TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Approval page ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
List of Table                                                                                     viii
Abstract                                                                   ix                                                                                         Â
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTIONS
Background of the Study 1
Statement of the Problem                                                                 10
Purpose of the Study                                                                          11      Â
Research Questions                                                                            12
Significance of the Study                                                                12
Scope of the Study 15
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Conceptual Framework                                                                    16
  Concept of Universal Basic Education                             16
Concept of School library                                                                20
Concept of management                                                                    23
Management of school libraries                                                           25
School library resources for achievement of UBE goals        34      Â
Roles of School Library for achievement of UBE goals           39      Â
Problems of School Library for achievement of UBE goals                41
Strategies for enhancing effective school library management 42
Theoretical Framework                                                                 44
Review of Related Empirical Studies                                             45
Summary of Literature Review                                               52
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD
Design of the Study                                                                    54
Area of the Study 54
Population of the Study                                                               54
Sample and Sampling Techniques                                                    55
Instrument for Data Collection                                                            55
Validation of Instrument                                                              55
Method of Data Collection                                                                    56
Method of Data Analysis                                                                56
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
Summary of findings                                                                       67
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION Discussion of findings 69
 Implications of the study                                                                   73
Conclusion 74
 Recommendations                                                                                74
 Limitations of the study                                                                    75
 Suggestions for further Research                                                             76
REFERENCES
APPENDIX
Appendix 1: Questionnaire                                                                     88
Appendix 2:  Population                                                                        88
Appendix 3:  Sample Size                                                                          89
Appendix 4: Observation Checklist                                                          90
Appendix 5: Interview                                                                              92
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Response on checklist on school library materials for achieving UBE goal 58
Table 2: Response on planning of school library facilities for achieving UBE goal 59
 Table 3: Response on organization of school library material resources for achieving UBE goals                                                                   60
Table 4: Response on controlling method on school library for achieving UBE goal 62
Table 5: Response on staffing process on school library for achieving UBE goals 63
Table6: Response on the constraints to management of school library for achieving UBE goal 65
Table 7: Response on strategies use on school library for achieving
UBE goal 66
Abstract
This study
concentrated on management of school libraries for the achievement of universal
basic education goals in south east Nigeria. . The population consist of 1824
teachers, librarians and UBE Officials from three local government area each,
in three selected state in south east Nigeria. 337 respondents were sampled
using purposive and random sampling techniques. The purpose of the study was to
determine types of resources available in school libraries, appropriate methods
used in planning school library, method used in organizing school library;
control measure adopted to ensure effective control of school library, staffing
process used in school library, problems and strategies used to enhance school
library management for achievement of UBE goals. The study adopted a
descriptive survey design. The
questionnaire, interview and checklist were used as instrument for data
collection. The data collected were analyzed using frequency, percentage and
mean score count presented in table. Two experts from library and information
sciences and one from Department of measurement and Evaluation validated the
instrument. The findings of the study revealed that 50% of library resources
out of sixty nine items listed are available, competent Liberian should be
employed for actualization of UBE goals in south east Nigeria. The study
recommended that concerted effort should made by school library management and
school authority for actualizing UBE goal.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Basic education is fundamental to human and national development. It is the foundation upon which other levels of education are built and a necessary requirement for human and national progress (Tahir, 2006). The provision of basic education for all citizens, according to Ochoyi and Danladi (2008) has been a global objective which Nigeria like some other nations sets out to achieve through the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme. The need for such intervention scheme in the nation’s educational system is borne out of the realization of the role of education in an individual’s life and in the promotion of social, political and economic development in every nation. It is said that no nation can rise above its educational level.
Before the introduction of the UBE programme, the existing policy and programme of government for education was found to give rise to distortions, high rate of dropouts, narrow curriculum content and half baked graduates that did not meet the needs of the society. The UBE scheme was therefore launched to address these problems by providing free, universal and compulsory basic education to all children regardless of sex, age, ethnic or religious inclinations, language or status. It is also to accommodate comprehensive adult literacy programme. The scheme is therefore designed to ensure adequate and qualitative education that is directed towards the achievement of the nation’s objectives.
The Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme was launched on 30th September 1999 by the then President of Nigeria, President Olusegun Obasanjo. The programme is designed to provide free and compulsory education for children in the primary and junior secondary schools in the country. President Obasanjo on launching the scheme assured that the many problems that bedevilled the 1976 Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme would not be allowed to hamper the 9-year basic education programme. He further pointed out that the scheme is aimed at arresting the decline and decay as well as expanding and improving on the UPE scheme.
The UBE programme is also designed to remove distortions and inconsistencies in basic education delivery and to reinforce the implementation of the National Policy on Education. It is also to provide greater access to basic education and ensure its quality throughout the country. . Universal Basic Universal Basic Education in the context of this study is that type of education in quality and quantity given at the base level of education. The Universal Basic Education Act (2004) defines Universal Basic Education as early childhood care and education, the nine years of formal schooling, adult literacy and non-formal education, skills acquisition programmes and the education of special groups such as nomads and migrants, girl-child and women, almajiri, street children and disabled groups. Universal in this context means the whole people without exception. Basic means, the base on which anything rest, the root or the springboard, the bottom or the foundation from which other parts get support. It means the type of education given at the base level Education for other subsequent level of educational attainment in life which access is not restricted to anybody.
Universal Basic Education Scheme recognizes the Importance of providing universal access to education to all by improving educational quality and expanding facilities for development from early childhood to the age for children. The following according to Universal Basic Education Act (Nigeria, Federal Government of, 2000) are the aims/objects as specified in the Universal Basic Education guidelines for implementation.
i). Developing the entire citizenry a strong consciousness for education commitment to its vigorous promotion
ii). The provision of free Basic Education for every Nigerian child of school age
iii). Reducing drastically the incidence of drop out from formal school system.
iv). Catering for the learning needs of young persons who for one reason or the other have had to interrupt their schooling through appropriate forms of complementary approaches to the provision and promotion of Basic Education.
v). Ensuring the acquisition of literacy numeracy, manipulative, communication, life skills as well as ethical, moral and civil values needed for effective implementation of Universal Basic Education.
It is based on the above educational philosophy education should be learner centred, self directed, active, resource based, functional and skill oriented. The broad aim according to (FGN, 2003) is to give a solid foundation for lifelong learning through the inculcation of appropriate learning-to-learn, self-awareness, citizenship and life skills. Based on the above it can be concluded that beyond increasing access improved quality is considered as a key goal of basic education in Nigeria. Improved quality is hinged on the fact that education now is child-centered, resource-based and active. The philosophy according to National Policy on Education, stressed that education should be learner cantered, resource-based, encouraging methods, developing skills conducive for life-long learning as well as learning as an active process.
In order to achieve the objective of universal basic education programme. The Federal Government outlined nine guidelines to facilitate the successful achievement of stated objectives of the programme. These include: public enlightenment and social mobilization for community involvement, data collection and analysis of human and material resources, planning, monitoring and evaluation; teacher recruitment, education, training, re-training, motivation, provision of infrastructural facilities, provision of enriched curricula, provision of textbooks, and instructional materials, improving funding and school libraries management (FRN, 2004).
School library can be defined as a place mapped out in the school where one can access; store and read up information and as well retrieve information for the achievement of Universal Basic Education goal. School libraries are established to support the educational curriculum of schools, which could only be achieved through various means such as the provision of relevant library resources, which are relevant with the school curricula, provision of various information services ranging from technical to readers services (Markless and Streatifield 2004). School library is an organized collection of books placed in school for teachers and pupils. It may comprise of reference books and books for home reading under the care of a professional librarian. It is an indispensable unit in any school, regardless of its educational philosophy (Onwubiko and Uzoigwe 2004). It is also the type of libraries that operated in primary, secondary or high schools and teacher training colleges such libraries and media resource centres are widely acknowledge to being critical to effective teaching and learning in these schools. They are not only provide the learning resource for the total educational programme of the school but help pupils and students acquire skills in reading, observing, listening, thinking and communication ideas (Opeke 1994).
School library is therefore committed to the development of the basic education sector, which is the foundation of any educational set-up. The need for adequate provision of information materials, staff, infrastructural facilities, accommodation is essential for school for school library to perform its role effectively. The school library functions by providing books and non-book materials/media that are collected to support the teaching and educational activities of the school from early childhood (Kolade, 2001). School library is seen as laboratory for learning and teaching. It has a very good role to play in the achievement of the Universal Basic Education goal. This is because school library’s role is to foster reading habit and skills, as well as developing learning in an independent way. It is pertinent and obvious therefore that the school library is very essential and critical to any sound educational programme and as such the need for proper, effective and efficient organization of its library resources. That perhaps supplements Dike’s (1993) proposition that the school library can play a crucial role in encouraging reading and the development of reading habits and skills. She outlined six major roles played by the school library in fulfilling the objectives of modern education. According to her, the school library encourages reading, expands learning resources, develops learning skills, develops critical thoughts, develops values, attitudes and appreciations, and then assists with developmental tasks. These objectives align invariably with the promises of the universal basic education scheme.
One can therefore quickly deduce from this backdrop that the assisting roles of the library in the realization of the educational roles of the young child are immeasurable. It is at this hub and centre of learning that the young child is prepared with adequate skills for handling information rather than immediate and abrupt acquisition of information resources. These goals are obviously not far from the roles of the school library as a media resource centre, equipped and poised to develop and improve the young child beyond exclusive teaching where the teacher not the learner is the focus. But commendable is the role of the school library as a resource centre with several resource based tools which ultimately break down all barriers standing on the way of the learner for the attainment of a purposeful all-inclusive literacy and learning skills. The emphasis of school library in UBE is the use made of the library. In the libraries, students/pupils discover the world of knowledge, make use of the resources personally, acquire information liberally and develop research skills for life-long learning. It is pertinent from the foregoing that school librarianship is a very essential component of any sound education programme and as such, the professional commitments and programmes of librarians must pay considerable attention to school librarianship.
The school librarian is a person who is professionally trained in librarianship and in charge of the school library. Elaturoti (2001) described school librarian as the professionally and qualified staff member responsible for planning and managing the school library. Stressing further, the author noted that the designation used for the school librarian varies from one country to another. In countries like Canada, Sri Lanka, Botswana, and Hong Kong they are called teacher librarians while in United States of America they are called school library media specialists and in the Great Britain they are referred to as school librarians. Moreover, Rubin (2010) posited that librarian is a person who works professionally in a library, providing access to information and sometimes social or technical programming. They are usually required to hold a degree from library school such as master’s degree in library science or library and information studies. According to the author, the role or function of the librarian is embedded on the provision and maintenance of information in many format including books, electronic resources, magazines, news papers, audio and video recordings, maps, manuscripts photograph and other graphic materials. Rubin also asserted that librarians also render such other services like providing information services, including information literacy instruction, computer provision and training; coordination with community group to host public programs among others. From the foregoing, it could be deduced that through the instrumentality of school libraries, with the roles of the school librarians to ensure effective management for the full implementation and actualization of the aim and objectives that informed the Universal Basic Education (UBE). In addition, for school libraries to promote the goals of Universal Basic Education (UBE) it has to be well managed. ”
Management is the organizational process that includes strategic planning, setting objectives, managing resources, deploying the human and financial assets needed to achieve objectives, and measuring results. Nwachukwu (2009) perceived management as the co-ordination of all the resources of an organization through the process of planning, organizing, directly and controlling in order to attain organizational objectives. The author reiterated that management is the supervising, controlling, and coordinating of activity to attain optimum results with organizational resources. From the above view, two things are evidence in the above definitions: organizational objectives and organizational resources. The managers are saddled with the task of accomplishing organizational objectives with organizational resources such as library resources which will lead to the attainment of Universal Basic Education objectives in south east Nigeria. , Ogbuonu (2014) stated that management is referred to as the procedure in which people’s efforts are directed towards achieving their established objectives in groups. This is an indication that when proper management is focused on the school libraries, its objectives will be achieved to enhance the goal of Universal Basic Education through the managerial function mention above. These managerial function as distilled from the above definitions are five in number: planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling.
Planning according to (Ogunu2000) is the process of setting goals and choosing the means to achieve those goals. A sound planning is imperative for the successful achievement of the goals in the desired direction. It involves determining the way library facilities will put in place to achieve a life- long learning education for effective actualization of Universal Basic Education. Nwachukwu (2009) argues that overall plan involves broad company objectives while departmental plan involves the effort to achieve subsidiary goals which contribute to the achievement of the overall enterprise objective. He notes that, in a business enterprise, it is the managing director that determines the kinds of activities to be undertaken, the resources to be employed and the customers to appeal to. He maintains that planning helps to identify the policies programmes, procedures practices and problems, arguing it is a thought-and-deision activity that that important questions such as who, what, where, why, and how much (resources) are to be used, are answered intelligently. It is worthy of note the business management is different from library management. While business enterprises are set up mainly for profit making, school libraries are social service organization. As service-oriented organizations, which libraries are, there is need for effective planning by library managers to achieve Universal Basic Education.
Directing is an important managerial function through which management initiates actions in the organization. It is a function of management which is related with instructing, guiding and inspiring human factor in the organization to achieve organization objectives. It is a function to be performed at every level of management. Direction is a continuous process and it continues throughout the life of the organization and school library to achieve UBE goals. It initiates at the top level in the organization and school library to the bottom through the hierarchy. It emphasizes that a subordinate is to be directed by his own superior only. Direction has dual objectives. On the one hand, it aims in getting things done by subordinates and, on the other, to provide superiors opportunities for some more important work which their subordinates cannot do.
Organizing is also one of managerial function which is the process of delegating and co-coordinating tasks and resources to achieve objectives. Nwachukwu (2009) defined organizing as a process of creating an organization structure to achieve objectives. He opinions that it is the organization that determine the type of people required and their relationships. He further suggests that the type of personnel and structure in a hospital required in a weaving enterprise or school libraries. Thus, the type of personnel and structure required in a school library setting is different from other organization and it will attain Universal Basic Education goals in south east Nigeria.
Staffing, as the next function of management, consists of a selection of appropriate staff for the organization to reach a goal / goals easier and more efficient. According to today‘s experience is well known that it is difficult to financially evaluate, quality and efficient staff. Staff is one of the more valuable, if not the most valuable resource in any successful organization. According to ifidon and ifidon ( 2007), of all resources that make for library quality assurance, staffing is the most important. According to them, the success or failure of any library as a service organization depends on the type and mix of staff. In other to actualize Universal Basic Education goals school library manager must bear the following in mind: that he require enough staff members to realize the library’s objective and the library’s contributions to the accomplishment of the Universal Basic Education goals.
Controlling is any process that guides activity towards some pre-determined goals. It can be applied in any field such as price control, distribution control, pollution control and school libraries etc. According to Nwachukwu (2009) controlling starts as soon as the execution phase starts in order to determine if plans are being realized. It is an element of management process of analyzing whether actions are being taken as planned and taking corrective actions to make these to conform to planning. In school libraries the Control process is use to find out deviations between planed performance and actual performance and to suggest corrective actions wherever these are needed in achieving UBE goals.
Library management therefore, is a process by which library resources are organized, planned, controlled, staffing, and directed. Library manages four key resources: people (library staff and library clientele); information (material resources); physical facilities (building, furniture and equipment); and finance (Ifidon and Ifidon, 2007). These are human and material resources which when effectively managed would lead to the fulfillment of the library objective for actualizing Universal Basic Education goals. The resources are managed by a team whose roles, responsibilities, competencies, qualities, and qualifications are agreed and document their job descriptions. The Library team is led by the Teacher with Library Responsibility (TLR) or Teacher Librarian (TL) or Library Manager (LM), who liaises regularly and often with school management, teaching staff and students (New Zealand National Library of, 2013).
From the foregoing, it could be deduced that for the realization of Universal Basic Education, the school libraries should be managed by skilled and well trained librarians. But this is not so since from the researcher’s experience and observation in most of the schools in South East, teachers who does not possess the requisite knowledge and training on library management were entrusted with the management of libraries and the most unfortunate, is that they combine the library management with classroom teaching. Moreover, some schools does not have functional libraries while some of the schools that have libraries were poorly managed as some engage the activities of ICT specialists in the management of the school libraries. These shows that some school libraries lack professional librarian which have been suspected to have contributed to learners’ inability to use library resources and poor acquisition of appropriate level of literacy, numeracy, communication, manipulative skills for lifelong learning. The above problem is also suspected to have affected the effective achievement of Universal Basic Education. Although the management and implementation process of the scheme has been on since 1999, progress has been hampered by lack of enabling law to execute certain aspects of the programme. There was significant progress however when the president of the federal republic of Nigeria signed the UBE bill into law on 26th May, 2004 following its passage by the national assembly (UBE, 2016). After this milestone, the financing of the scheme was shifted to the state and local government. However, the federal government has decided to intervene in the provision of the basic education with 2% of its consolidated revenue fund. For states to fully from this fund, criteria were established which states are to comply. The act also provides for the establishment of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to coordinate the implementation of the programme at the state and local government through the State Universal Basic Education (SUBEC) of each state and Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs) (UBE, 2016).
Statement of the Problem
