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STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCES AND THE SCHOOL FACILITIES IN SOME PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Facility means the system which supports the operation of an organisation or an institution to carry its daily activities and to promote growth and development in such organisation or institution. Facility refers to the entire environment of the school or an organisation, it refers to both the physical and material resources available to the students and teachers in the school to facilitate their learning and teaching process. The classrooms; the libraries and the laboratories for sciences are the three main areas of facilities identified in the school system or environment. (Onyeji, 1990).
Facilities enhance teaching and learning in schools. The state of facilities found in many Nigerian schools is very discouraging. The shortage of classroom in many schools is so acute than sixty pupils occupy classrooms that are meant for only forty pupils. Library facilities, books, classrooms furniture, laboratories and workshops are grossly inadequate. Urevbu (2006) has observed that the physical environment of many primary schools in Nigeria presents a sorry sight with dilapidated buildings, dingy classrooms devoid of seats and writing tables, and dirty and non-functional or no toilets, the physical environment of such primary schools is not conducive for learning.
The inadequacy of facilities and learning resources is responsible for the decline in the quality of primary education. equally worrisome is a sanitation where classrooms do not have science laboratories, and a large number of pupils go to schools without basic textbooks and other materials (Urevbu, 2006). 
Mennhein and Steward (2002) had identified overcrowded classrooms as one of the causes of poor school performance and examination malpractices. Teaching and management also become difficulty. It is a wellknow fact that the facilities and equipment currently available are inadequate for the education in Nigeria. 
If education in Nigeria must succeed, adequate classrooms have to be provided to accommodate the large number of pupils to cope with the expected surge in demand for education at both the primary and junior secondary levels of education. Furthermore, for the successful implementation of the educational programmes, adequate planning need to be done. The scheme should not be concerned with only quantitative aspects. 
Libraries and books give great assistance to both the teachers and the learners. In a situation whereby our secondary school students are left with no choice to make their text books as the only source of knowledge, the danger of exposing them to obsolete knowledge in old books donated by the British Council several years ago as one normally finds in the old secondary schools should not be overlooked. According to Dada (1994), any one who is familiar with some secondary school classrooms in Nigeria, especially in Lagos State, will agree that no meaningful teaching/learning activities can effectively take place in most of them, even if teachers are God-sent and the learners are pack of highly intelligent personalities. The problem is that where there are classrooms, they are overcrowded to the extent that classrooms originally meant for between 30 and 40 students, take between 60 and 80 students with a good number of them sitting on windows. In this situation, neither the teacher nor the students can move freely as expected in our secondary school classrooms. This is why many teachers do not give assignments to such large number of students regularly as expected. And this has affected students academic performance drastically.
On science laboraories, Olarewaju (1994) claims that only few schools have science laboratories which are well equipped to carry out scientific experiments in courses such as biology, physics, and chemistry. A good number of schools teach biology or chemistry as if they are non-science subjects without laboratory. Some other schools which are so during, teach the three branches of science without laboratories in the hope that they would use other schools, laboratories during their examinations or compel students to contribute money for purchase of science equipment through the school Parents Teachers Association (PTA). It should be noted that the greater failure rate is in science because our schools lack the essential science to the students but rather, resort to the theoretical science without the use of laboratory. The contention is that the nation has been unfair not only to students in our secondary schools but also to herself. This s because no nation can develop technology through theoretical teaching of science subjects, under poor educational facilities, no meaningful teaching and learning can take place, and the normal refrain in the educational circle is that all is well with our secondary schools.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The importance of school facilities and academic achievement of students cannot be overemphasized. This is because, school facilities such as school libraries, laboratories, spacious classrooms and so on, complete learning outcomes of students. These days, overcrowded classrooms, non-availability of current books in some secondary schools, libraries, lack of science laboratories in some schools and unhygienic environment of some schools in Lagos State. This has caused problem in the teaching and learning processes in the school system and resultant effect is the low academic performance of students.
The above identified problems gave rise to the examination of school facilities and students performance in selected public and private secondary schools in Lagos State.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The major objective of this study is to examine school facilities and students’ academic performance in selected secondary schools in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State.
Other objectives of the study will include to:
(1) find out whether there is relationship between school facilities and students’ academic performance.
(2) examine whether there is no adequate provision of facilities in our secondary schools.
(3) identify the causes of inadequate provision of school facilities in our secondary schools.
(4) proffer solutions to the problems of inadequate provision of facilities in the secondary schools.
1.4 Research Questions
These research questions will be raised for the study.
(1) Is there any relationship between school facilities and students’ academic performance?
(2) Are the facilities in the secondary schools inadequate?
(3) How can the causes of inadequate provision of facilities in the secondary schools be identified?
(4) To what extent can the problems of inadequate facilities in the schools be solved?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses will be formulated for the study:
(1) There will be no significant relationship between facilities and students academic performance in the schools.
(2) There will be no significant difference between the academic performance of students who attended secondary schools where there are adequate facilities and those who attended secondary schools where there are inadequate facilities.
(3) There will be no significant gender difference in the performance of students in public and private secondary schools.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study will be beneficial to the following people:
(1) 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.
(2) Teachers it is hoped would, through the study 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.
(3) 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.
(4) It 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.
(5) 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. 
1.7 Scope and Limitations of the Study
The study will cover school facilities and students academic performance in selected public and private secondary schools in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State. Sourcing of good materials for literature review, limited finance, time frame and other logistics will pose hindrance to the study. 

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