A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF INTERNAL EFFECIENCY IN PUBLIC AND

PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KADUNA STATE

BY

MANNIR SURAJO FALALU EZ/17/GECO/059

TAIMAKO CHONGSOMMIDAH EZ/17/BICH/316

HUSSAINI IBRAHIM EZ/17/BICH/455

DAUDA KAMAL EZ/17/BICH/385

A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO SCHOOL OF EDUCATION,

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
ZARIA. IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE
AWARD OF NIGERIAN CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION (NCE).

MAY, 2021

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 DECLARATION

We declared that this research project title “A Comparative Analysis of Internal

Efficiency in Public and Private Secondary Schools in Kaduna State, is a record of our

effort. We will accept any responsibility for any shortcoming contained therein. All

materials used from other sources of information and authors are specially acknowledged

in the references.

---------------------------------------- ------------------------
MANNIR SURAJO FALALU DATE
EZ/17/GECO/059

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TAIMAKO CHONGSO DATE
EZ/17/BICH/316

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DAUDA KAMAL DATE
EZ/17/BICH/385

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HUSSAINI IBRAHIM DATE
EZ/17/BICH/455

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i
 APPROVAL PAGE

This project has been read and approved as meeting the requirement of the

Department of Secondary Education, for the award of the Nigerian Certificate in

Education (NCE) Federal College of Education Zaria.

------------------------------------------- --------------------------
Malam Y. Y Maina Date
Project Supervisor

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Mal. Ahmed Shehu Date
Project Coordinator

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Dr. Hadiza Bello Date
Head of Department

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 DEDICATION

This research work is dedicated to Almighty ALLAH who has given us strength

power to carry out the work. And also dedicated this research work to our beloved

parents for their Moral and financial support.

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Our profound gratitude goes to Almighty ALLAH who gave us strength,

knowledge and authority to accomplished this research work. And most importantly, we

want to register deepest gratitude to our project supervisor in person of Malam Y. Y.

Maina who took his special time and energy in making this research work to be a reality,

and all our department lecturers, collogues and friends may Almighty ALLAH bless you

abundantly. Our special gratitude goes to our beloved parents, brothers and sisters and

other relatives who has been help us financially, emotionally, encourage and even

through prayers, may almighty ALLAH bless you all.

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 ABSTRACT
This research work explores on A Comparative Analysis of Internal Efficiency in Public and
Private Secondary Schools in Kaduna State. The objectives of this research were: To assess the
relationship between principals’ quality, and students’ academic performance in private and public
secondary schools in Kaduna State. To determine the relationship between teachers’ quality, and
students’ academic performance in private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State. To
investigate the relationship between physical and material resources, and students’ academic
performance in private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State. To assess the relationship
between supervision mechanisms and students’ academic performance in private, and public
secondary schools in Kaduna State. The study was limited to the assessment of the internal
efficiency of public and private secondary schools in Kaduna State in 2018, 2019 and 2020
academic sessions. The significance of the study includes, it is hoped that the outcome of this study
would give education policy makers, school administrators and teachers valuable information on
how educational efficiency could be improved. The findings of this study would be of significance to
all those who wish to raise the standard of education in Kaduna State because an increase in
educational efficiency will result in improved students’ performance. The results of the study would
also increase knowledge and stimulate further research. For instance, a more comprehensive study
could be embarked upon by the State in all its schools in order to identify and help to minimize the
factors that impede internal efficiency. The research design used for this study was the descriptive
survey. It is also referred to as ex post facto because the events that were studied had taken place
and the researcher did not manipulate any of the variables. In conclusion, Money matters greatly in
the procurement of physical and material resources, and for adequate payment of personnel in
schools. However, this study focused on how more quality students’ academic performance could
be achieved with resources at current levels. This is on the premises that the primary responsibility
of schools is to improve students’ academic performance. Principals and teachers should focus
their attention on teaching and learning. Principals, especially, are expected to bring about the
needed transformation in schools. We recommend that; Educational administrators and policy
makers must focus their attention on these three key variables because they have the greatest
potential for enhancing internal efficiency. The Federal Ministry of Education must spear head a
research-based reform policy that will improve the quality of education in Nigeria.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page - - - - - - - - - - - i
Declaration - - - - - - - - - - - ii
Approval page - - - - - - - - - - iii
Dedication - - - - - - - - - - - iv
Acknowledgement- - - - - - - - - - v
Abstract - - - - - - - - - - - vi
Table of contents - - - - - - - - - - vii
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study- - - - - - - - - 1
1.2 Statement of the Problems- - - - - - - - 3
1.3 Objectives of the Study- - - - - - - - - 5
1.4 Research Questions- - - - - - - - - 6
1.5 Research Hypothesis- - - - - - - - - 6
1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study- - - - - - - 7
1.7 significance of the study- - - - - - - - - 8
CHAPTER TWO
RELATED LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction- - - - - - - - - - 10
2.2 Concept of Internal Efficiency- - - - - - - - 10
2.3 Previous Researches on Internal Efficiency of Schools- - - - - 12
2.4 Students Academic Performance-- - - - - - - 14
2.5 Education Production Function- - - - - - - - 16
2.6 Principals Quality- - - - - - - - - 17
2.7 Teachers Quality- - - - - - - - - - 19
2.8 Physical and Materials Resources- - - - - - - 20
2.9 Summary and Appraisal of Literature Review- - - - - - 21

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 CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research design- - - - - - - - - - 23
3.2 Population of the Study- - - - - - - - - 23
3.3 Sample size and Sampling Procedure- - - - - - - 23
3.4 Research Instrument- - - - - - - - - 24
3.5 Validity of the Instrument- - - - - - - - 25
3.6 Reliability of the Instrument- - - - - - - - 26
3.7 Method of Data Analysis-- - - - - - - - 26
3.8 Method of Data Analysis-- - - - - - - - 27
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 The Demographic Characteristics of Principals- - - - - - 29
4.2 The Demographic Characteristics of Teachers- - - - - - 31
4.3 Discussion of Findings- - - - - - - - - 37
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary -- - - - - - - - - - 41
5. 2 Conclusion- - - - - - - - - - 42
5.3 Recommendations- - - - - - - - - 44
References
Appendix

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The importance of education has always been emphasized over the ages. For
example, Cohn (2017) states that education is the single most important determinant of a
person’s economic and social success. Cohn quotes some world-famous philosophers to
support this assertion. According to Cohn, Plato had declared that, “the direction in
which education starts a man will determine his future life”. Also Plato had affirmed
that, “education is the best provision for old age” and that, “educated men are as much
superior to uneducated men as the living is to the dead”. It is in realization of the
importance of education that the Federal Government of Nigeria in the National Policy
on Education (4th. ed.). (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2014), describes it as an instrument
par excellence for effecting national development. Ejiogu (2019) equally asserts that: Not
only is education the greatest force that can be used to bring about redress, it is also the
greatest investment that the nation can make for the quick development of its economic,
political, sociological and human resources. It is the most important instrument of
change, as any fundamental change in the intellectual and social outlook of any society
can be preceded by educational revolution.
Secondary education is a crucial level in the education system because secondary
schools are the recipients of products of primary schools and the source of candidates for
tertiary education. Public schools are run with tax payers’ money while private schools
generate their own revenues. Public schools are usually accessible to the children of the
general public because they are run by the government, whether federal, state or local.
Even people whose children do not attend these schools still help, through their taxes, to
ensure that the people in the society are educated. However, in the United States of
America (USA), some public schools, including those run by School Districts, which
rely on non-public funding such as high fees or private donations, are still considered
public by virtue of public ownership and control (Public Schools, 2016).
Private schools are those run by individuals, groups, corporate bodies and
missionary societies. They retain the right to select their students and are run in whole or
in part with the fees they charge the students. In the United Kingdom, some private
secondary schools are called public schools. However, the term "public schools" is used
for older and more prestigious schools like Cheltenham, Eton, and Harrow (Private
Schools, 2016). In many countries of the world, including Nigeria, formal education was
initiated by private proprietors. For example, schools were privately run in Southern
Nigeria between 1842 and 1882 by missionaries.
Public schools, on the other hand, consist of Federal Government Unity Schools
called Federal Government secondary schools, model secondary schools and
conventional state secondary schools. Community secondary schools are categorized as

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public schools in Kaduna State because they are usually established and eventually
transferred to government for funding and management.
Quality education is defined by Juran (as citied in Babalola, Adedeji and Erwat,
2017) as “fitness to purpose” in relation to the user and customer’s needs. In other words,
quality education means the end products conform to standards in meeting the needs of
the students, parents and the society. Quality education involves quality of learners,
quality of content, quality of processes, quality of the learning environment and quality
of outcomes (UNESCO, 2010). Therefore, the variables in this study were derived from
the definition of quality education. The variables were: principals’ quality, teachers’
quality, and physical and material resources (input variables); supervision mechanisms,
discipline process, academic learning time and parental involvement (process variables);
and the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results
(outcome variable). Discipline involves conformity to school rules and regulations by
both students and teachers. Sammons, Thomas and Mortimore (2017) reports that school
and department ethos and order are important in determining academic effectiveness in
secondary schools. Also Craig, Kraft and Du Plessis (as cited in UNICEF, 2010) state
that well-managed classrooms contribute to quality of education. Academic learning time
comprises allocated time, instructional time and engaged time (Time and Learning,
2017). T & L concludes that time matters; but how much or how little it matters depends
on the degree to which it is devoted to appropriate instruction.
1.2 Statement of the Problem

A radically improved education is a pre-requisite for achieving sustained

economic growth at a level sufficiently high enough to reduce poverty, and to help build
a democratic and equitable society. No society can achieve these objectives without a
high level of adult literacy and a sufficient coverage of basic education. Low quality of
education is the single most significant constraint to achieving both Education for All
(EFA) goals and helping countries to successfully benefit from technological revolution
(UNESCO, 2016). The Kaduna State education system is confronted with many
constraints which have resulted in poor quality education. Ijaiya (2014) stated that the
dwindling quality of education in Kaduna State was depicted by poor pupils’
achievement in basic skills and public examinations. The researcher expatiated that the
performance of primary and secondary school students in National Common Entrance
Examination and University Matriculation Examinations (UME) respectively in most
subjects, especially the Sciences, English and Mathematics was woeful. Many who
passed could possibly have been aided through examination malpractice, which is why
many students migrate to rural schools for opportunities to cheat. Some principals,
headmasters, and teachers assist students to cheat. Students’ dread of English Language
and Mathematics at virtually all levels of the education system is traceable to very weak
primary schools which create problems for the upper levels.
Kaduna State is one of the 22 Educationally Less Developed States (ELDSs)
(Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2009c). The Federal Ministry of Education in a circular
(Ref. FME/S/518/Vol. 1/99) of September 2, 1983 enjoined all universities in the country

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to promote diversity in their admission policies. The Educationally Less Developed
States are the late starters in acquiring Western education. Candidates from these states
are therefore given special concessions in the admission policies to enable them catch up
with their counterparts from the educationally more advanced states (Oloyede, 2019).
Abdullahi (2018) opines that Nigeria is one of the few countries in the world where
parents are more educated than their children. Abdullahi laments that the public primary
and secondary schools that produced some of the country’s all-time best brains have long
disappeared. Private schools have become alternatives. However, as private schools are
driven mainly by business motives, the poor are consequently priced out of quality
education.
The persistent academic performance gaps between students in public and private
schools, and the obvious disparities among the states will not only endanger growth and
prosperity of the State and Nigeria as a whole but will hamper individual students’
achievement. The government, according to the Nigerian Constitution (1999), is
expected to provide equal and adequate educational opportunities for all citizens at all
levels. This provision is being threatened. It was against this background that this study
analyzed the internal efficiency of public and private secondary schools in Kaduna State.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The objectives of this research were:

a) To assess the relationship between principals’ quality, and students’

academic performance in private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State.

b) To determine the relationship between teachers’ quality, and students’

academic performance in private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State.

c) To investigate the relationship between physical and material resources,

and students’ academic performance in private and public secondary schools in

Kaduna State.

d) To assess the relationship between supervision mechanisms and students’

academic performance in private, and public secondary schools in Kaduna State.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions guided this study:

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 a) Is there any relationship between principals’ quality and students’

academic performance in private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State?

b) Is there any relationship between teachers’ quality and students’ academic

performance in private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State?

c) Is there any relationship between physical and material resources and

academic performance in private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State?

d) Is there any relationship between supervision mechanisms and students’

academic performance in private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were proposed for this study:

a) Principals’ quality has no significant relationship with students' academic

performance in private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State.

b) Teachers’ quality has no significant relationship with students' academic

performance in private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State.

c) Physical and material resources have no significant relationship with

students’ academic performance in private and public secondary schools in

Kaduna State.

d) Supervision mechanisms has no significant relationship with students'

academic performance in private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State.

1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study was limited to the assessment of the internal efficiency of public and
private secondary schools in Kaduna State in 2017, 2018 and 2019 academic sessions.

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The rationale for choosing these academic sessions was that they were the most recent
years because the field work was carried out in the schools in 2009. These years were
also used as a time frame to find an aggregate, and therefore make the WASSCE results
more reliable as a measure of the outcome in the schools. The WASSCE examination
results were meant to measure the knowledge and skills that students must have acquired
during their period of schooling. Principals, teachers and students participated in the
study. There are two categories of school’s internal efficiency, namely analysis of
wastage in the flow of students (quantity) and analysis of the quality of the secondary
school education. This study was limited to the evaluation of the quality of students’
academic performance at the end of secondary education. The study was limited to the
cognitive and psychomotor outcomes of education because these are easier to measure
than the affective domain of education.

1.7 Significance of the Study

Analysis of the education system can help to identify efficient and less
efficient schools.
a) It is hoped that the outcome of this study would give education policy makers,

school administrators and teachers valuable information on how educational

efficiency could be improved.

b) The findings of this study would be of significance to all those who wish to raise the

standard of education in Kaduna State because an increase in educational efficiency

will result in improved students’ performance.

c) The results of the study would also increase knowledge and stimulate further

research. For instance, a more comprehensive study could be embarked upon by

the State in all its schools in order to identify and help to minimize the factors that

impede internal efficiency.

d) It is hoped that the study would help to enhance efficient utilization of human and

material resources, including the use of teachers' and students' time for improved

educational outcomes. A strong educational system is a driving force for

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 economic prosperity; hence the question about what determines educational

efficiency is of special importance. The desire for knowledge on the education

production function, and the sources of inefficiency at any level of education is a

sufficient justification to continue to carry out research on the topic.

e) Education expenditure can be reduced drastically if schools are run efficiently and

institutions could still achieve the same or even better quality education.

Whatever the value of wasted resources, it will be small compared to the human

and economic wastages that will be created by inferior education.

f) If the education system is inefficient, the cost of education will be out of reach for

most potential students, and the quality of their lives and those of their

communities would also be adversely affected; especially the present harsh

economic times require efficient management of schools.

Chapter Two
Review of Relevant Literature
2. 1 Introduction
Extensive review of literature relevant to this study is presented in this chapter. It
provided focus to the study and was based on the collective body of past works. It was
further used to identify the variables in this research. This literature reviews therefore,

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helped in the formulation of this study’s problem, objectives, research questions and
finally the hypotheses. The review focuses on the following issues: (1) concept of
efficiency, (2) internal efficiency, (3) quality education, (4) education production
function, and (5) students’ academic performance. Also, some previous works on all the
variables of the current research were reviewed. These variables are: principals’ quality,
teachers’ quality, physical and material resources, supervision mechanisms, discipline
process, academic learning time, and parental involvement.
2.2 Concept of Internal Efficiency
DFID, Education Department (2013) quotes Lockheed and Hanushek who state
that Efficiency refers to a ratio between inputs and outputs. A more efficient system
obtains more outputs for a given set of resources (inputs), or achieves a comparative
levels of output for fewer inputs, other things being equal…. The output of education
refers to that portion of student’s growth or development that can reasonably be attributed
to specific educational experiences. According to Abagi and Odipo (2018), the terms
“quality of education”, “school quality”, “school efficiency” and “school effectiveness”
are often used interchangeably; and they are all associated with students’ levels of
academic (cognitive) performance in examinations. For example, if students’ test scores
in external examinations are low, the school is seen to be of low quality and, therefore,
inefficient. Abagi and Odibo explain further that the school would be considered
incapable of increasing students’ ability to contribute to the overall development of their
society, and therefore not efficient.
Furthermore, donor agencies usually equate quality with efficiency. For instance,
World Bank – based studies usually focus on pupils’ academic or cognitive achievement
(Heyman and Oneley; Fuiler; Simmons & Alexander; as cited in Abagi and Odipo,
2018). Abagi and Odipo’s study revealed that teachers, parents, politicians and Ministry
of Education officials are impressed by how children perform in national examinations.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO (2003)
recommends that a large number of data be collected to analyze the efficiency or
inefficiency of schools. Such data should be arranged in a logical order. The UNESCO
states that the activities carried out to train pupils, students and adults fall within system
logic (those things) that are consumed during the process of training and produce results
(outputs). This process of analysis, therefore, involves the following:
a) Resources, which include data concerning the programs; the

pedagogical methods; the pedagogical organization; infrastructure, school

spaces and equipment, and didactic or teaching materials and resources

allocated to administrative management.

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 b) Process can be broken down into six items, namely the programs, the

pedagogical methods, the pedagogical organization, the internal efficiency, and

the cost as well as funding.
c) The results are analyzed from several angles such as the evaluation

procedures, the future of the students at the end of the education cycle, and the

integration of the students into the world of work.

Schools, therefore, may be viewed as production units that use inputs to produce outputs.

Stupnyskyy (2014) states that even though one cannot say what the maximum level of

output could possibly be, one can estimate it by observing the schools that produce the

most outputs at a given level of inputs. Inefficiency is then measured using the gap

between a given school and the most efficient school. It is important to note that the

notion of efficiency differs from that of effectiveness even though the two are related.

2.3 Previous Researches on Internal Efficiency of Schools

Stupnyskyy (2014) studied efficiency in all the 270 private and public secondary
schools in the Czech Republic. Scores in mathematics and the Czech language, and the
percentage of school leavers that gained admission to universities were used as dependent
variables by the researcher. The independent variables included skills of students who
went to the gymnasium, the number of students per classroom and index of other school
facilities which included student – teacher ratio, percentage of internal teachers, existence
of students’ advice centre, cooperation with foreign schools and sorting out of students
(streaming). The analysis showed that there was a significant variation in efficiency
between schools and this efficiency was related to teachers and school characteristics.
The research showed that private schools performed better than public schools. It also
found that teacher – pupil ratio, percentage of internal teachers, existence of students’
advice centre, cooperation with foreign schools, and sorting of students all had positive
effects on students’ performance. Stupnyskyy (2014) employed the input - output
analysis, that is, education production function. Education production function was also
used in the present study. However, the dependent and independent variables were
different from those of Stupnyskyy. Stupnyskyy used the coefficients of multiple
regression analysis to rank the 270 Czech schools according to their levels of efficiency.

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The coefficients of determination (R2) of the public and private secondary schools in
Kaduna State were used to determine the efficiency levels of the two categories of
schools in this present study.
Adkins and Moomaw (2015) estimated technical efficiency of Oklahoma schools
also using the education production function. The independent variables in that study
were teachers’ years of experience, percentage of teachers with advanced degree,
percentage of non-white students eligible for federally funded or reduced payment for
lunch in school, percentage of non-white students, and percentage of students classified
as possessing Limited English Proficiency (LEP). Students’ test scores were the
dependent variable. The study of Adkins and Moomaw (2015) found that among teachers
characteristics, years of experience appeared to be more important than either the
possession of an advanced degree or salary. Lunch is a significant environmental variable
as free lunch is an indicator of poverty which reduces the ability of students to overcome
past poor performance. Limited proficiency in English was not a problem in Oklahoma
schools. Students’ characteristics are important but are largely beyond a school’s district
control. Public schools educate all eligible children in a district; they cannot pick and
choose who to admit to their schools.
2.4 Students’ Academic Performance

The most common and familiar measure of the outcome of the process of teaching
and learning is examination. Some critics argue that examination is an imperfect process
and therefore not a true test of knowledge especially when someone has failed. Another
criticism is that people often study for examinations without being educated (Igwe,
2001). Igwe however maintains that for now, there is no better index for measuring the
ability or the level of attainment of students in education. Academic performance refers
to how students deal with their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different
tasks given to them by their different teachers. Academic performance also means the
ability to study and remember facts, and be able to communicate the knowledge that has
been acquired verbally or write it down on paper (Academic Performance, 2010). The
term “academic performance” and “academic achievement” are often used
interchangeably. Academic performance is how students cope with given tasks or
examinations. Academic achievement, on the other hand, can be defined as excellence in
all academic disciplines in class as well as co-curricular activities. Achievement includes
excellence in sports, behavior, confidence, communication skills, punctuality,
assertiveness, art, culture and so on. Therefore, achievement is broader than performance.
(Academic achievement, 2010).

Ijaiya recommends the publication of league tables. Brighouse and Woods (2018) also
agree and declare that OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) have reported that
through the impact of league tables, parental choice, and the compilation of annual data,
the rise or decline of students’ academic performance can be spotted more quickly and
prompt intervention provided. Ogunsaju (2010) suggests that the Quality Assurance

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Bureau in Nigeria just like the National Commission on Excellence in Education in the
USA, should make recommendations to the State Government on a continuous basis on
how to make schools better in order to develop the talents of all the students to their
fullest potential.
The highest standard set by the Quality Assurance Instrument is 75% and above in
external examinations. Kaduna State set an ambitious target to attain 80% of students that
would obtain 5 credits and above including Mathematics and English Language by 2005.
However, the overall average performance for public and private schools was 21.41% for
the three years covered in this study. This is far less than the benchmark set by the
Federal Inspectorate Service, and the target set by the Kaduna State Ministry of
Education. The most disturbing aspect is that the performance of both public and private
schools declined over the three years. The selected private schools scored 41.06% in
2007, 40.73% in 2008 and 35.70% in 2009. Also, the public schools scored 4.60% in
2007, 2.89% in 2008 and 3.85% in 2009, which was higher than that of 2008 but lower
than that of 2017.

2.5 Education Production Function

This study used education production function to identify sources of efficiency.

Inputs and processes variables were correlated with academic performance. Cohn (1979),
defines education production functions as: some mathematical relation describing how
educational resources (inputs) can be transformed into educational outputs (outcomes).
To describe an educational production function, it is therefore necessary to define and
measure the inputs, outputs, and last (but not the least) the process by which the inputs
are transformed into outputs. In general terms, it is commonly recognized that
educational outputs are functions of a number of inputs. They include students’
characteristics, school related factors and other community influences. The school related
factors are of particular interest to the economists because these are the inputs that
typically can be manipulated by the school administrator and hence influence resource
allocation in schools (p. 164).
Production process is often referred to when inputs are transformed into outputs.
For example, if 10 units of outputs are produced by a producer from 3 units of input A
and 2 units of inputs B, and another producer combines 3 units of input A and 2 units of
input B to produce 9 units of outputs, there is an element of inefficiency on the part of the
second producer (Monk, 1990). However, Monk (1990) explains that there may be many
reasons for the inefficiency of the second producer. It may be that the quality of the
inputs is not what it was assumed to be, or it may be that the nine units being produced
are of higher quality than the 10 units used as the standard. On the other hand, if there is
no problem with the measurement of inputs or outcomes, and the producer fails to
produce the 10 units known to be possible where the variables are constant, then the
producer is technically inefficient. At the school level, if school A were to admit 100

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students and 30 students dropped out during their educational program; if out of the 70
students remaining only 40 students were able to gain admission into higher institutions it
would be said that this school was less efficient. On the other hand, if school B were to
admit 100 students and only 5 students dropped out; and out of the 95 students who
completed their educational cycle, about 90 were admitted into higher institutions; If per
student costs in schools A and B were about the same, school B could be said to be very
efficient (Beckerman, 1995). The concept of productivity takes into consideration both
the quantity and quality of the results that are achieved. In other words, to produce more
in terms of quantity with a given amount of available resources is not enough. The quality
of whatever is produced must also meet with the pre-determined standards, which reflect
customers’ expectation. In other words, it is not the number of products of secondary
schools that matters, but how relevant they are to the societal aspirations and needs
(Cohn, 1971). All these considerations are important especially now that the Federal
Inspectorate Service has come out with measurable targets that can be used by Nigerian
schools (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2009b) to evaluate their levels of performance and
efficiency.
2.6 Principals’ Quality

The principal is the chief executive of the school. The responsibility of the entire school
administration lies on his head (Nwankwo and Lulsegged, 2015). According to Alani
(2011) and Madumere (2015), the world of education has become so complex, so
volatile, so dynamic that those who administer it must be more than just good teachers,
lecturers or professors; they must be well trained in the art and science of modern
management techniques including strategic planning. Sidhu (2017) equally asserts that a
principal can make or mar a school by his administrative efficiency or incompetence.
Therefore, the school head must be a man of academic achievement for him to enjoy the
confidence, regard and esteem of his colleagues and students. Adequate academic and
professional training will enable the principal to guide teachers in the techniques of
teaching and discipline. However, acquired academic and professional training may
become obsolete after some time. Therefore, the principal needs to ensure his
professional growth by attending seminars, conferences and workshops. A good number
of universities in Nigeria offer courses in educational administration and management.
Some colleges of education also offer courses in administration or management.
Universities award postgraduate diploma in Educational Administration and Planning,
Master in Education (M.Ed.), Master of Philosophy (M. Phil.), and Doctor of Philosophy
(Ph. D.). (Alani, 2001). The National Institute for Educational Planning and
Administration, Ondo was established in 1992. According to Alani, one of the major
objectives of the institute is to enhance the continuous professional development of
practitioners through planning and training programs directed at equipping and enhancing
the competence of serving officers on educational planning and administration.
However, the educationist laments the lack of a conscious plan to groom people for
administrative positions as there is no definite arrangement to prepare subordinates such
as Vice-Principals to ensure continued effectiveness and efficiency of the school system.

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2.7 Teachers’ Quality

Teachers constitute the second most important input in any educational system
after the learners. Without efficient and effective teachers in the education industry,
qualitative learning outcomes cannot be achieved (Adegboyeje, 2010). According to
Adeboyeje, the problem of teacher supply is not only that of numbers. It is first and
foremost a problem of quality. It is crucial to get a large enough quantity in a large
enough quality. The National Policy on Education (4th ed.). (NPE, 2014) stipulates that
the minimum qualification for entry into the teaching profession shall be the Nigerian
Certificate in Education. The same policy states that no education can rise above the
quality of its teachers. Therefore, teachers must be provided with the intellectual and
professional background adequate for them to carry out their assignment as well as make
them adaptable to changing situations. Sidhu (2017) observes that students of today are
very alert and inquisitive; therefore, a teacher should be sufficiently qualified to give
them competent guidance. To the writer therefore, any academic weakness on teachers’
part will lower their prestige in the eyes of their students. Professional training on the
other hand is a precondition for job efficiency. Teachers’ quality is the most important
school-related factor that influences students’ achievement (Price, 2013).
Academic qualification is very crucial; studies in the USA have found that the
knowledge base and teacher preparation have important influence on instruction. Several
of these studies showed that when covering topics in which they were well prepared,
teachers would welcome questions and discussions and spent less time on unrelated
topics. When covering unfamiliar topics, teachers would discourage active participation
by students (Indicators, 2018). Therefore, in order to strengthen the knowledge base,
increasing numbers of States now require that teachers should have a college major, or a
minimum number of credits in the subject they plan to teach. This is because only quality
teachers can give intellectually challenging teaching (US Department of Education,
2017).
2.8 Physical and Material Resources

According to Gray (2013), it is fashionable among researchers and policy makers

to assert that resources cannot buy success. Also, Gray argues that though adequate levels
of resources are necessary for a school to be effective, they cannot be a sufficient
condition for it to be successful. Apart from the acute shortages of classroom facilities,
about 58.8% more teachers are needed even at the primary school level in Kaduna State
(Alabi, 2016). Resources such as classroom facilities were in short supply even at the
primary school level which should lay a sound foundation for other levels of the
education system. Alabi laments that the major problem that militates against good
education is lack of adequate funding. The writer concludes that educational policies
require a huge amount of money, and that no amount is too much for the educational
system.

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Madumere (2017) observes that the success of the educational system lies in adequate
teaching and learning facilities. Adequate provision of physical and material resources
are necessary if schools are to change from teacher-centered method to the new approach
that is learner-centered. When physical and material resources are not adequate, most
students graduate without seeing, let alone use some basic workshop and laboratory tools
such as spanners, soldering irons, test tubes and so on. The role of the library in Nigeria
is changing with the innovations in educational methods. Some schools have internet
facilities. The students in this kind of environment would have learnt the habit of seeking
and finding information on their own by the time they leave school. All facilities and
equipment must be efficiently utilized in order to derive optimum benefits from them.
The facilities should also be properly maintained in order to prolong their life span
(Madumere, 2017).
2.9 Summary and Appraisal of Literature Review

Many research studies on internal efficiency in Nigeria were based mainly on

cohort analysis or the flow of students through the system with a minimum of wastage in
terms of repeaters and dropouts. This current study focused on the qualitative aspect of
secondary education using education production function, that is, input, process and
output analysis. Studied the relationship between resource – use efficiency and
productivity, in secondary schools. While Famade relied on input to measure
productivity, this current research combined a wider range of input and process variables
to measure the output of secondary education. Therefore, this present study filled a big
gap. It also compared the internal efficiency of private and public secondary schools. This
emphasis on comprehensive analysis of internal efficiency was motivated by similar
studies by Abagi and Odipo (2017), Stupnyskyy (2014) and Adkins and Moowaw (2015).
Abagi and Odipo studied the efficiency of Kenya’s primary education system from a
process while the current research combined input and process variables.
However, the three studies mentioned above were all funded by internal

organizations. Equally, extensive review of relevant literature was carried out on all the

seven independent variables namely principals’ quality, teachers’ quality, physical and

material resources, supervision mechanisms, discipline process, academic learning time

and parental involvement, and the dependent variable (students’ output in terms of

academic performance). Evidence from the literature review of Aigboje (2015), and

Buckingham (2015) revealed that private schools performed better academically than

public schools. Interestingly, Stupnyskyy’s study found that Czech public secondary

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schools performed better academically than private secondary schools. An overwhelming

evidence from literature review indicates that principals’ quality contribute in no small

measure to academic performance of students.

Chapter Three

Research Methodology

3.1 Research Design

The research design used for this study was the descriptive survey. It is also
referred to as ex post facto because the events that were studied had taken place and the
researcher did not manipulate any of the variables. The study was also correlational and
comparative. This is because it compared the internal efficiency of public and private
secondary schools in Kaduna State.
3.2 Population of the Study
The population of the study comprised all the 237 public schools and the 90
government - approved private secondary schools (as at 2009) in Kaduna State. The
participants included principals, teachers and students in the schools. Kaduna State was
chosen because it is one of the 22 Educationally Less Developed States (ELDSs) in the
country whose students consistently perform poorly in external examinations such as
West African Senior School Examinations (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2009c). The
Educationally Less Developed States are late starters in acquiring Western education.
3.3 Sample and Sampling Procedure

Proportionate Stratified Random Sampling technique was used based on

ownership or proprietorship of the schools; and must have graduated three sets of
students. This is illustrated in Table 3. Out of 237 public schools, a sample of 52 was

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taken. There were 90 government - approved private secondary schools, so a sample of
20 was used. This represented 22% for each type of school. The schools chosen had
graduated at least three sets of students. The participants comprised 72 principals, 720
teachers and 720 students, that is 10 teachers, 10 students and 1 principal from each
school. The participating principals and teachers had taught for at least one year in their
schools. This was to ensure that participants were familiar with their schools. Private
schools in Kaduna State are concentrated in the big towns such as Ilorin and Offa, and
their environs. Thus, the sample of both private and public schools were drawn from
these areas. The oldest public school in these areas was established in 1914 while the
oldest private school was founded in 1995. Therefore, the year of establishment was used
in the selection of schools especially the private ones in order to get those that had
graduated three sets of students. Most of the private schools were initially established as
primary schools and later upgraded to secondary schools. This fact had to be taken into
consideration when selecting the schools that had graduated three sets of students.
Table 3: Number of Public and Private Secondary Schools in Kaduna State (2009)
Public Public Private Private Total Total
(Popu.) (Sample) (Popu.) (Sample) (Popu.)
(Sample)
237 52 90 20 327 72

3.4 Research Instruments

Three instruments were designed by the researcher. These were “Principals’

Evaluation of School Internal Efficiency Questionnaire (PESIEQ)”; “Teachers’

Evaluation of School Internal Efficiency Questionnaire (TESIEQ)”; and “Students’

Evaluation of School Internal Efficiency Questionnaire (SESIEQ)”. Two of the

instruments contained 89 identical four-point Likert items which covered all the seven

variables of the study (principals’ quality, teachers’ quality, parental involvement,

supervision mechanism, discipline process, physical and material resources, and

academic learning time). However, students’ questionnaire contained only 75 items

because students were not in a position to answer questions on principals’ quality and

teachers’ quality.
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 The research instruments consisted of two sections each. Section A was used to

generate background information on the schools as well as the participants. This section

comprised nine items viz: the name, location, population and type of schools; work

experience, qualifications, sex and age of principals and teachers and the school allocated

time. Section B sought the perceptions of the principals and teachers on principals’

quality, teachers’ quality, supervision mechanisms, discipline process, academic learning

time, parental involvement and physical and material resources. The students gave their

opinion on supervision mechanism, discipline process, academic learning time, parental

involvement and physical and material resources.

3.5 Validity of the Instruments

The questionnaires were based on the variables that had been identified from the
literature review. This was to ensure that the instruments measured what they were
supposed to measure and that all the variables of the study were adequately covered. The
instruments were validated by lecturers and Ph.D. students in the Department of
Educational Administration, Faculty of Education, University of Lagos.
3.6 Reliability of the Instruments

For the purpose of reliability, the three instruments were administered on two
occasions, at three-week interval to principals’, teachers’ and students’ in five public and
two private secondary schools that did not participate in the main study. The scores
obtained were correlated. The result gave the correlation coefficients which ranged
between 0.69 and 0.92 as shown in Table 4. The over – all average was 0.85. This was
declared a good measure of reliability.
Table 4: Reliability Coefficient of the Instruments
Reliability Coefficient Mean Alpha Coefficient
Principals’ Quality 3.17 0.69
Teachers’ Quality 3.36 0.83
Physical and Material Resources 3.16 0.82
Supervision Mechanisms 3.34 0.89
Discipline Process 3.23 0.92

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Academic Learning Time 3.25 0.91
Parental Involvement 3.06 0.89
Overall 3.22 0.85

3.7 Method of Data Collection

The researcher personally administered the questionnaires with the help of trained
research assistants. The research assistants who helped to administer the questionnaires
were briefed on how the participants should fill them in order to avoid mistakes. The
principals, teachers and students filled the questionnaires. Also data on examination
results were collected from the West African Examinations Council, Yaba. The physical
and material resources checklist was an adaptation of that of Tikolo (2008).
3.8 Method of Data Analysis

The independent variables were principals’ quality, teachers’ quality, parental

involvement, physical and material resources, academic learning time, discipline process
and supervision mechanisms. The dependent variable was the students’ academic
performance in WASSCE. Section A collected background information about the school
principals and teachers. Section B of the instruments used for data collection sought the
perceptions of principals, teachers and students using a four – point Likert scale. The
response options (strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree) were scored
4, 3, 2, and 1 respectively. Some of the items in the instruments were put in negative
form. This was to counteract the tendency for a respondent to automatically and
unthinkingly give the same answer to all questions (Tuckman, 1999). The negative
indication questions were reversed by directing SPSS to recode into “same variables”.
Each variable was scored by adding up all the responses. Principals’ quality had five
items. Therefore, the maximum score obtainable was 20 and least score was 5. Teachers’
quality had nine items and so had a total score of 36 and least score of 9. Discipline
process had 16 items with a maximum obtainable score of 64 and least score of 16.
Supervision mechanisms had 10 items with maximum score of 40 and minimum score of
10. Academic Learning Time had 16 items, while Parental Involvement had 10 items and
Physical and Material Resources had 23 items, with a maximum score of 92 and a
minimum score of 23. The scores for all the variables for each of the 52 public schools
and 20 private schools were added together and correlated with the mean scores of
performance in WASSCE in order to assess the internal efficiency of each category of
schools in Hypothesis.

Descriptive statistics, in the form of frequencies and percentages, were used to

show the demographic characteristics of the principals and teachers and to show the
usage of allocated time by the schools. Means and percentages were used to analyze the
WASSCE results. Thereafter, t-test for independent samples was applied to determine
whether there were differences between public and private schools in terms of all the
seven independent variables of the research. Then Pearson Product Moment Correlation
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method was used to test Hypotheses 1 - 7. The t-test was used to determine whether
there was any difference in academic performance between public and private secondary
schools (Hypothesis). Pearson Product Moment Correlation method was employed to
assess the internal efficiency of the schools (Hypothesis). In this regard, all the scores of
the responses from the 20 private schools were added together and correlated with the
performance of students in the school. The same process was done for the 52 public
schools. Then the coefficient for each type of school was used to identify the difference
between public and private schools. Multiple Regression analysis was used to further test
Hypothesis 9. The t– test was employed to test Hypothesis. Correlation matrix was used
to show at a glance how each of the independent variables correlated with the dependent
variable as well as how the independent variables correlated with one another. Also,
Multiple Regression Stepwise analysis was done to identify the best predictors of
internal efficiency of the schools.

CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF DATA ANALYSIS
4.1 The Demographic Characteristics of Principals.
Table 5 presents the demographic features of principals.

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Category Public Private Total
Gender
Male 21(40.4%) 10(50.0%) 31(43.1%)
Female 31(59.6%) 10(50.0%) 41(56.9%)
Total 52(100.0%) 20(100.0%) 72(100.0%)
Experience
1-5yrs - 8(40.0%) 8(11.1%)
6-10yrs - 7(35.0%) 7(9.7%)
11-15yrs 4(7.7%) 3(15.0%) 7(9.70%)
16-20yrs 9(17.3%) 2(10.0%) 11(15.3%)
21-25yrs 17(32.7%) - 17(23.6%)
26-30yrs 14(26.9%) - 14(19.4%)
31-35yrs 8(15.4%) - 8(11.1%)
Total Age 52(100.0%) 20(100.0%) 72(100.0%)
30-39yrs 2(3.8%) 3(15.0%) 5(6.9%)
40-49yrs 11(21.2%) 9(45.0%) 20(27.8%)
50-above 39(75.0%) 8(40.0%) 47(65.3%)
Total 52(100.0%) 20(100.0%) 72(100.0%)
Qualifications
OND/NCE - 4(20.0%) 4(5.6%)
BA/B.Sc/HND 2(3.8%) 4(20.0%) 6(8.3%)
BA.ED/ 11(21.2%) 4(20.0%) 15(20.8%)
B.Sc.ED
MA/M.Sc/PGDE 17(32.7%) 5(25.0%) 22(30.6%)
M.ED 15(28.8%) 1(5.0%) 16(22.2%)
PH.D 7(13.5%) 2(10.0%) 9(12.5%)
Total 52(100.0%) 20(100.0%) 72(100.0%)
TheDemographic Characteristics of the Principals

Table 5 shows that 31(59.6%) and 21(40.4%) of the principals in public schools
were male and female respectively while 10(50.0%) and 10(50%) respectively were
male and female principals in private schools. In addition, the cross tab between
work experience of the principals in the private and public schools in Kaduna State
revealed that many principals in public schools 17(32.7%) were more experienced
having spent between 21 and 25 years at work compared with their counterparts in
private schools 8(40.0%) who had between 1 and 5 years of work experience.
Evidence from Table 5 indicates that many of the principals in the public schools i.e.
39(75%) were 50years old and above, 11(21.2%) were between 40 and 49 years old,

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while the rest 2(3.8%) were between 30 and 39 years old. However, 3(15.0%) of the
principals in private schools were between 30 and 39 years old, 9(45.0%) were
between 40yrs and 49 years old, while the remaining 8(40.0%) were 50 years old
and above.
The academic qualifications of the principals show that 4(20.0%) of the
principals in the private schools had OND/NCE, B.A/B.Sc./HND and B.A/B.SC Ed
respectively, 5(25.0%) had M.A/M.Sc./PGDE, 1(5.0%) had M.Ed. while 2(10.0%
had Ph.D. However, 2(3.8%) of the principals in public schools had
B.A./B.SC/HND, 11(21.2%) had B.A.ED./B.SC.ED., many i.e. 17(32.7%) had
M.A/M.SC/PGDE, 15(28.8%) had M.ED. while 7(13.5%) had a Ph.D.

4.2 The Demographic Characteristics of Teachers

Demographic characteristics of the selected teachers are shown in Table 6.

Table 6: The Demographic Characteristics of Teachers

Public Private Total Ca
tegory
Gender
Male 156(31.7%) 79(39.5 %) 235(34.0%)
Female 336(68.3%) 121(60.5%) 457(66.0%)
Total 492(100.0%) 200(100.0%) 692(100.0%)
Age
20-29yrs 99(20.1%) 44(22.0%) 143(20.7%)
30-39yrs 102(20.7%) 99(49.5%) 201(29.0%)
40-49yrs 155(31.5%) 44(22.0%) 199(28.8%)
50yrs- 136(27.6%) 13(6.5%) 149(21.5%)
above
Total 492(100.0%) 200(100.0%) 692(100.0%)
Experience
1-5yrs 48(9.8%) 107(53.5%) 155(22.4%)

6-10yrs 54(11.0%) 24(12.0%) 78(11.3%)

11-15yrs 110(22.4%) 46(23.0%) 156(22.5%)

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16-20yrs 112(22.8%) 14(7.0%) 126(18.2%)
21-25yrs 98(19.9%) 9(4.5%) 107(15.5%)
26-30yrs 56(11.4%) - 56(8.1%)
31-35yrs 14(2.8%) - 14(2.0%)
Total 492(100.0%) 200(100.0%) 692(100.0%)
Teachers’ qualifications
OND/NCE 86(17.5%) 48(24.0%) 134(19.4%)
B.A/B.Sc./HND 110(22.4%) 55(27.5%) 165(23.8%)

B.A.Ed./B.Sc. Ed 152(30.9%) 68(34.0%) 220(31.8%)

MA/M.Sc./PGDE 78(15.9%) 28(14.0%) 106(15.3%)
M-ED 66(13.4%) 1(0.5% 67(9.7%)

Total 492(100.0%) 200(100.0%) 692(100.0%)

Table 6 shows that many of the teachers in public i.e. 336(68.3%) were female while the
remaining 156(31.7%) were male. Similarly, 121 or 60.5% of the teachers in private
schools were female while the rest 79 or 39.5% were male. The cross tab of work
experience of the teachers in the private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State
revealed that many of the teachers in public schools i.e. 112(22.8%) were more
experienced having spent between 16 and 20 years at work compared with those teachers
in the private schools 107(53.5%) who had between 1 and 5 years work experience.
Many of the teachers in public schools i.e. 155(31.5%) were between 40 and 49 years
old, 136(27.6%) were 50years old and above, 99(20.1%) were between 20 and 29 years
old, while the rest 90(19.7%) were between 30 and 39 years old. However, 99(45.6%) of
the teachers in the private schools were between 30 and 39 years old, 44(22.0%) were
between 40 and 49 years old and between 20 and 29 years old respectively while the
remaining 13(6.5%) were 50 years old and above. Evidence from the table shows that
many of the teachers 152(30.9%) in the public schools in Kaduna State had
B.A.Ed./B.Sc. Ed. while 66(13.4%) had M.Ed. Many of the teachers in private schools
(34.0%) had B.A/B.Sc./Ed.

Table 13: Correlation Matrix among the Internal Efficiency Variables

Variable AP PQ TQ DS SUP ALT PI PM
AP 1.000
PQ 0.418* 1.000
TQ 0.392* 0.496* 1.000
DP 0.439* 0.435* 0.621* 1.000

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SM 0.269* 0.346* 0.486* 0.706* 1.000
ALT 0.419* 0.460* 0.636* 0.862* 0.767* 1.000
PI 0.244 0.256* 0.178 0.289* 0.097 0.318* 1.000
PMS 0.437* 0.496* 0.600* 0.837* 0.605* 0.834* 0.526*
1.000

 Correlation is significant at 0.05 level (2

Key: tailed)
AP – Academic performance
PQ – Principals’ Quality
TQ – Teachers’ Quality
DP – Discipline Process
SM – Supervision Mechanisms
ALT – Academic Learning Time
PI – Parental Involvement
PMS – Physical and Material Resources

Table 13 shows that the independent variables were positively and significantly
correlated with the dependent variable. They were also positively and significantly
correlated with one another. As depicted in the Table, discipline process had the highest
relationship with academic performance (r=0.439). This was closely followed by physical
and material resources (r=0.437). Academic learning time (r=0.419) comes next, and
principals’ quality was r=0.418 in that order. In addition, the correlation between
teachers’ quality and academic performance was 0.392, supervision mechanisms,
r=0.269, and parental involvement r=0.244. Academic learning time and discipline
process had the highest correlation coefficient of 0.862 followed by physical and material
resources and discipline which was 0.837, physical and material resources and academic
learning time was 0.834, academic learning time and supervision was 0.767 and then
supervision mechanisms and discipline process was 0.706. The correlation coefficient
between principals’ quality and teachers’ quality was also 0.496, principals’ quality and
physical and material resources was 0.496. A significant relationship existed between
principals’ quality and academic learning time (r = 0.460), while principals’ quality and
discipline process was 0.435. The correlation coefficient between supervision
mechanisms and principals’ quality was 0.346. Academic learning time and teachers’
quality was 0.636. The correlation coefficient between discipline process and teachers’
quality was 0.621, while physical and material resources and teachers’ quality was 0.600,

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and supervision and teachers’ quality was 0.486 while parental involvement and teachers’
quality was 0.178.
However, the correlation coefficient between parental involvement and discipline
process was 0.289. The correlation between academic learning time and supervision
mechanism was 0.767, while the correlation coefficient between physical and material
resources was 0.605. That between academic learning time and physical and material
resources was 0.834, while parental involvement and academic learning time was 0.318.
The relationship between parental involvement and physical and material resources was
0.526. This analysis shows that all the variables were interrelated, and it supports the
choice of general systems theory as the theoretical framework for this study.
Testing of Hypotheses Hypothesis 1
H01: Principals’ quality has no significant relationship with students’ academic
performance in the private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State.
Table 14: Relationship between Principals’ Quality and Students’ Academic
Performance in Private and Public Secondary Schools in Kaduna State

School Type Variable N Mean SD r df Sig.p Remark

Private Performance 20 39.16 14.11
Principals’ Quality 20 15.15 2.18 0.55 19 0.01 Significant
Public Performance 52 3.76 5.69
Principals’ Quality 52 12.80 1.96 0.35 51 0.01 Significant
Both Performance 72 13.59 18.21
Principals’ Quality 72 13.41 2.22 0.30 70 0.00 Significant
α<0.05

Table 14 indicates that principals’ quality has a positive and significant relationship with
academic performance in private secondary schools (r = 0.55, p < 0.05). Similarly
principals’ quality has a positive and significant relationship with academic performance
in public schools (r = 0.35, p < 0.05). The coefficient for both private and public schools
is 0.30 (p < 0.05).

Hypothesis 2
H02: Teachers’ quality has no significant relationship with students’ academic
performance in the private and public secondary schools in Kaduna State.

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Table 15: Relationship between Teachers’ Quality and Students’ Academic
Performance in Private and Public Secondary Schools in Kaduna State
School Type Variable N Mean SD r df Private Sig. p Remark
Performance 20 39.16 14.11
Teachers’ Quality 20 27.53 3.65 0.52 19 0.00 Significant
Public Performance 52 3.76 5.69
Teachers’ quality 52 26.28 3.94 0.33 51 0.00 Significant
Both Performance 72 13.59 18.21
Teacher’ quality 72 26.60 3.88 0.39 70 0.01 Significant
α<0.05

Table 15 shows that a positive and significant relationship exists between teachers’
quality and students’ academic performance in private schools (r = 52, p < 0.05).
Teachers’ quality also has a positive and significant relationship with students’ academic
performance in public schools (r=0.33, p<0.05). The coefficient for both private and
public schools is 0.39 (p < 0.05).
Hypothesis 3
H03: Physical and material resources have no significant relationship with students’
academic performance in the private and public secondary schools in Kaduna
State
School Type Variable N Mean SD r df Sig.p Remark
Private Performance 20 39.16 14.11
Physical and 20 74.25 2.29 0.46 19 0.00
Significant
Material Resources
Public Performance 52 3.76 5.69
Physical and Material 52 63.01 15.37 0.31 51 0.00
Significant
Resources
Both Performance 72 13.59 18.21
Physical and Material 72 65.90 14.15 0.32 70 0.00
Significant
Resources
α<0.05

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Table 16: Relationship between Physical and Material Resources and Students’
Academic Performance in Private and Public Secondary Schools in Kaduna State

Table 16 shows a positive and significant relationship between physical and material
resources and students’ academic performance in the private schools (r = 0.46, p < 0.05).
A positive and significant relationship exists between physical and material resources and
students’ academic performance in the public schools (r = 0.31, p < 0.05). The coefficient
for private and public schools is 0.32 (p < 0.05).

4.4 Discussion of Findings

Qualifications and Years of Experience of Principals and Teachers

The demographic information shows that there were more qualified and more
experienced teachers in public than in private secondary schools in Kaduna State. Also,
the principals in public schools were better qualified and more experienced than those in
private schools. On the other hand, some OND holders were heading private secondary
schools. This conforms with the information given by the Federal Government (FRN,
2007b), and also the findings of the survey carried out by the Education Sector Analysis
Unit of the Federal Ministry of Education (FRN, 2007b) that there were unqualified
principals and teachers in private secondary schools. These findings are also in contrast
to the Minimum Standards for Schools, Nationwide (2002) guideline which stipulates
that a secondary school principal should have at least a B.Ed. or a first degree with
PGDE and a teacher should have at least an NCE.
Principals’ Quality and Students’ Academic Performance

The finding of the study showed a positive and significant relationship between
principals’ quality and students’ academic performance in public and private schools.
The coefficients were 0.55 for private, 0.35 for public schools and 0.30 for both private
and public schools (Table 14). This is in line with the assertion of Sidhu (2007) that
academic performance of students is a reflection of the quality of the school head.
Similarly, the results of Pingle and Cox’s (2007) research indicated that college
preparation programmes for aspiring principals could play an important role in helping to
link them to other people’s perception of their leadership behaviour. Rice’s (2010) study
also found that the quality of a principal affected a range of school outcomes including
teachers’ satisfaction, parents’ perception about the school their children attend and
ultimately the academic performance of students in the school. The findings of Rice’s
work demonstrated that principals with experience and skills were found to be related to
students’ academic performance but were less likely to be working in high impoverished

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and low achieving schools. This current study found more qualified and more
experienced principals in public schools than in private schools (Table 6). However, this
comparative advantage did not lead to better academic performance of students in the
public schools.

Good quality education requires leaders who have knowledge, understanding and
expertise needed for working with staff in the development of best practices in schools.
According to Wynn (as cited in California Department of Education, 2017), the principal
sets the tone for the school. Second only to the influences of classroom instruction,
school heads strongly affect students’ learning. Wynn further states that many factors
may contribute to the success of high-performing schools, but leadership is the catalyst.
The finding of this current study does not agree with all the theory and findings of other
works on the effects of good quality principals on students’ academic performance. This
is because poor quality principals’ were found in private schools which outperformed
public schools academically which had better quality principals. The implication is that
as much as a principals’ good qualification is desirable, effort must also be made to
ensure that the certification programs are aimed at providing maximum benefits to the
school system. Therefore, Nigeria should learn a lesson from the views expressed by
California Department of Education (2017):
Educational administration programs are graduating an increasing number of
certified school leaders; unfortunately, however, the process and standards by which
many principal preparation programs traditionally screen, select and graduate candidates
are often ill-defined, irregularly applied and lacking in rigor. As a result many aspiring
administrators are admitted to and are passed through the system on the basis of their
performance on academic course work rather than on a comprehensive assessment of the
knowledge, skills and dispositions needed to successfully lead schools (p. 30). In
Nigeria, Alani (2015) also recommends a review of the admission policy of candidates
for Educational Administration programmes in favour of practicing teachers rather than
undergraduates who have not yet acquired the experience that would qualify them for the
post of principal. Hill (2010) equally asserts that good quality education requires
principals who have a solid knowledge of the learning process and the condition under
which students learn. The school leaders must have knowledge about educational change
and school improvement. In other words, the principal must be a knowledge manager
with respect to teaching and learning. Hill further explains that head teachers do not
necessarily need detailed curriculum content knowledge nor do they need to be expert
teachers themselves (except in their own teaching subjects), but they do need to be able
to recognize good teaching and what it means to effectively implement different teaching
strategies in different teaching contexts.
Therefore, the quality of the certificates of principals in Kaduna State should be
verified, and also the training programmes and appointments policy of principals should
be reviewed. The fact that the private secondary schools employ unqualified personnel as
principals has serious implications for both the State’s Quality Assurance Bureau and the
Federal Inspectorate Service who should ensure that the guidelines on minimum

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standards are adhered to. The other implication is that the private schools which ensure
maximum utilization of staff may not grant them time to upgrade their qualifications as
personnel in the public schools do. This issue must be looked into because all teachers,
whether in the public or private sector, must be allowed and indeed encouraged to
upgrade their academic and professional qualifications. The major implication, however,
is that when unqualified persons are appointed as principals of schools, it will be more
difficult to employ teachers who are more qualified to work under them. This will create
a clash of personality.

Chapter Five

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

5.1 Summary of Findings

The following findings emerged from the study:

A significant relationship existed between principals’ quality and students’ academic

performance in public and private secondary schools. There was a significant
relationship between teachers’ quality and students’ academic performance in public and
private schools. There was a significant relationship between physical and material
resources and students’ academic performance in both public and private schools. There
was a significant relationship between supervision mechanisms and students’ academic
performance in public and private schools. There was a significant relationship between
discipline process and students’ academic performance in public and private schools. A
significant relationship existed between academic learning time and students’ academic
performance in public and private schools. There was no significant relationship between
students’ academic performance and parental involvement in public secondary schools.
However, a significant relationship existed between parental involvement and academic
performance in private secondary schools in Kaduna State. The private schools
performed much better than public secondary schools in the WASSCE. Statistically, the
private secondary schools were more efficient (r = 0.67, p < 0.05) than the public schools
(r = 0.45, p < 0.05). Also the coefficients of determination (R2) were 0.62 for private
schools and 0.45 for public schools.
52 Conclusion
Money matters greatly in the procurement of physical and material resources, and
for adequate payment of personnel in schools. However, this study focused on how more
quality students’ academic performance could be achieved with resources at current
levels. This is on the premises that the primary responsibility of schools is to improve
students’ academic performance. Principals and teachers should focus their attention on

i
teaching and learning. Principals, especially, are expected to bring about the needed
transformation in schools. Therefore, principals and teachers need to improve their own
academic and professional competence in order to serve their students better. The
checklist showed that neither the public nor the private secondary schools in Kaduna
State had adequate number of physical and material resources. Students’ academic
performance cannot improve unless there are adequate facilities to aid learning.
However, researchers such as Coulson (2003) worry that adequate funding, provision of
physical and material resources, and motivated teachers may not necessarily improve the
quality of education. The best strategy they claim is to study exceptionally efficient
schools, to identify what they do that make them succeed.
This is what this study had done. The school factors of internal efficiency

explored in this study were principals’ quality, teachers’ quality, parental involvement,

physical and material resources, supervision mechanisms, discipline process and

academic learning time. All the seven independent variables were positively and

significantly correlated with students’ academic performance. The exception was

parental involvement which was not significantly correlated with students’ academic

performance in the public secondary schools. This means that all the factors are of

significant importance for the internal efficiency of schools, and so all of them deserve

maximum attention in order for the schools to achieve maximum students’ outputs. The

fact that parental involvement was not significantly related to students’ academic

performance in public schools may be due to the fact that public schools are not yet fully

aware of the potential contributions of parental involvement to students’ educational

success. Therefore, staff of public schools could have erroneously failed to recognize the

need to work in partnership with parents. This anomaly must be corrected. Schools have

a massive effect on children’s life chances. All children irrespective of their background

ought to have the right to attend successful schools. Based on the grading of schools by

the Quality Assurance Instrument of the Federal Inspectorate Service, all schools

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whether public or private should strive to be outstanding. Also, it will be rewarding for

teachers themselves to work in successful schools. It is clear that neither the students nor

the teachers would be happy in schools whose products cannot aspire to get admission

into tertiary institutions. The average performances in the WASSCE results of 39.16%

by the private schools and 3.76% by the public schools were very poor considering the

benchmarks set by the Federal Inspectorate Service (2019). None of the categories of

schools’ academic performance was satisfactory.

An urgent solution must be found to the problem and this study has identified

some reforms that must take place in order to get quality education. Also, supervision,

investigation and monitoring of students in examination halls should be tightened in

order to enhance the credibility of the WASSCE results. The result of this study is not

final. There is need to go deeper into internal efficiency of schools in order to improve

the quality of education in Kaduna State.

5.3 Recommendations

The main objective of this study was to analyses the efficiency of public and
private secondary schools in Kaduna State so as to identify the factors that promote
academic performance of students.
a) All the seven independent variables were significantly correlated with academic

performance. The significance of these findings is that the school educators must

make maximum use of the variables.

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b) Also, the Multiple Regression Stepwise analysis identified physical and material

resources, principals’ quality, and discipline process as the best predictors of internal

efficiency of schools.

c) Educational administrators and policy makers must focus their attention on these

three key variables because they have the greatest potential for enhancing internal

efficiency.

d) The Federal Ministry of Education must spear head a research-based reform policy

that will improve the quality of education in Nigeria.

e) The increase in the complexity of the educational organization and curriculum

demands that principals should have formal training in modern educational

management.

f) They should also undergo performance based assessment to demonstrate their

effectiveness, and then licensed if found competent. Principals need constant

professional development programs in educational management.

g) Principals should first acquire core knowledge as well as management skills, and then

licensed thereafter before their appointment.

h) There is need to prepare prospective principals such as Vice-Principals, Heads of

Departments and Heads of Subjects for leadership roles; the successful candidates

should then be licensed.

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i) Also, the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration, Kaduna,

should serve as the national college for school leadership that will prepare and

examine prospective school leaders before they are licensed.

j) On teachers’ preparation programs, the State should ensure that graduates have strong

content expertise by investing in high quality teacher education. There is also the

need for prospective teachers to major in their teaching subjects. A master’s degree in

teaching subjects should attract an increase in salary.

k) Schools need to have coherent and meaningful staff professional development

programs, and teachers should be given adequate support to put into practice what

theyhave learned. The National Teachers’ Institute in Kaduna should be transformed

into the National Chartered Teachers’ Institute that will prepare and examine new

teachers before they are licensed.

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