Enugu State: Implications for Achieving Universal Primary Education of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Nigeria

This paper is focused on the availability and utilization of educational resources in selected rural communities in Enugu State: Implication for actualization of millennium development goal No2 in Nigeria. The study was guided by three research questions formulated in line with three specific objectives. The population of the study was 118 primary schools found in the four local government areas that make up the study area. Methodologies employed for data collection included Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) in sampled communities, questionnaire surveys designed in form of a checklist, and use of secondary data sources. Data collected was analyzed by simple descriptive methods and uni-variate summary statistics (e.g. percentages) in tabular and graphical forms. The findings of the study showed the net enrolment in each of the five communities; Eha-Alumona and Opi have 10.63 per cent, Eha-Amufu as 21.27 per cent, Ikem having 31.92 per cent, Obollo-Afor and Obollo-Eke having 36.67 and 19.98 per cent respectively, indicating that one out of ten school children drops out of school in these localities. In terms of human resources, there is adequate staff available for UBE implementation, whereas there is gross inadequacy of material resources which is bound to affect the quality of education given to pupils of these areas.