UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
EVALUATION
o IN
THEORY AND PRACTICE
A Book of Reading in Honour of
Prof. Joseph O.Obemeata
Edited by
Dr. E. Adenike Emeke
Dr. Charles V.Abe
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
Published by
PEN SERVICES,
No 2, Chief J. B. Ojo Street.
Saw Mill, Old Ife Road,
P. O. Box 22649, Ibadan.
© Prof. J. O. Obemeata
First Published 2005
ISBN: 978-34041-7-2
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise.
without the prior permission a/the Publisher.
Printed by Franco-Ola Printers 08038121859, 08052621188
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
1X
Notes of Contributors
1. Prof. Pai Obanya: Is an Education strategist consulting for various
institutions within the country and outside Nigeria.
2. Prof. James A.Ajala: Is a professor in the Department of'Human
Kinetics and Health Education. University oflbadan and currently
the Head of the Department.
3. Prof. S.Y. Erinosho: Is a professor and former director Institute
of Education, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye Nigeria.
4. Prof. Joseph O. Obemeata: Is an Education Consultant and an
evaluator in whose honor this book was instituted to mark his
retirement from the University of Ibadan.
5. Prof. F.O.P Olagunju: Is a professor in Olabisi Onabanio
University, Ago Iwoye, Nigeria
6. Dr.A.A. Amori: Is an Education Officer with the Oyo State Ministr,
of Education.
7. Dr. (Mrs.) P.N. Ndukwu: Is the Acting Provost of the St.
Augustine's College of Education, Akoka. Lagos, Nigeria.
8. Dr. E. Adenike Emeke: Is a Senior Research Fellow in the Institute
of Education. University ofIbadan.
9. Dr. F.V.Falaye: Is a Research fellow in the Institute of Education.
University ofIbadan.
10. Dr. Okechukwu O. Nwaubani: Lecturer at the S1.Auz•..u.. stine's
College of Education, Akoka, Lagos.
11. Dr. E.A. Okwilagwc: Is a Research Fellow in the Institute of
Education, University ofIbadan.
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
x
12. Dr.Modupe M. Osokoya: Is a Research Fellow in the institute
of Education , University ofIbadan.
13. Dr. Monica.Odinko: Is a Research Fellow in the Institute of
Education, University ofIbadan.
14. Dr.C.AdeolaAdeyoju: Isa Senior Research Fellow in the lnstitute
of Education, University ofIbadan.
15. Dr. S.C. Opara: Lecturer St.Augustine's College of Education,
Akoka, Lagos.
16. Dr.Andrew O.Okwilagwe: Is a Senior Lecturer in the Department
of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of Ibadan.
17. Dr.Martins Fabumi (MNIM): Is a Lecturer in the Department
of Educational Management, University of'Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
18. Rev. Sr. (Dr.) Ezeasor, Mary Emmanuella Ngozi: Is a lecturer
in St.Augustine's College of Education Akoka Lagos.
19. Dr.AdebusuyiAdebukola I.: Is the Co-ordinator of Foundation
for Women Empowerment and Peace Initiatives. a Non-
Governmental Organization (NOO).
20. Dr. B.A. Adegoke: Is a Research Fellow in the Institute of
Education, University ofIbadan.
21. Barr V.A. Asuru: Is a lecturer at the River State College of .
Education, Port-Harcourt,
22. MrA.D.O. Adesina:A Lecturer in the College of Education, Oyo
State, Nigeria.'
23. Mr. B.A. Adeyemi: Is a Lecturer in the College of Education,
Oyo State, Nigeria.
24. Dr Felix O. Ibode: Is a Research Fellow in the Institute of
Education, University ofIbadan ..
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
Xl
Contents
Preface Vll
Notes of Contributors IX
1. Quality Evaluation of Basic Education:
A Comprehensive IVlodeI
Pai Obanya
2. Evaluation in Student Classroom Performance
James A. Ajala 11
3. Accountability-based-Assessment Ior Improved
Academic Performance
S. Y Erinosho 29
4. Measurement and Evaluation in Education
Professor Joseph O. Obemeata 43
5. Appraisal of Democracy and Workers'
Functionalities in Organisations
FO.P Olagunju 5'".1,
6. Quality Control and the Administration ofUniversal
Basic Education (UBE) in Nigeria: The Demand and
Challenges of Educational Evaluation
A. A. Amori 63
7. Pre-Primary Education: A Neglected Component of
The Universal Basic Education
Mrs. P N. Ndukwu 77
8. Combating Boys' Drop-Out Rate in Nigeria:
An Evaluation of Strategies that Work r
Emeke, E.A. & Adegoke. B.A. 87
9. Evaluation as a Tool for Effective Tcaching
and Learning
Fa/aye F V 97
10. Evaluating Social Studies Curriculum for Instructional
Efficiency in Nigerian Schools and Colleges
Nwaubani. Okechukwu .O. 107
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
Xll
11. Evaluating The Private - Public School Dichotomy:
The Missing Link
E. A. Okwilagwe 1.;.'."-'
12. The Practice of Continuous Assessment in Primary
Schools
Osokoya, MJv! & Odinko, MN. 141
13. The Needed Support For The Development of
ATotal Man
C. Adeola Adeyoju 155
14. Aspects of Nigerian English
S. C. Opara 169
15. "Putting People First": The Role of Information
Sciences in Education
Okwilagwe, O. A. 181
16. Planning Education for Development in Global Context
Martins Fabunmi 19t)
17. Teacher Effectiveness and Teacher Gender As
Determinants of Students' Achivement in Senior
Secondary Biology in Osun State
Ezeasor, Mary Emmanuela Ngozi 213
18. Examining Vocational Education AsAMeans of
Empowerment (SkillsAcquisition)
Adebusuyi, Adebukola 1 _).'.1::..).:
19. Examination Malpractices Decree (Act)
No.33, 1999: An Appraisal
Barr. V.A. Asuru 237
20. The Collapse of Societal Norms: The Role of Teachers
Adesina, A.D.O. &Adeyemi, B.A. 249
21. Computer-Assisted-Instruction in the Classroom
Ibode O. Felix 257
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
Evaluating The Private - Public
School Dichotomy: The Missing Link
E. A. Okwilagwe
E-mail: genaokwilagwe@yahoo.com.
Introduction
It is the contention among Nigerian elites that there is awidening gap in the
education provided by public and private schools for adolescents in Nigeria.
The establishment of private schools in Nigeria (particularly in the
metropolitan city of Ibadan, Oyo State) is hinged on the axiom that they
are established primarily to overcome the deficiencies created by public
schools in the delivery of quality education to adolescents. Issues on the
widening gap in secondary education provided by these two types of
schools border largely on the delivery of quality education.
Quality in education is seen as the maintenance of standards or
excellence. It is the aspiration of every school management and
provider of education in recent times to want to maintain standards in
schools. The quest for quality would seem to stem from four basic
imperatives as identified by West - Burnham (1992). These are the
concern to provide optimal opportunities for children to achieve their
full potentials in order to achieve the desired learning outcomes, the
consciousness of the society/environment to achieve quality since the
schools interact with community/society, the need to meet the
expectations of clients (parents), and the issue of accountability
provided through "reporting and inspection". Quality of education
as identified by educationists should pervade every area of the
education system in terms of the input, process and output dimensions.
Quality should not and cannot be restricted to how many were able to
achieve which is a representation of the output dimension. Rather,
Obanya (2002) contends that the degree of excellence should be
stressed.
Quality of education has come to be linked with such indicators as
quality teachers, improved curriculum delivery, quality infrastructures and
facilities, conducive learning environment, provision of adequate learning
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
124 Evaluating The Private - Public School Dichotomy: The Missing Link
materials, training and re-training of teachers, improved teacher-pupil
ratio, parental involvement, increased and improved monitoring and
supervision oflearning, and quality output among others.
Research evidence has consistently shown that educational indicators
such as teacher quality (qualification/experience), class size, curriculum
quality, provision and use of school facilities are potent determinants of
students' achievement (Heyneman, 1983;Osafehinti, 1984; Gannicott and
Throsby, 1992; Schiefelbeni and Farrel, 1993).
Previous studies are also in support of the fact that the effects of
conducive learning environment, training and retraining of teachers,
parental/community involvement can no longer be discountenanced
when issues on quality education provision and quality output are
being discussed (Osafehinti, 1984; Onocha, 1985; Idowu, 1992;
Obemeata, 1995).
In order to achieve teacher efficiency and school effectiveness
and indeed quality education, there is the need for proper monitoring and
supervision of schools and personnel. Increased and improved monitoring
exercises and supervision of school teaching personnel ensures that the
best in the system can be achieved. The quality of school management
besides curriculum reform has been found to be an important indicator of
quality of education (Ganicort and Throsby, 1992).
If the intent of establishing private schools is to bridge the gap between .
what ought to be and what is in the delivery of quality secondary education
in Nigerian secondary schools, it will be of interest to stakeholders to
know the extent to which private schools are achieving this objective.
This is essential considering the fact that exorbitant fees are charged by
these school owners. It is in the light of the foregoing that it is pertinent to
ask if private schools are meeting the objectives for which they are set up
or to what extent are they really relevant in the system.
Specifically, the study sought to determine the extent to which quality
education is provided in private secondary schools compared with their
public counterparts in Oyo State. It was also of interest to isolate the key
issues that are responsible for the widening gap in the education provided
by these schools if any.
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
E. A. Okwilagwe 125
Methodology
The Sample: The sample consisted of a total of eight (8) secondary
schools, four (4) public and four (4) private. These schools are located in
the metropolitan city of Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State. The public
secondary schools were between 15 and a little over 20 years old and
were of the status of grades I and II, whereas, the private schools were
between 3 and 6 years old and were relatively younger.
Instruments
Two instruments were used to gather data: structured interview
schedule and classroom observation form. The interview schedule
consisted of items that enabled the school heads provide information
on matters that had to do with administration and provision of quality
education in both school types.
Documentary analysis was carried out to obtain further information
on the quality of output (achievement).
Data Collection and Analysis
The investigator personally conducted the interviews with school heads
and observed the teaching-learning activities in the schools. These
were randomly obtained for JSS1 and II, SSI and II, as the other
classes were either writing their external examination or had completed
them. Analysis of the documents was also personally done.
Data analysis involved the use of qualitative and descriptive
statistics and graphs.
Results and Discussion
(a) Interview with School Heads on Quality of Secondary
Education Delivery
The findings of the interview with heads of some secondary
schools in Ibadan, see the underlisted factors as being determinants of
the quality of education in public and private schools.
Quality of Education: There is no consensus on the views of heads
of schools on the quality of education provided :in public and private
schools in the city. The views of older (grade 1) school heads, are
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
126 Evaluating The Private - Public School Dichotomy: The Missing Link
that, public schools compete favourably with private schools on students'
performance in spite of the high quality of students, that private schools
admit. However, younger public schools, contended, that, the quality of
education in private schools is higher than those in public schools because
of the higher quality of students usually admitted. The heads of private
schools sampled corroborates this latter view. In addition, they contend
that they have more educational materials to complement their teaching.
That, both teachers and students are more committed to their work. They
contend further, that the number of students in public schools are unwieldy
and difficult to control. It is not, also, in the character of private schools to
go on strike, a common feature of pubic schools .:Findings revealed that,
some private schools prepare students for other higher external
examinations, and, so, they cannot afford to toil with the quality of
preparation given to their students.
Teachers: With a teacher/student ratio of between 1:30 and 1:43 in
public schools, as compared with between 1:4 and 1:20 in private
schools, the quality of teachers as shown in Table 1 and Figures 1 (a-
h) would seem to suggest that there are more professionally qualified
teachers, in private than in public schools. However, this is far from
being true, as private schools tend to recruit more' teachers with less
professional training. As suggested by some school heads, recruitment
of teachers should be on merit and not on tribal/ethnic sentiments or
nepotic consideration.
Improved Teaching: Virtually all the schools revealed that teachers
vary their methods of teaching. However, in the public schools
sampled, only one out of the four schools could substantiate this claim
with evidence. It was obvious that there were avenues for teachers to
improve on knowledge in their subject areas by attending workshops
and conferences organized regularly for various subj ect teachers. In
one of the schools, teachers in Science and English were actually
preparing to attend one of such workshops organized by the State's
Ministry of Education at the time of visit. In the private schools
sampled, some form of improved methods of teaching was in use.
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
127
Table 1
Quality of Teachers in Public and Private Schools in Ibadan
Quality Public School Private School
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T
Graduate
teachers with
professional
qualification 25 48 73 21 40 61 5 2~ 28 NA NA 24 10 5 15 - - 11 5 - 5 3 2 5
Graduate
teachers
without
professional
qualification 2 6 6 6 3 9 4 1 5 NA NA 12 5 7 12 - - 4 7 I 8*** 7 8 15***
Teachers
with NeE 9 17 26 8 28 26 7 16 23 NA NA 17 1 1 2 - - 1 - 2 2 - - -
Others - - - 1 2 3* - - - - - 2 - 1 1** - - - 1** - 1 2 1 3**
Grand Total 37 72 109 36 73 109 16 40 56 - - 55 16 14 30 - - 16 13 3 16 12 11 23
NB M = Male F = Female T = Total
* NYSC
** National Diploma/HND
*** Some evidence of higher degree qualification (M,Ed./Ph.D.)
NA = Information not available.
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
128 Evaluating The Private - Public School Dichotomy: The Missing Link
, --- --- . -
a b
e 80
x'": 60 j !1 r"';,,:;;v"~~"C'~;=:_~;u
."!!!' 40 '"
'0 :: 3020 020
0
z ~ 10
0 o
A B C 0 A B c o
PLblc Public
1_- -- - -------- - -----. -
-------------_ .._j
c
d
30
Q'"; ~
.s= Ql
o 20 s:
2"!' o
10 ."!!!''0
ci '0
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z 0 ci 0
Z
ABC o ABC o i
Pinlc Public
I
-~
-,
I
e 1- -- -------
20
'" e 15
~ 15
u .'c"
."!!'! 10 ~ 10.!!!
'0. 5 '0 5
o
Z 0 I oZ 0
I
ABC 0 I BCD
LI Private I I PrivateA _.- --- ---------------~
r---- - 9
h
I 10
! ~ 8 20Q)
s: '"o ~ 15
2"!' 6 o
'0 4 ; 10
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0·, I Z 0
A B c D A B C o I
Private I Private
I
~--------- ------- -~ L _---j
A = Trained graduates
B = Untrained graduates
C = NCE holders
D = others (HND/ND)
Figure I: (a-It): Quality of teachers ill public and private schools
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
E. A. Okwilagwe 129
In one of the schools, students had "private reading cards". This enables
students to read up two or three literature books a week from the school
library, summarize them and report to their teachers for grading. Other
methods included the use of "assignment book" whereby students do all
assignments given from home. These are checked by the teachers who
sign the assignment books while parents regularly monitor their wards to
ensure these assignments are done by counter-signing them. In other
schools, in-house seminars on teaching methods, test construction and
continuous assessment are organized on regular basis for teachers. Experts
in some fields were called upon to give talks on their trade/production of
finished goods. Regular workshops were similarly organized for teachers.
Curriculum enrichment: Two of the public schools visited, indicated
that teachers do not enrich the curriculum in use. One other school
revealed that individual teachers (especially teachers of English
Language) do improve on the curriculum used. They incorporate
content areas, which they feel students should know, but are omitted
in the government syllabus. The last school had enriched her
curriculum by introducing into it a programme called "Life Planning
Education" (LIFE). This programme creates awareness of teenage
problems and how to prevent such and prepare adolescents for life.
In the private schools, various forms of curriculum enrichment
measures were introduced in three of the schools visited. These include
indepth teaching of some content areas after comparing existing syllabuses
with those offoreign examination bodies (like London GCE, IGSE and
other top private schools like Corona College). The use of"projects", a
termly activitywhereby stduents' ingenuityistapped with littleor no guidance
from the teachers and are presented to their parents on "parents day" was
common. Other activities include what is tagged "talent show", "hand on
skills", and computer appreciation/awareness skill development.
Examination Success: Available school results in the sampled schools
were from 2000-2001 for WAEC and NECO Senior Secondary
Certification Examinations respectively. The performance of students
in WAEC examinations in most public schools is about average. This
include students with five (5) credit passes and above in older schools but
four (4) credits in younger schools. The success rate ranges from 20% to
50% in public schools. The performance in private schools in WAEC
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
130 Evaluating The Private - Public School Dichotomy: The Missing Link
Senior Secondary Certificate Examination is above average. VIrtually every
student enrolled, succeeded with six (6) credit passes and above, and
accounts for between 50% - 79% success rate. Comparatively, the
performance in NECO conducted in the Senior Secondary Certificate
Examination is higher than in WAEC exams in both types of school, but
success rate is higher in private than public school.
Student Discipline: The nature and frequency of students' indiscipline in
schools are varied. Lateness to school seems to top the list in all school
types. Truancy, rudeness, laziness, fighting and stealing in that order, seems
to predominate in public schools. Stubbornness, permissive behaviour
and minor disobedience seems to predominate in private schools. The
measures used to instill student discipline also vary among school types.
More severe punishments seems to be employed in public schools (e.g.
canning and manual labour) whereas, more liberal punishment seems to
be used in private schools (e.g. "writing lines", liberal use of corporal
punishment and picking of liter). The use of counselling, invitation of parents
for talks and moral talks by experts for correcting bad bahaviour seems to
be common in all types of school. The use of suspension for persistent
and serious indiscipline is also common, but, used with care in private
schools than in public schools.
Funding: The funding of private schools contrast sharply with that of the
public schools. It was reliably gathered that by virtue of their being funded
by the government, public secondary schools are handicapped in the
amount of subvention available to them on a termly basis which is a paltry
sum ofN 50.00 per student, and is hardly received on time. Furthermore,
the school heads lamented that the free education policy in the State does
not allow for the payment of any fees except for the purchase of assessment
report cards. Contrariwise private schools have a free hand in charging
fees, and are therefore, able to meet the financial needs of their schools.
Besides, many of the proprietors and proprietresses are business individuals
and can easily divert funds from other sources to meet school needs.
Others: These include having amini zoo in the school compound, engaging
in practical agriculture and responsibility training. These seems to be more
in private than public schools. It is the opinion of school heads that
government should introduce and implement good and enduring
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
E. A. Okwil agwe 131
programmes from oversea countries into the country and that everyNigerian
child should be computer literate. In their view the government and
administrators should not kill the nation's education because they can afford
to send their children for overseas training.
(b) Key Issues Responsible for the Widening Education Gap in
the Public - Private Schools
School Size: Public schools tend to have large school size irrespective
of their age, whereas, private schools tend to have small size. The
largest school size was close to 3,000 students while the least was a
little below 2,000 students for public schools. School size for private
schools is relatively smaller and it ranges from 30 to under 250 students.
This is evident in Tables II a & b.
Class Size: The class size in public schools is larger than those in
private schools. In public school, average class size is in the
neighbourhood of35-70 for science classes, but can be as high as 90-
124 for Art classes. In contrast, average class size in private school is
between 3 and 25 'but can be as high as between 30-38. Class size is,
also, higher in lower classes such as JSS 1and SS1than in terminal classes
(JSS ITIand SS III). The number of class arms range from 3 to 9 in some
public schools while in private schools it is between 1and 2.
Enrolment: School enrolment in terms of the number of boys 'and girls
vary markedly in both school types. Injunior secondary classes 1-3,
enrolment of boys seems to be higher in older public schools than for
younger ones. The reverse is true for enrolment of girls. This trend seems
to be the case in senior secondary classes. In private secondary schools
there is no readily observed pattern of boys and girls enrolment (refer to
Tables II a & b).
Social Background of Students: Older public schools have students
that cut across all social background, (high, middle and low) while
the younger ones have more students from low social background.
Students from most of the private schools are from high and middle
social background. However, it is not uncommon to find few students
from low social background whose parents work extra hard to see
that their wards get quality education.
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
132
Table lI(a): School Enrolment and School Size in Public Schools in the City of Ibadan
Public School
1 2 3 4
Class
B G T B G T B G T B G T
JSS I 219 180 399 229 193 422 140 193 333 201 232 433
II 245 257 502 271 237 508 168 176 344 177 193 370
III 255 211 466 249 217 466 157 168 325 115 133 248
SS I 399 350 749 319 301 620 200 199 399 187 198 385
II 231 245 526 226 202 428 84 123 207 93 102 195
III 173 140 313 173 161 334 98 100 198 69 67 136
Grand 1,572 1,383 2,955 1,467 1,311 2,778 847 959 1,806 842 925 1,767
Total
NB = B= Boys, G = Girls, T= Total
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
-~-~-----
133
, Table II(b)
School Enrolment and School Size in Private Schools in the City of Ibadan
Private School
Class 1 2 3 4
0
B G T B G T B G T B G T
JSSI 35 15 50 24 14 38 4 3 7 13 10 23
U 36 14 53 16 18 34 3 7 10 12 5 17
~
-
III 22 13 35 16 14 30 3 - 3 8 10 18
SS I 33 18 51 20 20 40 2 3 5 6 6 12
II 13 25 38 35 25 60 - 3 3 10 11 21
III 10 12 22 14 21 35 2 - 2 4 4 8
Grand 149 100 249 125 112 237 14 16 30 53 46 99
Total.
NB = B= Boys, G= Girls, T= Total
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
134 Evaluating The Private - Public School Dichotomy: The Missing Link
,--._--------_._-------
a b
f-
I f- Z
~ 800 w 700
:; ~ 600 i
6600 o 500400 \I..G8 II0:: I ~z 400 ! W 300· "
I W
-' I g-' 200 !IIT :,0200
o Ii I
5 a l~100 •. .. --~I0, JSS 1 JSS II JSS SS I SS II SS IIICf) JSS 1 JSS II JSS III SS I SS II SS III III
CLASS CLASS
---------,
c d
f- f-
Z Z
~ 500 ~ 500 i
6 400 11.8 111, 6400
0:: 300· 0
~ z
:: 300 ~.GBI lI
o200 .GII w 200100 l!!J1 l~ooJ 100, ~JIIa JSS JSS JSS SS 1 SS II SS III " JSS 1 JSS II JSS SS I SS II SS III~en 0 III
l_· ICLASS~_._~~LASS ~ ----II
Figure II (a-d): School Enrolment/School Size in four Public Schools in Ibadan
I~ ---------,e g I
f-
I ~ 60-
! ~ ffi 12
I
50 I:~ :i 10~z 40I 30 ~ 8Z 6~ 20 w ~!l
010 l~T
~ a g
-' 4
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en JSS JSS JSS SS I SS II ss 5 0
(Jl
1 II III III JSS JSS JSS ss I ss II SSIII
II
CLASS 1 III
CLASS I
__________ ----.J 1
1~70 I~- h
I :; I ffi 2560
! :i 20650
~ oI 40 0:: 15zw 30 w 10-
! 620 -'
0510
g 5
0 5 0
Cf) JSS 1 JSS II JSS SS I SS II SS III en JSS JSS JSS 55 I 55 II S5
III 1 II III III
CLASS I I CLASS,------------. __._---- L . J
•
Figure n (e-h): School Enrolment/School Sizein four Private Schoolsi~~Ibadan
UNIVER
ITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
E. A. Okwilagwc I ~:'
Teacher/Educational Materials Availability: Teacher/educational
Inaterials availability is higher in private than public schools. The variety of
educational materials is equally higher in private than public schools. Such
educational materials include commercially made charts, globe, learning kits
in Sciences and Geography,Agriculture and IntroductoryTechnology besides
improvised teacher made instructional materials. There are relevant and
modem books for teachers in their specialized areas and fairly-well stocked
libraries in both school types. Most of the private schools have fairly-well
equipped laboratories for respective subjects such as Physics, Chemistry,
Biology and Introductory Technology. This cannot be said of most public
schools. Nevertheless, the ratio of teacher to available educational materials
in private schools is still not adequate. There is, however, conscious and
continued efforts by these schools to improve on what is available.
Classroom Teaching Practices: Heads of both types of school are of
the view that their.teachers are qualified subject teachers, and that, they
prepare adequately for their lessons. They also write notes of lesson,
which are duly checked. However, in spite of this contention, Table 1 and
Figures lea-h) show that some private schools employ more of less
professionally trained teachers than public schools. An analysis of the
teaching-learning process in some randomly selected classes in both school
types, reveal that teaching hardly go on in most classes. This occurred
about the third and fourth periods (l 0.00 - 10.45a.m), and sixic period
(l2noon -12.55p.m) shortly after the break period for the day.
In classes where teaching and learning were going on, it was observed
that teaching was teacher - dominated (i.e. teacher lecturing, teacher or
students writing notes on the board). There were few interactive learning
sessions in SS I, JSS II and III in both types of school, and in subjects
such as English, Economics, Integrated Science and Business Studies. '
Examination Success: The public schools sampled have been presenting
students for external examinations such as the West African Examination
Council's conducted Senior Secondary Certificate of Educations (WAEC/
SSCE) for no less than 10 years. The National Examination Council
(NECO) is only two years old in conducting Senior Secondary Certificate
Examinations in the State. Two of the private schools presented their
students as external candidates in other schools, while one isjust having a
go at external examinations.
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
136 Evaluating The Private - Public School Dichotomy: The Missing Link
Table III(a)
WAEC/SSCE Examination Results in Six Subjects at Credit and
Distinction Levels for 2000 and 2001 Academic Sessions
School Public School Private School
Year Year
2000 2001 2000 . 2001
1. ENG 34(8) 100(22) 33(87) -
MATH • 128(29) 107(24) 24(74) N.A
PIN 74(40) 61(38) 10(42) -
CHM '53(30) 61(37) 16(59) -
BIO 55(21) H)()(24) 33(87) -
YOR 295(66) 250(85) :5/(')1 ) -
2. ENG 13(4) 96(28) - -
MATH 100(23) 85(26) ** **
PRY 65(39) \ 28(26) - -
CHM 56(34) 28(21) . - ;.
BIO 59(14) 46(12) - . -
YOR 279(62) 251(68) .- -
3. ENG 15(8) - - -
MATH 29(11) N.A. ** **
PRY . 5(8) - - -
CHM 7(11) - -
BIO 13(5) - ..
-
-
YOR 71(27) - - -
4. EN(} .. 2(1) NR -
." ."r." \
MATH 24(15) 15(13)
,:PHY . 9(19) 7(27) N.A. '*
tHM 12(25) 6(23)
BIO 17(11) 8(7)
YOR 55(34) 72(59)
"
Figures in Parentheses are percentages
NA. = Not Available; N.R. = Not released
*Presented first set of candidates for examination in 2002.
* * Students enrolled as external candidates.
.~.:
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
E. A. Okwilagwe 137
A close look at WAEC/SSCE results in Six (6) subj ect areas indicate
that students' performance in English Language and Mathematics appear
higher in private than public schools. The same holds true for Physics,
Chemistry and Biology. It is the contention of some heads of public schools
that the seemingly low performance in these subjects is partly due to the
large number of enrolment in these subjects. Students' performance in
.Yoruba Language is, however, consistently high in both types of school
(Refer to Tables IlIa and b
Table III(b) .
NECO/SSCE Examination Results in Six Subjects at Credit and
Distinction Levels for 2000 and 2001Academic Sessions
School Public School Private School
Year Year
2000 2001 2000 2001
1. FNG . 24(62) . l 308(66) - 35(100)
MATH 24(62) 254(55) N.A. 24(69)
PHY 20(95) 110(70) - 20(82)
CHM ' 19(91) 110(70) - 27(94)BIO .26(67) 206(44) - 34(97)YOR 28(78) 262(59) . - 27(77)
2. ENG 289(72) 204(59) -
MATH 155(38) . 182(53)
PRY -1,31(85)' .42(48) N.A. **
CHM 106(68) 57(55)
BIO 304(75) 167(48)
YOR 278(69) 201(58)
3. ..j, ENG - - -
MATH
PRY - -N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.
CHM
BIO - -
YOR - -- -
4. ENG - 6(5)
MATH
PHY -
5(4)
N.A. 20(74) N:A. *
.CBHIOM - 15(56)- 13(11)YOR - ~ 21(20)
Figures in Parentheses are percentages
N.A. = Not Available; N.R. = Not released
*Presentedfirst set of candidates for examination in 2002.
** Students enrolled as external candidates.
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
138 Evaluating The Private - Public School Dichotomy: The Missing Link
The performance in WAEC seems to be the trend in NECO/SSCE
examinations. The exception, however, is that performance in most
subjects in older schools compares favourably with those of private
schools than in younger public schools (referto Table: llIb). Private schools
report some exceptional performance such as students obtaining (10 A's
injunior School Certificate Examinations (JSCE), which qualifies them for
entry into Science College. Some other students qualify for the school for
the gifted or earn university admission in SS two.
Teacher/Student Ratio: Teacher-student ratio is higher in public schools
than in private schools. A ratio of between 1:25 and 1:33 in public schools
is common whereas it is between 1:2 and 1:15 in private schools.
Involvement of Parents: Parents are not involved in the education of
their wards in public schools except in cases of occasional occurrence of
disciplinary problems, for "Open Day" and "Sport Day". They are also,
\ .
free to call and make inquires about their childrens' academic and moral
welfare. Beside these, parents do not contribute to the fmancial education
of their wards, due to the free education programme of the state.
Inmost private schools, the involvementofparents in financial activities
beyond the school fees they pay is not too different from what obtains in
public schools. What is different, is the frequency of their involvement in
academic activities, earlier on mentioned in addition to other activities
outlined for students' enjoyment. For instance, activities as "Talent Show",
"Economic Skill Development" and the likes enable parents to encourage
their wards by participating in their exhibitions and patronizing their
products. Parents also monitor their wards during tests and examinations
period. It is only in few instances that parents make financial promises
and gift donations to a small number of private schools.
Discussion and Conclusion
Issues that border on provision of quality education in both private
and public secondary schools do not follow a definite pattern. This is
in spite of the fact that, the research findings with respect to all the
indicators associated with the provision of quality education discussed in
this study would seem to be in support of private schools in contrast to
their public counterparts. This difference would seem to be restricted to
only young public secondary schools of the grade III status than with
older schools of grade I and II status.
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
E. A. Okwilagwe 139
In terms of the success rate (i.e. quality of output); funding, parental
involvement, provision of quality teachers and improved teaching, private
schools would seem to be doing well relativelyto public schools irrespective
of their status. The findings find support in studies such as (Jimenez and
Cox, 1989; Obemeata, 1995).
With respect to teacher quality, it would seem that this indicator
on its own does not determine success rate but is rather heavily
dependent on the extent and intensity of monitoring and supervision
carried out by the head teachers. The level of teacher/educational
material availability and the quality of students admitted are also strong
issues in this respect.
Again, there seems to be an erroneous conception among school
administrators as portrayed in the findings of this study that curriculum
enrichment mean the same thing as curriculum overload. Curriculum
enrichment is not the addition to the curriculum content. Rather, according
to Obanya (2002), it should de-emphasize content and examination while
at the same time dwell more on the process(es) of delivery that emphasize
analytical and logical reasoning, manipulative skill development using a
variety. of teaching -learning materials. It should also be science and
technological conscious, be sensitive to societal needs and the works of
life.
The issues that are responsible for this dichotomy are equally
addressed. In both school types there is need for proper monitoring
and supervision of teaching -learning activities by those in-charge in
order to achieve the desired optimal result. The public schools have
the requisite personnel but lack the administrative will to turn things
around. There is also the strong need to properly process enrolment
so as to take in only the academically - fit students, as well as reduce
teacher - student ratio. The less academically fit students should be
properly channeled to the technical and vocational branch of the
education system. These should be given adequate personnel, facilities
and material support that will prepare them for a successful life in
such a way that recipients do not feel robbed of life's meaning.
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY
140 Evaluating The Private - Public School Dichotomy: The Missing Link
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UNIVERSITY OF IBA
AN LIBRARY