THE EFFECT OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ON EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Education is the pivot upon which a nation's human resources are developed. It adds to the nation's social, economic, technical, political, and even cultural growth. According to Adu (2022) and Moore (2022), education is the totality of an individual's learned experiences. According to Deji – Folutile (2022), Fadipe (2022), and Ogundare (2022), education is the catalyst for social and global development, since it engenders considerable and meaningful change on a worldwide scale.

The contribution of education to the global development of human resources is incalculable. Education-based resource development entails satisfying the learning requirements and aspirations of individuals via the enhancement of their intellectual skills and aptitudes. Therefore, the objective of the government in education-related matters is to ensure that the benefits derived from education are consistent with the needs and aspirations of both the individual and the society. The availability or absence of educational resources given by the government has a direct bearing on the quality of education received by a community or state.

Cadbury (2022) introduced the concept of corporate governance, which is the mechanism through which firms and organizations are directed and governed. According to Shleifer & Vishny (2022), corporate governance is the means through which providers of capital to firms ensure a return on their investments. According to the World Bank (2022), corporate governance refers to the organization and norms that influence expectations for the exercise of control over company resources. While the Cadbury code gave a broader perspective on corporate governance, Shleifer and Vishny (2022) prefer to regard "financial suppliers" as the sole qualified stakeholders. The World Bank, on the other hand, saw corporate governance in terms of the human connection amongst the firm's resources (and direction and its publics).

Corporate governance (CG) is the formal structure of responsibility and control for legal, ethical, and socially responsible decision-making and use of organizational resources. It is based on institutions such as laws, contracts, norms, and regulations that enable the organization to govern itself. A corporation has different internal and external stakeholders whose support is vital to the organization's existence and growth (Freeman 2022; Mitroff 2022). This thus refers to the costs incurred by the government in carrying out its functions (towards education). According to Adegbenro (2022) and Olanrewaju (2022), corporate governance has aided in sustaining a steady growth rate in industrialized economies through economic stabilization, investment activity stimulation, and other means. Reduction of regional inequities, development of social overheads, building of infrastructure for economic growth in terms of communication and transportation facilities, education and training are essential functions of corporate governance in underdeveloped economies (Olsyede, 2022).

To attain social, economic, technological, and political greatness, education is seen in Nigeria as the most significant weapon for transformation and national progress (NPE, 2021). To ensure that a strong educational strategy or program produces high-quality results, it must be properly supported by appropriately educated and motivated instructors who have access to all the required facilities and equipment. Therefore, resources (human and material) are the primary foundation of an educational system. Unfortunately, the Nigerian educational system has rarely adapted to these realities. Research has demonstrated that there is a widespread lack of qualified instructors, enough funding, and other material inputs (Adekoya, 2022; Gbadamosi, 2002).

The government's commitment and awareness to improve the quality of education resulted in the fourth National Development Plan (1981-1985) placing a priority on the nationwide development of secondary school infrastructure. The goal was to provide every child with the chance to develop his intellectual and working skills to his own and the community's advantage. The government emphasized further that the supply of essential infrastructure such as classrooms, libraries, labs, and administrative buildings will be prioritized. In addition, it was said that efforts would be made to ensure that secondary and tertiary education facilities were significantly enlarged, and that expensive textbooks and local science equipment would be procured. A sufficient number of well and consistently equipped schools were to be constructed so that children might attend school near to their homes regardless of their state of origin.

Therefore, in order for a nation to affect good change in education, it must comprehend the relationship between public expenditure and growth, as no nation will progress faster than its educational system. It should also be highlighted that in order to enhance or improve educational growth and development, balancing government expenditures is crucial.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Considering the plethora of economic challenges Nigeria is experiencing and the worldwide economic downturn, the sustainable expansion and development of the educational system in Nigeria has been a top priority for every concerned government and private individual. Even though we have a democratic system, it has been noticed that educational resources are distributed differently to secondary schools in Nigeria based on stratification factors such as school age (new/old), location (rural/urban), and type (single/mixed). While all students in these schools are exposed to the same examination administered by either NECO or WAEC, it is worthwhile to investigate the extent to which corporate governance contributed to the differential distribution of education resources and their utilization in categorized secondary schools in Lagos State between 2000 and 2009.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The primary objective of this study is to assess the effect of corporate governance on educational development. Specifically, this study seeks to:

i.          Determine whether corporate governance has an effect on educational management.

ii.        Determine whether corporate governance has an effect on educational ethics.

iii.      Determine whether corporate governance has an effect on educational policies.

iv.      Determine whether corporate governance has an effect on educational regulation.

1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following research null hypotheses will be used to validate this study:

H01: Corporate governance does not have an effect on educational management.

H02: Corporate governance does not have an effect on educational ethics.

H03: Corporate governance does not have an effect on educational policies.

H04: Corporate governance does not have an effect on educational regulation.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The conclusions of this study would give reliable information regarding whether government-provided resources meet the expectations of the educational system. It will also raise awareness among education authorities, school administrators, and the general public about the lack of consistency that may exist in the allocation of secondary education resources, and hence the urgent need to remedy the problem.

In light of the disparate distribution of resources in relation to school academic achievement, it would be essential for state education officials to recognize the significance of an equitable allocation of resources to secondary schools. It will reveal the varying academic performance of secondary schools in the state and the need to enhance the teaching and learning environment in these schools, therefore raising the state's educational quality.

This study's findings would persuade educational planners of the necessity for equality or consistency in resource allocation in order to affect student academic progress.

Lastly, it would allow all levels of government to recognize that no nation will progress faster than its educational system. Thus, the educational sector would receive a larger portion of their annual budget. This will also need school administrators and planners to monitor the system's oversight level to guarantee equal resource allocation and use.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The main focus of this study is on the effect of corporate governance on educational development. The objectives of this study is focused on determining whether corporate governance has an effect on educational management, determining whether corporate governance has an effect on educational ethics, determining whether corporate governance has an effect on educational policies and determining whether corporate governance has an effect on educational regulation.

Selected staff of the ministry of education, Ekiti State will serve as the respondents of this study.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

During the course of carrying out the study, the researcher came into a few obstacles, which is to be expected given the human nature of the undertaking. The researcher incurred additional financial expenses and spent additional time sourcing for relevant materials, literature, or information, as well as during the process of data collection, which is why the researcher chose a small sample size. The scarcity of literature on the subject as a result of the nature of the discourse also contributed to the researcher's decision to use a small sample size. In addition, the researcher was involved in a number of other academic activities at the same time that she was conducting her investigation. In addition, because the study instrument was only given to a limited number of respondents to complete, the findings cannot be generalized to secondary schools located in other states. In spite of the constraints that were present during the course of the inquiry, every facet was examined and minimized in order to guarantee the most successful outcomes and the most fruitful study.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Corporate governance: Corporate governance is the structure of rules, practices, and processes used to direct and manage an organization or establishment.

Educational development: Educational development is a growing and vibrant field, defined as: “helping colleges and universities function effectively as teaching and learning communities” (Felten, Kalish, Pingree, & Plank, 2007, p. 93) actions “aimed at enhancing teaching”.

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