Abstract
The purpose of the study was to find out the inspectoral programme of primary schools in Nsukka education zone. Five research questions and thee null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Review of literature was under four sub-headings, namely: Concept and importance of inspection, nature of the inspectoral programme, constraints to inspection, review of empirical studies and summary. A 34 item research questionnaire was developed and administered to 24 inspectors and 225 primary school heads in the Nsukka education zone. The data collected were analyzed with regard to each research question using mean sore and standard deviation. A mean of 2.50 was adopted as the acceptance level for the items while the z-test statistic was employed in testing the three null hypotheses formulated. The following results emerged. Primary school inspectors and head teachers in the Nsukka education zone agreed that the purposes of primary school inspection included assessing schools immediate problems, finding out whether funds are judiciously spent accessing the tone of schools, assisting teachers in the selection of textbooks, monitoring school to ensure they are run in line with government policy and recommending teachers for in-service programmes. Both respondents agreed that the types of inspection undertaken included routine, investigative, special, full, follow-up, approval and assessment inspections. Primary school inspectors and head teachers further reported that the ways in which inspectors carry out their assignments include checking punctuality and overall attendance of staff, scrutinizing all official records, looking into the structure and organization of schools, assessing student enrolment and staff attitude to work as well as collecting data on teaches and students per class. The problems encountered by school inspectors in carrying out their assignments include inadequate number of inspectoral personnel, inadequate funding of the inspectoral unit, lack of pre-appointment training, poor motivation of inspectors ad remoteness of schools. The strategies that should be evolved to improve inspectoral practices in Nsukka education zone include providing adequate funds for the inspectoral unit, training and retraining education officers on inspection techniques, provision of vehicles for inspection, ensuring adequate motivation of inspectors, provision of conducive and comfortable accommodation for inspectors and organization of workshops for inspectors. There was no significant difference between the mean opinion scores of inspectors and primary school heads on ways in which inspectors carry out their assignments. There was no significant difference between the mean opinion scores of inspectors and primary school heads on the problems encountered by inspectors in carrying out their assignments. There was no significant differences between the mean opinion scorers of inspectors and primary school heads on the strategies to be evolved to improve inspectoral practices in the Nsukka education zone. There were no significant difference between the opinions of primary school inspectors and head teachers. Finally, the results were discussed followed by the implications, recommendations, limitations and suggestions for further studies.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
In Nigeria today, much emphasis is laid on qualitative education at all levels. This qualitative education requires adequate planning, curriculum planning and implementation, and of course improved inspection and supervision of schools.
The Nigerian Education law imposes on the minister/commissioner for education the responsibility to cause regular inspection to be made of educational institutions. The purpose is for the minister to satisfy himself that public funds are being judiciously spent, that schools and colleges are functioning well and that all educational institutions are being run according to national aims, objectives and policy. This informs why primary and secondary schools are periodically inspected, while the, course being offered at tertiary institutions are periodically accreditated.
Inspection is first and foremost a legal requirement; this informs why every Ministry of Education in Nigeria has an inspectorate unit. The Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) in her National Policy on Education prescribes inspection of schools as one of the processes for achieving qualitative education. According to the National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004:44), the objectives of inspectorate services in education include:
- To ensure adequate and effective planning for educational services
- To provide efficient administrative and management control for the maintenance and movement of the system.
- To ensure quality control through regular inspection and continuous supervision of instructional and other educational services.
- To ensure adequate and balanced financial support for all educational services.
Apart from using inspection to maintain standard, the Ministry of Education equally uses inspection to determine whether a place should be approved to function as a school and to determine whether a school is qualified to present candidates for public examinations such as West African School Certificate Examinations. Inspection of schools is therefore an important aspect of educational administration. The main reason for inspection of schools is to improve on the standard of education both in the quality of education and in infrastructures. According to Ogbonnaya (2002), inspection is the process of testing, evaluating, criticizing and assessing the students and the entire school to know how far the objectives of supervision have been achieved. Inspection is an instrument with which the political and administrative authorities maintain a satisfactory contact with schools, teachers, students and. the community to endure that the system is working satisfactorily and efficiently. The main business of inspectors of education is to help their professional colleagues, teachers, headmasters and principals do their work better. In their interaction with school staff, inspectors help to improve teaching and learning and consequently the over all standard of education.
Inspectors are agents of the state who inspect school organization, administration as well as instruction. They are officials of the Ministry of Education (Ogbonaya, 2002). Mgbodile (1986) holds the view that inspectors are officials in the Ministry of Education concerned with the inspection of educational institutions to see that standards are maintained and that schools are run in accordance that laid-down regulations. He also observed that an inspector is an individual or group of individuals who come to investigate and to check that all is in order, that things are conforming to prescription.
However, the inspectors’ duties now go beyond ordinary acting as “watch-dog” of educational standards, they have supervisory roles in terms of giving constructive advice and support to schools and teachers thereby contributing to development. The inspectors are now teachers’ friends, advisers, guide, professional colleagues and consultants.
Inspectors try to control what is taught, who is taught how it is taught, what is used to teach and the impact of what is taught on the learners. Hence Ojelabi (1981) sees inspection as the critical examination and the subsequent evaluation of a school as a designated place of learning so as to make it possible for the purpose of improving the school. Inspection is collective in nature and in terms of how it affects the school; unlike supervision which is basically individualistic in nature and directed at improving the teaching and learning process.
Most unfortunately this important function tends to be haphazardly conducted by education officers and officials from the Ministry of Education. Inspectors are irregular. Sometimes it is carried out once in a term or not at all. Equally, teachers and head teachers hate inspection because of the tension it creates and faultfinding attitudes of inspectors. Equally too there are acute shortage of teachers in most of the education zones in Enugu state. The shortage is compounded by the current rapid expansion in enrolment of all levels of the educational system, insufficient in number as they are, a large proportion is untrained or unqualified or both. This situation and the observed lapses in the inspectorate unit of Nsukka Education Zone informs the researcher’s interest to investigated the inspectoral programme of primary schools in Nsukka Education zone.
Statement of the Problem
The major reason for inspection of schools is to raise the standard of education. Inspection of schools acts as a link between the schools and the Ministry of Education. Inspection ensures that minimum standards are maintained and equally informs the ministry of Education about the extent to which recent official educational policies are big implemented.
However, problems associated with inspectoral practices have become recurrent incidence in our school system, including primary schools. Inspection is not properly conducted and this affects the teaching-learning process and consequently the performance of pupils in both internal and external examinations.
Teachers leave their duties and go for other business because the inspectors do not monitor them properly. In other words inspectoral programme is weak. Equally too inspectors are very few in number and those few are not adequately motivated. And the shortage of inspectors is compounded by the rapid expansion in enrolment. The few inspectors available are not properly trained and retraining opportunities are not provided to up-date them.
The few inspectors are not provided with vehicles, facilities and equipment that will facilitate their work. Apart from lack of working instrument there is also lack of funds and all these affect the inspectoral programme of primary schools in Nsukka Education Zone. These weaknesses in the inspectoral programme forms the focus of this study which, put in question form, is what are the weaknesses in inspectoral programme of primary schools in Nsukka Education zone.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to find out the inspectoral programme of primary schools in Nsukka Education zone. Specifically the study will:
- Find out the purposes of inspection in primary schools
- Identify the type of inspection undertaken by school inspectors
- Investigate ways in which inspectors carry out their assignments.
- Determine the major problems encountered by inspectors in carrying out inspectoral functions.
- Evolve strategies for improving inspectoral programme of primary schools in the zone.
Significance of the Study
The findings of the study will benefit the government, the inspectors, primary schools, and the society at large.
The government will realize how it is contributing to poor-inspectoral programme of primary schools. The government will appreciate the fact that their poor treatment of inspectors, shortage of inspectoral personnel, lack of funds, and non-provision of adequate facilities and equipment hinder inspectors’ work.
