Assessment on Provision and Utilization of School Facilities: Its Impact on Student Academic Achievement

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

 Background to the Study

School buildings have been identified as a significant role in quantitative education. The necessity of providing and utilizing suitable educational facilities for teaching and learning cannot be overstated. The maxim “teaching is inseparable from learning but learning is not separable from teaching” states that instructors teach in order for pupils to learn, yet students may learn without teachers. Learning can occur through contact with one’s surroundings, according to Akande (20155), as stated in Afigbo (20166). The term “environment” refers to the facilities that are accessible to help pupils achieve their learning goals. It comprises books, audio-visual materials, instructional software, and hardware; the size of the classroom, seating position and layout, the availability of tables, seats, chalkboards, and shelves on which instruments for practicals are stored. Anameze (2015), wrote on the function of facilities in teaching, claiming that no efficient scientific education program can exist without teaching equipment. This is due to the fact that facilities allow learners to build problem-solving abilities and scientific mindsets. Ajayi and Ogunyemi (2020) stated in their contribution that when facilities are supplied to fulfill the relative demands of a school system, pupils would not only have access to the reference materials indicated by the instructor, but they will also learn at their own paces. The net result is improved overall academic achievement among all kids.

Similarly, Fabunmi (2017) argued that school facilities, when given, will enhance teaching learning programs and, as a result, increase students’ academic accomplishment, while the models governing their provision to schools might take any shape as logical bureaucratic and or political models. According to him, whichever model is used, there is always a common trait of varying allocation of facilities to schools. However  certain schools are favored in the distribution of facilities at the expense of others. Farombi (2018) discovered that the classroom learning environment in certain schools was unsatisfactory in his study on resource concentration, usage, and management as predictors of students’ learning results. He provided examples of schools that did not have a blackboard, did not have a ceiling, did not have certain roofing sheets in place, and had windows and doors removed, among other things, a scenario that the researcher deemed detrimental to the learners’ health.Adesina (2015) listed weak and inadequate physical facilities, outmoded teaching approaches, and overcrowded classrooms as reasons in explaining why high academic performance is not popular in Nigeria.

Other academi  have recognized the importance of facilities in the teaching and learning realms in other ways. We might claim that academic performance can be influenced by the lack or inadequate (or deteriorating) quality of educational facilities. Gamoran (2012), on the other hand, said that after students’ background characteristics were taken into consideration, amenities like as teacher salaries, books in the library, and the availability of a scientific laboratory had no influence on variation in student success.This remark implies that in order for a student to do well at a higher educational level, he must have been groomed or cushioned by the availability of resources in his primary days, which he now exploits as a springboard. Another finding, as mentioned by Johnson (1998), was that  instructional facilities were essential to students’ academic accomplishment in English, Mathematics, Biology, and Geography, although students may perform well in other courses despite a lack of advanced instructional resources. He came to the conclusion that the impact of instructional facilities on students’ academic progress is more pronounced in the pure and social sciences.

Conversely, it is the educational system’s obligation to support learning by establishing an ideal environment for the child to discover things for himself, particularly through proper supply of school facilities. This suggests that the school amenities would undoubtedly have a significant influence on the children. The school facilities may imply a high level of collaboration among groups in the school setting, yet other students may not desire to learn at all. This indicates that the school facilities will have an impact on both instructors’ and pupils’ performance, either favorably or adversely. Thus the purpose of this research is to encourage school administrators to use new strategies in the administration of school infrastructure. It also proposes that school administrators and managers be regularly taught and retrained in current management tools. Thus, if educational resources and school buildings are used to their full potential, the quality of education will skyrocket.

 Statement of the  Problem

Scholastic accomplishment is used to assess a student’s academic success. Several reasons have been implicated for low performance in our public secondary schools. Teachers, society, parents, school inspectors, and the government have all been blamed for students’ incapacity to do exceptionally well, according to critics (Onyechere, 2016). However, issues concerning inadequate and, at times, insufficient school facilities bear the primary responsibility for students’ academic performance, as sociologists are quick to observe that the environment makes the man (Gousie, 2018).S According to Hallak (2020), facilities are one of the powerful factors that contribute to academic achievement in the school system. They consist of school buildings, classrooms, lodging, libraries, labs, furniture, recreational equipment, apparatus, and other educational resources. He went on to add that their availability, relevance, and appropriateness all contribute to academic success. He swiftly added, however, that unappealing school structures and overcrowded classrooms, among other factors, lead to poor academic achievement. In terms of where these facilities should be situated, he stated that educational facilities should be positioned in appropriate locations while taking the requirements of the users into account. As correctly observed by Oni (2015), the availability and adequacy in quantity and quality of physical/material facilities enable a school’s smooth operation and enhance effective teaching-learning activity, resulting in higher educational attainments by students, and when this is lacking, secondary school students perform poorly. As a result, the research seeks to present an assessment on provision and utilization of school facilities: its impact on student academic achievement.

objectives  of  the Study

The  broad objective of this study is focused on  an assessment on provision and utilization of school facilities: its impact on student academic achievement. Other specific objectives includes:

i.          To ascertain if there is  availability of  school  facilities  in  public secondary schools in Uyo

ii.        To ascertain the conditions of school facilities available in public secondary schools

iii.      To investigate  the rate of utilization of available physical facilities in secondary schools in  Uyo.

iv.      To determine whether adequate provision of libraries, laboratories and classroom influences  student academic achievement in secondary schools

 Research Questions

i.          Are there  availability of  school  facilities  in  public secondary schools in Uyo?

ii.        What are the conditions of school facilities available in public secondary schools?

iii.      What is the extent of utilization of available physical facilities in secondary schools in  Uyo?

iv.      Does  adequate provision of libraries, laboratories and classroom influences  student academic achievement in secondary schools?

Significance of the Study

It is hoped that students will benefit from this study because they would be able to have proper insight and understanding that non provision of infrastructures in the secondary schools will adversely affect their academic performance. To teachers it is hoped  that through the study, they will come to terms with the fact that the provision of adequate infrastructures will help both students and teachers to facilitate the teaching and learning processes. The school authorities would utilize the findings and recommendations of this study to find solution to the problem of inadequate provision of infrastructures in our secondary schools. They would through this study understand better the effect of inadequate provision of infrastructures in our schools, on the teachers work performance and the academic performance of students. The study would be of benefit to parents because it will enable them to understand the effect of inadequate infrastructures on academic and work performance of both students and teachers. With the finding and recommendations of this study parents would help the school authorities to find lasting solutions to the problem of inadequate provision of infrastructures in our schools.The society will benefit from the study because when there is adequate provision of infrastructure in the schools teachers would work better to produce better crop of students for the society.

 Scope of the study

The scope of this study borders on  an assessment on provision and utilization of school facilities: its impact on student academic achievement. The study is however delimited to selected public secondary schools in Uyo local government, Akwaibom State

Limitations of the study

This research project, like all human endeavors, had some challenges that threatened to derail the study’s completion. One of the reasons is that the time allotted for this work was so limited that the researcher did not have enough time to complete the task thoroughly. During data collection, the researcher also had to put forth extra effort to understand the respondents’ interview schedules, several of whom fell into the incomprehensible age group. Also, there were financial and transportation constraints to deal with. Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire, interview).

 Definition of term 

Laboratory: This is a room or building equipped for scientific experimentation; laboratory is also a equipped room for scientific research, or teaching or for the manufacture of drugs or chemicals.

Library:  This is a room containing collection of books, periodicals and sometimes films and recorded music for people to read or borrow.  It is also a collection of sources, resources, and services and the structure in which it is housed.

Facilities:  These are equipment, infrastructures and machines as well as any physical structure.

Provision: This means building new Facilities or building physical structure like classroom and playground.

Instruction Facilities: These are classrooms, laboratories, workshops and library.

Utilization: It refers to the extent of the operation or use of available facilities provided for the studies.