CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The success of any system of education according to the national policy on Education (NPE 2004) is hinged on proper planning effective supervision administration and adequate financing. Hence the need for supervision in today’s educational system, since it is the thrust of all established schools.
Despite the increasing school enrolment representing about 20 percent of the country’s population there is no corresponding growth in planning administration and control of education in Nigeria schools Akpa (1999).
This therefore forms the core concern of educational administration in which supervision comes into focus. Because at present, the teaching force is weak and the standard of performance is also low. This is an indication too that the standard of supervisory practice is sub-optimal Akpa (1999).
The responsibility of ensuring quality supervision in the educational system lies with the federal and state ministries of education as well as the local Government Education Authority as stated in the National Policy on Education (2004 Edition) in section ‘116’ of the policy it states that state ministries of Education and Local Education Authorities in collaboration with the federal inspectorate services shall be responsible for the organization of supervision of all educational institution under their care. For the education industry to carry out its functions of developing quality human capital, there is need for checks and balances by regular and effective supervision. The federal inspectorate service of the Federal Ministry of Education is directly responsible for quality control and maintenance of standards in primary and secondary schools.
Unfortunately, the inspectorate services both at the state and federal levels have not lived up to expectation. This is because they are faced with a number of issues and challenges. A study carried out by Ogunu (2001) revealed that inadequate number of supervisors, inadequate funds, lack of transportation among others were some of the problems encountered by supervisors. He also noted that 88% of the respondents reported that inadequate number of supervisors was a serious constraint to school supervision. This inadequacy may be due to lack of policy on the recruitment and deployment of supervisors. Meanwhile, there is need to have the right quality of supervisors for effective discharge of their duties Wasanga (2004) suggested that supervisors inorder to carry out their duties, should have good academic qualifications, specialized skills and well established staff development programmes to enable them keep pace with the changes in the education sector.
The standard of education is continually declining leading to the production of low quality output who are unable to contribute to societal development. Educations stakeholders have blamed the quality assurance agents (supervisors of education) for the falling standard. The complain is that schools are not regularly supervised and that the quality of supervisors is below expectation. According to Ogunu (2001), the number of supervisors is inadequate and a good number of them are said to be unqualified and are not well informed about their responsibilities due to lack of in service training and workshops. The result of these inadequacies is that the quality of instruction has progressively declined as evidenced by poor performance of students in examination and graduates in their work places.
Therefore, there is need to regularly monitor and evaluate any set standards through supervision whereby classroom teachers and school administrators are the actual determinants through curriculum implementation of existing quality in the system Olagboye (2004).
The prevailing situation requires an intensification of supervisory activities in the school, this becomes most crucial in view of the fact that the dearth of qualified supervisors has created an unreasonably wide span of control as evident and seen in schools especially among private school teachers Okobia (1992). This is indeed a worrisome situation particularly that there are several untrained and unqualified people among the teaching force.
This situation is not clear and it needs to be solved, hence the need for supervision and teachers effectiveness that would enhance the quality of education inorder to revamp the ailing educational system.
Statement of the Problem
The recent downward trend in the quality of education in Nigeria has been a major source of concern to all as it affects almost every facet of life.
At present, the teaching force is weak and the standard of performance is also low which is an indication that the standard of supervisory practices is sub optimal Akpa (1999) Educational supervisors are lazy when it comes to monitoring and ensuring that teachers follows the set out rules except if some benefits are attached or are being compelled to submit reports by the authorities Onyia (2010).
As a result, the researcher intends to find out the extent to which regular monitoring and supervision can affect teachers effectiveness and increase their performance which will inturn affect the academic performance of students and also improve the teaching and learning conditions within the school as well as improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the school system.