ABSTRACT
This study aimed at finding out the management of school records in secondary schools in Otukpo Education zone. When school principals fail to adhere strictly to effective and accurate records keeping management, achievement of effective school management will always be at the crossroads. Similarly, poor and inaccurate records keeping in school system dwindle and prevent understanding of real school events and activities. This study therefore, become very imperative with a view to advance remedial steps in the event of poor and inaccurate records keeping among secondary schools in Benue state. The study was carried out with four (4) research questions and three (3) hypothesis. The researcher’s developed questionnaire was the instrument used in collecting data from 52 principals and 364 teachers randomly selected from the 52 state-owned secondary schools in Otukpo education zone. From the reactions of the respondents, the following two major findings were made. There are so many problems associated with records keeping management in secondary school system. That through various ideal administrative practices and strategies, there will be wholistic improvement on records keeping in school system. In view of these findings, it was recommended that principals and teachers should employ ideal administrative practices and strategies to improve on records keeping management in secondary school system towards ensuring valid and reliable school information.
CHAPTER ONE
The school administrator has the responsibility of seeing to the smooth running of a school. The extent to which he succeeds in carrying out this responsibility depends on a number of factors and one of them has to do with the records that he is expected to keep. These records give a lot of information about the school that will enable him to take decisions and also assess the progress of the school. National policy on education requires that some of the records should be kept appropriately. FRN (2004) Different people such as the headmaster, the class teacher, and the local government education authority keep different records about the school.
School records are official documents, books and files containing essential and crucial information on actions and events which are kept and preserved in the school offices for utilization and retrieval of information when needed (Durosaro, 2002). Such records are kept by principals, teachers, counsellors are administrative staff. Some of the major school records include; students’ personal files, staff record book, the log book, visitors book and inventories book, among others. The purpose of record keeping and management is to ensure that accurate and proper records of students achievement and growth, information on school activities and matters that will promote efficiency and effectiveness of the school system are kept, among others.
According to Durosaro (2002), records are important tools for effective planning and administration of a school. School records occupy strategic position in the effective and efficient organization and administration of the school. It helps for effective planning and implementation of appropriate course of actions, thereby introducing proper monitoring of school activities tasks.
Records are important because they serve as major information tool that sustain the school and aid in achieving educational goals and objectives. Records engender teaching competence and maintain the trend in the history of teaching and learning processes. Egwunyenga (2009) observed that not all information can be considered as records until they satisfy such characteristics as genuinety and authenticity, that is, the information that records give must be true, correct and original; records must be comprehensive, accessible and secured.
School records are grouped into statutory and non-statutory. Statutory records are those prescribed by education law and so must be owned by every school and should be produced on demand by constituted authorities. Examples of statutory records include: admission/withdrawal register, attendance register, scheme of work, time-table, school diary, log book, finance record books, continuous assessments records, etc. Non-statutory records are of private use to schools that find them useful. These include: cash book, stock book, punishment book, school calanedar, inventory book, staff minutes book, school magazine, inspection/supervision report file, confidential report forms and requisition book. All the above records are commonly keep in schools presently. Records management is the application of systematic and scientific control of recorded information that is required for the operation of the school (Bosah, 1997). Such control is exercised over the distribution, utilization, retention, storage, retrieval, protection, preservation and final disposition of all types of records within the school. The aim of records management is to achieve the best storage, retrieval and exploitation of school records in the school system and also to improve the efficiency of record making and keeping processes.
A school head must have accurate information to help him/her assess meaningfully the progress of the school. All school records are very useful, school records must be complete and be made available when the need arises. Records, which are not regularly kept, will be incomplete and misleading, badly kept records can hinder the progress of the school. The school leader must see that school records are devoid of exaggerated reports or untrue statements. According to Idoko (2005), school records management can only be properly maintained if the school administrators employ desirable strategies for improving school records management. These strategies could be; to place priority on the supply of necessary school records, funds ear-marked for records management should be retired accordingly, opportunity for professional training by staff through in-service professional training course should given to school administrators, timely supply of school records, among others. Records management helps to control the quality and quantity of information that is created in a manner that effectively serves the need of the school (Akabue, 1991).
School record management according to Fasasi (2004), is meant to enhance the performance of secondary school administrators. Adequate records management programme co-ordinates and protects institutions’ records, sharpens the effectiveness of records as a management memory which controls the times, equipment and space allocated to records and helps to simplify intra-organizational and communication problems. The management of records in secondary schools, like in any other organization, is a cyclic process involving the principals, teachers, students, messengers, cleaners and other categories of staff. The bulk of records are handled by principals which are most often kept manually thus the processing, retrieval and utilization of records are not easy.
Iwhiwhu (2005) stresses the poor quality and quantity of manpower in records management in the school system. He emphasized that manpower is employed without prejudice to qualitative records management.
Iyede (2001) viewed human resources management as the harnessing of the totality of the peoples skills, energies, talents, latent capacities, social characteristics like beliefs to achieve educational objectives and simultaneously making people to be part and parcel of the school. This shows that manpower energies, skills and latent capabilities are harnessed to meet organizational goals. Also an enabling and conducive environment and enough motivation are needed for the workers in the school to put in their best.
The term management has been defined as the process of utilizing material and human resources to accomplish designated objectives which involve the organization, direction, supervision, coordination and evaluation to achieve organizational objectives. Aghenta (2001) defined management as a process involving organizing, planning, leading, measuring and controlling as well as undertaking of risk and handling of uncertainty, planning and innovation, coordination and routine supervision.
It is also viewed as a process designed to ensure the co-operation, participation, intervention and involvement of personnel in the effective achievement of a given objective (Fabunmi, 2000).
The effective management of school records by principals depends on certain management procedures and functions such as effective supervision, creation of records, effective leadership, monitoring, provision and training of adequate personnel, records storage and retrieval, discipline and effective communication, delegation of duty, developing record keeping skills and motivation (Ajayi, 1997). Information and data generated from an effective and efficient records management programme aids the school to plan and make useful decisions, preserve facts and figures for future references, thereby enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization and administration of the school. The adequate provision of quality manpower, funds and equipment would ensure optimum management of school records; however, inadequate or non-availability of these resources would bring about problems and challenges in the efficient and effective management of records.
