IMPACT OF SCHOOL FACILITIES ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCES IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN GIWA AND ZARIA EDUCATION ZONES, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

Thesis Overview

<p><b>1.0 INTRODUCTION&nbsp;</b></p><p><b>1.1 Background to the study&nbsp;</b></p><p>Education for any Nation is believed to be veritable machinery for the development of a country. This is obvious because of the roles played by educated people in the development of science, social- economic and political structure to improve the individual, families and making the society a better place to live. In the light of these values, education today must prepare the child to function effective as an adult to be, and these cannot be achieved without adequate school facilities. Education, either formal or traditional exists in every society. However, the history of school facilities could be traced to the era of formal system of education. It equally changes with the system of education, even though, such other facilities like money and human resources are required. Over the years, enrolment into the secondary education has been on the increase, following series of educational programmes being introduced. One of such is the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme. Also, successive governments have and are still allocating an appreciable percentage of their annual budgets to the provision and maintenance of school facilities meant to improve the sector. It was reported by Balderstenb (1974) and Comb (1985) that, education in Nigeria began to expand first gradually, and then dramatically. The consequence is the demand for education in general and school facilities in particular can be enormous. This is supported by the fact that, the quality of education can be greatly affected if schools are deficient in essential facilities in the teaching/learning process. <br></p><p> An effective school facility is responsive to the changing programs of educational delivery, and at a minimum should provide a physical environment that is comfortable, safe, secure, accessible, well illuminated, well ventilated, and aesthetically pleasing. The school facility consists of not only the physical structure and the variety of building systems, such as mechanical, plumbing, electrical and power, telecommunications, security, and fire suppression systems. The facility also includes furnishings, materials and supplies, equipment and information technology, as well as various aspects of the building grounds, namely, athletic fields, playgrounds, areas for outdoor learning, and vehicular access and parking. <br></p><p> The subject of school facilities had received great attention from the public as well as educators in recent times. According to Building educational success Together (BEST, 2005), it was reported that the responsibility of every administrator is to ensure that every child had access to quality education in school facilities that provide an educational setting that was suited for teaching and learning. Also, implementing educational policies that resulted in high quality, high performance, and well designed and maintained school facilities had a direct and indirect impact on the teaching and learning process (BEST, 2005). Effective facilities management therefore contributes to the success of every student in any school. In a study carried out by Hale (2002) reveals that students in class rooms with large windows, natural lighting and well-designed skylights were found to perform well from 19 to 25% better than their peers in classroom without these features. Not only environmental conditions in schools affect the students but also the staff as observed by (Hunter, 2006) which include the inoperative heating system, inadequate ventilation and poor lighting system. The overall building condition, the age of the building, and the windows as well as the instructional areas were positively related to students achievement in learning (Bullock, 2007). It is evident in their contributions (Broome, 2005; Hughes, 2005; Lyons, 2001) that students‘ achievement depends upon the physical school facility, its age, the design and the condition of the school. School facilities played a significant role in directing the task of teaching and that of shaping students learning process in and out of school. No doubt, school building as a tool for instituting an effective teaching and learning process constituted sizeable investment of public funds over its development and maintenance by the administrators.&nbsp;</p><p> Today, most of the school facilities which are supposed to promote and enhanced teaching, learning and extra-curricular activities in secondary education are absolute and thereby, creating serious challenges to the 21st century educational needs of the learners. Others are dilapidated and not suitable to motivate secondary students to learn. School/Educational facilities are otherwise referred to as school facilities. The school facilities are the physical facilities provided for in the school, such as the school site, the buildings and equipment. These facilities are likened to capital in any industrial settings. In understanding the national goal of developing the educational system so as to provide a satisfactory flow of men and women, capable of acquiring the skills necessary to exploit to the fullest, the natural resources of the country makes it imperative for facilities to be abundantly available in schools. Buildings are needed to shelter staff and students, sports/games facilities are needed to develop the mental, social and physical aspects of the students. School facilities are made up of the school land all the physical structure on it. It refers to the school building, the play grounds, the equipment and other material resources provided in the school for effective teaching and learning operations, (Onuorah,2004).The school facilities is the space interpretation of the school curriculum(Mgbodile,1986).Similarly, it was defined according to Ani (1997), thatSchool facilities include the fixed and mobile structure and materials in the school such as the classroom buildings, laboratory equipment, the furniture, the chalkboard, audio and visual aids. School facilities mean all facilities and equipment within the school, which are used by the members of the school community (Abraham, 2003). <br></p><p> It was asserted that no matter the strength of manpower resources in the system, educational processes must require conducive physical accommodation, libraries, furniture‘s and playground (Nwaogu,1985). When these instructional facilities are lacking, it can affect negatively the productivity of the teachers. Learning takes place better and faster in a school environment with high level of buildings, accommodations, furniture‘s, and equipment, than in an environment where all these items are lacking. Adesina and Ogunsanji(1984) in their recognition of the need for a well-equipped school noted that for effective teaching and learning situations, physical facilities and educational goals should be viewed as being closely interwoven and inter-dependent. Apart from protecting students from sun, rain, heat and cold, the school building represents a learning environment which has a tremendous impact on the learners. Therefore, in order to facilitate this high level of teaching and learning process, there is need for well-planned and organized school facilities. A conducive teaching and learning environment is important to the quality of teachers engaged in the inculcation of desired attributes to the students. Stressing further, the impact of environment on teaching and learning to be effective, the school building and its surroundings must be free from threats, hostility and frustration. He suggested the following materials should be made available for teacher‘s use to enhance learning which are, textbook, programmed materials and devices, newspaper and magazines, and other library material, pictures, slides, film strips ,maps, globes ,charts, motion pictures, radio, television, chalkboards and chalks, specimens to concretize the ideas and stimulates imagination. <br></p><p> During the 1975 Universal Primary Education (UPE) scheme in Nigeria, there was phenomenal population explosion in the primary schools, which heat the secondary and tertiary institutions after some years .The school planned to take 500 pupils and had over 2000 pupils. This resulted in mango trees, melena trees and make shift buildings becoming classrooms (Bosah, 1996). One of the objectives of the UPE was to produce people who could read and write; due to inadequate school facilities and maintenance one wonders the degree of achievement of the set objectives. <br></p><p> <b>1.2 Statement of the problem&nbsp;</b></p><p>There is no gain saying that, educational system in Nigeria has contributed in no small measures to support the Nation‘s economy through the provision of qualitative manpower and acquisition of knowledge, skills and values. In the 21st century, there has been a tremendous growth in students‘ population without corresponding growth in the number of facilities as a result of economic depression and corresponding rise in cost. This has put much pressure on existing facilities. Thus, it appears that school facilities have been allowed to decay For any school to function effectively, the school facilities mustbe in good condition. Thus the general public has expressed concern over the insufficiency of school facilities in Giwa and Zaria schools. To many, the condition of facilities in the school is a major criterion for selecting school for their children. In spite of this concern and demand for a change, it appears that the management of physical facilities in Kaduna state schools leaves much to be desired.</p><p> It is not uncommon these days to see some classrooms full of potholes on the floor comparable to the scenes on the roads. Children scarcely find space to sit or move about. Lack of ceilings makes classrooms extremely hot for learning activities in hot weather. Some buildings have sagging roofs on them. When facilities are not maintained, they constitute health hazards to the users of the facilities. Teachers on their own will not perform effectively without facilities. The Students‘ academic performance will be negatively affected; the tone of the school will be at its lowest ebb and human and material resources. <br></p><p> Secondary schools in Nigeria require adequate teaching, learning, welfare/health sport and recreational facilities such as classroom, chalkboard, computer, internet/ICT, microscope, video CD player, audio CD player, textbooks, projectors, hostel accommodation, laboratories, security, libraries, sports and others recreational facilities to improve students‘ academic performances. The quality of education that our students receive bears direct relevance to the adequacy of school facilities and overall environment in which learning takes place. In other words, educational programmes and processes are greatly influenced by the school facilities. <br></p><p> <b>1.3 Objectives of the study</b>&nbsp;</p><p>The main objective of the study was to examine the impact of school facilities on the students performances in public secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria education zones in Kaduna State, the study sought to:&nbsp;</p><p>1. determine the impact of teaching facilities on student academic performances in public secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria Education zones;&nbsp;</p><p>2. examine the impact of learning facilities on students‘ academic performance in public secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria Education zones;&nbsp;</p><p>3. investigate the impact of health facilities on students‘ academic performance in public Secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria education zones&nbsp;</p><p>4. find out the impact of sport facilities on students‘ academic performance in public secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria Educational zone and&nbsp;</p><p>5. ascertain the impact of recreational facilities on students‘ academic performances in public secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria Education zones. <br></p><p> <b>1.4 Research Questions&nbsp;</b></p><p>The following research questions were formulated to guide this study. 1. What is the impact of teaching facilities on students‘ academic performance in public secondary school in Giwa and Zaria Education zones? 2. How do learning facilities impact the academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria Education zones? 3. What is the impact of health facilities on the academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria Education zones? 4. Do sports facilities impact the academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria Education zones? 5. What is the impact of recreational facilities on students‘ performance in public secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria education zones? <br></p><p> <b>1.5 Research Hypotheses</b></p><p>For the purpose of this research, the following null hypotheses were formulated, to test at 0.05 level of significance.</p><p>&nbsp;Ho1: There is no significant difference in the opinions of Principals and teachers on the impact of teaching facilities on students‘ academic performances in secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria Education zones.&nbsp;</p><p>Ho2: There is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on the impact of learning facilities on the academic performances of student in secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria Education zones. <br></p><p> Ho3 There is no significant difference in the view of respondents on the impact of health facilities on students‘ academic performances in secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria Education zones.&nbsp;</p><p>Ho4: There is no significant difference in the opinions of respondents on the impact of sport facilities on student academic performances in secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria Education zones.&nbsp;</p><p>Ho5: There is no significant difference in the view of respondents on the impact of recreational facilities on students‘ academic performances in secondary schools in Giwa and Zaria Education zones <br></p>