AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ROLE OF PARENT TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION PTA IN FUNDING PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KADUNA STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The Nigerian philosophy of education is based on the belief that education is an instrument for national development as well as a veritable tool for social, economic and political change (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2009:5). This is underscored by the fact that it transcends the social, cultural, political and the economic fabrics of the society. For education therefore, to be seen as successful, it requires huge investment either in terms of policy and implementation, infrastructure, human capacity development and of course funds which provide the purchasing capacity of the quality of education required and demanded by the various individuals of the society (Akpa, 2002). The secondary education sector is a very crucial level of the early child education because people enter secondary school as children and leave it as young adults. Secondary school education is the education children receive aer primary education and before the tertiary stage. Its broad goals include the preparation of individual children for useful living within the society and for higher education (National Policy on Education, 2014:14). For these reasons, huge investment is required in terms of funding so as to equip the sector with the adequate financial and material resources needed for the improvement of its quality and access towards the attainment of the set down goals of education and the much needed national development. Educational funding in the context of this study therefore, can be defined as the financial resources or money being invested on education and how these financial resources (money) are adequately being appropriated by the concerned authorities towards improving the quality of public secondary school education in Kaduna Zone and the state as a whole. As a matter of fact, the success of any school depends upon the facilities and resources available to it. Money is very important in this respect because by it, all other vital elements in the school including the school learning facilities like buildings; purchase of teaching–learning resources such as textbooks, computers etc.; employment and payment of salaries of school personnel (teachers) and the effective day-to-day running of the school activities and programmes, can effectively be executed (Aghenta, 1984).

Adequate funding of education plays a very crucial role in the provision of school physical facilities, teaching-learning resources, school personnel, school activities and programmes, which are indicators for measuring educational effectiveness and achievement. This is because they are infrastructural facilities that when properly utilized may tremendously improve the quality of education. By explanation, School physical facilities are those things that actually exist and can facilitate teaching and learning in school. They may include the school buildings like administrative offices, starooms, classrooms, sta-quarters, stores, laboratories, libraries, workshops plants & equipment, dormitories, school playgrounds, assembly/examination halls and various other equipment (Ajayi in Kittuu, 2012). School teaching and learning resources are materials such as text-books, audio-visual materials, computer so & hardware systems, writing materials and other electronic devices that teachers can use to assist students to cope with their learning challenges in the classroom (British-Columbia Government, 2013). While School Personnel on the hand, are the people employed or hired to teach the students and oer other services towards the smooth day-to-day running of the school. They may include: the teachers; principals; guidance counselors & psychologists; health and social workers such as nurses, dispensers etc.; clerks; cleaners and other supporting staff who work actively towards improving education and achieving the set down goals of secondary school education (Kituu, 2012). School activities and programme, are those things that provide students the opportunity to participate actively outside the traditional school period. These are also called co-curricular or extra-curricular activities. They may include excursions or fieldtrips, games & sports, essay & recitation competitions, arts & cras, modelling, exhibitions, concerts, folksongs & singing competitions, clubs & society activities, school debates and dramatization, school Annual Speech and Prize giving day ceremonies, just to mention but a few. All these when adequately funded, would tremendously improve the quality of public secondary school education (Aggrawal in Kituu, 2012). It is however important to note here that the expansion of secondary students’ enrolment in Nigeria since the attainment of independence followed by the enrolment explosion of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) Scheme in 1976 and the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme in recent years, has made secondary school education a thorny responsibility for government alone to shoulder (Jaiyeoba and Atanda, 2003).

Consequently, the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2009:65) in its National Policy on Education states clearly that “financing of education is a joint responsibility of government and the private sector” and that in this connection, individuals and other organisations such as the Parent Teachers’ Associations (PTAs) are to be actively involved. But unfortunately, the public secondary school education system generally in Kaduna state and particularly Kaduna Zone appears to be suffering from a myriad of problems and series of setbacks due to poor or inadequate funding of the sector by government and the unwilling negative attitudes of parents and the PTA who are supposed to be greatly concerned about matters of their children/wards’ education and developments by contributing immensely.