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THE PLACE OF PARENTS TEACHERS ASSOCIATION (PTA) IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

          The act of passing on knowledge from one generation to the other is the role of the parents. The parents are more effective in imparting discipline and knowledge to students at the very grass root level. It is therefore a known fact that all parents have the natural inclination to give their children the good things of life they are capable of providing for them. And in the modern age, the major task is on the provision of quality education and good standard of living. In the light of this, parents have developed a very positive interest in what goes on in school. It is this interest of parents in the education of their children and wards in schools that gave birth to the organization or formation called “Parents Teachers Association”.

During the latter years of the 19th century, the Parents Teacher Association was first organized by a group of women in America. The first meeting called “the national congress of mothers” was actually held in 1877. It was this meeting that stimulated the founding of the national congress was with the sole aim to act in an advisory capacity of school in America pence. It now goes by the name Parents Teacher Association {PTA} and the functions, now includes particularly in curricular development policy making and setting standards in schools.

          Abiola A.O. {1967} since Parents Teacher Association is concerned with the student’s welfare and all round developments that is why parents are giving a role in the administrative management of secondary school. This means that the Parents Teachers Association is interested in the co-operation of the school system.

          It is generally expected that all heads of primary and post primary institutions that is head master/headmistress and principals especially the newly posted one should be able to organize and participate in teacher association activities single handled to ginger the staff and students. Therefore the home and schools must work hand in hand to achieve full educational objectives. Parents are experienced people who are conversant with child psychology and development.

They therefore know the needs of their children at difference stages of development. In view of this, the parents are in a better position to give useful advice to teachers when necessary. Individual parents could be invited to school for discussion on their children welfare. Such as personal cleanliness, behaviour and general progress.

When parents get home from those visits, they will see their children’s work and also other work to compare. The principal with assistant of some staff could point out the child weakness and give suggestions for improvement.

The principal on his own part will also not fail to highlight the good point about the children on the whole.

The parents teacher association is a forum for teachers and parents to meet and discuss issues relating to the welfare of the parents and teachers. The parents teacher association meets once or twice a year as the case may be to discuss matter affecting the students and teachers and general issues relating to the schools. But it may be necessary to invite parents of students in affected classes to discuss particular things affecting them. They turn out of the parents teacher association on meeting depends on the publicity given among the students.

     The students therefore serve as a medium by which information about the parents meeting reaches their parents usually when they attend matters discussed at these meeting are usually at general application to a student and matter affecting the town and discipline of the school.

The more personal matters are dealt with by the head that invited them and discussed with the parents, the more interest they have for the school. Through the PTA meeting parents could be educated or enlightened. The benefits of the parents teacher and students, it may be necessary to a talk on discipline and causes, teachers delinquency through this the parents will have an insight into the causes of the students problem and know more effective discipline when a new subject or policy is to be introduced. The PTA meeting serves as a forum for getting this across to the parents and teachers by the parents will be aware of the current development in educational deals. Hence educational advancement is regarded as the cornerstones for economical, political, social and physical well being of nay country, it is an important fact that countries all over the world give priority attention to education in their budget. In the light of this, education is seen as an instrument of change. A further proof of the importance of education is what Professor Edmond King (1969) says about it. It says that many countries educational expenditure now preempts as much of the budget as dispense if not more. In this education is seen universally as the most national mean of building a wholesome of mankind. Nigeria as a country recognizes education as a key to development and this reflects in the phenomenal growth of such schools.

Since her independence in 1960, Nigeria had only two universities as against fairly six as the moment and some other ones being proposed and came into reality in the 80s, which is the 6-3-3-4 system of education.

This system was aimed at training students towards self-reliance and technological orientation by different states and ethnic group of the federation. This is a reflection of the increasing place education perform in the general growth and development of the nation. The emergence of more secondary school and government-increasing place in the sectors and government increasing participating place of the parents teacher association in terms of administration and funding. Today Nigeria budget close to 3 billion for the educational sector.

The massive investment in education is aimed at producing middle higher level manpower needs that this manpower requirement can only be met if the primary and secondary school are effectively programmed to give the necessary background in education requirement by institutions of higher learning.

Secondary schools can only play their place properly within the framework of effective school management and administration. Effective administration of secondary school may only be attempted through a complete democratization of the administrative machinery that involves not only the education experts in the state board of education, local government education authority, principals of school but also teachers and parents who have a common view about the students welfare. In the past, effective school administration was conceptualized in terms of experts’ management by micro level and the principals of the schools. Parents and teachers were to help the school. Hence many secondary schools had at their signs of reading “parents may go beyond the point”. As time went on, they will be realization that for any secondary school to be able to meet her stated objectives that administration should not only be concentrated in the hands of experts but also those directly concerned about the students which are parents and teachers.

In other words, there was the realization of conceptualization of the school as a micro society. It was highly considered necessary the more people be involved in school administration instead of learning decision-making. Over the years, the democratization of schools administered of almost turning full circle for the signs at school gate banning parents from going beyond particular points are now gradually weaning out. Parents and teachers agencies in different state of the federation have entered into association seems to be geared towards improving communication between education providers and their consumers and also to keep parents together. Most of the functions or duties school could be adequately performed without the support of parents teachers association will be known and called in this study as PTA in edo state after the government took over school from private agencies in the year 1973. There seemed to be a general wish to establish PTA in the school.

          This wish again now reflects the increasing realization of the place of PTA. The organisation of PTA in most school raises a number of questions as to;

a.           Whether the PTA provide fund for school?

b.           Without the PTA, can the school raise fund?

c.           How much has the PTA help in the discipline of students in school?

Really, the PTA provides funds for the school by way of levy or donation.

Secondly, the school cannot raise levy without the PTA. This is because PTA represents the community in which the school is built.

Finally, PTA has influenced the discipline of students in schools.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

          Many factors gave rise to the formation of parents teacher association in secondary schools especially in Esan West Local Government Area in Edo State. It is likely that there are lacks of schools facilities. It could be due to shortage of manpower, which may involve PTA’s negotiation.

Again, it may be as a result of inadequate provision of school materials for students. All these problems attract the intervention of the PTA. It is probably whether PTA actually acts to assist school in matters relating for day to day running of schools. Thus, a formal study of this nature on the influence of PTA in school management is very important.

PURPOSE OF STUDY

          The purpose of this study is to determine the extent of parent teacher association in the schools administration especially in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State. The PTA’s involvement in secondary school administration is a kind of rendering assistance to government who always emphasis self help development and this association help to promote discipline among students by policies formation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the place of PTA in school administration.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

          The place of parents teacher association in the administration of secondary school is of great importance. Quite very often, people attribute the success of most secondary school management to the existence of strong PTA organization in schools.

          This study is therefore significant in the sense that, it will throw more light on what the students, teachers, principals and the general public perceived to be the place of PTA in the administrative machinery of secondary school.

Again, as a result of its contributions the principals might see their shortcoming and involved in a more effective approach to school administration. The result of the study may provide reliable information on the nature of principal’s leadership in schools, to school board of education {state and local}. From this, they may redefine the policy on which subsequent school administration policies will be formulated.

Therefore, this would enhance effective teaching/learning and administration in our secondary schools. Other researchers might find the study useful particularly the function of PTA in school administration of discipline.

RESEARCH QUESTION

          The following research questions have been drawn up in order to enable the readers to identify the functions of PTA in school administration.

i.             What are the roles of PTA play in the provision of funds of schools.

ii.            Does PTA improve the academic or moral twist of students?

iii.           Does the absence of PTA in school affect the overall development of the school system?

iv.          Does the intervention of PTA in school affect the overall development of the school system?

SCOPE OF STUDY

          This study is confirmed strictly to Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State. While the research topic is restricted to the place of PTA in the administration of secondary schools. The questionnaires, which the research uses to collect data for this study, were administered in senior school students SSS III.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

          In this study, the researcher will give brief definition and explanation of he concept used.

School: This is defined as a place for teaching and learning in a formal structure. That is, everything about a school must be there such as chalkboard, writing desk and chairs, qualified teachers etc.

PTA: Parents Teachers Association as the name implied is the unionism or coming together of both parents, guidance, teachers inclusive of pupils, student attending primary and post primary schools of learning.

Administration: This is a social process concerned with identifying, maintaining, motivating, controlling and unifying formally and informally organized human and material resources with in integrated system designed specifically to achieve an objective.

Discipline: This is the means where by children are trained in orderliness of good conduct on the habit of getting the best out of themselves all of which are essential to the well being of the school. On the other hand, indiscipline is the opposite of discipline and it simply put back of control.

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