CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Education could be seen as an instrument for achieving socio-economic and technological growth and development of any nation. It is an instrument par-excellence and the means of developing human intellect, technical skills, character and effective citizenship for self-reliance and effective national development (FRN, 2004). A simple way of appreciating education is that it is a tool or a necessary weapon that is needed by every human being in order to effectively navigate this complex world (Aguba, 2009). Education in essence is the most effective instrument for academic progress, social mobilization, political survival and effective national development of a country, it constitutes the single largest enterprise in Nigeria (Akpa, 2002). The educational policy of any nation is to achieve education for all (E.F.A.) (Moest, 2008). The priority is to ensure equitable access and improvement in the quality and efficiency of all level of education.
The concern of the principal of secondary school is to direct the activities of teachers, students and other staff in the school towards the school objectives. The roles to be performed by the school principal can be categorized into two, namely:
* Supervision of school programmes which include: curricula and extra curricula activities (allocation of schedule of duty or subjects, school time table, school organization, etc.)
* Interpersonal relation which involves school discipline, evaluation of teachers performance, community support and involvement, helping in solving staff and student personal problems e.t.c.
The principal of a school is a planner, director, controller, coordinator, organizer, adviser and a problemsolver (Maduabuchi, 2002). He identifies and set goals and objectives of the school, which of course, must be in line with the national objectives, analyses tasks and share responsibilities to the staff according to specialization and expertise (Ugochi, 2007). The status of secondary school principal is not gender discriminating. Therefore, a principal can either be a male or female. A good principal should champion the course of quality assurance in his or her school to ensure a better school administration.
The ultimate goal of education administration at all levels is to develop an all inclusive and quality education that is accessible and relevant for self reliance. This is guided by the understanding that good education contributes significantly to economic growth, improvement of employment prospects and income generating opportunities for sustainable development. For qualitative education to be achieved in a nation, the teacher (human resources) financial and instructional facilities (material resources) must be cooperatively organized. In other words, the teacher in secondary school must be well trained and supervised (assisted), the learners continuously evaluated and funds and facilities adequately provided.
There is a number of administrative processes that exist to assist the administrator in carrying out his day-to-day activities. An administrator who ignores these processes is likely to encounter problems in the task of school administration. Hence, administration is seen as a collection of processes dealing with the various ways in which human and material resources are utilized to achieve set goals in an organization. These processes include such elements as planning, decision making, organizing, coordinating, motivating, directing, evaluating, staffing, and budgeting. Enyi in Ogbonnaya (2013) stressed that administrative process can therefore be regarded as the sum total of the various processes of planning, organizing, stimulating, coordinating, staffing, budgeting, communication and evaluating, which aid administrators in the utilization of resources in the achievement of organizational goals.