ABSTRACT
This study was aimed at investigating the extent of application of modern management techniques by senior secondary school principals in South- East Nigeria. Ten research questions and nine null hypotheses guided the study. The design used was descriptive survey. The sample for the study comprised 697 teachers and 149 principals. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire and interview schedule. The questionnaire was structured on a four point rating scale. The instrument was face validated by experts and internal constituency reliability estimate of 0.83 was established through cronbach Alpha method. Means and standard deviations were used to answer the ten research questions. t-test statistics were used to analyze the hypotheses while the researcher recorded in written form the interview schedule. The findings among others indicate that principals applied Management Techniques to a little extent. It was recommended among other things that principals should apply Modern Management Techniques for improved management of their schools. Educational implications and suggestions for further research were made.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The role of education is expected to play in a society is multi-faceted. It is expected to build the character of the learner to get him informed about what is worthwhile, socially acceptable, desirable and purposeful about himself and his environment. According to Taiwo (1980) Education is not only a social service but an instrument of political socialization that informs the learner as to his privileges and basic human rights. Secondary education which serves as a link between primary and tertiary level has its own broad goals. The Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) in her National Policy on Education stated that Secondary Education prepare individuals for useful living within the society and for higher Education.
The head of the secondary school system is the principal. He has enormous roles to perform to ensure effective teaching – learning process. He is the chief planner, financial manager, personnel manager and also the chief supervisor of instruction. Although the roles of principals have been clearly stated, there are complexities in the management of these secondary schools ranging from an unprecedented school population explosion, inadequate financial allocation, examination malpractice, dehumanized working condition, uneven and very poor reward system, incessant strike, politicization of education, global world class, innovation in ICT and other related technology, indiscipline among staff and students and high expectation of the public from the principals. Principals remain subjected to blames by the public that the tasks they perform are not adequately channeled towards providing education necessary for the students of today and future. In the face of all these complexities the modern principals need tact to face these challenges. Hence they are being urged to apply result oriented management techniques to achieve educational goals. Therefore the present study investigates the application of modern management techniques such as Planning Programming Budgeting System, Programme Evaluation Review Technique, Delphi Technique and Management by Objectives by senior secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. Before delving into these management techniques, the study will define management. Management according to Nwaoku (2005) is getting organizational personnel to accomplish their work so as to achieve organizational objectives. Nwaoku opined that management is the act of getting things done through people and it deals practically with the delegation of authority or functions to subordinates. Infact the ability to delegate authority and still get the job effectively done is the acid test of management talent.
Management is also defined by Ogunu (2000) as the effective organization and utilization of human and material resources in a particular system for the achievement of identified objectives. From yet another angle, management is an art of guidance; leadership and control of the efforts of a group of people towards some common objectives, and a social interaction and economic process involving a sequence of coordinated events: planning, organizing, coordinating and controlling or leading in order to use available resources to achieve a desired outcome in the fastest and mostefficient manner Peremotode(1996).
Management as it relates to Secondary School Education entails decentralization of authority whereby the principal assigns duties to the members of staff. In Abia State for instance the researcher as a teacher observes that the principals assign teachers to deal with late coming offences, maintaining a clean compound by using the students to pick refuse, take charge of morning devotion, draw time table for school, arrange venue for meetings, and pass information across to staff.
Management techniques are systematic procedures of investigations and planning which are applied to management problems such as staffing, finance, decision making, among others.
Planning Programming Budgeting Systemis a financial planning usually designed to systematize resource allocation and use. It is also intended to rectify identified deficiencies in the existing system of financial management. Mgbodile (2004) opined that Planning Programming Budgeting System is useful in streamlining and rationalizing spending. In other words activities, programmes and projects are streamlined and rationalized before spending money on them. No organization functions properly and to the satisfaction of the public without financial management.
Relating this technique to South East educational system the Principal requires prudence in spending. For instance in budgeting, the Principal requires information from the various subject heads on the type of textbooks, writing materials and other supplies that are needed, and in what quantities and qualities before he can draw up reasonable estimates of expenditure in these areas.
Programme Evaluation Review Technique used for programme planning is a specified project broken down into identifiable activities and events. According to Ejiogu (1990) PERT is a network model which is used in planning, scheduling and controlling the start, the progress and completion of projects.The purpose of this technique is to assist administrators and principals to see that a project is completed according to plan and time schedule.
This type of technique is appropriate for secondary school principals in South East for it hinges on the management of time in school administration. Principals in South East have a lot of managerial activities to attend to: such as attending meetings, signing letters, receiving visitors, supervising instructions, coordinating other workers, writing cheques, policy formulation, designing new curriculum materials, supervising school building, attending professional conference and reading professional textbooks. With the application of PERT, it behooves the principals in South East to know that he has to make use of a secretary or assistant to take care of routine duties, the principal makes a rough time plan for the day (specific hours for routine duties, meetings, interviews, meeting people, creative thinking and review of activities; time for holding staff meetings; limiting time spent on attending to correspondence and routine matters; and more importantly delegating functions to subordinates.
The Delphi technique which is also known as planning for organizational improvement is used in collecting and utilizing specific information through questionnaire as a basis for decision making and planning. It is a method used by administrators and planners for obtaining expert opinion and consensus on given administrative issues. Ajayi (1983)sees Delphi technique as providing educational planners with a means to reach a consensus on what was, what is, what ought to be, and what probably will be. Emetarom (1991) holds that Delphi technique is used in collecting and utilizing specific information through questionnaire as a basis for decision making or planning.
In South East school system, the type of Delphi technique that should be applied is the face to face meeting called Mini-Delphi or Estimate-Talk-Estimate (ETE). Assuming the principal wants to get a net impact from different subject teachers, the principal capitalizes on corporate thinking. In this way, the geographyteacher, the history teacher, the language teacher and other school teachers work in concert and not in isolation or in conflict of each other’s goals. The idea of team teaching in which each teacher makes his contribution to a topic under investigation is a case in point. If this net input from various subject teachers is carefully synthesized by the class teacher, it could result in a more meaningful and enriched experience for the topic from different angles rather than from the narrow angle within the constraints of a single subject approach. The new social studies programme lends itself very much to this Delphi technique.
Management by Objectives which is used in personnel management relies on the defining of objectives for each employee and then comparing and directing employee performance against the objectives against the objectives that have been set. Greenwood (2001) defined MBO as a broader term that encourages managerial decisions and actions that help to ensure that an organization formulates and maintains a beneficial fit with its environment consistent with its objectives and goals. Nwosu (2008) described MBO as a technique of management that attempts to relate organizational goals to individual performance and development through the involvement of all levels of management. MBO is thus a management that involves the application of collective objectives, action, vision, insight and inspiration in schools in such a way that fundamental changes in direction, development, productivity, perceptions or beliefs occur in both principals and staff.
The concept of Management by Objectives could be applied to South East Education zones in various ways: the ministry of Education to state or formulate policies in performance terms. The Principals in turn set objectives cooperatively with the staff and assigning duties to individual teachers. For instance the duties of the vice principal academics should be spelt out in order not to encroach in those of the vice Principal for administration or dean of studies. MBO can equally be used by Principals in the supervision and inspection of schools for quality control. Since the principals have stated the objectives of schools clearly from which teachers and other staff members had received their mandate, then each person could be more objectively evaluated and systems of rewards and punishments equally rationalized along observable performances by each person, thus minimizing fears of subjective victimization and thereby increasing staff morale.It is envisaged that when MBO is applied to schools in South East schools, it focuses Principals and staffs’ effort on goal attainment, improved performance, motivation of staff, encouragement of innovation and enhancement of communication. The Management Techniques as seen above if applied to a great extent could revolutionize schools in South East and define the core values and benefits of education for sustainable development.
Gender may affect the application of modern management techniques in Nigeria. There are existing studies indicating that there is gender difference in the management of secondary schools in Nigeria. Frasher (1980), stated that females are more consistent and better administrators than males. He went further to state that in 1962 in Nigeria that women Principals were rated by both super-ordinates as being superior in overall administrative performance and managementeffectiveness in schools, responding to outside complaints and exchanging information. Female Principals according to Frasher were rated significantly more effective than male principals in achieving both desired professional performance.
