3RD TERM JSS2 CIVIC EDUCATION Scheme of Work and Note

THIRD TERM E-LEARNING NOTE

SUBJECT: CIVIC EDUCATION CLASS: JSS 2

SCHEME OF WORK

WEEK  TOPIC

1. Elections and Voters’ Responsibilities.
2. Elections and Voters’ Responsibilities.
3. Qualification for Registration for Election in Nigeria.
4. Qualification for Registration for Election in Nigeria.
5. Electoral Malpractices.
6. Electoral Malpractices.
7. Illiteracy.
8. Revision of First Term work.
9. Revision of Second Term work.
10. Revision of Third Term work.
11. Examination.

WEEK ONE AND TWO

TOPIC: ELECTIONS AND VOTERS’ RESPONSIBILITIES

CONTENT

• Concept of Elections.
• Concept of a Voter.
• Types of Elections.

CONCEPT OF ELECTION

An election can be defined as an act or process of voting for a candidate to represent the people of a country in the various arms of government. It also means that a process citizens of a country make political choices by voting for competing candidates or parties. In essence, the concept of election implies that the voters have alternatives and can choose among a number of proposals designed to settle an issue of public concerns.

EVALUATION

What is an election?

CONCEPT OF A VOTER

A voter is a person who is eligible to participate in voting. Voters are referred to as the electorates. Voting, on the other hand, is a process of expressing one’s choice of a candidate in an election.

EVALUATION

Who is a voter?

TYPES OF ELECTIONS

The types of election include:

1. Direct Election: This is the process by which voters vote directly to elect their representatives for public office.

   ADVANTAGES OF DIRECT ELECTION
   

   1. It is highly democratic.
   2. It is simple to practice.
   3. It promotes democracy.
   4. It engenders equality of voters.
2. Indirect Elections:This is a system whereby eligible voters select representatives who would make the final selection of leaders on their behalf. This involves the use of Electoral College.

   ADVANTAGES OF INDIRECT ELECTION
   

   1. It is very cheap.
   2. It reduces electoral malpractice.
   3. It enhances quality of law made.
   4. It reduces political violence.

EVALUATION

Mention two advantages of direct election.

1. Electoral College: This is a body of elected representatives who assist in electing other political or public officers.

   ADVANTAGES OF ELECTORAL COLLEGE
   

   1. It is less expensive.
   2. It produces winners easily.
   3. It makes voting very short and easy.

1. By-Election: This is an election that is conducted to fill a vacant elective post due to recall, resignation or death of the individual holding a given political office.
2. Run-Off Election:This is an election that is re re-conducted due to disqualification or malpractice or annulment of the initial polls or election. It is usually ordered by election tribunal or court.
3. Referendum: This is a “yes” or “no” vote of the people particularly on law in a given political systems. It helps the government in knowing the opinion of people about an important issue of national interest or concern.
4. Primary Election: This refers to an election conducted within the party to elect the flag-bearer of the party during the general elections.

EVALUATION

Mention three types of elections.

GENERAL EVALUATION/ REVISION QUESTIONS

1. Who is a voter?
2. Mention four types of elections.
3. State three major differences among the tiers of government.
4. Mention three characteristics of a federation.
5. Mention three ways to nurture your talents.

READING ASSIGNMENT

Fundamentals of Civic Education for Basic 8 by Sola Akinyemi, pgs 122-123

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

1. An election re-conducted due to disqualification or malpractice, annulment of the initial poll or election is called______ election. A. primary B. secondary C. run-off D. by-election
2. A person eligible to vote in an election is called____. A. vote caster B. votee C. voter D. electioneer
3. Which of these is regarded as “Yes” or “No” vote? A. Run-off election B. Referendum C. primary D. By-election
4. The process by which voters vote directly to elect their representatives for public office is called____ election. A. direct B. indirect C. concept D.digital
5. Are elections are integral part of democracy? A. Yes B. No C. Not at all D. Probably

THEORY

1. What is an election?
2. Mention three advantages of indirect elections.

    

    

WEEK THREE AND FOUR

QUALIFICATION FOR REGISTRATION FOR ELECTION IN NIGERIA

CONTENT

• Qualification for Elections.
• Responsibilities of Voters.
• Voters’ Rights.

QUALIFICATION FOR ELECTIONS

Under the Electoral act of 2002, to qualify for registration voter in Nigeria, a person must have the following qualifications:

1. He must be a citizen of Nigeria: Someone seeking elective post must be a citizen of the country.
2. Age: To be eligible to vote in an election, a person must attain the age of 18years. However, those seeking for elective posts like the President, House of Senate and State Governors must have attained the age of 35years but the House of Representatives must be at least 30years old.
3. He must belong to a political party: To be voted for, a person must be a member of one of the registered political parties in the country. Independent candidature is not recognized in Nigeria.
4. Educational Qualification: The minimum qualification needed to be voted into the parliament in Nigeria is the West African School Certificate(WASC).
5. Crime-free: To contest for any elective post in Nigeria, the candidate must not have any criminal record. This means that he must not be an ex-convict for any crime committed.
6. Sanity: Anybody contesting for any elective position must not be insane. Hence, he must be of sound mind.
7. Tax payment: The candidate must provide the evidence oftax payment over a period of time.

EVALUATION

State three qualifications for elections

RESPONSIBILITIES OF VOTERS

1. He must respect the privacy of other voters.
2. Treat electoral officers.
3. Know the location of his polling place and its hours operation.
4. Familiarize himself with candidates.
5. Participate in election by coming out to vote.
6. Follow instructions concerning voting procedures.
7. Follow all federal and state voting laws.
8. Bring proper identification to the polling station.

    

   EVALUATION
   

   Mention four responsibilities of voters.

    

   VOTERS’ RIGHTS
   

   1. Right to vote if they registered.
   2. Right to ask questions on election process or procedure.
   3. Right to preview a sample ballot before voting.
   4. Right to vote in privacy and freedom from coercion or intimidation.
   5. Right to receive assistance if the voter is blind; have physical disability or inability to read English or any Nigerian languages.

    

   PROCEDURE FOR VOTING
   

   Each qualified voter is expected to have registered before the election day so as to avoid unnecessary rush and waste the time of others. At the registration center, he will be given a voter’s card which qualifies him for voting on the election day. On election day, the electorate goes to the centre where he will accredited for voting having presented his voter’s card. Afterwards, he is given the ballot paper where all the political parties and their logos are written.

    

   IMPORTANCE OF ELECTION
   

9. It provides opportunity for choosing leaders.
10. It checks the excesses of leaders.
11. It makes the change of government easy and peaceful.
12. It promotes democracy.
13. It provides opportunity for political education.
14. It serves as basis for measuring popularity of government in power.

     

    EVALUATION
    

    State three voters’ right

     

    GENERAL EVALUATION/ REVISION QUESTIONS

15. Mention four responsibilities of voters.
16. State three voters’ right.
17. State three benefits of the rule of law.
18. Mention four limitations of the rule of law.
19. Mention three factors that promote the value system.

     

     

    READING ASSIGNMENT
    

    Fundamentals of Civic Education for Basic 8 by Sola Akinyemi, pgs 126-130

     

    WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT
    

• The voting age in Nigeria is____ years. A. 15 B. 20 C. 18 D.25
• All the following can contest for elections in Nigeria except____. A. an adult B. a sane person C. an ex-convict D. a teacher
• All these are voters’ right except____. A. right to vote in privacy B. right to vote if registered C. right to ask questions on election process or procedure D. right to vote even if not registered
• The most important requirement for any elective post in any country is_____. A. tax payment B. citizenship C. educational background D. tribe
• Anybody contesting for the post of governor must have the age of____. A. 40 B. 35 C. 45 D. 37

THEORY

1. Mention three rights’ of voters.
2. State two importance of an election.

    

    

   WEEKFIVE AND SIX
   

   ELECTORAL MALPRACTICE
   

• Meaning.
• Forms of electoral malpractices.
• Causes of electoral malpractices.
• Consequences of electoral malpractices.
• Solutions to electoral malpractices.

MEANING OF ELECTORAL MALPRACTICE

Electoral malpractice can be defined as an illegal interference with electoral process. It is also called electoral fraud or voters’ fraud. It includes illegal registration, intimidation at polling station and improper counting of votes.

EVALUATION

What are electoral malpractices?

FORMS OF ELECTORAL MALPRACTICES

1. Use of fake ballot papers: When fake ballot papers are used for casting vote, such papers are used for multi-voting purposes so that a particular candidate can win the elections.
2. Underage voting: This is a situation when youths beneath below the constitutionally approved voting age are made to vote. This usually happens where the population of a particular area has more under age voters.
3. The use of thugs: This is a situation where thugs are used by political parties scare the electorates in doing their own bidding or denying them of performing their civic duties through the aid of weapons.
4. Financial inducement: Voters may be given money or other rewards to vote for a particular candidate though, this may be their choice. This can as well be through the church or mosque where the pastor or imam will tell their followers to vote for a particular candidate.
5. Ballot stuffing: This occurs when the electorates cast more than votes expected. It simply means stuffing multiple ballot papers into the ballot boxes in favour of a particular party or its candidate. It can be in form of voting in many polling booths for the same party or its candidate.
6. Artificial scarcity of electoral materials: This is a situation where there is a deliberate denial of the electorates of voting materials such as ballot boxes, papers to frustrate them. This usually happens in areas where a particular candidate has a strong presence and could be hardly be defeated.

EVALUATION

Mention three electoral malpractices.

CAUSES OF ELECTORAL MALPRACTICES

1. Crave for power: Many politicians engage in what is called “do or die” politics. This is because they want political power at all cost. Such politicians are such that engage in looting the government treasury.
2. Poverty: Some electorates are easily won over through the distribution of food items, clothes, money, shoes and so on. In essence, their conscience can be bought especially when their immediate needs are met.
3. Bribery and corruption: Some electoral officers often connive with some politicians so as to inflate their votes. When these officers have been bought with money, they tend to overlook what is happening to the ballot boxes and papers.
4. Influence of the party in power: The electoral body often is at the mercy of the government in power. There might be an “order from above”to favour the candidates of the party in power.
5. Lack of stiff punishments for the offenders: When laws are broken and the perpetrators are not brought to face the wrath of the law, it encourages others to continue since they know that there will be little or no punishment.
6. Godfathers: This is a situation where an influential personality in the society often dictates the results of elections in the state. One of such prominent figures was the late Chief LamidiAdedibu, who was very influential in Oyo State, Nigeria.

CONSEQUENCES OF ELECTORAL MALPRACTICES

Some of the effects of electoral malpractices are as follows:

1. Bad leadership: This is the number one consequence of electoral malpractices. When the wrong people are in government, there is bound to be slow development, lack of vision and corruption.
2. Riots and chaos: Violence, destruction of houses and property are some of the aftermath of electoral malpractices. In most cases, precious lives are lost in the mayhem over election results.
3. Loss of interest in voting: Whenever election results are manipulated, the voters might not be interested in voting in subsequent elections.
4. Bad image: Whenever there is constant electoral malpractices, the international community will view such country from the perspective of corruption. This often makes foreign investors not to come to such a country that could not handle elections.
5. Military intervention: When civil unrest, bad leadership and bad leadership happen as a result of electoral malpractices, it is inevitable for the military to take power. This often is a setback for the democracy of any country. As a result, all democratic institutions will be

   suspended and the country will be ruled through decrees.

EVALUATION

State three consequences of electoral malpractices

SOLUTIONS TO ELECTORAL MALPRACTICE

Electoral malpractice can be prevented. However, the following steps should be considered:

1. Proper planning by the electoral body: The electoral commission in charge of elections should do proper planning of the elections so that there will be no loopholes which could enable desperate politicians to hijack the electoral process.
2. Non-interference in electoral matters: The government in power should not meddle into the operations of the electoral commission before, during and after elections.
3. Education of the electorates: The agency in charge of orientation should do its best to organize programmes that will educate and enlighten the electorates concerning what is expected of them before, during and after the elections
4. Adequate security: Security agents should be stationed at every polling booth to protect the electoral officers and materials. They must not be partisan in their operation.
5. Re-orientation of politicians: Politicians should be made accountable for any of their activities. In essence, they must be educated concerning their attitude to the electoral process. They should be orientated about their love for their country.
6. Impartiality of the judiciary: The judiciary is often described as the hope of the masses. Therefore, it is important this body to be steadfast in its operation. There should be no sacred cow when judgment is given.

EVALUATION

Mention four solutions to electoral malpractices.

GENERAL EVALUATION/ REVISION QUESTIONS

1. Mention three electoral malpractices.
2. State three consequences of electoral malpractices.
3. Mention four solutions to electoral malpractices.
4. State four importance of discipline in a society.
5. Mention four features of discipline.

    

   READING ASSIGNMENT
   

   Fundamentals of Civic Education for Basic 8 by Sola Akinyemi, pgs 133-141

    

   WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT
   

   1. A situation where children below voting are made to vote is called____ voting. A. void B. underage C. unconstitutional D. chaotic
   2. Election malpractice is caused by the following except_____. A. poverty B. crave for power C. bribery and corruption D. strong passion to serve the nation
   3. Consequences of electoral malpractice include the following except_____. A. riots and chaos B. bad image C. good leadership D. loss of interest in voting
   4. When a person is called a “sacred cow” in life, it usually means that the person is said to be___. A. under the law B. above the law C. dangerous D. loved
   5. Which of these is not a cause of electoral malpractice in Nigeria? A. crave for power

      B. desire to make Nigeria great C. lack of political education D. poverty

    

   THEORY

6. Define electoral malpractices.
7. Mention three solutions to electoral malpractices.

   WEEK SEVEN
   

   ILLITERACY
   

• Meaning.
• Causes.
• Consequences.
• Solution

MEANING OF ILLITERACY

According to the United Nations (U.N), illiteracy is the inability to read and write a simple sentence in any language. Illiteracy is a common social problem in Nigeria. Various administrations through their policies have been fighting it, looking for ways to eradicate it. For instance, late Chief ObafemiAwolowo in 1955 initiated the Universal Primary Education (UPE), making it compulsory for every child in the then Western Nigeria, to go through the primary education.

EVALUATION

What is illiteracy?

CAUSES OF ILLITERACY

1. Poverty: This is a major cause for illiteracy. This is the inability of many families to send their children to school due to lack of funds.
2. Crave for wealth: To many youths, going to school is a waste of time. They believe that since the essence of education is to make money, so they rather go into businesses and learn how to be rich faster.
3. Loss of bread winners: Some children could not go to school as a result of the death of the person sponsoring them. Often, most drop out due to lack of funds.
4. Traditions and values of the society: In some societies like Nigeria, the girl- child is not given much importance compared to the man- child. Hence, she is made not to attend school. Also, some societies see education as a threat to their customs and traditions,
5. Inconsistent educational policies: Political instabilities cause constant change in educational policies. Some regimes have beautiful plans while others are often non-challant about it.

EVALUATION

Mention three causes of illiteracy.

CONSEQUENCES OF ILLITERACY

1. It breeds inferiority complex: When the illiterates are in the midst of educated people, they could feel inferior because of the inability to relate well with them.
2. It may lead to complete ignorance: Illiteracy might deny them the opportunity of reading vital information about many issues that can positively affect them.
3. It often breeds poverty and crime: Due to his inability to read and write well, a person might not be able to get a very good job with fat pay. When this happens, he often ventures into armed robbery.
4. It can cause misfortunes: Many illiterates fall into avoidable troubles. Due to their

   inability to relate effectively, they are often duped of their fortunes in the course of seeking assistance in completing bank documents.

EVALUATION

State three consequences of illiteracy

SOLUTIONS TO ILLITERACY

1. Free education at all levels.
2. Mass literacy campaign.
3. Consistent government policies.
4. Government should provide more funds to the education sector.
5. All children should have equal access to education.
6. Government should encourage technical and vocational skills in schools.

    

   EVALUATION
   

   Mention four solutions to illiteracy.

    

   GENERAL EVALUATION/ REVISION QUESTIONS

7. Mention three causes of illiteracy.
8. State three consequences of illiteracy.
9. Mention four solutions to illiteracy.
10. State four benefits of democracy.
11. Mention three conditions necessary for successful operation of democracy.

     

    READING ASSIGNMENT
    

    Fundamentals of Civic Education for Basic 8 by Sola Akinyemi, pgs 156-160.

     

    WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT
    

    1. ____ initiated the Universal Primary Education (UPE). A. Louis Edet B. Alec Dickens

       C. ObafemiAwolowo D. Samuel Akintola

    2. The inability to read and write a simple sentence in any language is called ____.

       A. writing disability B. dysfunctional education C. illiteracy D. reading disability

    3. Illiteracy will lead to the following except____. A. high crime rate B. poverty

       C. economic development D. complete ignorance

    4. A major cause of illiteracy is____. A. poverty in many families B. inadequate library in the society C. lack of government vehicle to take pupils/students to school D. inability of the government to buy books for those willing to attend school
    5. The Universal Primary Education (UPE) was initiated in ____. A. 1976 B. 1955 C. 1961 D. 1980

     

    THEORY

12. Define illiteracy.
13. Mention three solutions to the problem of illiteracy.