Assessment of Deterioration of Quality Western Education in Selected Senior Secondary Schools in Mmc; A Case Study of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-kanemi College of Islamic Theology
ABSTRACT
This study explored the deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology. The population of the study comprised the entire students and teachers in Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology in Borno State. Six research questions were put forward and eight hypotheses were stated to guide the study. The study employed the descriptive survey design using a self-developed questionnaire titled “Determinants of Deterioration in Quality of Secondary Education Questionnaire”. Data was collected from 1200 students and 600 teachers. The data collected were analysed using percentage, mean and t-test statistical tools. Findings from the data collected identified defective administration/poor leadership, curriculum not meeting with the needs of the society, ineffective evaluation system, imperfect inspections and supervisions system, use of outdated teaching methods in teaching, inadequate funding of secondary education by the Government, inadequacy of qualified teachers, poor students attitudes towards learning, inadequate instructional materials and facilities, unavailability of scholarships, lack of co-curricular activities for students, improper health facilities, lack of commitment and motivation by teachers, indiscipline in school and frequent changes in educational policies as determinants of deterioration in quality of secondary education. Findings from the data analyzed using the t- test revealed no significant difference between male and female students; and male and female teachers’ perception on causes of deterioration in quality of secondary education. However, the result showed significant difference between rural and urban students’ perception; and less experienced and experienced teachers’ perception on the causes of deterioration in quality of secondary education. Also, the result showed that students and teachers irrespective of gender, location of school and experience of teachers do not significantly differ in their perception on ways to improve the quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the study
Education has been the bedrock of developments all the world over. Nations and individuals all the world over now agree that the way out of series of bondages plaguing them is through education. Thus, the educational standards set up for the school must be challenging to meet the needs of the students and the society (Olaniyonu, Adekoya and Gbenu, 2008). In many developed countries of the world, science, technical and vocational education is the major form of education that has transformed their economies with modern facilities provided to effect the required change. It has been found that the major cause of differences between the economies of developed and developing countries lies in the quality and quantity of education offered. The quality of education offered in developed countries is such that makes recipients creators of jobs rather than job-seekers largely in addition to the fact that basic education is mandatory which is responsible for high literacy level (Gbenu, 2012).
Education enables individuals to fix themselves up in the society into 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. Potentials of individuals are exposed through education so that individuals can acquire training and knowledge in a profession and earn a living (which is a continuous exercise) and education enables individuals cultivate good habits and develop the right attitude to work and life as good citizens.
According to UNESCO (2008) in Gbenu (2012), referring to situations in Africa, curriculum has to be revised “if they are to prepare youngsters to live in a society marked by explosion of new knowledge in science and technology, by information and communication”. UNESCO (2008) referring to the Education for All (EFA) declaration adopted in Jomtien declares that: every person shall be able to benefit from educational opportunities designed to meet their basic needs. These needs comprise both essential learning tools (such as literacy, oral expression, numeracy and problem solving) and the basic learning content (such as knowledge, skills, values and attitudes) required by human beings to be able to survive, to develop their full capacities, to live and work in dignity, to participate fully in development, to improve the quality of their lives, to make informed decisions and to continue learning. The scope of basic learning needs and how they should be met varies with individual countries and cultures and inevitably, changes with the passage of time.
Educational standards present criteria by which judgments can be made by state and local school personnel and communities, helping them to decide which curriculum, laws of administration, health programme, staff development activity and assessment programme is appropriate. Educational standards encourage policies that will bring coordination, consistency, and coherence to the improvement of the process of education. They allow everyone to move in the same direction, with the assurance that the risks they take in the name of improving education will be supported by policies and practices throughout the system. JavaScript (2004) evaluated that academic standards describe what students should know and be able to do in the core academic subjects at each grade level. Content standards describe basic agreement about the body of education knowledge that all students should know.
Performance standards describe what level of performance is good enough for students to be described as advanced, proficient, below basic, or by some other performance level. Usually educational standard stands for quality of education. Quality has been the goal of an eternal quest through the corridors of human history. It has been the divining force of all human endeavours. Concerning standard or quality of education the Faizi, Shakil and Lodhi (2011) clears that defining quality of education is a challenge since it deals with the most sensitive creation on earth, the human beings. Industrial products are finished goods, but education has no such finished product, not even the graduates.
In the more vast sense quality is anything used to measure, for example a quality of conduct, a quality of weight or length. Actually, quality is a thing which has been used as a model to which objects or actions may be compared. The quality of education is defined in Encyclopaedia of Education (1985) in the following sense: “In the education context, then, quality should be regarded as objectives to be achieved or expectations of desirable attitude or levels of performance”. Quality education on its own can be seen as relative term because what constitute quality education vary between country to country based on their economic resources, value system, educational goals and philosophies among others. Quality education improves the quality of the work force by raising the levels of its skills and efficiency. Quality education gives a nation access to the world’s body of knowledge, hence the adoption and adaptation of the reigning technology to specific environment is facilitated.
By and large the general outcome of quality education is a progressive increase in productivity and efficiency. Quality education enables people to express more fully their potential capacities. Longe (1999) puts learning environment (process) and students’ outcomes (graduands) under the umbrella of quality of education. The graduands in this case should be able to prove their worth by their level of performance in the competitive labour market among other challenges that will confront them in the society. Therefore it can be affirmed that comparability and international competitiveness of qualifications are a central feature of quality education.
One issue which borders, burdens and is most often debated among educational stake holders and generality of Nigerians today is the issue of declining quality of education. Year over year from the mid 1980’s the quality of Nigeria’s educational system nosedived and has become totally dysfunctional. Student performance in public examinations, such as West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO) and the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB), has been in consistent deterioration with high failure rates (Olateju, 2014).
The quality of Education from the primary up to the tertiary levels in Nigeria has significantly fallen. The products of primary schools are unable to write their own names just as products of the secondary are unable to copy down notes on the chalkboards with correct spellings. It is equally unbearable to hear products of our tertiary institutions turned into glorified secondary schools. Some graduates find it difficult to write standard formal letters for employment (Arong and Ogbadu, 2010). African News,
V.O.A of 15th February, 2009 reported that only 20% of Nigerian graduates have quality (sound) education to make them compete for jobs in the labour market, the remaining 80% do not have sound education. The idea of who to blame occupies the heart of the generality of Nigerians most especially, the educationists, while many writers blame the teachers for the problem, others blame the students and their parents for lack of discipline in the home. A larger percentage put the blame squarely on Government. No matter the dimension one takes, it will not be an easy task to unveil the circumstances surrounding the declining quality of Education.
Statement of the problem
Effective basic education at the secondary school level is fundamental to achieving the literacy and numeracy levels required for sustainable economic growth. The Nigerian secondary school system has been increasingly challenged with many complex problems. There is a general outcry that the standards of education are falling and morals flagging (Osho and Osho, 2002; Arong and Ogbadu, 2010; Chinelo, 2011; Ige, 2011). Some blame pupils for this apparent deterioration in quality of education and moral values. A thoughtful few argued that they are due to the nature of changes in all directions. Majority blame the teachers for the woes in our schools. They are not as devoted and dedicated to the cause of education as expected. Teachers as a group blame parents and the children. They also blame government for unattractive condition of service and poor physical facilities in some parts of the educational system. Thence, the need of this researcher to explore the determinants of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
Research Questions
The following research questions were put forward to guide the study;
- What are the determinants of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology?
- What are the ways of improving the quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology?
- Are there differences in the perceptions of male and female students on the determinants of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology?
- Are there differences in the perceptions of male and female teachers on the determinants of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology?
- Are there differences in the perceptions of male and female students on the ways to improve the quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology?
- Are there differences in the perceptions of male and female teachers on the ways to improve the quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology?
Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study.
- There is no significant difference between the perception of male and female students’ opinions on determinants of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- There is no significant difference between male and female teachers’ perceptions on determinants of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- There is no significant difference between the perception of rural and urban students on the determinants of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- There is no significant difference between the perception of less experienced and experienced teachers on the determinants of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- There is no significant difference between male and female students’ opinions on ways to improve the quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- There is no significant difference between male and female teachers’ opinions on ways to improve the quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- There is no significant difference between the perception of rural and urban students on ways to improve the quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- There is no significant difference between the perception of less experienced and experienced teachers on ways to improve quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to determine the emerging causes of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology. Specifically, the objectives of this study are to find out;
- The perception of male and female students on the determinants of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- The perception of male and female teachers on the determinants of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- The perception of rural and urban students on the determinants of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- The perception of less experienced and experienced teachers on the determinants of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- The perception of male and female students on ways to improve the quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- The perception of male and female teachers on ways to improve the quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- The perception of rural and urban students on ways to improve the quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
- The perception of less experienced and experienced teachers on ways to improve quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology.
Significance of the Study
This study is of significance in that it will be very useful to Educational planners and administrators and Government in defining their priority areas in secondary education funding. It will also help school administration in laying down principles of planning the budget, expanding facilities, laying down rules for staff and students among others. It will be of significance to teachers in that it will enable them to employ appropriate teaching and assessment method. Furthermore, the study will be significance to parents who expect not just excellent performance but also responsible men and women outside school. They will be able to identify areas they could be of help in enhancing quality in secondary education. It will also be of significance to students in pursuing excellence in their education.
Scope and Delimitation of Study
This study investigates emerging causes of deterioration in quality of Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Yerwa and El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology and it was restricted to the four hundred and thirty-five (435) selected public secondary schools in Borno State.
Operational Definition of Terms
Deterioration: In this study, deterioration is the continuous decrease in the quality and value of secondary education.
Quality: This refers to Higher Education pass showing credits in six (6) subjects including English language and Mathematics.
Secondary school: This refers to four hundred and thirty-five (435) selected secondary schools in Borno State.
Determinants: These are factors or variables that influence the quality of secondary education negatively in achieving Higher Education pass.
References
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- West African Examination Council (2007). Chief Examiner’s Report.
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- Yusuf, H.O. (2009). Strategies for improving the teaching of reading comprehension in primary Schools. J. Educ. Res. Dev. 4(3):63-68.
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