CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

The wealth of a given country is principally determined by the human resources, available natural resources and the state of her economic development. Of all these, it is the human resources that exploit the natural resources, accumulates physical capital and build the sociopolitical structure needed for national growth and development. Human resources can only be developed through proper education that is geared towards the needs of the individual and the society. This is why every government is concerned with providing education for the citizenry. The need for education draws from the idea that the children of today are the leaders of tomorrow, hence both local, state and federal government are keenly involved in providing educational services to her citizens. Nigerian educational system is to some extent decentralized and democratic in nature. Bothe in policy and practice, education in Nigeria is in the con-current list for both federal and states. The Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) in the National Policy on Education (1981:P) states in section 96 as follows: The Federal Government shall prescribe minimum standards of education at all levels. University, technical, pre-primary and post-primary education shall be the responsibility of both the federal and state governments.

Education Boards or Authorities will be responsible for management of schools and the appointment, posting and discipline of teachers. The various state governments and the Federal Ministry of Education have responsibility for establishing and managing secondary and other institutions, provided they meet the minimum standards prescribed by the federal government. This is democratic in nature and does not end with state ministries of education but supposed to be passed on to the individual institutions through their respective heads. The appointment of principals and teachers in the state schools are made either by the state schools boards or the state post primary education and the decisions or reports are communicated to the state Ministries of Education for approval. This therefore necessitates a deliberate systematic and planned educational system aimed at instilling in the child approved societal behaviours, skills, knowledge, habits and values. The successful implementation of the above depends on the types of schools provided, how they are organized, the caliber of teachers and administrative heads as well as the attitude of parents towards their children’s and wards education. The government having established schools, recruits teachers, post them to various schools, pay them monthly salaries depending on their qualifications, occasionally inspecting them to determine the extent to which pre-determined objectives are met. Parents on their parts provide the necessary materials as needed by their wards and children before sending them to school. What happens thereafter between the hours of 8:00am to 2:00pm is under the control of the school head and the teachers. The success or otherwise of a secondary school, lies largely on the leadership style practiced by the principal. The secondary school as an organization cannot exist without the principal and teachers who perform all the expected school duties. The principal is the head of the school administrative unit. The teacher on his part is regarded as a social worker, a modernizer, a pace-setter who structures environment for effective teaching and learning.

As a result of his professional expectation in acting in-loco-parent is and also providing quality instructions, it becomes necessary that a rich and stimulating working environment and managed by a good and an understanding leader be provided for them for the smooth operationalization of educational objectives. This is to ensure that educational goals are realized which manifest in the overall performance of the students in the school certificate examination. Most oen, particularly in the past fieen years, the final examinations, West African Schools Certificate and now Senior School Certificate results have shown a poor picture. The public leveled criticism against teachers on what they perceived as low standards of education, moral laxity among students, mass cheating aided and abetted by teachers and government lack of interest and commitment to education. Teachers on their part complain about poor conditions of teaching in public schools. Teachers have always described lack of adequate instructional facilities, salaries inadequacies, interpersonal inadequacies, and above all, principals corrupt nature, indifference and insensitivity. These are factors which are seriously demonstrating even to a workaholic. Principals on their part leveled the student’s academic poor performance on teachers’ attitude to work, laziness and their failure to make the best of inadequate situations. The problem of moral laxity, indiscipline in schools, mass cheating were blamed on teachers, whose instructional methods and materials have been considered insufficient, unstimulating and inappropriate to the child’s learning experiences, interests and propensities. Principals see teachers as lazy, non-compromising even in the face of no salaries. Their notion is that teachers must work at all times whether they are sick, hungry or not, as an excuse from a teacher to be away from school is considered as sabotage.