CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
The children we call backward children are not in need of special education. They are likely to need some extra time and help in regular class room. They are capable by learning like an
average child. Backward children are those who learn at a slower than average rate. The causes of slow learning are low intellectual learning, unfavourable school conditions and
personal factors such as illness and absence from school. Environmental factors such as family inadequately, cultural, poverty, parental disharmony also contribute to this slow learning. Backward children or slow learner work best with a changeful designed step. Slow learners can learn if instruction is approached changefully. The ways in this reigned are tutoring and remedial instruction. Slow learning children are not special education students but they represent a group of educationally retarded. These children need suitable arrangements in regular schools. Although some of these children receive education in special school and special class, they finally move to regular school after backwardness in removed. Identification of slow learning children is not obvious except for educationalbackwardness. These children display weakness in thinking, finding, out relationships, similarity, familiarity, reasoning, poor development of concept, language, and number concepts, memory, Socio emotional. Characteristic include feeling of in security, withdrawal, immaturity, regression and fantasy. This chapter shall explain the following headings, background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, significant of the study, research questions, and hypothesis of the studies, justification of the study, scope of
the study and operational definitions of term

Background of the study
No country can probably justly claim that it has already achieved whatever is possibly achievable for its handicapped children, either physically handicapped or mentally or of any type. What is more important, however, is how a country is moving in that direction. The need for providing adequate facilities for the children below average in intelligence and attainments has been well realised all over the world. In all educationally progressive countries, including our country, institutions for handicapped children are found. During the post war period, in most of the advanced countries, there has been a rapid expansion of social as well as educational programmes for all levels of mental retardation and in Cameroon too during the last decade. It is not very long ago that mostly mentally retarded children were generally considered as idiots. This outlook is changing as time passes. The idea that mentally retarded children are totally in educable has been given up. Now they are classified according to the various levels of intellectual ability. All the educationists and psychologists of the world are unanimous with regard to the need for the education of the children who are below average either intellectually or academically or by both. The importance of the problem of educating dull backward children or failing pupils lies in the facts noted below: there is considerable wastage in education at the Secondary Education level. Even at the primary level wastage is not less. To lessen the wastage at both the levels- Primary as well as Secondary – some kind of education for the dull backward children is a prerequisite. Secondly, backwardness and dullness are related to delinquency and researches by C.Burt, W.Healy, Mann and Mann, M.A.Merril, Goddard and the like have shown that there are high percentages of dull and backward children among the young delinquents. This gives added importance to the need forspecial attention to the education of l backward children. The last but not the least important factor is the present educational situation in Cameroon. At present, education from 6 to l4years is compulsory and children come to school from all strata of society. So, naturally, individual differences show themselves still more widely; and if, some adjustment to the educational needs of individual children is not planned soon, the result may be further deterioration in school success and further wastage of efforts on every front. For many centuries children having mental deficiency were neglected and maltreated Instead of being given help and education. Mental illness was shrouded in mystery for years. More attention was paid to the deaf-mute and blind children than the mentally deficient.