EFFECT OF SELECTED FACTORS ON ADMINISTRATIVE EFFECTIVENESS AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN DELTA STATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Delta State has a large number of secondary schools to cater for the educational needs of eligible school age children. This situation becomes imperative
because of the quest to get educated and be prepared for the challenges ahead. Since the creation of the state in the early 90’s, the number of secondary
schools have continued to be on the increase, with this increase in the number and size of many secondary schools, the employment of more teachers,
changes in school structure, and an enlarged curriculum, the problems of administering the schools would obviously be expected to become more complex.
In the setting of most schools, infrastructural facilities were inadequate or even lacking, thus posing special administrative problems.
The expansion of secondary schools meant that teachers were recruited as principals. Some school administrators had less than adequate qualifications and
experience since qualified and experience ones were not available or too expensive to be recruited.
Among other constrains found in Delta State’s secondary schools are lack of infrastructural facilities (such as water, inadequacy of classrooms, laboratories,
recreational centres and transportation). Inadequate transportation facilities have resulted in truancy and late attendance on the part of the pupils.
The lack of concerted community sort in the educational process, indifference
on the part of the parents in their children’s education particularly at the
primary level, over-crowed classrooms, shortage of infrastructural materials (textbooks, audio-visual equipment, film and slides), isolated school environment, and the fact that some homes may be too poor to provide reinforcement for the child have all added to the complexity of school administration.
This list does not include the variety of stresses and conflicts accompanying social and psychological conflicts resulting from ethnic and personality
differences in the school setting. These limiting factors and constrains tend to make the administrative situation in the state’s secondary schools less than
favorable because they place considerable limits on the degree to which school administrators can be effective.
The foregoing is a sketch of the context in which Principals in Delta State are expected to carry out the central task of administration which is the
enhancement of teaching and learning. To enhance teaching and learning, the school administrator is required to perform three vital development of goals
and policies, to establish and coordinate educational organizations concerned with planning and implementing appropriate programmes, and to procure
and manage resources necessary to support the educational system and its planned programme. Effectiveness in this situation will very much depend on the principals’ knowledge, expertise, and capability and the ability to improvise solutions to
problems (Jiboyewa, 1999).
