EFFECTIVE PRACTICES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOL PLANT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA

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EFFECTIVE PRACTICES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOL PLANT IN

SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The study was designed to find out the effective practices in the management of school plant

in secondary schools in the South – Eastern states of Nigeria. The study employed descriptive

survey design. The sample for the study comprised six hundred and ninety six administrative

staff of school boards and four hundred and sixty seven secondary school principals in the

five South – Eastern States of Nigeria through random sampling techniques. Six research

questions and six null hypotheses guided the study. An instrument of 40 items on effective

practices in the management of school plant in secondary schools was developed and used for

the field study. The face validity of the items was done by five experts from the Faculty of

Education, University of Nigeria Nsukka. Construct validity was also carried out by the use

of factor analysis involving the Varimax rotation. Out of the forty (40) items that were

subjected to factor analysis, thirty (30) items were found to be valid. They were loaded on six

factors that addressed the variables. The surviving thirty (30) items were subjected to internal

consistency reliability estimate using Cronbach alpha which yielded a reliability indices of

0.66, 0.76, 0.74, 0.58 and 0.73 for clusters A, B, C, D E, and F respectively and an overall

reliability estimate of 0.90. Mean was used in answering six research questions while t-test

statistic was used to test the six null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results of

the study revealed that principals should plan for the use of direct labour to reduce cost and

plan for the economy of land as site of new buildings. The result indicated that principals

should register the school under co-operate society through which building materials can be

procured at a cheaper rate or hire purchase rates, and organize orientation for both staff and

students on utilization of school buildings. The analysis also revealed that principals should

establish school maintenance programme and encourage the communities to establish their

own maintenance programme since they utilize the school buildings. The result also indicated

that principals should carry out weekly inspections of school building and involves capable

technical personnel for identifying major deficiencies after the normal activities in the school.

The result of the study indicated that principals should make rules and regulations in securing

secondary school buildings in South – Eastern states. Based on the findings of the study,

recommended, among others, that principals should consult design experts before and during

the construction of new buildings and that principals should appoint capable technical

personnel for regular inspection of school buildings.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The role of principals in the management of secondary schools is vital for the

realization of educational goals since principal are involved in the implementation of

educational policies and programmes. One of the primary functions of secondary school

principals, according to Idoko (2005), is management and maintenance of school plant.

School plant, according to Agbonye (2006), is the same thing as physical facilities.

Emenalo (2007) explains that school plant is the entire scope of physical infrastructural

facilities which are provided in the school for the school for the purpose of educating the

child. Asiabaka (2008) postulates that school plant consist of all types of buildings, areas for

sports and games, landscape, farms and gardens including trees and paths. Others include

furniture and toilet facilities, storage facilities, transportation, Information and

Communication Technology (I.C.T.), food services among others.

The above facilities play vital role in the actualization of educational goals and

objectives by satisfying the physical and emotional needs of students and teachers of the

school. Their availability, adequacy and relevance influence efficiency and high productivity.

It has always been realized that school plant is very important in the development of

education in Nigeria.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) in her National Policy on Education too pays

considerable attention to the importance of the provision of school plant. She states in the

document that provision and subsequent expansion will be made for vocational equipment

and other facilities. Senior secondary schools are to have properly equipped workshops. In

addition, provision for health centres in all educational institutions to cater for the children

would be made.

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School plant is very vital for the success of educational endeavour. When available

and skillfully used, they make learning more meaningful. School plant provides experiences

which stimulate self-activities on the part of the learner and these help to concretize the ideas

and save the teacher from talk and chalk method. School plant is also essential for effective

teaching and learning of every subject. It should be noted that, for school plant to be

functional, they require proper planning, usage and maintenance for greater efficiency by the

school administrators and the Secondary Education Management Board. For this reason,

there has been a global concern for management of school plant in secondary schools by

school administrators, parents and teachers.

Achinine (1998) points out that one of the most important functions of secondary

school administration in Nigeria is efficient management of school plant. In other words, the

achievement of set goals and objectives depends on the ability of the school manager to make

use of and maintain the physical facilities in the school. Management, according to

Peretomode (2001), is the social or interactional process involving planning, organizing,

coordinating and controlling or leading in order to use available resources to achieve a

desired outcome in the fastest and most efficient way. Management of school plant,

according to Onwurah (2004) includes procurement and maintenance of school facilities for

effective teaching and learning.

For the effective management of school plant in secondary schools, the school

administrator needs to ensure that the school plant is properly maintained and utilized for the

actualization of the educational goals. According to Idoko (2005), the principal is charged

with the responsibility of ensuring that the necessary facilities or materials needed for

effective and efficient teaching and learning are provided and maintained as this will prevent

a repeat occurrence of infrastructural decay. The school administrator also makes sure that,

the general appearance of the surrounding and condition of facilities in the school are well

kept for this serves as an indicator for judgment about the quality of academic activities that

go on in the school. Emenalor (2007) argues that, the construction of new buildings, and

additions to existing ones are not the management of school plant, rather it involves the

continuing operation and maintenance of the school plant. Therefore, it is the duty of the

school administrator to harness all it takes to maintain the school plant as this will contribute

a lot to its lasting effect. School plant maintenance means safeguarding and regular repair and

supervision of school facilities. It implies maintaining the environment to make sure that it is

clean, beautiful and safe for the activities that go on in the school. It is therefore a major and

sensitive aspect of school administration.

However, most secondary schools in Nigeria and South – East in particular are in a

state of disrepair. The state of physical facilities in secondary schools is in a deplorable

condition. Bamide (2002) asserts that, there are broken, decayed and battered facilities in our

schools which may not be as a result of old age but simply out of neglect. This statement is in

agreement with Emenalo (2007), who maintains that, the poor condition of some school plant

especially school buildings in secondary schools today is not as a result of old age per say but

out of neglect. Today, it is a common phenomenon in secondary schools to see dilapidated

buildings, broken chairs etc.

Most public secondary schools in the South-East look like abandoned construction

site. There is hardly a public secondary school in the area that does not have blown-off

building, just as most of them cannot boast of well-equipped laboratories. The classrooms are

full of pot-holes due to licking roofs, just as most of the classrooms do not have doors and

windows. In some of the schools the teachers stay under the tree in place of staff room

because what is called staff room does not differ from a waste store. In most of the schools

the sports fields are thorough fare because the official thorough fares are impassable due to

damage by erosion. The situation neither motivates the teacher nor the students and this

affects the teaching and learning process adversely.

Commenting on the state of physical facilities in secondary school in the South-East

state, Achinine (1998) points out that Federal Government needs to give attention to schools

in South-East because of the destructive effects of the Nigerian civil war. She observed that

most of the buildings repaired after the wars are due for further renovation due to aging of the

structures. However, Onyejemezie (2002) comments that, both the State and Federal

Government through various schemes like Petroleum Trust Fund [PTF] and Education Trust

Fund [ETF] have invested to ensure the improvement of the quantity and quality of physical

plant in the schools and pleaded that more should be done to save these schools from the state

of disrepair. The few existing ones appear not to be receiving due attention from school

administrators hence their poor state. The school administrators appear to lack the necessary

skills to pay due attention to school plant. Their attention most often appear to be on financial

management from where they could put some money into their pocket through embezzlement

and other illegal means like illegal levies, increasing external examination fees, awarding

inflated contracts, among others.

Asiabaka (2008) maintains that, an aspect of school management that is generally

over looked is facilities management. She argues that, when new buildings are constructed

and taken over by the appropriate authorities, practically, no attention is paid to the

management of such buildings, several school buildings that are over thirty years old have

never undergone renovation or any form of modernization in spite of the changes in the

educational system. It is pertinent to note that, school plant management is an issue that

concerns all levels of educational system. Some of these facilities according to Etuk (2007)

are architecturally obsolete and therefore cannot contribute to functional education and

maintaining the new buildings, renovating and modernizing the old ones require considerable

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expertise and commitment of human and material resources which the secondary school

administrators cannot cope due to poor funding of schools by the government.

Ukeje cited in Agbonye (2006) asserts that, the responsibilities of Secondary

Education Management Boards include direct control and management of post primary

schools on all matters of policy, theories and practice of education. The foregoing shows that,

the administrative staffs of Secondary Education Management Boards as stakeholders in

school direct the principals of secondary schools towards effective management of school

plant. The question is how knowledgeable are administrative staff of Secondary Education

Management Board on facilities maintenance planning so as to properly direct the principals?

This question is answered by Bamide (2002) who reported that, some managers and teachers

who constantly use school facilities lack knowledge of facilities maintenance planning as this

maintenance is haphazardly addressed in our secondary schools. Repairs take place in most

cases only when problems arise due to total breakdown of existing facilities. The facility

maintenance plan as listed by Asiabaka (2008) – preventive, routine, emergency repairs and

predictive maintenance have been adopted by some school administrators for several years,

yet school plant decay has been on the increase and no effective practices have been

generally adopted in the management of school plant in secondary schools. This therefore

underscores the need to investigate into effective practices in the management of school plant

in secondary schools in South-East Nigeria.

Statement of the Problem

School plant constitutes important resources for the implementation of educational

programme in Nigeria. Its place in the teaching process cannot be over emphasized, for

instance, classroom constitute a common ground for sharing learning experiences and for

trying out research findings. Play grounds are places for recreation and sports while

instructional materials such as teaching aids generally, are facilitators of the teaching learning

process.

Despite the above importance of these physical facilities, evidence abound which

seems to suggest that there are ineffectiveness in the management of school plant in

secondary schools particularly in South –Eastern states of Nigeria. The school administrators

appear to pay less attention to school plant management as one of the task areas of school

administration. It appears that principals do not motivate teachers and students adequately

because they appear to treat the provision of infrastructural facilities like conducive

classrooms, comfortable staff rooms, libraries, laboratories and workshop with levity. This

affects the productivity of the teachers and the achievement of the students. These

ineffectiveness according to Idoko (2005) are in the form of washed off paints, falling ceiling

and roof tops that have suffered from heavy rainfall. Noticeable also are cracked dilapidated

decaying walls, sagging roofs, broken doors, windows and bushy surroundings as common

phenomena in secondary schools in South- Eastern states. Most schools have no doors or

window shutters to protect students against hash whether conditions. The classrooms are

overcrowded which do not allow for personal attention of students by the teachers. Some

secondary schools have no laboratories and even the schools that have are not provided with

the relevant materials and equipment for learning activities that the students can be engaged

in. In the light of the above, the problem of the study stated in question form is therefore as

follows: What are the effective practices in the management of school plant in secondary

schools in south-east states Nigeria?

Purpose of the Study

The general purpose of this study is to investigate the effective practices in the

management of school plant in secondary schools in South-Eastern states of Nigeria.

Specifically, the study sought to:

1. Identify the effective practices for the planning of school buildings in secondary

schools in South-East states.

2. Find out effective practices in the procurement of secondary school building

materials in South-Eastern states.

3. Find out the effective practices through which school buildings are utilized in

secondary schools in South-Eastern states.

4. Identify the effective methods of maintaining secondary school buildings in

South-Eastern states.

5. Find out effective inspection practices for secondary school buildings in South-

Eastern states.

6. Identify effective ways through which school principals could enforce rules and

regulations for securing school buildings in secondary schools in South-Eastern

states.

Significance of the Study

The importance of effective management of school plant cannot be overemphasized.

Effective management of school plant has a direct bearing on the development process not

only in school but on the whole economy in the state. Well-articulated goals of secondary

education in Nigeria cannot be achieved without effective planning, procurement, utilization,

and management of school plant. The findings of this study will be useful to educational

administrators, Secondary Education Management Board, teachers, students, principals of

secondary schools and the community.

When there are effective practices for the planning of secondary school buildings, it

will lead to the optimum use of available resources which will reduce cost and will result in

effective use of land spaces. On the other hand, such effective planning whether it is long or

short term planning will enhance effective performance of principals and their teachers and

community will have some of their resources plowed into other important development

ventures.

In the same vein, the findings on effective practices in the procurement of building

materials will be of immense benefit to the teachers, students and P.T.A as such will reduce

cost and save the parents the ordeal of regular contribution. The teachers and students will

benefit because, these materials will be procured based on the actual needs at reduced cost,

cost effectiveness thus, leaving the school with resources for instructional materials etc.

The findings of the study based on utilization of school buildings will benefit

principals as it will x-ray their skills, expose areas they are not doing well so that in-service

training could be organized to help them acquire more skills in school building. This will

ensure that school buildings are utilized optimally for the purpose they are meant for.

The outcome of the study based on maintenance of school buildings will benefit the

principal, students, parents and the community at large. Regular maintenance will benefit

principal as it will prevent decay and the dilapidation of these buildings, speak volumes about

the principal’s management skills, students will be happy learning in a good environment,

teachers work environment will be improved and they will be motivated to do more while the

community will utilize the resources that would have been used to erect new buildings to

other development needs of the community.

This work will also benefit Management Boards as it affects inspection of school

buildings. The findings will serve as a yardstick with which State Education Management

Board (SEMB) can categorize and know the skills of the principals that are overseeing the

affairs of the secondary schools in South-East states. Principals that are not doing well in this

aspect will see the need and reason from the findings of this work to regularly inspect their

school buildings, and this will prolong the life of these buildings, thus, leading to effective

teaching and learning in these schools.

More importantly, establishing ways through which principals could make rules and

regulations for securing school buildings will benefit principals, teachers, students,

communities and school boards as that will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of

principals as their skills will be enhanced, teachers, students and communities will be

properly guided as they will know their limitations, boundaries, make effective use of these

buildings and become law abiding citizens. The school boards will benefit as these rules and

regulations could be adopted and disseminated to all schools to serve as a policy to secure the

use of school buildings.

Scope of the Study

The study is delimited to effective practices in the management of secondary school

buildings in South-Eastern states. The content area is restricted to the following: planning of

secondary school buildings, procurement of building materials, utilization of secondary

school buildings, maintenance of secondary school buildings, inspection of secondary school

buildings and making of rules and regulations based on school buildings. The study focuses

on public secondary schools in South-Eastern states.

Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study:

1. What are the effective practices in the planning of secondary school buildings in

South-Eastern States?

2. What are the effective practices in the procurement of secondary school building

materials in South-Eastern States?

3. What are the effective practices principals should apply in the utilization of

secondary school buildings in South-Eastern States?

4. What are the effective practices principals should use in maintaining secondary

school buildings in South-East states?

5. What are the effective practices principal should use in inspecting secondary

school buildings in South East States?

6. What enforcement strategies should principals apply to secure secondary school

buildings in South-Eastern states?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and were tested at 0.05

level of significance.

1. There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of principals of

secondary schools and administrative staff of school boards in South-Eastern

states on the effective practices for planning of secondary school buildings.

2. There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of principals of

secondary schools and administrative staff of school boards in South-Eastern

states on the effective practices in the procurement of building materials.

3. There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of principals of

secondary schools and administrative staff of school boards in South-Eastern

states on effective practices principals should apply in the utilization of secondary

school buildings.

4. There is no significant difference between the mean ratings of principals of

secondary schools and administrative staffs of school board in South-Eastern

states on the effective practices which the principals should apply in maintaining

secondary school buildings in South Eastern states.

5. There are no significant difference between the mean ratings of principals of

secondary schools and administrative staff of school boards in South Eastern.

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