ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE PROVISION UTILIZATION AND CONTROL IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background of the Study

Education, in its broadest meaning, is a type of learning in which information, skills, and habits of a group of people are passed down from generation to generation through teaching, training, or study. Education is typically guided by others, but it can also be self-directed. Any encounter that has a formative influence on how one thinks, feels, or behaves can be classified as educational. Preschool, primary school, secondary school, and ultimately college, university, or apprenticeship are frequent levels of formal schooling or education. Education, on the other hand, has been highlighted as a critical instrument for any nation's growth; it has significant societal advantages, particularly in modern, sophisticated industrialized nations. Education serves as an integrating factor in society by teaching values that unify various segments of society.

Creating standard-based schools that are accountable for assisting all students in reaching higher levels of achievement and achieving educational growth and objectives as outlined in the National Policy on Education (2014) necessitates schools and relevant education districts providing and controlling educational resources adequately. In essence, educational resources are both human and capital resources that are used to meet the goals of education – particularly a conducive teaching/learning environment and instructional materials that are easily available to facilitate teaching/learning.

All educators and other adults in the school have a defined role in supporting students' learning, and new staff members are compatible with the school's requirements and culture. Okendu (2021) asserts that the importance of educational administration assembling human and material resources within the school system for successful teaching and learning cannot be overstated. It is on this basis that principals in secondary schools serve as administrators, managers, and even teachers, and they participate in instructional activities when necessary. All employees, both teaching and non-teaching, should be made aware of their roles in improving and enhancing education in the school system. This is feasible through utilizing the existing resources allotted to schools in order to achieve educational goals. All materials and non-material components required and contributing to the achievement of goals at any institution are considered resources. The human component of resources interacts with certain facilities and equipment at specific times to produce output. The quality and quantity of this output are more reliant on the quality and amount of resource intake as well as the method of processing.

Instruction becomes easier and the result of such a school is of high quality if enough educational resources are supplied to it and it is adequately monitored by relevant authorities. The availability and control of educational resources are critical factors for meeting students' social needs. If students do not have good social engagement with these recognized parts of schooling, their effective domain will suffer. Learning, on the other hand, may be defined as the alteration of behavior that occurs as a result of mimicking encounters with the world within or outside of the school. As a result, proper educational resources such as quality personnel, time, money, teaching and learning aids, instructional materials, and so on are critical.

1.2Statement of the Problem

All human, material, non-material audio-visual school environment, and community assets accessible in an academic environment to aid school administration and simplify the teaching learning process are referred to as education resources. They also contain other basic items used in schools to make teaching easier and learning more relevant and understandable to students. Education resources include any items, both human and nonhuman, drawn or photographed, built physically or electronically, books, and other relevant materials utilized in the teaching and learning process (NTI,2016).

Following on from the background to the study, and having explained what education is as well as the need for adequate provisions and control of educational resources, it is important to note that some secondary schools do not have access to certain educational resources, and if they do, they are not properly managed and controlled. According to Olaniyonu (2016), the kind of education provided by any school may be attributed to the availability of appropriate educational resources; in essence, proper provision and control of educational resources impact students' academic and social performance.

Although one of the most important aspects of universal basic education (U.B.E) implementation strategies is to prevent the deterioration of school infrastructure and improve access to education, in recent years educational resources have become obsolete and a mirage due to a lack of adequate funding, and even when funds are released, they are not properly monitored and controlled by the board. Thus the concern of this researcher is to assess the provision and control of educational resources in Owerri Municipal in Imo State.

1.3   Purpose of the study

The broad objective of this study is to assess  educational resource provision utilization and control in secondary schools. Other specific objectives includes:

i.          To ascertain the extent at which  availability of new technologies for instructions in secondary schools

ii.        To determine the extent at  school facilities are made available influence teaching of different subjects in schools

iii.      To investigate the challenges limiting adequate  provision  and control of educational resources in secondary schools.

iv.      To explore approaches to adequate  provision  and control of educational resources in secondary schools.

1.4Research Questions

i.          What is the extent at which  availability of new technologies for instructions in secondary schools?

ii.        What is the extent at  school facilities are made available influence teaching of different subjects in schools?

iii.      What are the challenges limiting adequate  provision  and control of educational resources in secondary schools?

iv.      What are approaches to facilitate adequate  provision  and control of educational resources in secondary schools?

1.5  Significance of the study

It is anticipated the study will provides useful information to policy makers not only on how to make provision for high standard of educational resources but on how to cultivate maintenance culture. It will also motivate the state government to see the need to make yearly inventory of available infrastructure in relation to admission into secondary schools since such inventory will aid the provision of enough accommodation for student’s educational programs.  This study will intimate people’s knowledge of how to appreciate values and sensitize them on how to equate high standard with effective instructions. This study promotes awareness on the process of planning public facilities; it intends to bring about improvements in the culture of school planning and management. It will assist government and educational planners to realize the extent to which constant provision and adequate control of educational resources would enhances instructions.

1.6     Scope of the Study

 The scope of this study borders on the assessment of educational resource provision utilization and control in secondary schools. The study was delimited to selected secondary schools in Uwana local government area in Ebonyi  State.

1.7 Limitation of the study

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that it is a new discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size covering only secondary schools in  Uwana local government area in Ebonyi  State.Thus findings of this study cannot be used for generalization for other universities within Nigeria. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work will impede maximum devotion to the research. Howbeit, despite the constraint encountered during the  research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

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