SCHOOL PLANT MAINTENANCE AS A DETERMINANT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS’ EFFECTIVENESS IN AFIKPO EDUCATION ZONE OF EBONYISTATE

ABSTRACT

The study sought to investigate  school plant maintenance  as a determinant  of  secondary school principals’ effectiveness in Afikpo education zone of Ebonyi State. Five purposes, five research questions and three null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The design of the study was ex-post-facto  research  design. The study was  carried  out in secondary schools in Afikpo Education Zone of Ebonyi State. The  population of the study was 1,017 comprising of all the 79 principals and 938  teachers of post primary schools in the study area. The sample for the study was 270  respondents representing 27% of the population, drawn using a proportionate stratified sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into two parts. Part I was titled “School Plant   Maintenance   Questionnaire   (SPMQ)”   and  part  II  was  titled   “EffectiveSchool Administration  Questionnaire  (ESAQ)”.  The  questionnaire  has  a  total  of  72  items.  The questionnaire  was structured on a four- point rating scale of Very Great Extent  (VGE)  4 points Great Extent (GE) 3 points Very Low Extent (VLE) 2 points and Low Extent (LE) 1 point  Three  experts  validated  the  instrument.  The  overall  reliability  coefficient  of  the instrument  was  0.89.  Pearson  Product  Moment  Correlation  Coefficient  (r)  was  used  in answering the research questions that guided the study, while Multiple Regression Analysis was used to test the 3 null hypotheses at 0.05 probability level. The result of the study showed that: there exist a positive relationship between principals’ transformational leadership and school plant maintenance to a great extent there is a positive relationship between teachers’ instructional  behaviours  and  school  plant  maintenance,  to  a  great  extent  and  there  is significant relationship (p<0.05) between principal’s transformational leadership and school plant    maintenance,   there   is   a   significant   relationship    (p<0.05)between    teachers’ instructional   behaviours   and   school   plant   maintenance   and   there   is   a   significant relationship(p<0.05)    between    students’    academic    achievement    and    school    plant maintenance.  It was recommended  among  other things  that,  since  there exist  a  positive relationship between principals’ transformational leadership and school plant maintenance, before  a  teacher  is  appointed  as  a  school  principal,  those  transformational  leadership qualities should be looked out for, for effective school plant maintenance. It was concluded among others that effective maintenance of school plant could enhance students’ academic achievement towards achieving the goal of national development.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Education is an essential tool in the society needed for human development and improvement. It is indisputably the instrument used in every nation for the development of her citizens. For education to adequately perform its function, the school must be properly organized, made neat and adorable. In the secondary school system, the head of administration at the apex is designated as the principal. The school principal has the responsibility of ensuring that both human and material resources of the school are utilized to achieve stated objectives. Oboegbulem and Chiaha (2007) stated that human and material resources are effective tools in the hand of the school administrator for the accomplishment of school objectives.

Material resources in form of school plant provides facilities for teaching and learning. The more school plant is maintained regularly, the more the life span is prolonged. However it is regrettable that most school principals do not maintain school plant to serve the purpose it is meant  for.  These  physical  facilities  on  ground  are  given  little  or  no  attention  and  left  to dilapidate, decay, spoil and rot away due to lack of maintenance. This may be why principals, teachers and students achieve less in its absence. Yusuf and Adigun (2012) asserted that without school plant, the school cannot exist. School plant indicates that school is in existence as it is an integral part of the entire school system that serves the needs of the society.

School is a micro-community existing within a macro-community. According to Anukam (2006)  and  Manilla  (2007)  school is  a  place  of  learning from  the  nursery to  the  tertiary institutions.  Emenalo (2008) defined school as a public and service organization where children

are molded and transformed to become functional and contributory members of the society. In

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this study, school will be regarded as the environment and a formal organization set up to provide education to students and to all citizens. Teaching and learning take place in school environment which have influence on learners. It is this environment which is also regarded as school plant that influences teaching and learning and as such school plant is an undoubtedly veritable tool in the hands of principals, teachers, non-teaching staff and students for successful implementation and achievement of educational goals and objectives. This implies that environment is important for successful teaching and learning. Mbipom (2000) defined school plant as the environment and building in which teaching and learning take place. According to Kulbir (2007), school plant is simply the material provisions of the school. Asiabaka (2008) perceived school plant as the material resources provided for staff and students to optimize their productivity in the teaching and learning processes. Aloga (2014) described school plant to mean the site, building, equipment and all the facilities within the school which enhance the teaching and learning activities and at the same time protects the physical well-being of teachers and the learners. In this study, school plant will be regarded as the school environment involving the aggregate internal and external physical resources which are necessary for effective, teaching and learning. It implies the totality of school facilities, without which teaching and learning cannot occur.

School plant is also referred to as school facilities, educational facilities, school physical facilities  or  school infrastructural facilities.  Ajayi  (2007); Ajadi,  Ejieh and  Salawu  (2008); Lawanson and Gede (2011) gave examples of school plant to include: the entire landscape, machinery, buildings, classrooms, laboratories, workshops, furniture, vehicles, electrical fittings, water, visual and audio-visual aids, roads and toilet among others.  In this study it will be limited

to  landscape;  school  grounds  and  fields;  buildings;  classrooms;  laboratories;  workshops;

furniture; vehicles; roads; toilet and other infrastructure

Adequate and functional school plant is essential for effective teaching and learning. Onwurah (2013), emphasized that school plant play crucial role in the development of the three domains  of  Bloom’s  Taxonomy of  educational  objectives  namely;  cognitive  (knowledge) affective (emotions, value, interest and morals) and psychomotor (abilities and skills) which are prerequisite for academic achievement. Similarly, Lawanson and Gede (2011), opined that physical facilities ensure safety, security, hygienic and comfortable shelter for students, teachers and other members of staff. Moreover, school plant adds to the aesthetic view and beautification of the school environment (Oboegbulem & Chiaha 2007). School plant is indispensable in the educational process.

Sustainability and effective utilization of school plant depend largely on its maintenance. Maintenance is  important so  as to keep facilities functional or closest to  its original state. Sofoluwe (2005), defined maintenance as work undertaken in order to keep or restore every facility, every part of a site, building and contents to an acceptable standard as to sustain the ability and value of the facility.   Adedekun (2011), further perceived maintenance as keeping in good order and shaping all projects of development that are of benefit to the people. In this study, maintenance will be regarded as work embarked upon to keep or rehabilitate any part of the school environment, building or equipment in a functional state.

Deterioration,  wear  and  tear  of  educational  facilities  is  a  natural  process.    School buildings and equipment depreciate in outlook as a result of factors such as age, weather, usage, carelessness and poor plant maintenance. According to Oboegbulem and Chiaha (2007), school plant maintenance means keeping of the school facilities, buildings and equipment in as near

their original state as possible. Ajadi, Ejieh and Salawu (2008), defined school plant maintenance as all the activities embarked upon by the school administrators to ensure that school plant remain in the same state. Onwurah (2013), regarded school plant maintenance as comprising of all activities  geared  towards keeping the  school facilities  in a  condition of wholeness and efficiency.  According to  Yusuf and  Adigum (2012), maintenance of  school plant  involves sweeping of the floors and surroundings, dusting, mopping, scrubbing, washing of school plant, repairs of facilities, pest control, fire prevention and safety. Arising from these definitions, school plant maintenance will be regarded as all the activities embarked upon by the principal for optimum functioning of school facilities.

Maintenance of school plant is advantageous to the school. Well-landscaped school site prevent decay and waste. Maintenance of school plant brings about maximum utilization and benefits to the entire school organization which ultimately leads to the achievement of school objectives. The quality and duration of a building or equipment are affected by how the facilities are looked after, and the ways in which servicing and repairs are carried out. School plant maintenance may be a determinant of principals’ performance.

According to Hornby (2014), determinants are factors which decisively affect the nature of something. Merriam-Webster, (2014), defines determinant as an element that identifies the nature of something or that fixes or conditions an outcome. Determinant in this study refers to a means of judging school principals’ effort in effective management of the school well. In other words, can the success of the principal as a school manager be judged by his/her efforts to maintain the school plant effectively? School plant maintenance demands maximum cooperation, commitment and  diligence  from  principals,  staff,  students  and  the  entire  community.  This implies that the principal is crucial in school plant maintenance.

According to Atanda and Lameed (2006), the principal is the professional and administrative head of the school that works for the success of the instructional programmes of the secondary school.  Okoli (2006), further refers to the principal as a professional educationist charged with the responsibility of educational development through the application of administrative skills which ensures goal attainment within a given school environment. Oboegbulem and Onwurah (2011); and Ogbonnaya (2013), define principal as the executive head of secondary schools in Nigeria. In this study, principal will be regarded as the instructional and administrative head of post primary institutions that is responsible for the maintenance of the school environment as well as the achievement of stated educational objectives of the school. The principal is the first citizen of the secondary school family, the mirror of the tone of the school, personification of the school motto and custodian of the school culture (Uketui 2008). The principal is the planner, organizer, coordinator, supervisor and manager of the school plant. Ekundayo (2010) opined that principals must be fully concerned with the physical environment and other facilities around the school. The principal who is the custodian of school plant ensures proper maintenance of educational facilities to prevent loss of time and money.

Fund is needed to carry out all round maintenance of school facilities. Financial support for school plant maintenance may be derived from several sources such as government grant, school fees, Parent Teachers Association (P.T.A) levies, and proceeds from school activities. Others include use of old Boys/Girls Association, endowment, philanthropic assistance and community efforts. The principal has the responsibility for sourcing of fund for the maintenance of school plant. In addition the principal has other roles to play in maintenance of school plant. Some of these roles include: servicing and repairing of school facilities, fencing the school compound, using teachers and school functionaries to make students to arrange seats and sweep

their classrooms and school premises, cut grasses, wash toilets, plant flowers among others. School plant is one of the things that give credence to schools and its maintenance may have effect on principal’s performance. The school head work cooperatively with the teachers and students in the school to achieve stated objectives in the school. The principal and teachers impart knowledge and good behaviour to the students with the aid of well maintained school plant. The tone the principal sets in the school dictates the level of cooperation of staff and students. Aesthetically pleasing and wholesome school environment energize, motivate and spur educational  administrators,  teachers   and   students  to   work  and   become   effective.   The effectiveness of teachers and students is also the principal’s effectiveness.

Effective principals are successful principals. According to Ibukun, Oyewole and Abe (2011), effectiveness is doing the right thing. Nwafor (2012), defined effectiveness as the output, the capacity to achieve the stated objectives in terms of abilities, behaviour of the teacher or individual (principal) being rated. Njoku (2006), stated that principals’ leadership effectiveness is the extent to which the principals attain the expected goal- academic excellence and good character formation as well as satisfy the staff and students and other stake-holders of education. In this study, effectiveness will be regarded as the capacity of the principal, teacher and students in an aesthetically pleasing school environment to attain the set goals and objectives.  There are many indices of school effectiveness. These include:   safe and orderly environment, teacher instructional behaviours, students’ academic performance, students discipline/behaviour, school- community relations, leadership style, achievement of goals, clear vision, motivation, basic skill acquisition and strong school culture among others (Donovan (1991); Farhat, Zarghuna, Khalid, Ashiq and Mohammad (2012), Amir and Zaidatol (2012). An effective school is one whose leadership, operations, teaching, learning, sports or programmes are in consonance with its goals

and objectives in terms of achievement. Yusuf and Adigun (2012) stated that the conditions of the physical and  infrastructural facilities in primary and  secondary schools had  marred the attainment of the goals of education. The leadership role of the principal is clearly a major important factor in school effectiveness.

School plant maintenance is one of the major functions of school leaders and more importantly,  transformational  leaders  that   make  staff  and   students  to  perform  beyond expectation. Burns (1978), the father of transformational leadership first introduced the concept of transformational leadership in his descriptive research work on political leaders. Burns (1978) defined transformational leadership as a process in which leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation. In this study, transformational leadership is the principal’s ability to get members of staff and students to want to change, improve, be led, increase  their  commitment,  capacity  and  involvement  in  meeting  goals.  Such  leaders  are dynamic and adaptable and work towards school effectiveness and efficiency. The leader is interested in changing, motivating followers, and maintaining school facilities.

A school head is expected to give complete overhauling by repainting, rehabilitating and replacing bad and damaged facilities. Such principals articulate vision towards school plant maintenance;  stimulate  staff  and  students  to  be  committed,  dedicated  and  innovative  and influence positive maintenance culture among students and teachers.  According to Burns (1978) the leader transforms and motivates followers through his or her idealized influence (earlier referred to as charisma), intellectual stimulation and individual consideration. Naidoo and Botha (2012)  asserted  that  there  is  a  strong  link  between transformational  leadership  and  school effectiveness. The transformational principal guides, directs and is a model to staff and students. This is probably the reason Eziuzo and Onyemauche (2007) posited that leadership is at the

center of organizational behaviours. They further stressed that a leader is a model of values and keeps transforming those values of the organization so as to bring about the realization of the vision.  It is leadership that points which way a school goes. Aydin (2012) opined that in order to make any organization a better  performing place, transformational leadership behaviours is important especially in schools that are dynamics of change for the society in which they operate. Transformational leadership is inspirational and makes followers ready to achieve goals at all costs.   This study is out to find out if school plant maintenance determines transformational leadership behaviours of the principals. Principals’ behaviour is inimical to the situation of teaching. And as such the principals’ leadership style is important to teachers teaching activities. It will determine if there will be a pleasant outcome in teachers teaching activities.

The setting in which teaching activities take place if pleasant, provides a conducive work place. Agwara (2013) opined that maintenance breeds a healthy classroom and inspires teachers towards greater commitment and achievement. Onwurah (2013) asserted that teachers are hardly effective in their instruction to students in schools where school plant is not maintained. Atanda and Lameed (2006), posited that attractive school boosts the morale of the teachers and students. The condition of the school plant may not only improve the morale of teachers but influence the work effectiveness of a teacher and aid in the success of teaching and learning. Asayai (2012) submitted that lack of school facilities maintenance will spell doom for teachers and students in the teaching and learning activities. This increases teachers stress. The principal is expected to provide facilities for teaching, developing and maintaining school plant.   Oyene and Salusi (2008): Ayeni and Jaiyeoba (2008); asserted that teachers always strive to have classrooms where  maintenance  is  not  only  a  watchword  but  practiced  and  demonstrated.  Similarly

comfortable and caring environment among other factors help to contribute to students academic performance.

The condition of a school sends message to students and teachers about the principal’s concern for their academic and work interest. Aesthetically pleasing school environment makes school a home away from home for students and even staff. The learners like to stay in school to learn and do class work. This indicates that the condition of school plant is a very essential factor for students’ academic performance. Kulbir (2007) asserted that well maintained and decorated school environment creates enthusiasm in students to learn and supports optimum learning. Atanda and  Lameed  (2005) submitted  that  in a  well maintained  school, one  observes that beautiful flowers are planted, paths decorated with bricks, walls of classroom and corridors adorned with beautiful charts and pictures and waste paper baskets placed at suitable places. Moreover  toilets  and  urinary are  washed  regularly,  no  debris  of  broken  furniture,  school environment is clean, walls not smeared with ugly paint, replacement, repairs and renovation of facilities effected. It develops sense of cleanliness and hygienic habits in students. Iheanacho (2001) in Okunamiri and Anyanwu (2011) stated that the learning environment in which the students study influences their health, comfort and working efficiency which in turn affects their academic performance. Good academic performance of students is one of the indicators of achievement of goals.

However, students’ discipline  is  also  important for  the  achievement of the  aims  of Nigerian education. In an aesthetically pleasing school environment, students dress neatly, are well  behaved  and  take  instruction from  the  teachers.  The  students  are  polite,  enlightened, obedient, cultured, decent, civilized, polished, responsible and productive citizens. This elevates students to elitist group. Moreover good behaviour gives a school a positive tone which elite

parents highly appreciate such schools. Chiaha (2013), opined that school environment is very helpful in students’ character formation. Indiscipline militates against effective teaching, learning and leadership. This implies that discipline promotes positive learning environment and well maintained school plant promotes discipline which in turn leads to excellent academic achievement. Chiaha (2013), also noted that some schools have unfriendly atmosphere, others have very unattractive, dirty and dilapidated structures with broken walls and leaking roofs, rough floors, bare fields with no grasses, roads not lined up with trees. Moreover in some schools what is seen is eye – sore such as sinking roofs, plaster peel offs, broken floors and walls, profane writings on the walls, littered lawns and path ways, vandalized equipment, dilapidated school blocks displaying no window panes or shutters, bushes around with no flowers, shrub and trees for aesthetic view are common features. This leads to demoralization and discourages learners and lead to irregularity of students in coming to school. Similarly, Manilla (2007), posited that pupils including students taught in classrooms with cracked floors, leaking roofs, paths with over grown grasses, creaking chairs, desks and tables, broken doors and windows among others are bound to be affected  negatively in their behaviour and so may have the tendency towards indiscipline. Aesthetics is the beauty attached to school plant when properly maintained. Okoli (2006) asserted that aesthetics have their own contributions to the psychological development of a student. The author maintained that when a student is studying under leaking roofs, dilapidated buildings, such a student may see life as survival in the jungle and regard school as uncaring; therefore the student might grow up caring for nobody’s life and become a security risk to the society. The schools are established for the benefit of the communities that is, to educate the children of the community to be responsible for the society. This may be one of the reasons why community members call for the attention of community school interactions.

The interaction between the community and schools in the education of the citizens is essential. The community needs to monitor and supervise the schools to see to their needs, problems and progress towards the education of their children. Ojedele (2000) defined school community relations as ways by which the school relates with the immediate and large communities where the schools are allocated. Contextually, a school community relation is the deliberate and sustainable effort to establish and maintained mutual understanding between the school and the community. In the present day Nigeria, schools are closely associated with the communities. Most communities depend on the neighbourhood school for provision of facilities in terms of accommodation, furniture and all forms of equipment for certain activities like wedding receptions, club meetings, church services, rallies, football tournament among others. Any school that lacks such facilities may fail to attract the attention of the community. School community relations however, become important aspect of school administration. From the foregoing, it is clear that school plant maintenance is necessary in schools but the question is whether it can be used to determine the effectiveness of a school administrator.   This is because some believe that what is most essential is the teaching staff and a classroom; and that learning can take place anywhere provided the teachers teach well, hence the lip service paid to school plant maintenance by most government and their officials. This is evident from the way schools and teachers and schooling are cared for in Nigeria.

Most public secondary schools in Afikpo Education zone have dirty, unsafe, uncomfortable, life threatening and aesthetically barren school environment. Also murky deteriorated urinary, scantly stocked library with outdated, grimy materials, pigsty in place of what should be a comfortable airy room environment, broken down creaking tables, doors and chairs are among other appalling observable features. One fails to understand why students and

staff could be treated with such a degree of inhuman treatment. All around the schools, one observes eye sores created as a result of lack of maintenance of school plant. Moreover most of the students are dirty and schools have no toilet facilities. The students, teachers and even principals visit nearby bushes to ease themselves and come out without any water to wash hands. One wonders the type of education that can be realized in such schools, when one considers that education is for all round development. Consequently the students exhibit disruptive behaviours such as  excessive  noise  making,  inattentiveness,  failure  to  do  class  work  and  assignment, dodging  lessons, lateness to school, hooliganism, rioting, bullying and secret cult among others. The students as school products remain unpolished, unproductive, uncivilized, narrow minded and unappreciative of nature and its aesthetic values. As a result of this, parents blame principals for their children misbehavior and invariably leads to strained school-community relations.

The principals woefully fail to manage dutifully what has been placed in their hands. The school administrators wait for a collapse or absolute dilapidation before little effort is made to repair or replace worn out facilities. Assets do not just go bad or get spoilt because they want to. The cause rests on those who when put in charge fail to ensure the longevity of what they had been entrusted with. Asiyai (2012), stated that school facilities are not being maintained by school administrators hence their depreciation. The question is, can one judge a school by the way it looks or whether an effective principal can be determined by the way and manner he or she maintains the school plant? In other words is there any relationship between school plant maintenance and principals effectiveness? That is why this study seeks to investigate school plants maintenance as a determinant of secondary school principals effectiveness in Afikpo education zone of Ebonyi state.

Statement of the Problem

There are myriads of problems confronting the educational system in Afikpo Education Zone. The system has not only witnessed decayed facilities and infrastructures but also low morale of teachers, bullying of junior students by their seniors and examination malpractices, perpetual lateness to school and taking of hard drugs. Also, frustration, disappointment, despair, helplessness and hopelessness experienced by community members who long to use school facilities but could not due to poor state of those facilities add to the problem. The existing state of school facilities in Afikpo education zone leaves much to be desired. Some school heads in Afikpo education zone exhibit non-challant attitude towards school plant maintenance and is worrisome. The principals ignore collapse or absolute dilapidation of school facilities.  Failure to carry out the repair of a little damage today may lead to greater damage or total collapse of the system later and this is why the researcher is making a case. One never imagines the decadences of the principal’s maintenance culture with regards to school plant.

Some students enroll in science subjects such as physics and chemistry in most secondary schools in the education zone without attending practical lessons in a science laboratory, due to the absence or poorly maintained laboratory. At the end of each academic level, the students of these schools are expected to sit for the junior and senior secondary school examination and as well expected to perform like other students in Nigeria. Teachers in these` schools teach with tears  under  unfavourable  condition  and  suffer  stress  which  makes  them  ineffective  and inefficient in imparting knowledge to the students, and affects the performance of the principal as a leader of the school in achieving the stated educational objectives. Academic performances of  most  students  are  always  poor  and  some  even  drop  out  of  school  and  become  social miscreants. At times, students suffer snake bite as a result of bushy surroundings leading to

students playing truancy as well as parents complain of their wards contacting disease in the school, students are dirty, exhibit destructive behavours and morally decayed. So teachers and students  teach  and   learn  in  physical  school  environment  that   needs  extensive  repair, rehabilitation, renovation, replacement, total overhaul and beautification by the principal for positive school outcome and effective leadership.

Usually parents that want to register their wards in secondary schools after the primary school education usually find it difficult to choose a school for their wards. This is because there is basically no way of ascertaining good schools. Aesthetics is usually give good school tone but does it really determines principals’ effectiveness especially in public schools where almost everything is left in the hands of government. This study will help in determining the relationship between school plant maintenance and secondary school principals’ effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study

The  main  purpose  of  this  study was  to  investigate  school  plant  maintenance  as  a determinant of secondary school principals’ effectiveness in Afikpo education zone of Ebonyi states. Specifically the study intended to;

1.  Ascertain the relationship between principals’ transformational leadership and school plant maintenance.

2.  Examine  the  relationship  between  teachers’  instructional  behaviours  and  school  plant maintenance.

3.  Determine  the  relationship  between  students’  academic  achievements  and  school  plant maintenance.

4.  Find out the relationship between students’ discipline and school plant maintenance.

5.  Ascertain   the   relationship   between   school   community   relations   and   school   plant maintenance.

Significance of the Study

The findings of this study would be beneficial in theoretical and practical dimensions. Theoretically, the study was hinged on systems theory and Mcgregor’s Theory X and Theory Y. Systems theory was developed by Bertalanfy in 1947. Bertalanfy (1968) defined a system as a complex of elements in interaction. The theory views organizations as a social system. The main thrust of this theory is that all the parts of anything are so related and so dependent that the interaction of any part affects the whole. The array of components is designed to accomplish set objectives. The implication of this theory to the study is that the entire school is a system where the  interaction  and  interdependence  of  parts  with  each  other  to  achieve  stated  goals  and objectives is applicable. School plant maintenance is an integral function that can influence other activities in the school and make or mar the principals’ effectiveness. This study will therefore authenticate the systems theory of the relationship between various parts of a system. The second theory used was McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y developed by McGregor in 1960.

Practically the study would be beneficial to the following stakeholders; principals; parents; Ebonyi State secondary Education Board, Ministry of Education Officials, Ebonyi State government, researchers and the general public.

The findings of this study would beneficial to principals in the sense that principals would have good working relations with the teachers, students, parents and school board. It would create awareness that their effectiveness can be determined by mere observation of the extent school is maintained. It will help principals to facilitate regular and effective supervision

of school plant and effect repair or replacement of damaged or stolen items. This can be achieved through organizing seminars, conferences and workshops.

The findings would beneficial to parents in the sense that students would come out with good results. It would also be an eye-opener to the parents and they would be able to make a decision. Parents would be able to make a decision which school is good enough for their wards by mere observation of the school plant and its maintenance, they will be able to make choices of the types of schools they want for their wards. Parents would benefit through public enlightenment programme and  sensitization programme on  maintenance  of public  facilities especially school plant.

The result of this study would be beneficial to Secondary Education Board and Ministry of Education Officials in the sense that it would give them a standard to supervise maintenance of school plant by the principals. This would make the officials consider this aspect of school management in their supervisory roles. It would create the awareness and opportunity to the officials. In addition Ebonyi State government would benefit as the result of the study would x- ray the relationship between school plant maintenance and principals effectiveness.

This  study is  further  expected  to  contribute  to  the  existing  literature.  It  would  be beneficial to present and future researchers as it would provide an added working document or literature in investigating other areas not covered by this study, thereby serving as a reference point to researchers. In addition the findings of this study would provide researchers and text book writers the basic empirical information on school plant maintenance and overall effectiveness of secondary education system.

Scope of the Study

The study was conducted in Afikpo Education zone of Ebonyi State. The present study was delimited to public secondary schools in Afikpo education zone of Ebonyi state. The content scope  focused  on  secondary school  principals’  effectiveness  in  terms  of;  transformational leadership style; teachers instructional behaviour; students academic performance; students discipline and school community relations.

Research Questions

The following research questions were posed to guide the study.

1.  What is the relationship between principals’ transformational leadership and school plant maintenance?

2.  What  is  the  relationship  between  teachers’  instructional  behaviours  and  school  plant maintenance?

3.  What  is  the  relationship  between  students’  academic  achievement  and  school  plant maintenance?

4.  What is the relationship between students discipline and school plant maintenance?

5.  What is the relationship between school-community relations and school plant maintenance?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and were tested at 0.05 level of significance.

HO1:  There is no significant relationship between principal’s transformational leadership and school plant maintenance.

HO2: There is no significant relationship between teachers’ instructional behaviours and school plant maintenance.HO3:   There is no significant relationship between students’ academic achievement and school plant maintenance.

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