ABSTRACT
This study appraised the management practices of the Teaching Service Commissions in North Central zone, Nigeria. Five research questions and five null hypotheses guided the study. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was all 1228 principals and all the 3015 senior administrative staff of the Teaching Service Commissions. Multi-stage sampling procedure and simple random sampling technique were adopted for selecting 787 respondents comprising 247 secondary school principals and 540 senior administrative staff. A 40-item questionnaire and 32 interview schedule questions were the instruments used for data collection. The questionnaire was validated by experts. The overall reliability co-efficient obtained was 0.93. The mean ratings and standard deviation (SD) were used to answer the research questions while t-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that the Teaching Service Commissions to “a great extent” adhered to the management manuals in the areas of personnel services, financial management, supervision of instruction, staff development while to “a less extent” on the distribution of physical facilities and equipment. The following conclusions were also drawn; staff of the Teaching Service Commissions in North Central zone adhered to the manuals on personnel services, financial management, supervision of instruction and staff development. But staff of the commissions adhered to a little extent to the manual on distribution of physical facilities. Following the findings, the researcher recommended that the commissions should continue to be guided by the commissions manuals in personnel services, financial management, supervision of instruction. The commissions should ensure the equitable distribution of physical facilities and equipment in both rural and urban areas. The commissions should sponsor staff to trainings so that they can be exposed to new skills in administration and in the classrooms.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Education is the bedrock of the development of any nation. Education enables individuals to fix themselves in the society in which they have found themselves. It equips individuals with the ability that will enable them explore the world, manipulate it for their survival and establish themselves (Gbenu, 2012). He added that potentials deposited in individuals are exposed through education so that individuals can acquire training and knowledge in a profession, earn a living as well as cultivate good habits and develop right attitudes and live as good citizens. Secondary education, a sub-set of the education level is very necessary in human capital formation (Inyang, 2008). The Federal Republic of Nigeria in her National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004) stated that the goals of secondary education shall be to prepare the individual for useful living within the society and higher education. Akpan (2011) explained that secondary education was established to serve as a bridge between primary and higher levels of education and it is the product of secondary education that are admitted into higher institutions of learning. Therefore, the realization of the objectives of secondary education is anchored on proper management of the resources available for education at the secondary school level.
Educational management, according to Omokorede and Ikegwuru (2011) is the process of individuals coming together as a group with a leader that will control, coordinate, articulate the activities of the group and if properly carried out, will achieve tangible results. It them means that educational management is the total efforts of people that are brought to bear in the provision and delivery of education to ensure that both human and material resources allocated to education are used to the best advantage in the pursuit of educational objectives and goals (Ezeuchu, 2006). This implied that educational management involves coordination and carrying out activities by the staff of the Teaching Service Commissions for the achievement of stated objectives through efficient utilization of resources.
The state governments of North Central zone, mindful of the role secondary education plays in the life of its citizens, set up the Teaching Service Commissions to manage secondary schools. Different states within the North Central zone of Nigeria call it either board or commission. It is sometimes called post-primary school management board. For instance, Kogi, Plateau and Kwara states address it as Teaching Service Commission while Benue state calls it Teaching Service Board. To Niger state, it is addressed as State Education Board. However, in the context of this study, it is referred to as Teaching Service Commissions. Teaching Service Commission is a corporate body established by the law of the state with the statutory functions of achieving the national objectives of education. It has uniform functions throughout the country. Oboegbulem and Onwurah (2011:39) stated that “there is a considerable uniformity throughout the country in the organizational structure and the functions of the board”. The functions of the Teaching Service Commissions as listed by Oboegbulem et al (2011) include;
The recruitment, appointment, posting, promotion, discipline and transfer of both tutorial and non tutorial staff of government financed schools; matters relating to inter-service transfer and continuity of service; day to day operation of the board; inspection and supervision of schools; preparation of the school budget; implementation of policy decisions, collection of revenue and proper accounting; coordination of the boards’ activities including those of the local education boards; provision of professional services and remuneration of teachers.
(page 39)
These functions, Ogbonnaya (2009) noted, are carried out effectively through various departments related to the commissions. He mentioned that such departments are personnel, finance and administration, supervision and quality assurance, planning, research, statistics and school services. (See the organogram on page 50).
In order to achieve the above statutory functions, the Teaching Service Commissions utilize some management practices that will enable it attain educational objectives. According to Spellman and Wensely (2010) management practices are actions, methods and techniques used by managers for the management of organizations. They are practical means of achieving the objectives of the establishment. They went further to say that management practices aim at performance and productivity. Waziri (2014) opined that management practices are a set of internally consistent policies and actions designed to ensure that staff contribute to the achievement of educational organisations. However, management practices involve corroborative efforts of the superordinates and subordinates of the commissions to achieve their goals. These actions, for instance, entail giving staff of various departments assignments and responsibilities to be carried out and achieved. In view of this, the Teaching Service Commissions in North Central zone of Nigeria adopted management practices as actions and managerial techniques that provide means of achieving stated goals and objectives. These management practices of the Teaching Service Commissions are the framework upon which the management of secondary schools are hinged on. These management practices are carried out in the areas of personnel services, financial management, supervision of instruction, distribution of physical facilities and staff development.
