ABSTRACT
This
purpose of this research work is to examine the influence of private school on
the performance of secondary school students in Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa
State. In Nigeria, for any activity of either management, administration or
planning. It has to start by defining the objective or output expected. In
achieving these objectives, certain means of input are available. Questionnaire
were abstracted for both the school administrator and students which were later
analyzed and reach out on conclusion.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Effectiveness
of school management is measured by the ability to attain the primary goal for
which the school is established, which is to prepare students under custody for
their future endeavors according to individuals’ potentials. This is done by
directing the students’ activities towards maximizing use of hidden potentials
in them, which will make them successful and self-reliant in life. In order to
attain the goal, the school management employs services of people with diverse
orientation and interest. How successful the school management is in
coordinating the activities of all the services of people involved (both staff
and students) towards the attainment of the goal is a reflection of their
effectiveness.
However, despite the high cost involved in
running a private secondary education in Nigeria, private individuals still
meet disappointment in these private schools which is due to the high level of
poor performance of which is linked to the ineffective management of these
schools. Many parents patronize private secondary schools, even at the
detriment of their family obligations, so as to afford their children educational opportunity which money can
buy. This paved way for more private secondary schools to spring up.
In
analyzing the influence of private school on the performance of secondary
school students, there will be more focus on the resource 1 management and
academic performance in these schools with special attention to those factors
that affect their effectiveness.
The
establishment, management and effectiveness of secondary education has grown
with years, this discussion will therefore be on the historical setting.
The
birth of secondary education in Nigeria like primary education can be traced to
the missionary bodies – The Roman Catholic Mission, The Church Missionary
Society and The Methodist. These religious bodies wanted and needed education to meet the economic, social
and political challenges they met in the course of their evangelization. They
therefore set up schools to produce educated people to serve as interpreters.
At the early stages of secondary education, was largely the concern of
missionaries. Missionaries built and managed schools. Predictably, since
education was the brain-child of missionaries, they determined its content and
mode of operation.Each mission controlled and managed her school according to
her style and to suite her own purpose. Each mission set up Management Board,
regulated its curriculum, fixed teachers
salaries
and determined code of conduct requirements.
Since
the focus of the Christian mission according to Awoyemi, Adesina and Ogunsanya
(1994), the curriculum was model along the lines of British Grammar Schools and
with a large dose of religious instructions. Although, the aim of education was
essentially identical for all the missions, each mission managed education in a
way to achieve specific objectives. The first secondary school, CMS Grammar
School, Lagos was established in 1859 by the CMS Mission. Others that followed
included:
St.
Gregory’s College, Lagos (1876);
Methodist
Boys High School Lagos (1878);
Baptist
Academy, Lagos (1883); and
CMS
Girls Grammar School, Lagos (1892).
It
was not until 1909 that the first Government College, Kings College was
established in Lagos. Government at this time showed very little interest in
education and its funding, so neither made elaborate legislature provisions for
it nor managed or controlled it. Government however, benefited from it because
its junior civil servants and clerks were products of these mission
institutions.
The
years before independence and up to the end of the civil war in 1970 saw the continued
growth of secondary education particularly in South Nigeria. According to
Fafunwa (1974), major educational expansion at the post primary level took
place between 1955 and 1965. The following options were available:
Secondary
Grammar School;
Secondary
Modern School;
Comprehensive
Modern School;
Secondary
Commercial School;
Technical
Secondary Schools; and
Trade
Centers
These
were run by Government, Missionary Bodies and Private individuals. The takeover
of schools by Government brought about the reappearance of a few private
secondary schools on the educational scene.
The
National Policy on Education explained on Government role in the effective
management of secondary education in the following statement:
‘’Government
control of secondary schools will involve regulating the opening of schools and
inspecting all schools regularly and ensuring the provision of well qualified
teaching staff and generally ensuring that all schools follow Government
approved curricula and conform to the National Policy on Education (Federal
Republic of Nigeria, 1998).’’
Governments
carry out this assignment through the establishment of Federal and State
Ministries of Education. The management of secondary schools education in
Nigeria is becoming more and more complex because of rapid increase in school
enrolment, inadequate physical, material, human and financial resources and the
non – chalant attitudes of Government towards the welfare of the teachers. As a
result of these problems, the National Policy on Education page 22 paragraphs
24, 1998 states that: Government welcomes the participation of voluntary
agencies, communities and private individuals’ establishment and management of
secondary education.
Therefore,
for secondary education objectives to be realized and for effective management,
the community people where schools are located should be actively involved in
the management of secondary education.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Poor
performance of secondary schools students in public examinations have remained
a subject of discourse. Though factors like inadequate facilities, lack of
commitment on the part of the teachers among others have been advanced as
reasons for poor performance of students from public schools, the occurrence of
this scenario in private schools which are believed to be better equipped is
worrisome. Among the factors that have been argued in literature is
ineffectiveness of school management. This study therefore attempts to examine
how effective or otherwise private secondary schools in Karu Local Government
Area of Nasarawa State are managed.
1.3 Research Questions
In the
course of the
above statement of
problem, the following questions are raised:
i.
What are the factors responsible for
the effective management of private secondary schools in Nigeria?
ii.
How has the management of private
secondary schools in Nigeria affected the academic performance of students in
these schools?
iii.
What are the methods of managing human
resources used to improve the management of private secondary schools in
Nigeria?
iv.
How are the teachers motivated to
improve productivity in these schools?
1.4 Purpose of the Study
The purpose
of this study is
to investigate into
the effective management of resources
available to improve
the effectiveness and productivity in private secondary
schools in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Nigeria.
1.5 Significance of the Study
This
study is important in the following ways:
·
It will bring about increase in the
quality of products which can be viewed from the input resources and
educational output perspective in private secondary schools in Nigeria.
·
It will bring about abilities and
competencies both mental and physical
in the individuals
to live and
contribute to the development of the society.
·
It will accomplish parts of the
national goal and objectives, that is, having more qualified and effective
graduates in the labour market.
In
the course of fulfilling these objectives, this research work is being carried
out.
1.6 Operational Definition of Terms
In
order to bring about better understanding of this research project, some
operational terms used in this study are clearly defined.
Efficiency:
This could be defined as the ratio of useful work performed or output produced
to the total or input expended.
Effectiveness:-
This is the process of integrating efforts of personnel and utilizing
appropriate materials in such a way to promote the development of human
qualities.
Management:-
This is a means of controlling change through the use of resources (human and
material) to achieve organizational system goals.
Curriculum:- This is the totality of information to be
disseminated to the learner in order to attain desired behavioral attitude or
change.