STAKEHOLDERS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE PROVISION AND MAINTENANCE OF SCHOOL PLANT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KADUNA METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study assessed the provision and maintenance of school plant in secondary schools in Kaduna metropolis. The study as set to find out the provision of physical facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis, investigate the maintenance of infrastructural facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis, assess the of maintenance of instructional facilities for learning in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis, find out the provision of welfare facilities and find out the maintenance of sports and recreational facilities in Secondary School in Kaduna Metropolis. Ten research questions and ten null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Scholarly works of various scholars on provision and maintenance of physical facilities, infrastructural facilities, instructional facilities, welfare facilities and sports and recreational facilities were presented in chapter two. The descriptive survey design was employed in the study that covers all Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis. Ten schools were randomly selected, while the respondents include 200 teachers, 10 principals and 20 staff of the Kaduna North Zonal Office of the Ministry of Education. Their responses were gathered using the questionnaire for the perception of stakeholders on the provision and maintenance of school plants (QPSPMSP). To give the general description of data, frequency tables and simple percentages were used. The testing of the hypotheses was done using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. The results showed that school plants were inadequately provided and where they were provided they were not maintained. Some of the recommendations are that School administrators and government urgently need to upgrade school plants to meet up with modern demands of secondary school education. Digital facilities should be provided in schools and regular school inspection and good maintenance programme are recommended to protect the existing school plant.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1         Background to the study

Schools are usually set up to provide an environment for teaching and learning, the effectiveness of which requires several factors to be put in place. These factors include a good curriculum, well trained teachers, a good learning environment, teaching aids amongst others. It is generally agreed that the quality of education delivered by teachers and the academic achievement of students in any school is dependent on several factors of which school plant is paramount. Governments, private individuals and organizations in all states in Nigeria are increasingly involved in the provision of schools to meet the increasing demand for secondary education in Nigeria, secondary school enrolment has increased without a corresponding increase in the number of school plants required for effective teaching and learning. This has put a considerable strain on most secondary schools in Kaduna State.

The physical facilities that exist in the school system, which contribute either directly or indirectly to teaching-learning effectiveness constitute educational facilities or school plant (Asiyai, 2012). School plant refers to all physical facilities including buildings, classrooms, laboratories, libraries, recreational facilities, toilets, furniture. According to Undie (2007), school plant embraces the permanent and relatively permanent possessions of the school‘s resources such as laboratory equipment, white board, marker, generators, machines, tools and so on. It can be said that school plant means the school building, all materials, furniture and equipment attached and unattached to the building, all structures and features on the school site, including paths, roads, parking lots, playgrounds, open grounds, trees, flowers an objects used for implementing or supporting the implementation of an educational programme (National Open University Of Nigeria, NOUN, 2012). School plant can be used synonymously with what some scholars refer to as school facilities. The Encyclopedia of Education (2012) adds that the school facility consists of not only the physical structures but also a variety of building systems such as mechanical, plumbing, electrical power, telecommunications, security and fire suppression systems. The school plant also includes furnishings, materials and supplies; information technology devices as well as various aspects of the school grounds namely sports fields, playgrounds, school farms and other areas for outdoor learning (Abdulkareem & Fasasi, 2012). Staff quarters, sickbays, dormitories, cafeterias and other auxiliary services buildings and components are also a part of the school plant. For Ajayi and Yusuf (2010), school plants comprise the following:

• Machinery: It includes machines and tools used in the workshop, duplicating machines and so on.
• School site: This refers to the entire landscape on which the school‗s permanent and semi-permanent structures are built.
• Buildings: These include classroom blocks, administrative offices, libraries, workshops, laboratories, students, hostels, staff residential quarters, assembly halls, toilets dining hall and so on.
• Equipment: These consist of typewriters, photocopiers, computers, sporting equipment, laboratory equipment and workshop equipment.
• Furniture: Desks and seats used in the classrooms office furniture, residential furniture and soon.

• Vehicles of various types and sizes
• Books, textbooks, periodicals and all library books
• Electrical infrastructure: Air conditioners, electrical fans, generating sets and other electrical fittings.
• Water supply infrastructure: This involves deep wells, boreholes, water tanks and public water.
• Accessories: These include playgrounds, lawns, parks garden and farm

It is obvious then that constituents of a school plant are not static, but change from school to school and generation to generation. The school plant has been aptly described by Asiyai (2012) as the space interpretation of the curriculum. The curriculum finds its physical expression in the construction and arrangement of the school plant (Knezevich, 1976). More specifically, building components include, but are not limited to: rooms, interior walls, interior doors, floors, plumbing, electrical systems, HVAC systems, kitchens, hardware, communications equipment (audio, video, and data), exterior envelope (walls and windows), roof and roofing materials, foundations and basements. Grounds include, but are not limited to: courtyards, unimproved fields, athletic fields, playgrounds and parking lots, campus roads, trees and shrubs and landscaping. Equipment includes, but is not limited to:

fixed equipment (motors, compressors, telephones, computers)

tools (lawn mowers, snow blowers, leaf blowers, drills) vehicle fleets (buses, vans, trucks, cars

supplies (motor oil, cleaning agents, pesticides, and other chemicals)

signage traffic patterns (Planning guide for maintaining school facilities, 2003)

According to Adigun and Yusuf (2012), school plant refers to all non-consumable and durable physical and infrastructural facilities available in the school for teachers and students use in order to make teaching and learning effective and thus ensure the achievement of pre-determined aims and objectives of education hence, the school plant includes the space within the school premises which houses the basic systems and structures.

The number and types of equipment and materials available, the sizes of learning space within the school building, their relations to each other and nature of the learning environment all have influence on the methods and quality of teaching. Outside the school buildings and other structures, the size and nature of the school site determine to a great extent, the type of outdoor and recreational activities that can take place in the school (NOUN, 2012). The types of programme being run by the school and its educational philosophy determine the types and sizes of learning spaces provided in the school plant. For example, technical schools will have different school structures from commercial secondary schools. Religious secondary school (seminaries, Islamiya) will make provisions for chapels and mosques while a secular school will not deem them necessary. The equipment and instructional materials available in the school plant determines to a large extent how students are organized for instruction and the teaching methods adapted by teachers in the school.

The school plant is of special significance to learners, for students who are just entering the school for the first time in particular, the school building needs to be interesting and inviting (Cramer & Domian, 1960). The nature and look of a school plant, especially the buildings seem to be some of the important factors that influence students‘ attitude towards attending school and perhaps towards education as a whole (Xaba,2012). The school plant is used not only to provide conducive environment for both teaching and learning but also to ensure a safe, secure, hygienic and comfortable shelter for students, teachers and other staff as teaching, learning and other activities of the school take place. To keep the school plant in prime condition to provide the services it ought to be managed properly.

Maintenance is a holistic process of keeping a facility or equipment in prime condition and as close to its original state as possible. For school plants to remain effective for the purposes which they are provided for proper maintenance is required. This involves proper utilization, operation, custodial services performed on school building, equipment, furniture etc.

Since independence in Nigeria, secondary school enrolment has continued to increase without a corresponding increase in facilities for effective teaching and learning. This has put a considerable strain on school plants in most secondary schools in the country. The number of facilities like libraries, labouratories, tables, chairs, classrooms etc available for education remains inadequate for the eligible number of youths. This is more prevalent in urban areas where there is population pressure. Most of the school plants available today were not planned properly; hence provisions were not made for expansions, renovations, increased utility rate and other environmental factors. School buildings in use today were built some thirty to forty years ago and cannot last for the next fifteen years, because they have not been maintained over the years and are now old and weak (Olaniyonu, 2006). In Kaduna State, public secondary schools are managed by Federal or state governments.  There  are  also  a  good  number  of  privately  owned  and  managed secondary schools in major cities in the state. Standards in all schools, by whosoever owned, are the exclusive responsibility of the federal government under the Nigerian constitution (Nwabueze, 1995). The efforts of the federal and state government seems not to have gone far enough towards providing adequate school facilities in Kaduna state as a recent observation of the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria

(ESSPIN) shows, in respect of some schools that were studied by members of the group. According to ESSPIN (2009, page 45), ―it is estimated that 75% of school infrastructure in the project states (Kaduna inclusive) is in very poor condition. The ESSPIN reported as follows:

• more of the school buildings are in poor conditions. One of the main reasons for the chronic situation is that the educational sector, particularly infrastructure, suffered from an approximately 20 year period of neglect during the military regime. The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that most of the buildings that have been constructed in recent years are also of very poor quality. They have been badly built because of poor procurement practices, poor management of construction, poor workmanship, the use of poor quality materials, and lack of supervision during construction…. Even when buildings have been constructed to an acceptable standard there has been a severe lack of maintenance which has resulted in many buildings being in a state of disrepair and having a reduced life span.

Apart from these, the staff rooms of schools the researcher has visited are nothing to write home about. Other installations are old and obsolete, such as teaching aids, laboratory equipment, workshops and libraries where they exist at all. The general picture presented by the conditions of school plants in Kaduna State is lack of adequate provision and maintenance. It has been speculated that procedures adopted in providing them have not been made explicit in literature, neither is there active participation of teachers, school heads and community citizens in planning and managing school plants. The general trend seems to be that the educational architect in a state or federal ministry of education produces prototype plans of school buildings, which are used for setting up the same type of buildings on different sites in different localities. Once the building project has been completed, inspected and taken over by the ministry of education, everything about its maintenance is usually forgotten (NOUN, 2012). Private schools are allegedly said to have better management practices.

The above observations and findings bring the researcher to the conclusion that there are problems with school plant provision and management in secondary schools in Nigeria and Kaduna State in particular.

1.2         Statement of the Problem

Many research point to the suggestion that the number of school plant available for secondary education remains inadequate for the eligible number of students in Kaduna state. The problem is more prevalent in urban areas like Kaduna metropolis where there is population pressure. Many schools are faced with challenges of inadequate provision and insufficient maintenance.

Every year the state government makes announcements on the provision of physical infrastructure such as school buildings and classrooms, yet many stakeholders have decried the insufficiency in quantity and quality of physica infrastructure in many secondary schools in Kaduna metropolis. A survey by Ahmed, (2009) of secondary schools in Kaduna state revealed that 2% have partial roofs, 15% have their walls falling, 65% need doors to be repaired, and 25% have no windows in place. Commenting on why high academic attainment is not in vogue in Nigeria, Adesina (1981) identified poor and inadequate physical facilities, among others, as factors affecting academic achievement of students. There is a need to assess the current state of provision and maintenance of physical facilities in secondary schools in Kaduna Metropolis.

Reports in the press show that many secondary schools lack electricity and water supply. Other infrastructural facilities such water closets, ventilation, security and safety systems etc are also said to be lacking in most cases or insufficient and in poor states where they are available at all. Owuamanam (2005) in Asiyai (2012) noted that ―the inadequacy of infrastructural facilities and lack of maintenance for available facilities were major problems facing the Nigerian educational system. The school facilities are grossly inadequate to match the student‘s population and the available facilities were poorly maintained. The availability of infrastructural facilities is important in improving teachers‘ morale and students‘ welfare.

It is very common for Educational administrators to pay attention to staff recruitment and curriculum development and other aspects of the school system to the neglect of equipment and items for teaching and learning such as furniture, boards, laboratory equipment and other teaching aids. Asibaka (2012) noted that ―in many schools desks and chairs were not sufficient for the number of students enrolled. In some cases students stand or sit on the ground to receive lessons. Personal visits to schools by the researcher, shows, that many schools lack audio-visuals, models,

whiteboards and other modern teaching aids. This calls for an investigation into the provision and maintenance of items and equipment for teaching and learning in secondary schools in Kaduna Metropolis.

The Federal Government of Nigeria in the National Policy on Education (NPE), 2013) sets guidelines for setting up and operating secondary schools, but does not state clearly school plant designs, size, layout quality and quantity and construction requirements. Poor maintenance culture is a general characteristic of the Nigerian society. In educational institutions, it is evident in the conditions of school plant in most secondary schools. It is a common sight in Kaduna state to see classrooms with cracked walls, leaking roofs, falling ceiling, broken windows, unpainted walls, broken chairs, smashed tables, cracked floors etc. some even require urgent repairs to forestall their total collapse.

The proper use of facilities also elongates the life span of the school plant. Kochlar (1978) stated that using school plant for educational purposes requires careful direction or much of its effectiveness can be lost. It can be seen in some schools where chairs made for young students weighing less than 40 kg are used by adults weighing over 60kg during meetings. It also a norm for classes not related to sciences to be held in the science lab. In addition it has been observed that school heads do not make effective use of teaching aids, scientific equipment, I.C.T materials and learning spaces. It is in the light of the above problems that this study seeks to assess the provision and maintenance of school plants in secondary schools in Kaduna metropolis.

1.3         Objectives of the Study

This study aims at assessing the perception of stakeholders on the provision and maintenance of school plants in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis. The specific objectives are to:

1. Assess the provision of physical facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.
2. Assess the maintenance of physical facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.
3. Investigate the provision of Infrastructural facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.
4. Investigate the maintenance of Infrastructural facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.
5. Examine the provision of Instructional facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.
6. Examine the maintenance of Instructional facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.
7. Find out the provision of welfare facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.
8. Find out the Maintenance of welfare facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.
9. Find out the provision of sports and recreational facilities in Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.
10. Find out the maintenance of sports and recreational facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.

1.4    Research Questions

The following research questions were generated:

1. What is the perception of stakeholders on the provision of physical facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis?
2. What is the perception of stakeholders on the maintenance of physical facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis?
3. What the perception of stakeholders on the provision of Infrastructural facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis?
4. What the perception of stakeholders on the maintenance of Infrastructural facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis?
5. What is the perception of stakeholders on the provision of Instructional facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis?
6. What is the perception of stakeholders on the maintenance of Instructional facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis?
7. What is the perception of stakeholders on the provision of welfare facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis?
8. What is the perception of stakeholders on the maintenance of welfare facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis?
9. What is the perception of stakeholders on the provision of sports and recreational facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis?
10. What is the perception of stakeholders on the maintenance of sports and recreational facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis?

1.5         Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study:

HO_1.   There is no significant difference in the perceptions of stakeholders (Principals, Teachers and Staff of Ministry of Education) on the provision of physical facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.

HO_2.   There is no significant difference in the perceptions of stakeholders on the maintenance of physical facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.

HO_3.   There is no significant difference in the perceptions of stakeholders on the provision of Infrastructural facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.

HO_4.   There is no significant difference in the perceptions of stakeholders on the maintenance of Infrastructural facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.

HO_5.   There is no significant difference in the perceptions of stakeholders on the provision of Instructional facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.

HO_6.   There is no significant difference in the perceptions of stakeholders on the maintenance of Instructional facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis

HO_7.   There is no significant difference in the perceptions of stakeholders on the provision of welfare facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.

HO_8.   There is no significant difference in the perceptions of stakeholders on the maintenance of welfare facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.

HO_9.   There is no significant difference in the perceptions of stakeholders on the provision of sports/recreation facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.

HO_10. There is no significant difference in the perceptions of stakeholders on the maintenance of sports/recreation facilities in Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis.

1.6         Significance of the Study

The former Nigerian Information and Research Council (NERC) which is today known as the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) in May, 1986 made a nine point recommendation to enhance educational standard. Among the recommendations was the provision of adequate teaching aids and fund to provide other infrastructural facilities. It is hoped that the result of this study will help to raise the standard of education in schools having made useful suggestions on how to improve the provision and maintenance of the school plant. This study will provide educational administrators and policy makers with a useful insight into how school plants in secondary schools in Kaduna are provided and maintained. It will give useful information on how to improve the provision in terms of quality and quantity of school plants and maintenance in Kaduna Metropolis which will in turn improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools. The Nigerian education system places much emphasis on academic and technical programmes requiring specialized facilities. As a result, the processing of educational inputs (students) would demand for facilities that are at prime production. The realization of this lies in a well provided and maintained school plant. The students hopefully will benefit from a conducive and well-equipped environment which according to Adesina (1990) is a prerequisite for high academic performance.

This study will hopefully reveal to the government and school administrators the problems facing the provision of school plants and how they can be solved in secondary schools in Kaduna Metropolis and beyond. The study will thus propose the various contributions that government, school authorities, teachers and parents can make to ensure effective management of school plant in secondary schools. The government of Kaduna State today is interested in equipping the secondary schools with physical facilities. It is hoped that this work will expose the condition of the plant to the stakeholders whom it is believed will improve the quality and provision of school plant.

Nevertheless, if the recommendations of this study are implemented, the quality and quantity of school facilities in Kaduna metropolis will be greatly enhanced. It is the wish of the researcher that this study will motivate educational administrators at all levels to see the need to take part in best practices in school plant provision and maintenance as is done in other parts of the world. Finally the researcher hopes that this work will contribute to the sparse resources available on school plant provision and maintenance in Nigeria

1.7         Basic Assumptions

In conducting this study, the researcher makes the assumptions that Kaduna Metropolis is home to many secondary schools so there is a policy or guideline for school plant provision and maintenance in Kaduna Metropolis. The researcher also assumes that there is a strategic plan from the Ministry of Education to carry out custodial activities in the various school plants within Kaduna Metropolis. This means that supervision of how school plants are operated is carried out and repairs are carried out when due. Finally is also assumed that Stakeholders (Principals, Teachers and Staff of Ministry of Education) will respond honestly and accurately to the questions raised by the researcher in the research instrument.

1.8         Scope of the Study

This study covers all secondary schools in Kaduna metropolis, but due to the copious number of secondary schools in the metropolis, a sample of secondary schools in the metropolis will be studied. Only schools owned by the state government will be considered in this research work.

1.9         Operational Definition of Terms

School plant: this is a generic term that refers to school physical facilities, infrastructural facilities, instructional facilities, welfare facilities and recreational facilities found in secondary schools.

School plant provision: the construction of buildings for use as classrooms, laboratories, libraries, fitting of electrical power supply, boreholes, plumbing and the supply of chairs, tables and teaching aids in schools.

School plant Maintenance: These are activities such as painting, refurbishing, repairing and replacing geared towards keeping the school plant working at optimal level.

Physical facilities: These are;

classrooms,

laboratories,

Art Rooms,

Libraries,

PHE Class,

Computer Room

Technical workshop

Agricultural farm

Examination halls

Infrastructural facilities: These include;

Electrical infrastructure

Water supply

Plumbing

Sanitary

Safety facilities

Security facilities

Aesthetic infrastructure

Drainage infrastructure Paved roads

Instructional facilities: these include;

Students‘ chairs and desks White board

Specimen models Wall charts Digital Video (DVD) players & Televisions Projectors and Interactive boards Laboratory equipment Workshop equipment

Welfare facilities: these include;

School bus

Health facilities

Canteen/food shops

Staff quarters

Furniture for teachers

Staff room

Staff toilet

Parking lot

Sports and recreation facilities: they include;

Football pitch

Volleyball court

Basketball court

Table tennis table

Internet facilities

Lawn tennis court

Athletics track

Swimming pool

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