Project topics and materials on the ASSESSMENT OF SUPERVISORY ROLE PERFORMANCE IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN MATAZU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA KATSINA STATE

1.1 Background to the Study 

Education is the biggest instrument for economic progress, social mobilization, political survival and effective national development of any country. Thus, it constitutes the single largest enterprise in a country like Nigeria. Consequently, Nigeria has witnessed so many changes in the management of its educational system. It started by the missionaries and with the independence in 1960, it was felt that the missionary education was deficient and not quite adequate to meet our changing societal needs. This prompted the government's interest to get properly involved in this management of the education industry (Nwankwo, 1981). 

Education remains a social process in capacity building and maintenance of society for decades. It is a weapon of acquiring skills, relevant knowledge and. habits for surviving in the changing world. It makes one to benefit oneself and other members of one’s society, Encyclopedia Americana vol. 9 (1989:642) shows the social functions of education is to help an individual to become a more effective member of the society by passing to him the collective experience of the past and present, it is also to make him to lead a more satisfying and productive life by preparing him to handle new experiences successful. 

In her National policy on education (FME, 1998) Nigeria has rightly recognized education as the instrument for excellence for national development and that teachers and supervisors hold the key to the door of some education. 

The Nigerian education law stated that schools must be inspected. This is reasonable because government always puts a significant amount of public fund on education. It follows therefore that how the resources are utilized to achieve the objectives of education in these schools must be ascertained. This is accountability, which the present civilian government will like the supervisors and Inspectors to imbibe. 

Primary education as referred is the education given in institutions for children aged 6 to 11 plus. Since the rest of the education system is built upon it, the primary level is the key to the success or failure of the whole system. 

Following the gradual development of education coupled with the introduction of the new educational policy in Nigeria along with scientific and technological development in all sectors, one would clearly see that certain changes are taking place in our schools. These changes could be noted in curriculum, teaching aids, instruction and. methodology. With these new trends, there is need for effective supervision in our institutions of learning. 

There is hardly a day when people do not comment on the falling standards of education in the country or their localities. Why then such hue and cry? May be because of the large sums of money being sunk into the education sector in the budgetary allocations of governments, the general public is indicating its concern over what the education sector produces, and so, the people are demanding for improvement in what the schools do to the annual expenditure incurred on them. 

It is in this line, enlightened parents are now more curious to know the functions of the supervisors in our educational system and thus they ask some interesting questions such as what is the cause of falling standard in our education system? Who should be held responsible for the failing standards? What are the functions of the schools? What do they do? Why do we supervise? 

A dynamic system of supervision has been recognized as the cornerstone of a sound system of education. In a set up where their changes tend to be initiated from the top and filter down through the administrative hierarchy to the schools, the inspectorate forms an important link. With one foot in the administration and the other in the schools, inspectorate forms a natural bridge between the policy framers and the teachers in the field. An educational system will not be able to rise above the level of its inspectorate. That is why supervision are today being considered as the backbone of educational improvement. 

A formal and instituted supervision was said to have started in the year 1654 in United States of America, where the general court of Massachusetts Bay colony law authorized schools representatives to inspect schools. While in Britain, supervision of schools started as early as 1847, at the time the queen appointed education supervisors who are named as her majesty's supervisors. In both two colonies and many other places supervision was autocratic and was directed at teachers and their abilities to teach and helping them to improve. 

The introduction of western education in Nigeria started with the establishment of first primary school by the missionaries at Badagry in 1842. It used to be the duties of the missionaries to supervise their own schools via using the administrative supervision approach.

During the first quarter of the twentieth century inspectorate services got an unprecedented boost with the appointment of a director of education and three (3) zonal supervisors of schools in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of school inspection. The native authority officials were referred to as NA education officers. In the north most of the schools were owned by the then native authorities and were therefore supervised by Native Authority education officers. In addition, the supervisor who visited schools had no special training for the supervision. He was simply a seasoned teacher or headmaster/principal. Some of these supervisors succeeded in generating much anxiety and fear in head teachers, teachers and pupils. Supervision of instruction became weak and ineffective, gradually degenerate to its present state of paralysis. This notwithstanding, the modern supervision in Nigeria is regarded as a professional colleague, a democratic, a humanist, a facilitator, a friend and a councilor. 

The functions of supervision pose a great challenge to the educational system. The challenge and enduring system of supervision. It is only then that supervision can be regarded' a catalyst to the improvement of the quality of the learning environment and instruction for the learners. On the other hand, the absence of a strong system of supervision poses a serious threat to the .survival of the educational system. 

The National Policy on Education (NPE, 2004) categorically stipulates the objectives of supervision as to ensure quality control through regular and continuous supervision of instruction and other educational services". This has shown the necessity of supervision-and the important given to it by the nation's educational policy. To perform this task and for it to be beneficial to the education industry, this policy further emphasizes the supervision of all category of institutions at all levels of education in Nigeria. The prominence given to supervision perhaps might not be unconnected with the saying that, the success of any system of education, apart from the provision of adequate resources hinges on adequate supervision and the utilization of these resources. 

Supervision is the element of the administrative process which is concerned with efforts to guide the day to day activities of the work group by stimulating, directing, and coordinating the workers and their efforts, cultivating good working personal relationship so that they all work towards a more efficient achievement of the task goal. In the school system where the aim is better school performance, supervision relates, to guiding and coordinating the work of teachers and all connected with school work in such a way that students - learning will be examined and facilitated.

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In the general sense, supervision at the primary school in Matazu Local Government Area has the following aims: 

i. Inform the appropriate authorities about the standards achievement attained in the curriculum and extra-curricular activities in the school. 

ii. Provide the local education authority with as full a picture as possible of the school, and the part the education authority could and should play in assisting the school headmaster to improve the standard of education. 

iii. Acquaint the school head and his staff with up-to-date information on the equipment and instructional materials which can be used to improve the quality of the instructions.  

iv. Provide means of assessing the needs and priorities of the schools. 

v. Provide an objectives record by which an "assessment can be made from time to time, and this ascertain the impact of supervisory role of performance in primary schools in Matazu Local Government Area, Katsina State. 

vi. Create avenue for raising the confidence and morale of the school staff through mature and wise counsel, commendation motivation and a 

demonstration of interest in their work. 

vii. Advise on maximum use of available resources, community members 

and assistance. viii.To assess the supervisory role of performance for academic development of pupils in schools.  

Essentially, therefore, the role of the supervisor in local education authority is to put things in order, to assist the headmasters and teachers end to prepare the way for the inspectors. 

In the general sense, supervision of instruction deals with learning, teaching and administration. Learning and the growth of pupils, both of which are active processes are the central concerns of teachers. Therefore the research focuses on the assessment of supervisory role performance in primary school in Matazu Local Government Area, Katsina State. 

1.2 Statement of the Problem

There is definitely no doubt that supervision has made great advances for over hundred years that the system of supervision has been working in Nigeria, yet it is still considered not as a spoke, but as a clog in the wheel of progress of education. It was expected that with the grant of freedom, our supervision practices would improve, but still recently school supervision has not attained to the new conception. In the words of Lawrence "School supervision is often criticized as been hastily, perfunctory and unsympathetic. The supervising officers were anxious only to pick holes, not mend or end them. There is only "troublesome interference" and nothing more. Education officers are interested in only in statistics passes in examination, furniture, and daily attendance. The negative side is accentuated rather than the positive. Criticism of the destructive side only is offered. The education officer is a detective trying to detect a few mistakes in the school. While the headmasters and teachers try to please him in all sorts of ways. Supervision is thus frequently faction in teachers". Though not supervision defects may not persist universally but major defects are obvious. 

The supervision are largely concerned with planning and very rarely discharge their duties as an educational adviser. He is pre-occupied with administrative work that he cannot devote sufficient time, energy and talent to his primary responsibility namely; visit, advice, and assistance. He is usually more dreaded than respected. The officer is generally qualified in one subject area. Supervision does not give the teacher a chance to seek redress of his real grievances or of consulting the education officer to help rectify his weak spots. The number of supervisors is inadequate. There is Jack of actual experience in supervision. There is tendency towards favouritism in the discharge of duties. Lack of theoretical and practical articulation. 

Too limited contact to make real impact. Fear of teachers for supervisor makes them to look more of masquerade. Inadequate constructive criticism undermining their work, lack of words of praise discourages the teachers and strain relationship. Lack of fund generally to mobilize and energize the supervisors. Lack of opportunities, zeal for refresher courses, seminar and workshops. On the average all these factors have created non-functioning or under functioning the average workload of an inspecting officer has always been very heavy and above the desirable standard, accepted to gender perfection in our school system and ensure effective teaching and learning. 

Okworri (2004) summarized the dilemma facing the country's educational system as excessive over politicization of education, unplanned educational growth, failure of education to enhance social and economic development, deliberate deviations from and distortions of established educational goals and indiscipline. To him the above are just some of the multifarious problems bedeviling the educational system which needs daily call for attention. 

At the time of this study, the researcher observed that teachers and the infrastructural facilities needed for the successful for good pupils academic performance in Matazu Local Government Area is inadequate, as well as the over population in schools in the area. Inability to provide adequate support to community self help projects and the lack of monitoring and supervision. Similarly, girl child education resulting to gender disparity in enrolment and retention between boys and girls due to factors such as work, roles, early marriage and poverty. The implication here is that inadequate planning strategies and noncompliance to the implementation guidelines. 

 Consequently, it is against the background of the above that, this research set to examine the opinion of teachers and headmasters, pupils and parents as well as the effort of government in the assessment of supervisory role of performance in primary schools in Matazu Local Government Area, Katsina State