CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
of the Study
School records are official
documents, books and files containing essential and crucial information on
actions and events which are kept and preserved in the school offices for
utilization and retrieval of information when needed (Durosaro, 2002). Such
records are kept by principals, teachers, counsellors are administrative staff.
Some of the major school records include; students’ personal files, staff
record book, the log book, visitors book and inventories book, among others.
The purpose of record keeping and management is to ensure that accurate and
proper records of students achievement and growth, information on school
activities and matters that will promote efficiency and effectiveness of the
school system are kept, among others.
According to Durosaro (2002),
records are important tools for effective planning and administration of a school.
School records occupy strategic position in the effective and efficient
organization and administration of the school. It helps for effective planning
and implementation of appropriate course of actions, thereby introducing proper
monitoring of school activities tasks.
Records are important because
they serve as major information tool that sustain the school and aid in
achieving educational goals and objectives. Records engender teaching
competence and maintain the trend in the history of teaching and learning
processes. Egwunyenga (2009) observed that not all information can be
considered as records until they satisfy such characteristics as genuinety and
authenticity, that is, the information that records give must be true, correct
and original; records must be comprehensive, accessible and secured.
School records are grouped into
statutory and non-statutory. Statutory records are those prescribed by
education law and so must be owned by every school and should be produced on
demand by constituted authorities. Examples of statutory records include:
admission/withdrawal register, attendance register, scheme of work, time-table,
school diary, log book, finance record books, continuous assessments records,
etc. Non-statutory records are of private use to schools that find them useful.
These include: cash book, stock book, punishment book, school calanedar,
inventory book, staff minutes book, school magazine, inspection/supervision
report file, confidential report forms and requisition book. All the above
records are commonly keep in schools presently. Records management is the
application of systematic and scientific control of recorded information that
is required for the operation of the school (Bosah, 1997). Such control is
exercised over the distribution, utilization, retention, storage, retrieval,
protection, preservation and final disposition of all types of records within
the school. The aim of records management is to achieve the best storage,
retrieval and exploitation of school records in the school system and also to
improve the efficiency of record making and keeping processes.
A school head must have accurate information to help him/her
assess meaningfully the progress of the school. All school records are very
useful, school records must be complete and be made available when the need
arises. Records, which are not regularly kept,
will be incomplete and
misleading, badly kept records can hinder the progress of the school. The
school leader must see that school records are devoid of exaggerated reports or
untrue statements. According to Idoko (2005), school records management can
only be properly maintained if the school administrators employ desirable
strategies for improving school records management. These strategies could be;
to place priority on the supply of necessary school records, funds ear-marked
for records management should be retired accordingly, opportunity for
professional training by staff through in-service professional training course
should given to school administrators, timely supply of school records, among
others. Records management helps to control the quality and quantity of
information that is created in a manner that effectively serves the need of the
school (Akabue, 1991).
School record management
according to Fasasi (2004), is meant to enhance the performance of secondary
school administrators. Adequate records management programme co-ordinates and
protects institutions’ records, sharpens the effectiveness of records as a
management memory which controls the times, equipment and space allocated to
records and helps to simplify intra-organizational and communication problems.
The management of records in secondary schools, like in any other organization,
is a cyclic process involving the principals, teachers, students, messengers,
cleaners and other categories of staff. The bulk of records are handled by
principals which are most often kept manually thus the processing, retrieval
and utilization of records are not easy.
Iwhiwhu (2005) stresses the poor
quality and quantity of manpower in records management in the school system. He
emphasized that manpower is employed without prejudice to qualitative records
management.
Iyede (2001) viewed human resources management as the
harnessing of the totality of the peoples skills, energies, talents, latent
capacities, social characteristics like beliefs to achieve educational
objectives and simultaneously making people to be part and parcel of the school. This shows that manpower energies, skills and latent
capabilities are harnessed to meet organizational goals. Also an enabling and
conducive environment and enough motivation are needed for the workers in the
school to put in their best.
The term management has been
defined as the process of utilizing material and human resources to accomplish
designated objectives which involve the organization, direction, supervision,
coordination and evaluation to achieve organizational objectives. Aghenta (2001)
defined management as a process involving organizing, planning, leading,
measuring and controlling as well as undertaking of risk and handling of
uncertainty, planning and innovation, coordination and routine supervision.
It is also viewed as a process
designed to ensure the co-operation, participation, intervention and
involvement of personnel in the effective achievement of a given objective
(Fabunmi, 2000).
The effective management of
school records by principals depends on certain management procedures and
functions such as effective supervision, creation of records, effective
leadership, monitoring, provision and training of adequate personnel, records
storage and retrieval, discipline and effective communication, delegation of
duty, developing record keeping skills and motivation (Ajayi, 1997).
Information and data generated from an effective and efficient records
management programme aids the school to plan and make useful decisions,
preserve facts and figures for future references, thereby enhancing the
efficiency and effectiveness of the organization and administration of the
school.
The adequate provision of quality
manpower, funds and equipment would ensure optimum management of school
records; however, inadequate or non-availability of these resources would bring
about problems and challenges in the efficient and effective management of
records.
Asogwa
(2004) asserts that records and data generated in the course of execution of legitimate
function of an organization or school should be kept and managed properly.
However, despite the overwhelming importance of school records, it has been
observed that they are poorly kept.
Since all schools are expected to
keep records for effective and efficient achievement of educational goals and
objectives, it becomes pertinent to examine whether the records are managed
properly or not in Otukpo Education Zone.
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