UEM. VOL. 3.

2004

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL

MANAGEMENT(IJEM)

VOLUME 3, 2004

ISSN: 079447684

Published by
Department of Educational Management, University
of llorin, llorin

IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

Table of Content
Page
Title Page.................................................................i
Copyright page..........................................................ii
Board of Editors........................................................iii
Notes to contributors.................................................iv
Notes on contributors...................................................v
Table of contents......................................................vii
Prof. (Mrs.) N.Y.S Ijaiya - Re-Engineering Educational Management
for Quality Education in Kwara State, Nigeria....................................1
2. Prof. Bade A. Agboola -Current Issues in Educational
management in Nigeria: The Challenges of Open
and Distance Education.........15
3. Dr. M.A. Ogunu - The Present Status of Expectancy
Theory..............................................................................................31
4. Dr. (Mrs.) A,T. Alabi - Teacher Professionalism and Productivity:
Management Perspective...............................................................44
5. Dr. A.A. Olaoye-- Sociological Perspective to Managing School
Curriculum and Resources............................................................54
6. Yahaya, Lasiele Alabi Ph.D - Relevance of Student- Assessment
and Student- Advisement/ Counselling to Teaching........................77
7. Akinsolu, Abiodun Olatoun - HIV/AIDS Scourge Implications for
Educational Planners in Nigeria.....................................................89
8. S.O. Afolabi - Lecturers' and Students' Perceptions on Influence
of Supervision on Examination Malpractice in Kwara State-Owned
Tertiary Institutions.......................................................................108
9. B.O. Gbadamosi - Forging Inter-Library Co-operation As a way of
Enhancing Library Services: A case study of Resource sharing in
three Academic Libraries in Oyo Township...................................122
10. Dr. Abdulrazaq Olayinka Oniye - Retirement stress and
Management Strategies among Retired Civil Servants in Kwara State:
Counselling Implication and Intervention........................................134

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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

11. Dr. (Mrs.) E.Y. Obasa - Leadership Theory and the Nigerian
Education Manager.....................................................................152
12. Ayinla Saadu Alanamu- Motivation and Teachers
Productivity in Islamic Schools in llorin Metropolis.........167
13. Dr. M.M. Aliyu - Availability and use of Instructional Materials in
Teaching Business Education Subjects
In Secondary Schools in Niger State..........................................180
14. Dr. (Mrs.) R.O. Oduwaiye - Influence of Role Conflict On
Administrative Effectiveness of Academic Staff in Nigerian
Universities..................................................................................190
15. Dr. (Mrs.) Opadokun, Olufunke Adeitan- Relationship Between
Staff Retention Strategies and Academic Staff Productivity in Nigerian
Colleges of Education................................................................200
16. Sofoluwe, A. Olu Ph.D. - Relationship Between Communication
Technology (CT) and Administrative Effectiveness in Nigerian
Universities...................................................................................216
17. Dr. (Mrs.) D.O. Otu-Cultural Implications of the Social System
Theory for Effective Administration in educational institutions in
Nigeria............................................................................................234
18. Dr. Y.A. Fasasi - Influence of School size on Discipline Among
Secondary School Students in Osogbo and Olorunda Local
Government Areas of Osun State................................................253
19. Dr. Kola Lafinhan - An Investigation into the Problems
Confronting Schools for the Handicapped in Ibadan....................264
20. Dr. Amen Funsho Ahmed - The Relationship Student Personnel
Services and Student Altruistic Behaviour in Nigerian
Universities...................................................................................276
21. Dr. Virgy Onyene - Issues in the Administrative Behaviour of
School Headteachers.................................................................. .. 294
22. Dr. N.B. Oyedeji -Manpower Planning in Education: The Role of
Educational Administrator...............................................................318

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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

RE-ENGINEERING EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT FOR

QUALITY EDUCATION IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

By
PROF. (MRS) N.Y.S. IJAIYA
Abstract
Education is generally regarded in Kwara State as her
major industry hence the need for its constant re-examination.
The paper examined the present condition of education in the
State and noted that its dwindling quality as depicted by poor
pupil achievements in basic skills and public examinations is
inimical to her progress and development. It attributed the
situation to several factors such as over-centralization, poor
investment by all stakeholders, more especially the lack of
appropriate management policies by Government that could
engender and inspire to healthy competition for better
performance among schools etc. there is therefore a need, it
was suggested, for a re-engineering of educational
management in the State to bring about stronger accountability
and motivation among school leadership, teachers. The state
government should adopt strategic planning with statements of
vision and mission backed by policies on acceptable standard
in reading and computational skills, standardized tests among
others.
Introduction
Educational reforms are not strange, as no educational
system is perfect. All over the world, education continues to be
subjected to questions like: what should be taught? Why?
Where? How? By whom? Education is meant to serve the
world. The world, itself, is not static. How can education be
1

IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

static if it is to remain relevant?

The decade 1990 to 2000 has been correctly referred to
as the "Decade of World Summit", because the world
witnessed a plethora (about 22) of international conferences
mainly devoted to "Quality in Education" for human
development. Among such conferences are "World Conference
on Education for AH" held in 1990 at Jomtien and another in
Dakar, 2000. Several important messages came out of these
conferences, among which are: "an affirmation that education is
a fundamental human right" and "an acknowledgement that
Africa is at the bottom of the world's educational league table,
and the fact that this should justify urgent, concerted,
innovative responses" (Obanya, 2002, p.3). it was also noted
that political will is the key to success in all educational
endeavours (Obanya, 2002, p.3).
Although it has been asserted on some occasions that
education is an industry, and indeed a major one, in Kwara
State, in thus writers view, the problem of this State's
educational system is so deep and fundamental that it will take
a total and radical re-engineering of the system to cure it of its
ailment. The problems did not start today. Since the
introduction of western education into Nigeria, the education
system has been facing myriads of problems but in the last
three decades, they have become increasingly complex. In the
hurry to develop, the various Governments have made series
of omissions and commissions which have continued to cripple
the education system, and reforms have been patchy,
inconsistent, mismanaged and therefore mostly ineffective. The
system failed largely at the level of management. There is no
gainsaying the fact that no educational system can rise above
the quality of its management. The implementation of the
National Policy on Education is a typical example; laudable
programme but poorly executed.
The ultimate aim of educational management is to
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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

procure and marshal resources (man, money, materials and

time) to ensure the achievement of educational goals and
objectives. All management functions such as planning,
organising, leading, supervising, controlling and motivating are
directed toward achieving such objectives. The ultimate aim of
education is to bring out the best in each individual for his
benefit and that of the society. Education is an investment
against poverty. Yet, Nigeria short- changes education to their
own peril. It is not just the Government that is under- investing
in education; parents, teachers, head teachers and students
are equally guilty in various ways. The resources such as
energy, time, money and materials committed to education by
these groups continue to dwindle. People describe education
as a social service (Olele, 1995) but it is much more than that.
Nwagwu (1976) succinctly described the importance of
education to human development as follows:

today, education is universally accepted as a form of

investment in human beings, which yields economic

benefits or returns and contribute to a nations

future wealth and development by increasing

the productive capacity of citizens (p. 12).

However, this can only happen where there is good

quality education. The present state of education in Nigeria
hardly merits that description. Public outcry and indignation
about what their children learn in schools, the way they are
being taught and their quality after graduation have been on the
increase in recent times even from those who should carry out
the reform. Education without quality is no education. It is a
destroyer and a betrayal of trust.
The problems facing education in Kwara State today
are numerous. This paper will highlight some of them and then
show how Government, by making appropriate policies, can
improve the qualify of education in the State.

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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

To carry out any educational reform, an accurate

assessment of the present situation must be done. The paper
will examine 'where we are' and 'where we ought to be' in
Kwara State as far as the educational development is
concerned, and make appropriate recommendations.
Where We Are
Kwara State, created in 1967, can be regarded as a
replica of Nigeria with several ethnic groups occupying both
rural and urban settlements. Like Nigeria, it has the burden of
educationally disadvantaged groups among which are some
Local Government Areas, girl-child and possibly boy-child
groups too. There are over 220 public secondary schools, over
1000 primary schools, three Colleges of Education, one
Polytechnic and one College of Arabic and Legal Studies to
manage. Among her problems are:
Poor Quality education- One of the major problems
facing the State today is poor quality education. The indicators
are quite visible: woeful performance in National Common
Entrance Examinations, School Certificate Examinations and
University Matriculation Examination (UME) in most subjects,
especially in Sciences, English and Mathematics. Many who
passed could have been aided through examination
malpractice in one form or the order. Cheating to pass is
already assuming a dangerous dimension in the State as it is in
the country. Many students now migrate to rural schools for
opportunity to cheat. Some Principals, headmasters and
teachers illegally assist students to cheat. Many primary school
products cannot read or write correctly in English or local
language. Students dread English and Mathematics at any
level. The primary level as a foundation is very weak and
creates problems for the upper levels. As a teacher in a
secondary school, this writer has encountered students in Form
one (now JS1) as far back as 1980 who could not read the

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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

alphabets. Ineffective teaching is the major factor responsible

for this. Examination malpractice and cultism can be traced to it
as students are not fully engaged in their studies. Ineffective
teaching can also be traced to other factors. Quality in
education is considered multi-dimensional, involving: the
community, parents, teachers, students, school administrators,
government, curriculum, funds and infrastructure (Obanya,
2002). Each of these elements has in one way or another
eroded quality of education in the State.
Planning: This involves the collection of data and
systematic analysis for the purpose of appropriate decision
making. Educational planning in Nigeria has not been helpful in
promoting quality education. First, accurate data are hardly
possible in Nigerian schools because of the politicisation of
figures for financial gains by Government and some officials As
long as the Federal Government continues to tie figures to
budgetary allocation, there may be no correct school enrolment
data in this country. Due to poor planning, the system has no
clear cut direction. The National Policy on Education (NPE) is
supposed to guide the operators of the system but it is shortsighted. It talks about the philosophy and objectives of Nigerian
education at various levels but fails to proffer strategies for the
implementation by the classroom teachers and how the
students would know when they have reached acceptable level
of performance. Also, the implementation of the NPE has been
haphazard because of lack of strategies for implementing it.
For instance, the intention of the 6-3-3-4 system is that
students will branch after Junior Secondary (JS) exam to
secondary, teacher training and technical schools based on
their ability. But no sooner did the implementation begin than
the States started to close the Technical and Grade II Teacher
Training Colleges. What is being running now is actually 6-6-4
system. There are other deficiencies in the policy. It calls for a
radical revision.

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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

Quantity and Quality of Teachers: By far, the most

serious factors eroding quality in the educational system are
the quantity and quality of the teachers. The educational
system suffers from both. This has been a perennial problem.
Teachers are considered as the most important factor in
student learning, a bridge between students and quality. Their
deficiencies either in knowledge, pedagogical skills or
motivation spells doom for the system. These are among the
sore points of basic education in Nigeria (Tahir, 2001, p.6). At
the inception of UPE and UBE, the Federal Government had to
resort to crash teacher training to make up for the huge
shortfall in teachers for the take-of of both programmes. This
group of teachers have compounded the problem of quality in
the system because the training is weak and no concrete
programme was put in place at school level to improve them. In
some countries, teachers are not regarded as qualified until
they undergo one year of mentoring under experienced
teachers and then evaluated. In some States in USA, new
teachers have to take State examination before employment. In
Nigeria, they are treated as finished products.
In the secondary schools which the State has to cater
for fully, the number of teachers continues to dwindle between
1992 and 2000 - 2003 as shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Number of Teachers in Kwara State Secondary
Schools 1992; 2000-2003
Year
Total Number of Teachers
1992
5,298
2000
3,848
2001
3,833
2002
3,829
2003
3.825
Source: Kwara State Teaching Service Commission, llorin.

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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

Table 1 shows that between 1992 and 2003, Kwara

State has lost 1,473 teachers possibly to retrenchment,
retirement, resignation and death. In the last four years, there
was no replacement until this administration came on board
and reinstated the formerly sacked teachers. In spite of this
shortcoming, student enrolment continues to increase. These
figures do not even fully capture the actual problem of teacher
supply in Kwara State because they do not reveal the chronic
shortage of teachers in all subjects. A study of selected schools
carried out by Ijaiya (1999) shows that all the schools had this
deficiency. Some schools have no teachers at all in some
subjects or just rely on one or two, especially in English,
Mathematics and Sciences. Many schools make do with parttime teachers paid by Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs). The
trend has not changed till today.
Teacher Training Institutions: In recent time, a new
but disturbing trend has developed in Nigeria including Kwara
State and that is the commercialization of education. Colleges
of Education have to admit more students than they can cope
with in order to generate additional revenue to make up for the
shortfall in their subvention from the State Government. The
consequence is that the quality of training is being seriously
eroded. Teaching remains a dumping ground for all sorts of
students even those who cannot say a sentence correctly in
English (the official language of expression).
For the same reason, Kwara Polytechnic is now a
shadow of its former glory, a haven for cultists, rather than a
citadel of learning and development. The same applies to other
such institutions in the country. Polytechnics abroad are
centres of creativity in technology. Cultism is an enemy of
quality education. It is already in the secondary schools. The
chain of killings and sorrow must stop.
Parents: They occupy important position in the quality
process. Many parents are shirking their responsibilities in this

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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

regard. They send children to school without necessary text

books and writing materials. Lack of textbooks has reached an
epidemic level. Many parents do not pay school fees or levies
regularly. Many do not bother to find out what their children do
in school or how they behave until it is too late. This is why
wastage is very high and cultism is spreading in schools.
School Administration: Educational administration involves
the operational aspect of educational management, it concerns
itself with the implementation of educational policies and
programmes formulated by management, through its day-today activities. It ensures the achievement of educational goals
and objectives through "careful utilization of the available
limited resources" (Peretomade, 1995, p.1). Some of its
activities span planning, organising, coordinating, staffing,
budgeting, controlling, reporting, motivating, evaluating and
supervising. First, it should be appreciated that Nigerian school
administrators at all levels are operating under a very harsh
environment. They have to grapple with the problems of
inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, poorly motivated
teachers and students, uncooperative parents and the likes.
They have very little room to manoeuvre due to overcentralization of the system initiatives and creativity. It
transformational leadership, students constitute a major and
bureaucracy which stifle has robbed the schools of Indiscipline
among staff and headache. There is also the problem of politics
in the appointment of school heads and deputies which is
creating seniority problems. Lack of promotion is also a major
headache for teachers. All of these work against quality
education.
Supervision and inspection- Supervision is an age-long device for improving teachers' knowledge and skills. It
focuses on the teaching/learning process for the purpose of

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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

ensuring the achievement of educational goals and objectives

while school inspection is used as a quality control strategy for
assessing the progress of the school. Whereas supervision
tends to be selective or specific in approach to problem solving
in schools, school inspection takes holistic view of the school's
evaluation and improvement. Inspections' reports can influence
Government education policies. Both are however imperative
for quality education. In Kwara State, these two important
instruments of school improvement are no longer effectively
utilised. Although there are many well experienced teachers
who are on Special Grades and teaching in the classrooms,
their wealth of experience is not being used to improve the
performance of students or train the younger less experienced
teachers. It is like these valuable teachers are wasting away.
School inspection is also far from being regular and so,
ineffective due mainly to poor funding, staffing and poor
implementation of inspectors recommendations.
Government: It will not be an exaggeration to say that
in Nigeria today, there are more people who are dissatisfied
with the educational system than there are those who are
satisfied with it. The reasons are as enumerated earlier on. The
Government hardly hold itself accountable for students' failure
but blame teachers. When people in government try to do
something about it, they usually neglect the variables that can
improve teacher quality such as praises, recognition, rewards,
honour, promotion, and adequate supervision. However,
research findings have shown that simply increasing 'the
number of teachers or their salaries will not automatically
improve productivity unless there is appropriate supervision
(Hanushek, 2001). No amount of money can change a poorly
-trained teacher's skills. Many Government policies even lower
rather than enhance teacher's quality.
Government approach to the problems has always been
'we will increase spending, build additional classrooms, employ

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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

more teachers, etc'. What should be emphasized here is that

while all these are important and should be done urgently,
however, no amount of teachers, or money, or classrooms
injected to the system can dramatically turn around the poor
quality of performance of teachers and students unless radical
policies are introduced into the system. Nigeria have seen the
example of recent increase in teachers' salaries. It merely
turned many to merchants.
Where We Ought To Be
To start with, Kwara State must have a dream and work
toward realising it, that is what it ultimately wants out of
education. Leaders who have dreams for their people have
become heroes. Chief Obafemi Awolowo is a typical example in
this country. A little dream today may just be the catalyst for a
great or tomorrow. Education must take the people out of
poverty. It must produce job creators, and not just job seekers.
It must produce upright citizens. In short, Kwara State must
have a vision and a mission to guide all stakeholders in
education. Teachers, school administrators and students and
all Kwarans must memorise them and strive to contribute to
their achievement. This calls for a strategic plan which involves
a radical re-thinking of education as an integral part of the total
reformation of the society which education serves. Such an
education must break new grounds but must be realisable and
should lift Kwarans from the current state of despondency to
that of hope and progress.
Also, four important issues influence education policy in
USA (Reeves, 2001) and some developed countries which
Nigerians have closed their eyes to in the search for quality but
which this presenter considers germane to quality delivery in
schools and worth pursuing in Nigerian schools. They are
academic standard, standardized tests, accountability and
choices.

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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

Academic standard refers to what students should be

able to know and be able to do. It should provide explicit
expectations for students at each grade level, along with an
explicit description of the content knowledge and academic
skills that are required (Reeves, 2001, p, 12). For example,
every primary three pupil should be able to read fluently.
He/she should be tested, failure of which he/she must be
assisted to reach acceptable standard. Same should apply to
writing, computation skills and other subjects. Such standards
do not exist here. What exists now is based on individual
teacher's limits. So, there are as many standards as there are
teachers. That is confusion. It cannot promote quality. If
standard tests are bad, what about no tests at all?
Tests are not strange to Nigerian system but of what
purpose have they served. Effective use of tests can help to
identify students who need to be assisted in their studies. Used
wisely, tests are diagnostic instruments that give students
timely and meaningful help and avoid more serious problems
later in life" (Reeves, 2001, p. 15). The emphasis is on using
test results to provide remedial help for such students before
they get frustrated. Tests experts can be used to prepare
standardized tests for the primary and secondary schools.
Accountability is somehow strange to Nigerian
educational system. Students are usually the ones called to
account by parents and teachers sometimes by flogging and
verbal abuse. Those who should also account are teachers,
school heads, parents and government in various ways. For
example, teachers can account by losing some of their free
time to providing remedial assistance to needy students.
Parents should spare more time to come to school for
information on their children and spend more money to buy
additional books. Government should stop automatic promotion
and be ready to spend more money on repeaters. If there is a
policy on academic standards and tests, wastage will be

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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

reduced, thereby lowering government expenditure. The

popular Student Improvement Programme (SIP) is no answer
to quality problem, if it is working, quality should have returned
to the schools. It is robbing the students of valuable time for
personal revisions. It should not be for money making. What
students need is genuine remedial help for needy students
based on correct assessment of their performances.
Choices- The choices Nigerians need differ from those
of developed nations. At present, there is very little difference
among Nigeria public schools in terms of quality. Parents and
students, therefore, have very little choice. The public deserves
to know effective schools and ineffective schools to increase
their choices and to ginger non-performing schools. One way of
making this possible is by publishing school results. Rewards
should be used to encourage innovative and reforming schools
and sanctions (e.g. change of Principal or headmaster) for
those who fail to respond positively to reforms.
Conclusion and Recommendations
In summary, this presentation examined the problems facing
education in Kwara State. It re-emphasized the importance of
education to poverty alleviation and as an investment for
national development. It was noted that most of the problems of
education in the State bother on deficiencies in management
policies, especially the failure of Government to provide
necessary policies as guidelines to regulate teachers' and
students' behaviours. However, no amount of money or
teachers injected into the system can improve quality in the
schools unless Government introduces new approaches to
solving educational problems. In the light of the above, the
following recommendations are being made for Government to
consider for a radical re-engineering
of educational
management in the State:

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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

-Government should adopt a systematic approach to

educational management through strategic planning. An initial
four- to five- year plan is a good starting point.
-Education policy on academic standard in all subjects
particularly reading, writing and computational
skills
is
desirable.
-There should be policy on use of standardized tests in
all subjects from one level to another in primary and secondary
schools, (public and private). Government should enlist the
services of test experts.
-There should be policy on compulsory remedial
programmes for under-achieving students.
-Automatic promotion in schools should be discouraged.
-There should be inspection for reading, writing and
computation skills in schools like inspection for SSCE
recognition.
-Inspectorate Division should be strengthened with well
trained staff, re-focused and better funded to avoid corruption
and ensure effectiveness.
-Technical and Grade II Teacher Training Colleges
should be restored with modern curriculum.
-To the Federal Government, a total review of the NPE
and UME is long - overdue with Higher School Certificate
returned to restore quality to the University education.
- Government, religious bodies and the PTAs should
leave no stone untouched to rescue these precious children
from cultism. What the cultists need, mainly is help to get out of
the trap, and not mere condemnation.

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IJEM, VOL. 3, 2004

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W.M. Evers (eds.): Teacher quality. Califonia: Hoover
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Ijaiya, Y. (1999). An investigation into the Problem of Teacher
Management in Kwara State Secondary Schools.
Journal of the National Institute for Educational
Planning and Administratio, Ondo.
Nwagwu, N.A. (1976). UPE: Issues, Prospects and Problems.
_Benin City: Ethiope Publishing Corporation.
Obanya, P. (2002)._Re - vitalizing Education in Africa.
Lagos:Stirling - Horden Publishers (Nig) Ltd.
Peretomade, V.F. (1995). General Principle of School
Administration. In V.F. Peretomade (ed.) Introduction to
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Lagos: Joja Educational Research and Publishers
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Olele. C. (1995). Inspection and Supervision in Education. In
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Reeves, D.B. (2001). Crusade in the Classroom. New York:
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Tahir, G. (2001). Federal Government Intervention in Universal
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