Al-Hikmah University Journal

The Universal Basic Education (UBE) linkage schools programme was introduced in Nigeria to improve early childhood education by connecting nursery schools to primary education. Despite its potential to enhance access to quality Early Childhood Care and Development Education (ECCDE), its effective implementation is in doubt. Consequently, this paper assessed the implementation of the UBE linkage schools programme in two selected states in South-West, Nigeria. It addressed three research questions and tested three hypotheses. Descriptive survey research design was adopted, with a sample size of 1,757 respondents, including 1,143 teachers and 614 stakeholders from Lagos and Oyo States. Data were collected via questionnaires. The data collected were analysed using mean, standard deviation and independent t-test at 0.05 level of significance. Findings showed that the level of community involvement in the UBE linkage school programme is moderate; the male and female respondents have good perceptions about the pedagogical methods used in the UBE linkage schools; and the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) strategies for the UBE linkage school programme are effective to a moderate extent. The paper concluded that the implementation of UBE linkage schools programme is moderately effective in the selected states in South-West, Nigeria. The recommendations of the paper include improving community involvement, teachers’ utilisation of differentiated and culturally responsive pedagogical methods and strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems.