CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

 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 plants.  Education, either formal or traditional exists in every society. However, the history of School facilitiescould 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 facilitiesmeant to improve the sector.

 An effective school plant 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 plant 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 School facilitiesalso include 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.  The subject of School facilitieshad 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 facilitiesthat 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 facilitieshad 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.

 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 facilitiesplayed 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.  Today, most of the School facilitieswhich 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 plant are otherwise referred to as School plants. The school plant are the physical facilities provided for in the school, such as the school site, the buildings and equipment etc. 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 make 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.

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 facilitiesand maintenance one wonders the degree of achievement of the set objectives. 

1.2 Statement of the problem

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 School facilitiesas a result of economic depression and corresponding rise in cost. This has put much pressure on existing facilities.

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 School facilitiesare 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.

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 facilitiesand overall environment in which learning takes place. In other words, educational programmes and processes are greatly influenced by the School plants.

Appearance and general condition of School facilitiesare the striking basis upon which many parents and friends of any educational institution make the initial judgment about the quality of what goes on in the secondary schools. Fabunmi (2007) in support of this asserted that School facilitieswhen provided will aid teaching and learning programme and consequently improve academic performances of students. Indeed, the supply of some welfare/health facilities, such as electricity, pipe born water, clinic, toilet.

It is in view of the importance of School facilitiesto the attainment of educational objectives that the study investigated such activities in school, since the importance of School facilitiesis not in doubt and since it is in a very deplorable condition in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), a change for the better needs not be over emphasized. The problem of this study therefore is the impact of School facilities on students ‘academic performances in public secondary schools in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).

1.3 Objectives of the study

 The main objective of the study was to examine the impact of School facilities on the student’s performances in public secondary schools in Lagos state, Nigeria, the study sought to:

1.    To determine the impact of teaching facilities on student academic performances in public secondary schools in Lagos state;

2.    To examine the impact of learning facilities on students ‘academic performance in public secondary schools in Lagos state;

3.    To investigate the impact of health facilities on students ‘academic performance in public Secondary schools in Lagos state

4.    To find out the impact of sport facilities on students ‘academic performance in public secondary schools in Lagos state

5.    To ascertain the impact of recreational facilities on students ‘academic performances in public secondary schools in Lagos state.

1.4 Research Questions

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 Lagos state?

2.     How do learning facilities impact the academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Lagos state?

3.     What is the impact of health facilities on the academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Lagos state?

4.     Do sports facilities impact the academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Lagos state?

5.     What is the impact of recreational facilities on students ‘performance in public secondary schools in Lagos state?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

For the purpose of this research, the following null hypotheses were formulated, to test at 0.05 level of significance.

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 Lagos state.

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 Lagos state.

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 Lagos state.

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 Lagos state.

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 Lagos state.

1.6 Basic Assumptions

In respect to this study, the following assumptions were made.

1.      If adequate teaching facilities are provided in schools, students ‘academic performance would improve greatly.

2.      Academic Performance of students would be encouraged if appropriate learning

facilities are put to place.

3.      Inadequate health facilities in schools will affect the health condition of students as well as their academic performance. 

4.      Sports facilities promote students ‘performance in secondary schools.

5.      It is expected that proper provision of recreational facilities enables students ‘academic performance.

1.7Significance of the study

 It is believed that the life wire of any educational system is the extent of availability of School facilities(in terms of quality and quantity) which occupies a crucial place in the realization of its goals. However, the result of the findings in this research work shall assist every stakeholder (policy makers, school administrators, teachers, government and the students) in playing a sensitive role aimed at improving the standard of education through the provision of a conducive learning environment.  First, policy makers will be well equipped with reliable and factual information which serves as an input for effective law making on issues relating to allocation of funds, timely released period and the legal framework guiding its

activities.

 Secondly, it will provide an extensive knowledge of School facilitiesto the school administrators to initiate, sustain and put to use. It will afford other researchers to look into grey areas not covered in the present study and seek ways of improving over it.

 Furthermore, teachers as major stakeholders in the school system, who play an intermediate role, seek to work harmoniously with the school in encouraging the students to use the facilities. This could be to solve assignments, observe practical knowledge and in the acquisition of essential skills. It will also place a great burden on the government to provide adequate funding to the school system, equipped the inspectorate unit to carry out its functions effectively.

1.8 Scope of the study

 This research focuses on the impact of School facilitieson students‘ academic performances in public secondary schools in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) area. In doing this, The research is narrowed to public secondary school to enable the researcher minimize the cost of covering a large area as an individual researcher, and to enable the researcher conduct a meaningful study within the short possible time as permitted for this Programme of study. 

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