Confronting Vision 20:2020 Challenges: The Place of Environmental Education in Universal Basic Science

Abstract

Survival of living organisms on earth cannot be guaranteed without redressing the present devastating environment. Active involvement of all and sundry is highly necessary to manage the present intensive exploitative demands on the environmental resources by organisms. This was why a survey of the place of environmental education in Universal Basic Science for confronting vision 20:2020 challenges from the North central zone of Nigeria was examined in this paper. 536 students randomly selected from 10 Junior Secondary Schools in 4 randomly selected states from the zone participated. Two research hypotheses were tested through t-test analysis of Environmental Challenges Achievement Test (ECAT) scores. The results revealed that there were significant differences in students’ achievement on the inclusion of environmental concepts in the students’ knowledge of environmental management as well as the contributions of environmental education in resolving vision 20: 2020 environmental challenges. It was recommended among others that every child of school age should be involved in tree planting and cover cropping in all their localities every year; and the need for collaboration between government and farmers in a way that farmers would be helped directly to adopt new techniques and sustainable farming practices in addition to regulated grazing of animals.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n15p119