ASSESSMENT OF SHAREHOLDERS’ ROLE PERFORMANCE IN THE ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN ZAMFARA STATE, NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
This research titled “ASSESSMENT OF SHAREHOLDERS’ ROLE PERFORMANCE IN THE ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN ZAMFARA STATE, NIGERIA” aimed at achieving these objectives among others: determine Inspectors and Supervisors’ role performance on teaching and learning in public primary schools in Zamfara state, assess Head teachers’ role performance on the maintenance of facilities in public primary schools in Zamfara state, examine Teachers’ role performance on the maintenance of discipline in public primary schools in Zamfara state, ascertain Local Government Education Authorities’ role performance on teachers’ professional development in public primary schools in Zamfara state, assess Parent Teaches’ Association’s role performance on decision making in public primary schools in Zamfara state and determine Universal Basic Education Board’s role performance on the provision of facilities in public primary schools in Zamfara state, Nigeria. Research questions and hypotheses were set according to the stated objectives. A descriptive survey research design was adopted to collect data from the respondents. The instrument used for the study was questionnaire. The instrument was submitted to the Supervisors of this research work for validation and it was successfully vetted, screened and verified. The sample size for this study was 303 comprising 254 teachers, 42 Head teachers and 7 Principal inspectors. Simple random sampling technique was employed for this study. The data were analyzed and interpreted through the use of analysis of variance (ANOVA). Out of the six hypotheses tested, only one was retained while five were rejected. The result showed that some aspects of primary schools management in the state such as inspection/supervision, maintenance of facilities, staff development and provision of facilities were given little attention over the years due to low level of commitment on the part of stakeholders in the state. As a matter of emergency, there is need for more efforts by the relevant stakeholders especially in the funding system of education to cover the areas of training of primary school teachers, provision of adequate and relevant teaching/learning materials and provision of qualified teachers and inspection/supervision personnel. Moreover, the in-service needs of the teachers in the state should be improved. The educational authorities should try to ensure active participation of Parent teachers’ Association in all the affairs of primary and post primary institutions in the state. Irregularities in the maintenance of facilities in primary schools in the state should be addressed. The State Universal Basic Education Board and other relevant stakeholders should intensify more efforts at regular intervals in the provision of the needed facilities in primary schools in the state. Based on the recommendations made so far, it is suggested that there is need for further studies on the topic of this research but in another state. Similar research should also be conducted on the Assessment of Stakeholders’ Role Performance on the Administration of Post-Primary Schools in Zamfara State. similar study should equally be conducted on specific areas of study, such could be on the Assessment of Teachers/Head teachers/Local Government Education Authorities/Parent Teachers’ Association/Universal Basic Education’s Role Performance on the Management of Primary Schools in Zamfara
State.
TABLE OF CONTENTS PRELIMINARY PAGES
AbstractCHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTON viii
1.1 Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 4
1.3 Objectives of the Study 6
1.4 Research Questions 7
1.5 Hypotheses 8
1.6 Basic Assumptions 9
1.7 Significance of the Study 9
1.8 Scope of the Study 10
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction 11
2.2 Conceptual Framework 12
2.2.1 Concept of Assessment 12
2.2.2 Concept of Stakeholders 13
2.2.3 Concept of Management 14
2.2.4 Concept of Primary Education 16
2.2.5 Management of Primary Education 20
2.3 Inspectors and Supervisors‘ Role Performance in Teaching and Learning in 23
Public Primary Schools in Zamfara State
2.4 Head teachers‘ Role Performance in the Maintenance of Facilities in Public 33
Primary Schools in Zamfara State
2.5 Teachers‘ Role Performance in the Maintenance of Discipline in Public Primary 39
Schools in Zamfara State
2.6 Local Government Education Authorities‘ Role Performance in Teachers‘ 46
Professional Development in Public Primary Schools in Zamfara State
2.8 Parents-Teachers‘ Association‘s Role Performance on Decision Making in Public 56
Primary Schools in Zamfara State
2.9 Universal Basic Education Board‘s Role Performance in the Provision of 61
Facilities in Public Primary Schools in Zamfara State
2.10 Empirical Studies 69
2.11 Summary 73
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction 74
3.2 Research Design 74
3.3 Population of the Study 74
3.4 Sample and Sampling Technique 77
3.5 Research Instruments 79
3.5.1 Validity of the Instruments 79
3.5.2 Pilot Study 79
3.5.3 Reliability of the Instruments 80
3.6 Procedure for Data Collection 80
3.7 Method of Data Analysis 81
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Introduction 82
4.2 Bio-Data of the Respondents 82
4.3 Opinions Analysis of the Respondents 85
4.4 Hypotheses Testing 105
4.5 Summary of the Major Findings 113
4.6 Discussion of the Major Findings 114
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Summary 119
5.3 Conclusions 121
5.4 Recommendations 123 5.5 Suggestions for Further Studies 124
REFERENCES 126
APPENDICES 137
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The wealth of a given nation is probably determined by the quality of its education system. The quality of the nation’s education system depends to a large extent on how effective the primary education is and this is because it is the foundation on which the rest of the education is built on. Primary education is the starting point for most Nigerian children and their first experience of schooling at the age of six years. In other words, it is the first tier of the 6-3-3-4 Nigerian education system which is for six years duration. It is the level of education which develops in the child the ability to read, write and calculate. It is in line with this however, the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) states that “primary education is the formal education given to children aged 6-11 years and above”. It further stresses that since the rest of the-education is built upon it, the primary level of education is the key to the success or failure of the whole national education system.
The management of primary education therefore passed through different stages and different authorities exercised its control. Fafunwa (1974) asserted that “the universal primary education programme of 1976 indicated the government
dynamic policy to favour the education of the masses on the basis that every Nigerian child has an inalienable right to a minimum of six years of education if he is to function effectively as a citizen of Nigeria. That is free and democratic, just and egalitarian, united and self-reliant with full opportunities”.
By the law which resuscitated the national primary education commission (NPEC, now universal basic education commission) in 1993, the responsibility for the management of primary education is shared among the federal, state and the local government, community, committees and school committees. Measures have been introduced which encouraged active participation of local communities in the running of the schools. In supporting the above law, Denga (1994) asserts that “in order to curtail the disillusionment of the public, our continuing failure of the public education system, those responsible for the management of primary schools such as education secretaries, inspectors/supervisors, teachers, school heads, community, parents and among others must be conversant with the management procedure that yield results‖.
In Nigeria today, education is regarded as an institution per excellence for effective national development. This belief is incorporated into the nation’s philosophy of education which is reflected and emphasized in the objectives of each level of the education system. For this reason, therefore, the need to emphasize in making primary education more effective becomes obvious in Zamfara state because it offers a way of improving skills and enhancing productivity and quality of education in our primary schools. This in turn has a positive impact on improving the quality and standard of education in Zamfara state in particular and the country at large. After Nigeria has gotten independence in 1960, there was increased clamour for government take-over of schools from the missionaries and voluntary agencies at least to be able to revert the old system and to tailor it to meet the needs of the new nation. It is in line with the above, Beach (1977) added that ”it was contended that absolute take-over of schools would improve their curriculum, teacher quality and centralized provision of instructional resources, minimize inequalities and provide a dynamic centre of leadership for educational innovation”.
Adesina (1977) recommends that “the government take-over of schools from the missionaries has radically expanded public involvement in education financing and management particularly the primary education which is the bedrock of other levels of education‖. He further stresses that the federal government welcomes the contributions of stakeholders like, communities, parents, teachers, head teachers, and other relevant organizations with a view to promoting the standard of primary education. Ojo (1996) and Ezewu (1998) argued this assertion and state that the provision of Decrees No. 2 and 3 of 1991 vested the full responsibility of the administration and management of primary education in the hand of local government. With the decree No. 96 of 25th August 1993, the National primary education commission (NPEC) was re-established with state primary education board (SPEB) and local government education authority (LGEA) and they were once again in control of primary education in Nigeria. The local government education authority was assigned to doints out that “there are also areas of overlap in the functions of different levels of management of primary education which need to be addressed”.
The National Primary Education Commission (NPEC) was the overseer to the state primary Education Board (SPEB) of all the states of the federation, but the Federal Government supervised this commission. From this arrangement, it is obvious that the management of primary education is no more one government affair, it involves all tiers of government. However, Robert (1995), Funso (1998) and Akinyemi (2001) support the assertion of Denga (1994) above where they opined that “The realization of sound management of primary education is heavily relied on the active participation and commitment of all the respective stakeholders such as the teachers, head teachers, inspectors/supervisors, community, education secretaries and other important personalities”. Moore and Peter (2001) support this assertion and recommend that “the extent to which education at all levels in Nigeria realizes its potentials for the wholesome growth and socio-economic development depends very much on the management strategy employed by the education stakeholders such as the government, teachers, school leaders and the broader community”.
The focus of this research work therefore, is the assessment of
stakeholders’ role performance in the management of public primary schools in Zamfara state, Nigeria. The stakeholders here include: Teachers, Head teachers, Local Government Education Authority, inspectors/supervisors, Parents-Teachers‘
Association, and Zamfara State Universal Basic Education Board.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The poor management of primary schools may apparently be given rise to the allegation of falling standard of education in Zamfara State. Although, this assumption was yet to be proved empirically but it has brought to the public focus the issue of who is responsible for the apparent decline of the standard of primary education in Zamfara State. Scholars like Funso (2005) observed that “In spite of all the efforts made so far to ensure that qualitative and quantitative education is given at all levels of education, the primary level of education still suffers from some seemingly intractable problems ranging from poor funding, mismanagement and control of resources as well as inadequate monitoring and evaluation. This greatly affects the entire education system in Nigeria”. Funso (2005:58) supports Ortese’s (2003:167) assertion and observed that “poor financing from the side of the government is one of the key factors responsible for the collapse of primary education in Nigeria”.
Primary education in Nigerian education system is very old, has the highest patronage and occupies a very important position. But uninterestingly however, it is a weak system resulting from poor management. The active involvement of the entire stakeholders such as Local Education Authorities, Teachers, Head Teachers, Community, Parents, Inspectors/Supervisors and among others become necessary to promote the standard and quality of primary education in Zamfara State and the nation at large. It is in line with
above notion therefore; Ortese (2004) Adeyemi (2006) and Okumbe (2008) observed that “stakeholders’ (such as government, community, parents, teachers, school leaders, voluntary agencies and others) engagement is very vital to the success and improvement of primary schools in the country”.
General Babangida (1989) recommends that the poor management of primary
education was part of what led to the total collapse of the 1976 free universal primary education scheme (The Guardian, Feb. 2, 1989). It is in line with the above, therefore, Fafunwa (2004) recommends that “clearly the last one decade or so has witnessed great involvement of government in the management of primary education system in Nigeria. The Federal government has the federal ministry of education that has the department of primary and secondary education. Besides, there is the Universal Basic Education commission. At the state government level, there is the ministry of education having a department that has the oversight function over primary education. At the local government level, there is the local government education authority and the district education committee. All these agencies are put in place for the purpose of management and administration of primary schools. Hence, the primary education remained a system of low quality resulting from poor management”.
Specifically, this research tried to assess stakeholders‘ (such as: teachers, Head teachers, community, Local Government Education Authorities, Parents Teachers‘ Association, Universal Basic Education Board) role performance on the management of public primary schools in Zamfara State, Nigeria.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
This study was set to achieve the following objectives:
- determine Inspectors and Supervisors‘ role performance in teaching and learning in
public primary schools in Zamfara State.
- assess Head teachers‘ role performance in the maintenance of facilities in public primary schools in Zamfara State.
- examine Teachers‘ role performance in the maintenance of discipline in public primary schools in Zamfara State.
- ascertain Local Government Education Authorities‘ role performance in teachers‘ professional development in primary schools in Zamfara State.
- assess Parent-teachers‘ Association‘s role performance in decision making in primary schools in Zamfara State.
- determine Zamfara state Universal Basic Education Board‘s role performance in the
provision of facilities in primary schools in Zamfara State.
1.4 Research Questions
For the purpose of this study, the under-listed research questions were formulated:
- what are the roles performed by Inspectors and Supervisors in teaching and learning in public primary schools in Zamfara State?
- what are the roles performed by Head teachers in the maintenance of facilities in public primary schools in Zamfara State?
- what are the roles performed by Teachers in the maintenance of discipline in public primary schools in Zamfara State?
- what are the roles performed by Local Government Education Authorities in teachers‘ professional development in primary schools in Zamfara State?
- what are the roles performed by Parent-teachers‘ Association in decision making in public primary schools in Zamfara State?
- what are the roles performed by Zamfara State Universal Basic Education Board in the provision of facilities in primary schools in Zamfara State?
1.5 Hypotheses
The following null-hypotheses were postulated for this study:
- there is no significant difference in the opinions of Teachers, Head teachers and
Principal Inspectors on Inspectors and Supervisors‘ role performance in teaching
and learning in public primary schools in Zamfara State.
- there is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on Head teachers‘ role performance in the maintenance of facilities in public primary schools in Zamfara State.
- there is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on Teachers‘ role performance in the maintenance of discipline in public primary schools in Zamfara State.
- there is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on Local Government
Education Authorities‘ role performance in teachers‘ professional development in public primary schools in Zamfara State.
- there is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on Parent-teachers‘ Association‘s role performance in decision making in public primary schools in Zamfara State.
- there is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on Zamfara state Universal Basic Education Board‘s role performance in the provision of facilities in public primary schools in Zamfara State.
1.6 Basic Assumptions
The following basic assumptions were highlighted:
- regular inspection and supervision will have significant impact in teaching and learning in both primary and post primary institutions in Zamfara State.
- the standard of facilities in our primary schools will improve, if head teachers are exposed to seminars, conferences and workshops to enable them possess the pre-requisite knowledge of management strategy because it is through their action or inaction that the success of primary education has to be judged
- active participation of teachers in the maintenance of discipline may help to produce good and patriotic citizens that will contribute to the development of the society
- training and re-training of primary school teachers can only be possible if Local Government Education Authorities and other relevant stakeholders are effectively involved in the process
- the standard of primary schools will improve if Parent Teachers‘ Association is actively involved in all the affairs of primary education in the State
- in this study, it is assumed that adequate provision of facilities in our primary schools will help to promote quality teaching thereby leading to the realization of educational goals of primary education.
1.7 Significance of the Study
This study is significant in that, it will suggest ways in which inspection/supervision could be improved thereby enhancing the performance of inspectors and supervisors in the state. It is also useful because it would advise and encourage the educational authorities to train and retrain the primary schools head teachers on issues relating to facilities maintenance in primary schools in the state. The study is equally important because it will help teachers to be able to apply new methods and strategies for the proper maintenance of discipline among pupils in primary schools in the state. Staff professional development is of paramount important in any given organization; this study may be useful to the Local Government Education Authorities to mobilize enough funds and resources with a view to improving the professional competency of teachers. This research is also important as it will help to motivate parent teachers‘ association to participate actively in decision making in primary schools in the state. The study will help to identify the areas of strength and weakness of the state Universal Basic Education Board on the area of facilities provision in primary schools and proffer suggestions for improvement. This study will help to provide a document that will serve as an academic reference for the subsequent researchers.
1.8 Scope of the Study
The study is limited to the assessment of stakeholders’ role performance in the management of primary schools in Zamfara state. Such stakeholders here include: teachers, Head teachers, inspectors and supervisors, Local Government Education
Authorities, Parents Teachers‘ Association and Zamfara State Universal Basic
Education Board. However, the study is limited to only public primary schools within the 14 local government education authorities in Zamfara state. The sample size for this study was 303 and the instrument used was questionnaire with the Likert five points scale options of Strongly Agreed, Agreed, Undecided, Strongly Disagreed and Disagreed to show the respondents‘ opinions in the items in the instrument. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the postulated hypotheses. The reason for the use of analysis of variance
(ANOVA) was because there were more than two categories of respondents.
ASSESSMENT OF SHAREHOLDERS’ ROLE PERFORMANCE IN THE ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN ZAMFARA STATE, NIGERIA