CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Over the years, education in Nigeria has witnessed a lot of changes. Before the advent of western system of education into the geographical location known as Nigeria, different communities and tribes in Nigeria had their way of educating their young ones, through traditional system of education. This system of education was distinct from the western system of education. The various communities had norm and cultural values peculiar to their geographical areas. Fafunwa (2004:3), defines informal (traditional) education as the aggregate of all the process by which a child develops his abilities, attitudes and other forms of behaviour, which are of positive value to the society in which he lives. It was so called because it grew from the tradition or way of life of the people in communities. A lot of learning was acquired by children through close observation and active involvement and participation in adult roles and activities (Mgbodile 2004)
Informal education today exists side by side with western education. It does not involve the art of writing. It is the process which enables every society to teach her younger generation the life patterns of their society. There are seven cardinal goals or objectives of traditional system of education as identified by Fafunwa (2004), the objectives are:
- To develop the child talent physical skills
- To develop character
- To inculcate respect for elders and those in position of authority
- To develop intellectual skills
- To acquire specific vocational training and to develop healthy attitude towards honest labour.
- To develop a sense of belonging and participate actively in family and community affairs
- To understand, appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of the community at large.
This shows there are provision for the adequate training of the learner to help him, develop healthy attitude as an individual and acquires societal desirable attitudes and values. Therefore, it is correct for one to really argue that before the advent of the western system of education, teaching and learning had been going on among different cultural groups in Nigeria. This implies that community participation in education has existed even before the coming of Western system of education in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, like most other countries of the world, the concept of community may perceived of as a state, local school system or the area served by one elementary or secondary schools, a college of education or a university. The description of a community by Cibulka (1978) is relevant to this study. He describes a community as “a people obliged to one another not because of the place of birth, race, sex, religion, but people bound to one another and governed by shared taste, specific needs or common interest”. Ngoka (2000), further describes a community as “a body of people living in the same locality and having a common cultural and historical heritage and the willingness to work together. Community is a social area within which men live and pursue their total round life activities. It varies in size and purpose. (Okwori 2002). Community in this study is a group people of living together in a place (Ogbadibo) with common interest. This interest on this case is involvement in secondary school administration.
Administration in the context of this study is a process which includes financing, provision of infrastructural facilities and equipment, as well as disciplining, and curriculum development. Mgbodile (1997) defined administration as “the utilization of both human and materials resources through planning, organizing and coordinating to achieve educational objectives or organizational goals. There are some vital principles that link all the processes and provide a rationale for administrative decision and actions”. The ultimate aim of this type of community administration is the realization of educational purposes. Giles (1955) described administration of schools as; any arrangement in the form of forecasting, planning, organizing, commanding coordinating, communicating to staff, students and the community of the school so as to achieve the desired objectives of producing good quality students”. Furthermore Mgbodile (1997) is of the view that; “the scope of school administration also includes the management of school- community relationship. The school administrations should regard the school- community relationship management as one of the cardinal responsibilities.
The 1962 education ordinance had earlier welcome the involvement of communities and individuals in secondary schools administration. This provision meant greater involvement of the respective communities in the determination of their education performance (Agbe and Agbe 2003). Community involvement in the view of this researcher is the process of engaging people in the local area for development of the areas. Community involvement is essential in making every asset transfer a success.
The involvement of the community in the life of school has recently gone beyond mere financial contributions (Ejieh 2005). According to Ocho (1997),“at various levels of our educational system, the involvement of the community in school administration has been officially recognized and entrenched. At the post- primary school level, the Parents Teachers Association (P. T. A) and the Board of Governors are usually made up of the representatives of members of the community. They play considerable roles in the administration of the school and are charged with the responsibilities of formulating proper policies guiding the administration of the school, without which the school may not function effectively”. Ngoka (2000) summed up the importance of community involvement in school administration when he said that: “The community can allocated free land for school building, playground and farm. They can provide materials needed by the school, raise appreciable fund for both laboratory and library equipment contribute ideas, opinions to enable the school run more effectively, provide voluntary teachers, influence the government in the posting of qualified teaches to the community, outright building of classroom blocks, renovation of existing school buildings and the provision of free tuition for all students.
In Ogbadibo educational zone there are many communities, and community leaders as well as individuals who have at different times engaged themselves in the administrative function of the secondary schools: via
- Donation of furniture and books
- Outright building of new classroom laboratories libraries.
- Employment of teachers for the missing subjects
- Renovation of dilapidated buildings
- Free tuition for indigene students
- Decision- making and participation in the implementation of the curriculum for the schools of their communities.
- Donations of gifts to teachers to encourage them perform better.
Based on the contributions of the communities, and the National policy on education provision for community involvement in the administration of secondary schools. It is noticed that the schools cannot grow in isolation of its communities. There is no doubt that before the take over of secondary schools by the state government in the 1970s, communities contributed tremendously in numerous ways towards the realization of the objectives of secondary education. Communities were engaged in communal and mutual relationship with the school in order to see that schools produce citizens who are highly industrious, and are prepared to take up challenges in life. Despite the disruption and destructions caused by the Nigerian civil war, communities still forged ahead in funding education by initiating new projects as well as in rehabilitating damaged properties. Since the inception of community involvement in the administration of secondary schools in Oggadibo of Benue state, the community has been the major source of funding, it has also served as behaviour regulation agency to deviant behaviour of students and as advisers to the schools in the discipline of staff and students the communities are being looked upon to provides infrastructures facilities, equipment as well as involving curriculum development of secondary schools in Ogbadibo education zone.
Having highlighted the positive impacts communities can make in the administration and management of schools in general, it is therefore the tasks of this study to examine the extent to which communities are involved in the administration of secondary schools in the Ogbadibo Education Zone of Benue state.
As a result, the researchers believe that communities are not always involved in the administration of secondary schools. On the other hand, if they are involved, to what extent? This is the main concern of this study.
