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INSECURITY AND MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS

IMPACT OF INSECURITY ON THE MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NORTH-WEST GEOGRAPHICAL ZONE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The study investigated the impact of insecurity on the management of public secondary schools in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria. It was conducted with the objectives to: determine the impact of insecurity on the management of instructional work in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria; find out the impact of insecurity on the management of school and community relationship in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria; assess the impact of insecurity on the management of school climate in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria; ascertain the impact of insecurity on the management of school facilities in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria; and find out the impact of insecurity on the management of school records in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria. These objectives were transcribed into five research questions and hypotheses respectively. The study employed the use of descriptive survey research design. The target population of the study was made up of1440 Ministry of Education Officials, 3078 principals and 50,768 teachers from North-West Zone, Nigeria. A sample size of 10 MOE Officials, 21 principals and 351 teachers, totalling 382 respondents were used in the study. The study sample size was drawn using random sampling technique. The instrument titled “insecurity and management of secondary school questionnaire (IMSSQ)” was used for data collection in the study. The instrument was pilot tested and reliability coefficient of 0.83 was obtained. The data collected in study was analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency, mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, while Kruskal-Wallis statistics was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings of the study showed that insecurity significantly affect the effective management of instructional work in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria; insecurity did not significantly impact on the management of school and community relationship in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria; insecurity has significant impact on the management of school climate in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria; insecurity significantly impacted on the management of school facilities in northwest geographical zone, Nigeria; insecurity significantly impacted on the management of school records in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria. The study recommended among others that Government should invest in security technologies such as provision of security gates, use of padlocks, installing CCTV camera with night vision outside and within the school buildings, alarms, lighting systems and metal detectors to physically enhance security or safety in schools.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the Study

One of the major issues that seem to bother students, parents and stakeholders in Nigeria today is the school insecurity. Insecurity is a social disorder that causes threat to human lives and organizational activities. It is synonymous with feelings of being unsafe, lack of freedom from dangerous attacks and lack of protection from physical harm. Teachers and students in the Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria have experienced threat to their lives which is as a result of absence of certain factors in the school that hitherto should have enhance peace and security so as to spur the school managers to effectively function in their duty posts. It therefore confirms that safe school environment encourages peaceful co-existence, positive school climate, cordial interactions among teachers and teachers, teachers and principals, students and students, and teachers and students for the overall benefit of the school while the unsafe schools experience otherwise.

In recent times, no place can be qualified to be regarded as school if it does not possess basic security measures that will guarantee safety of lives and properties. However, it is obvious that many teachers and students alike are concerned about the daring insecurity both to lives and the school properties. Worrisome enough is when the school managers does not have control over a situation but has to rely on the cooperation of others that cannot be guaranteed, the result may be frustration or insecurity. Insecurity is a threat to learning and the prevailing peace within and around the schools which often has ripple effects on effective teaching and learning and school management (Akintunde & Selzing-Musa, 2016).

The school insecurity relates more squarely to personal and physical insecurity. This is because the school is made up of both human and material resources which are integral components of the larger society. School personnel and students as well as the material resources in schools are liable for protection and safety in this era of pervasive terrorists attacks in which schools have become a subject of attack. The 21st century is characterised with school attacks. School attacks are indicative of “targeted violence” aimed at educational institutions, by bandit or terrorist groups with a view to sending strong signals to state authorities (Mohammed, Alimba, Momodu & Ika, 2016).

For some time now, the Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria has been a hotbed of conflicts. Apart from the perennial conflict between the farmers and herdsmen, there are other notable security challenges, which include the activities of Boko Haram insurgency and banditry. However, in spite of government efforts, the security situation of schools in the Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria is deteriorating. Indeed, the lingering conflict between herders and farmers has been rated six times deadlier than the Boko Haram insurgency. Having originated in Zamfara state, school insecurity has since spread to five other nearby states, namely Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi and Kano, the last of which is the abduction of schoolboys in Kankara community, Katsina State which bears the operational footprints of the Boko Haram group that has perfected the act through previous abductions of schoolgirls in Chibok and Dapchi in North-eastern Nigeria (Ojewale, 2021).

Insecurity has made the management of instructional work very difficult in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria. Thus the school insecurity has hindered the smooth running of time-table which enforced to carry out the instructional work, distribution of work among the members of staff, distribution of the prescribed curriculum, teaching and learning process and termly assessment of students. More so, the issue of school insecurity has negatively affected the school and community relationship. The school management and staff no longer feel safe in the community as they usually feel before that they have common interest concerning matters in the schools. The school as well as the community now have varied view contrary to the village heads on matters of security.

O’Malley (2010) posited that the effects of insecurity on education will be felt long after the funerals have taken place, through loss of teachers and intellectuals, flight of students and staff, fear of turning up to class, grief and psychological trauma among students and personnel, damage to buildings, materials and resources, and degradation of the education system through staffing recruitment difficulties and halted investment. The attacks on schools has resulted in the killing of students, teachers and destruction of school facilities (consist of buildings, playgrounds sport field, outdoor equipment, housing areas, classrooms laboratories, workshops and libraries) and closing down of schools for a very long period in the aforementioned states already marked as educationally backward.

Again, insecurity has render the school managers incapacitated as school records that are kept in schools for the historical as well as contemporary information are damaged. The Boko Haram and banditry attacks was not only related to Katsina State, the act was equally extended to Kaduna, Kano and Zamfara States, where schools were intentionally attacked to the point where the school record written and kept safely to provide information of what happened previously and what is happening now in the school to ensure its continuity are destroyed by various means such as bombing, burning, etcetera. The fear of school attack and the attention given to Kankara school abduction has reached the level of moral panic. This study therefore assessed the impact of insecurity on the management of public secondary schools in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria.

1.2     Statement of the Problem

School insecurity has become pervasive and highly devastating in Nigeria today. Often times, the armed groups threaten students and teachers and bomb and burn schools in the Northwest Geographical Zone. For instance, on 11 December 2021, about 523 boys were abducted from the Government Science Secondary School in Kankara Local Government Area (LGA) of Katsina State. In school attack, teachers as well as students are sometimes maimed, injured and killed, while school buildings and materials are destroyed by various means such as bombing, burning and so forth. This climate of insecurity has seriously retarded the management of schools, and in places even stopped, the crucial task of educating learners. Even when schools continue operating, students may not attend after a threat or an attack. Each incident affects the risk assessment that parents and students undertake nearly every day.

Regardless of the motivation for attacks on teachers, students, and schools in Northwest Geographical Zone, their effect is devastating and far-reaching: parents are afraid to send their children to school, teachers are afraid to teach, and schools are shut down. Education providers—the government and NGOs are forced to withdraw from insecure areas or are unable to expand to areas that desperately need them. In every respect, girls, who have much more limited access to education to begin with and who are typically the first to be pulled out of school because of insecurity, are disproportionately affected.

School insecurity affects the entire school and every student by influencing the management of instructional work, learner’s readiness and capacity for learning; hiring and retention of teachers, managers, and other school staff; the openness and accessibility of the school; student rights to privacy; the physical building and grounds, and the quality of learning environment more generally. As a result of school insecurity, education lacks its quality, the few available facilities were damaged, there is no harmony and good relationship between school and the community, and school records were burnt and damaged.

The problem is particularly acute outside of larger urban areas and off major roads, although early 2020 saw new attacks on previously secure schools. In Northwest Geographical Zone, where a new rash of abductions and targeting of students and schools has directly put schools in the line of fire, insecurity has cast an even more serious pall. Yet it is impossible to gauge the exact impact of insecurity on management of Public Secondary Schools in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria. Thus this research investigates the impact of insecurity on the management of public secondary schools in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria.

1.3     Research Questions

The following research questions were raised in the study:

  1. What is the impact of insecurity on the management of instructional work in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria?
  2. What impact does insecurity have on the management of school and community relationship in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria?
  3. What impact does insecurity have on the management of school climate in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria?
  4. What is the impact of insecurity on the management of school facilities in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria?
  5. What impact does insecurity have on the management of school records in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria?

1.4     Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses will be tested at 0.05 level of significance:

H01:     There is no significant impact of insecurity on the management of instructional work in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria.

H02:     There is no significant impact of insecurity on the management of school and community relationship in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria.

H03:     There is no significant impact of insecurity on the management of school climate in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria.

H04:     There is no significant impact of insecurity on the management of school facilities in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria.

H05:     There is no significant impact of insecurity on the management of school records in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria.

1.5     Purposes of the Study

This study was set out to:

  1. determine the impact of insecurity on the management of instructional work in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria;
  2. find out the impact of insecurity on the management of school and community relationship in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria;
  3. assess the impact of insecurity on the management of school climate in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria;
  4. ascertain the impact of insecurity on the management of school facilities in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria; and
  5. find out the impact of insecurity on the management of school records in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria.

1.6     Basic Assumptions

The study is premised on the assumptions that:

  1. insecurity has hindered the management of instructional work in Northwest Geographical Zone.
  2. insecurity has negatively impacted on the management of school and community relationship in Northwest Geographical Zone.
  3. insecurity has impact on the management of school climate in Northwest Geographical Zone.
  4. insecurity has impact on the management of school facilities in Northwest Geographical Zone.
  5. insecurity has negatively impacted on the management of school records in Northwest Geographical Zone.

1.7     Significance of the Study

Findings of this study will be significance to the government, educational planners, principals, teachers, students, parents and the society at large. It will provide empirical information that will enable the government, educational planners, principals, teachers, students, parents and the society at large to gain better understanding of the state of insecurity in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria. Such information and knowledge will guide the government in their subsequent plans and projection for schools.

The government will from the study be better informed of the state of insecurity in schools as well as how it affect the management of instructional work. The information provided will guide them in taking proactive security measures in place in order to secure schools in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria.

From the findings of the study, educational planners will be properly guided when planning for the instructional work of secondary schools in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria. By identifying and highlighting some constraints faced by school heads in the management of school climate, and by providing suggested solutions to the problems, school heads will gain insight into some aspects of their school insecurity problems and be placed in a better position on how to solve them.

Principals will also benefit from the findings of the study on an important aspect of their school life they may have been neglecting. The understanding which the result of the study will provide may serve as an eye-opener on the relevance of school and community relationship in tackling the problem of insecurity in schools.

Teachers will immensely benefit from the findings of this study as it will bring about their improvement, which will consequently make the school environment more conducive for teaching, learning and habitation by students.

Students in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria in particular will immensely benefit from this study because the resultant awareness of the value and security of schools will build back the confidence of students in school security. This will also rekindle the waning interest of students in school attendance and learning. Students that have dropped out of school as a result of insecurity will be encouraged to returnback to school.

The world of academia, will benefit from the contributions which thefindings of this study will make to the corpus of knowledge as it will provide information and data base for discussion, citation and further academic researches.

The parents and the society at large will through this study get to understand the various impact of insecurity on the management of management of public secondary schools in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria and will be better placed to complement the effort of the government to provide security to schools within their locality.

1.8     Scope of the Study

This study investigates the impact of insecurity on the management of public secondary schools in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria. Hence, subject for the study are the principals, teachers and Ministry of Education Officials in the Northwest Zone, consisting of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara States. The study will be delimited to the impact of insecurity on the management of instructional work, school and community relationship, school climate, school facilities, and management of school records in Northwest Geographical Zone, Nigeria.

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INTERNET AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION

ACCESSIBILITY AND USE OF INTERNET AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION FOR ACADEMIC WORKS BY PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

ABSTRACT

This study investigated accessibility use of internet as a source of information for academic work by public school teachers in Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted and purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 169 respondents, questionnaire was the main instrument used for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, consisting of tables, percentages and mean statistics. The main findings revealed that public school teachers do not have internet facilities in their schools and they access the internet through their personal computers, smart phones and cyber café. Findings also revealed that public school teachers consult the internet to form lesson note, do academic research/personal research, get news and information, communicate via email and social media. They also agreed that internet services have impact on them through access to information anytime and anywhere, to increase the opportunity for scholarly communication with colleagues as well as improve their lesson note. Lack of internet services/connectivity in the school, poor electricity supply, poor funding of school library services (internet services) were the major challenges the respondents faced when using internet services and facilities. The study recommended the public school managements should provide adequate internet facilities in public schools and also make them accessible to public school teachers.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the Study

The convergence of computer and telecommunication has revolutionized information management in the present day information environment. One of the products of this myriad of convergence is the birth of the Internet. In the process of trying to make information available to information seekers and users in the past few years, Internet has become the major source of information. This is so, considering the strategic importance of Internet in information retrieval. The world over have been availed the opportunity of Internet in the enhancement of knowledge and research. The invention of the Internet and on-line information search engines, among others have made this possible.  Yusuf (2005) assert that the field of education has been affected by internet access, which has undoubtedly affected teaching, learning, and research. Education is a fundamental human process; a matter of values and action. The cluster of technologies called the “Internet” has the ability to complement, reinforce, and to enhance the educational process.

The internet is a vast global network that links millions of computers ranging from the smallest handheld personal mobile digital assistants to the most powerful computer systems ever constructed. The power of the internet is that it allows a worldwide community comprising millions of people to communicate, access, and publish information. People are using the internet to gain access to libraries throughout the world, aid in research projects and cross-cultural studies, solve school assignments, and enhance foreign language skills, and simply exchange ideas and studies with their peers. The internet has become a global cultural phenomenon; tens of millions of people have access to the system. It is of the same magnitude as television was in its early years and is the most powerful current trend for societal change. According to Dowlin (2001), opines that “participation in the internet collapses geography and time”. The cost is independent of distance and the information is accessed in real or virtual time with little delay. However, Internet is not self dependent but a network itself. One needs computer or an enabled mobile phone to access the information and other multimedia resources through the internet. Therefore, because of the countless benefits from using the internet especially the educational value, schools now acquire computer systems with telecommunication tools to have access to the internet.

The Internet can be used to source information or for research by browsing the World Wide Web (www) using the Uniform resource locator (URL) to access databases provided electronically by information providers. E-mails can be sent and received; chats and discussion can be conducted in addition to the transaction of e-commerce. In line with this, Anyokoha,(2005) assert that the internet which is usually called information superhighway is simply the interconnectivity of computers that provide a wide range of information in all facets of human endeavors to end-users. Teachers need Internet because of its flexibility and dynamism in information retrieval, storage and processing. Internet is very important to public school teachers because they need to have access to timely, accurate and relevant information for their teaching and research.

Internet sources like the search engines have greatly increased the speed of searching out information. They have brought considerable relief to teachers in secondary school, as they can conveniently walk and browse lessons and discussion and have access to unlimited information. According to Ejizu (2010), the Internet is a global network made up of many smaller networks that enable computer users to share information and resources quickly and easily. The above definition implies that the Internet is a connection of millions of computers around the globe such that one of the connected computers could have access to any information stored in these computers within the global village. One may also describe the Internet as a tool that connects various types of computers to one another in a way that a computer on the Internet can communicate and share information with other computers in the network of networks, even though there may be no direct physical connection between them.

The Internet is very useful to public school teachers’ especially in Nigeria because it enables them to have access to timely, accurate and relevant information that can be used for their lesson According Owolabi (2007) maintains that the Internet has become the market place for learning and online education. Contributing to this, Ojedokun (2001) points out that the Internet has broken down barriers of communication and information access from any part of the World and that it allows users to have access to information and offers them opportunity to access up-to-date research. Due to the endless nature of information resources on the Internet, schools and libraries are increasingly investing in provision of Internet services and resources to enable their clients have better access to their information.

Furthermore, with the current interest in creating a society of lifelong learners, it is evident that public school teachers (that is, those persons who provide education for pupils) must be able to find, evaluate, and use information that is constantly changing. According to Berkowitz (2002) reports that information and technology skills are the ‘new basics’ and being able to find and use information more effectively is essential to the success of teachers in public school. The Internet brought about a free flow of information all over the globe. One could possibly get access to any kind of information on almost everything.  There have been several important observations on the changes in the way information is accessed since the advent of the Internet. Information on the other hand can be defined as facts, ideas, signs, symbols, pictures and processed data which when received and understood can improve the knowledge state of the receiver in a given situation or phenomenon. The fact is that for information to be useful it must be accessible.

Accessibility is a key aspect of usage and can be refers to the ability to use a product or service effectively. In the internet parlance, internet access is the process that enables individuals to connect to the internet using computers and mobile device. Hicks (2002), concludes that the Internet is a double-edged sword, as students can use it to access any educational database, learn about any country, they can also be subjected to perverse and deviant topics. Once connected user gain access to information. The use of the internet entails the process of utilizing the information resource on the internet. In line with this, Oketunji (2001) asserts that Internet gives us access to a vast wealth of knowledge and access to tools that facilitate research. The Internet offers the opportunity to conduct remote classes, allow access to remote libraries, and create an environment innovative and cooperative learning experiences. Internet has become an important and reliable tool for information retrieval. Once connected to the internet, it is possible to access a wide range of services from around the world. This is so as the advent of internet, teachers and students can work together without physical interaction between each other and achieve the same objectives with that of traditional way of studying.  Teachers exchange ideas and communicate effectively since teaching, learning and research is now made easy with the internet.  

It is pertinent to note that effective teaching is essential for effective learning. The process of teaching has become more complex of late such that computer and internet literacy play significant roles in education. According to Schneider, Evans and Pinard, (2006) opines that in Today world, the Internet can link all online computers so that people can use it to communicate throughout the world. Due to internet illiteracy of some teachers because of the educational level still pride themselves as being internet literate, the fact still remains that some are yet to acclimatize with the internet. In this context the study focused on finding the access and use of internet as a source of information for academic works by public school teachers.

1.2     Statement of the Problem

It has been observed in this contemporary information age that the Internet has increasingly become an invaluable asset in education in terms of learning, teaching and research. Its role in information handling, packaging, storing, retrieving and dissemination is at the root of any meaningful academic enterprise all over the world. The Internet is now prominent in making information and data available to researchers. However, Due to internet illiteracy of some teachers and because of their educational background/level still pride themselves as being internet literate, the fact still remains that some are yet to acclimatize with the internet, In line with this, Kilimci Songül (2010), assert that teachers might find it difficult to use ICT in their classrooms due to the rapid technological development and lack of knowledge/experience of and familiarity with ICT. It is quite regrettable that despite the numerous advantages of internet, most teachers do not know how to search or to get the right information in the course of their academic work. Most often, even to synthesize and analyze the information becomes a nightmare to some teachers. The inability of teachers to overcome these problems automatically makes it impossible to explore the potentials of the Internet. Hence, it becomes imperatives to find out the accessibility and use of Internet as source of information for academic works by public school teachers in Esan-west local Government, Ekpoma, Edo state.

1.3     Objectives of the Study

The major objective of this study is the accessibility and use of internet as a source of information for academic works by public school teachers in Ekpoma, Edo State.

The specific objectives for the study are to:

  1. Find out if Public school teachers have access to the internet.
  2. Determine the extent of Internet use by Public school teachers.
  3. Investigate the purpose of using of Internet by Public school teachers for their academic work.
  4. Find out the impact of internet use on public school teachers.
  5. Find out the challenges encountered by public school teachers when using the Internet services for their academic work.

1.4     Research Questions

The following are the research questions which will be address in the study;

  1. How often do public school teachers access the internet to support their academic work?
  2. To what extent do Public school teachers use the Internet?
  3. What is the purpose of using Internet by Public school teachers?
  4. What is the impact of internet use by public school teachers?
  5. What are the challenges encountered using the Internet by Public school teachers for their academic work?

1.5     Scope of Study

This study will be limited to investigating internet as source of information for academic work by public school teachers in ten selected public schools in Ekpoma, Edo state.

1.6     Significant of the Study

This study is expected to enlighten and broaden the knowledge of public school teachers on how effective of using internet as a source of information and incorporating the findings into the teaching process.

The study will also be helpful to school administration, government agencies, ministry of education and policy makers as it will enable them to realize the use of Internet in education and thus work towards reflecting it in their educational policies and programs. Also, it will serve as a framework and guideline to them in establishing effective Internet network and maintain the existing ones to enable the teachers have easily access to the Internet.

Finally, the study will help future researchers’ study as it will go a long way in making them realize the need for further studies in this area and will form a bedrock for further studies. Also this study will add to the existing literature in the field and also serve as a guide for researcher who wishes to carry out further research in related areas.

1.7     Limitation of Study  

It is pertinent to say no research is perfect. Although conscious efforts have been made to ensure that the data collected was valid and findings reliable. Nevertheless, there could be some sources of errors prior to financial and time constraint, and also the literature and tools used in carrying out this research work was not easy to come by.

1.8     Operational Definition of Terms

The under- listed terms are used in the research work in the sense, in which they are defined here under;

Internet: a network of linked computers which are located at different point all over the world to provide easy communication between persons and organizations no matter where they are located.

Internet use: the utilization of the internet.

Web:  a form of a multimedia system of sound, pictures, files, videos for finding information in the internet.

Public school: a school supported by public funds.

Teacher:  a person who provides education for pupils or students. They teach specific area of study.

Information: data, presented in readily comprehensible form to which meaning has been attributed within a context for it uses.

Accessibility: the ability to have or access something in order to use it for one self.

 

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