ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS OF STUDENTS AND SCHOOL FACILITIES IN SOME PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The ability of school management to achieve the primary goal for which the school was established, which is to prepare students under custody for their future endeavors based on their individual potentials, is measured by their ability to achieve the primary goal for which the school was established (Adesina,  2008). This is accomplished by focusing students' actions toward maximizing the utilization of their latent potentials, which will enable them to be successful and self-sufficient in the future. In order to achieve the aim, the school administration enlists the help of people of all backgrounds and interests. The efficacy of the school administration is measured by how well it coordinates the efforts of all the persons involved (both staff and students) towards the achievement of the objective (Ogunsanya, 2006). Despite the expensive expense of maintaining a private secondary school in Nigeria, private individuals continue to be disappointed by these institutions, owing to the high level of low performance associated to inadequate administration (Rubba, 1981). Many parents attend private secondary schools, even if it means neglecting their family commitments, in order to provide their children with the best education money can buy. This cleared the path for the establishment of more private secondary schools. There will be a greater emphasis on resource management and academic success in examining the effective administration of private secondary schools, with specific attention paid to the elements that determine their efficacy (Ivowi, 1983). Because the founding, management, and efficacy of secondary education have evolved through time, the focus of this discussion will be on the historical context. Secondary education in Nigeria, like elementary education, owes its origins to missionary organizations such as the Roman Catholic Mission, the Church Missionary Society, and the Methodist Church. These religious organizations desired and required education in order to confront the economic, social, and political problems they faced throughout their evangelizing efforts. As a result, they established schools to generate educated interpreters. It was primarily the preoccupation of missionaries throughout the early phases of secondary school. Schools were created and supervised by missionaries. Because education was the brainchild of missionaries, it was only natural that they would decide its content and style of operation (Skintola, 1985). Each mission was in charge of her own school, which she ran in her own way and for her own purposes. Each mission established a Management Board, controlled its curriculum, set instructor pay, and established code of conduct standards. According to Awoyemi,  (1994), the curriculum was modeled after British Grammar Schools and included a heavy dosage of religious education since the focus of the Christian mission. Despite the fact that all of the missions' educational goals were fundamentally the same, each mission handled education to attain particular goals. The CMS Mission created the first secondary school, CMS Grammar School, Lagos, in 1859. St. Gregory's College, Lagos (1876); Methodist Boys High School, Lagos (1878); Baptist Academy, Lagos (1883); and CMS Girls Grammar School, Lagos were among the schools that followed (1892). The first Government College in Lagos, Kings College, did not open its doors until 1909. Because the government was uninterested in education and its funding at the time, it did not make comprehensive legislative provisions for it, nor did it oversee or control it. The government, on the other hand, gained since these mission institutions produced junior civil officers and clerks. Secondary education continued to develop in the years leading up to independence and until the conclusion of the civil war in 1970, especially in South Nigeria. Between 1955 and 1965, according to Fafunwa (1974), there was a significant development of post-primary education. There were a variety of possibilities available: Secondary Grammar Schools, Secondary Modern Schools, Comprehensive Modern Schools, Secondary Commercial Schools, Technical Secondary Schools, and Trade Centers are all examples of secondary schools. Governments, missionary organizations, and private persons were in charge of these. Following the government's control of schools, a few private secondary schools reappeared on the educational landscape. "Government control of secondary schools will involve regulating the opening of schools, inspecting all schools on a regular basis, 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 Niue)." Governments fulfill this responsibility by establishing Federal and State Ministries of Education. Because of the fast growth in school enrolment, insufficient physical, material, human, and financial resources, and the government's casual attitude toward the welfare of teachers, secondary school education in Nigeria is becoming increasingly difficult. As a consequence of these issues, the National Policy on Education, page 22 paragraphs 24, 1998, states: "The government welcomes voluntary agencies, localities, and private people' engagement in the development and management of secondary education." As a result, in order to achieve secondary education objectives and ensure successful administration, residents in the communities where schools are situated should be actively involved in secondary education management.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Poor performance in public examinations by students has been a topic of discussion (Uzor, 2005). Though problems such as insufficient facilities and a lack of dedication on the part of teachers have been proposed as causes for students' low performance in public schools, the recurrence of similar situation in private schools, which are thought to be better prepared, is concerning (Ogunsanya, 2006). Ineffective school management is one of the problems that has been discussed in the literature. As a result, the purpose of this study is to see how successful private secondary schools in Kaduna State's Chikun Local Government Area.

1.3  OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The goal of this research is to look at how to effectively manage existing resources in private secondary schools in order to increase their efficacy and productivity in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria.

1.4       RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following questions arise as a result of the aforementioned issue statement:

i. What elements contribute to the efficient operation of private secondary schools in Nigeria?

ii. How has the administration of private secondary schools in Nigeria influenced students' academic performance?

iii. What approaches of human resource management are being employed in Nigeria to enhance the administration of private secondary schools?

iv. How are teachers at these schools motivated to boost productivity?

1.5     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The following are some of the reasons why this research is significant:

i. It would result in an increase in the quality of goods produced in private secondary schools in Nigeria, as measured by input resources and educational output.

ii. It will provide individuals with mental and physical abilities and competences that will enable them to live and contribute to the growth of society.

iii. It will help to achieve some of the country's goals and objectives, such as having more competent and effective graduates in the job market.

This research project is being carried out in order to achieve these goals.

1.6    DEFINITION OF TERMS

Some operational words used in this study have been specified to help with a better understanding of the research effort.

Efficiency: may be defined as the proportion of beneficial effort or output generated to the amount or input spent.

Effectiveness: This is the process of coordinating staff efforts and applying relevant materials to foster the development of human traits.

Management: Using people and material resources to achieve organizational system goals, management is a method of regulating change.

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