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Administration responsibilities of a school administrator

Administration

Administration responsibilities of a school administrator

Every organization is goal -motivated ad directed, and consists of individuals, groups and materials to realize te pre-determined goals[s]. As a social system, these component parts are in continuous interaction, inter- relatedness and interdependence to achieve the organizational goals. To organize and manage these human and material resources to attain organizational goals call for administration.

Administration responsibility of a school administrator
Administration responsibility of a school administrator

Educational or school administration as a service, activity or tool through which the fundamental objectives and goals of education are effectively and efficiently realized, involves all activities geared towards the attainment of teaching and learning.

School administration is in the hands of many agencies/ persons, such as ministry of education of education, parastatals of education, and schools heads at federal, state, local and institutional levels. At whatever level school administrators operate, their focus is on those activities and series of decisions that will cause the full realization of educational goals. Taking cognizance of the fact that school administration is a social process, full of series of activities and procedures to achieve the desired educational goals and objectives certain administration responsibilities are assigned to a school administrator.

Administrative Responsibilities in Schools or Scope of Administration.

This refers to the specific areas of tasks or functional operations and concerns of a school administrators. They are those operational tasks of a school administrator [head teacher, principal, or vice chancellor] which cumulatively contribute to the full realization of the stated educational objectives. These task areas have been grouped by some scholars as ;

  1. Administration of instructional programmed and curriculum
  2. Staff personnel administration
  3. Pupils/students personnel administration
  4. Financial management/ school business administration
  5. Administration of school plant
  6. School community relationship[ Campbell [1971], [liphan & hoeh, 1974]. and [ndu 1997]

Administration of instructional program and curriculum.

Experts have agreed that administration of instructional programme and curriculum are the first and most important responsibility of school administrator [principal]. Instructions and curriculum are the primary functional areas of a school administrator. Every other task area or responsibility directly or indirectly facilitates effective and efficient teaching and learning.

School inculcates worthwhile values, attitudes, skills and competencies to students to produce required quality products, hence principals and performance assessment tests on his leadership ability in the area of instruction and curriculum which manifest in academic performance and instructional delivery [mgbodile, 1997].

Two dimensions of the components of instruction of a programme identified by mgbodile[1997] are maintenance activities and programes improvements.

Maintenance Activities

Refer to the routine teaching and other activities aimed at providing instruction in accordance with the existing school curriculum and educational objectives, determining the educational needs and stating objectives, planning and implementing instructional change , assessing the community context of education and evaluating outcomes.

Programme Improvements

Involve careful attention to motivating staff to high degree of devotion and commitment for higher productivity. this is achieved through the reduction of broad goals and objectives into measurable behavioral outcomes, directing attentions to human material inputs and processes needed to change and improve the educational programme and the assessment of the products with adequate evaluation techniques and procedures.

In his view, Aeola [2006] enjoined school administrators to pay adequate attention to the effectiveness of instructional delivery . and the execution of the instructional programs. this is done through creating conducive working environment for teaching and learning, provision of materials and instructional resources, curricular activities for students, motivation of staff, innovative instructional methodology and good human relations. other activities include tracking the progress of students for proper placement, assigning teachers to classes/subjects and supervising their activities, disciplining students etc.

Put differently, from whatever dimension this task is being handled, for effectiveness, the school administrator need to work together wit teachers, pupils/students and supervisors in selecting appropriate school activities suitable to the age, sex, needs, levels and abilities of the learners, provide adequate instructional materials for teaching, such as books, evaluate all school activities and programes to ensure and determine the extent and effect of programme delivery. this could be done through classroom visitation, checking of statutory records etc.

Staff Personnel Administration

This is the second administrative responsibility of a school administrator in achieving the goals of the school in particular and education in general. staff personnel refers to both teaching and non-teaching staff which includes teachers, administrative officer, clerks, attendants, guards etc. but teachers are the most potent weapons in the hands of a school administrator in achieving educational goals.

They possess the capacity, competence and ability to make or mar the school or its programmes, hence it is said that the tone of a school is the teacher and no educational system can rise above its teachers subscribing to this position, Emenalo [2006] stressed that the teacher uses this professional skillls to process otheer educatonal inputs which would have been in a state of inertia to achieve the desired educational goals.

This explains why the staff personnel adminstrative responsibility it pertinent. it invovles recruitment/selection, orrientation. motivation supervision, development and evalation of staff. since the overall goal of this task is to recruit adequate and qualified staff, develop and maintain the staff for effective and efficient educational servuce delivery, school administrator need considerable data for the preparation of personnel plans.

The nature and extent of informaton required vary and subject to whether the personnel plan is a standing plan [plan relating to established government policies, procedures, rules and regulations concerning personnel in the school syatem like policy on NCE or other grades of teacgers, on the class level they can teach and class size/rtio, or a single use plan where the contents are not specified and plans usually change from time to timr depeding on other factors like students population, finance and the general picture of demand and supply of staff required.

Orientation of hired staff for acquaintance and adjustment to work environment is an essential part of staff personnel administrative responsibility as well as staff improvements. this could take the form of class visitation, conferencing, provision of professional library, professional associations and in service education so as to enrich and widen knownledge for effective teaching and learning.

Provision of enabling environment for professional growth motivates staff [teachers] and brings about positive perception of the school management. comsequently. thee willl be high complaince and productivity, high teacher retention, high academic performance, low truancy and disciplinary problems. furthermore, it is required that a school adminstrator shows good leadership examples to tteachers, uses humaritarian and democratic leadership style while dealing with teachers’ realated cases.

Administrative technique like management by objective [M.B.O] needs to be employed. Here the school administraor and his/her teachers set up the school objectives, spell out the procedures, programmes and the time limit for the realization of the agreed objectives.

This makes the teachers to be committed and work towards the attainment of the jointly-set objectives are; – far and friendly treatment of staff, recognition and respec for individual worth, needs, problems and aspirations to make for cooperation and team spirit, appropriate assignment of responsibilities to staff, clinical supervision and evaluation, effective communication, as well as ensuring that promotions and salarise are given prompt and desired attention.

It follows that the efforts of a school administrator must be directed towards attracting, retaining, rewarding and developing team of highly motivated workforce [staff] capable and willing to contribute to the attainment of instructional and educational goals [Emenalo, 2004]

Pupils/Students Personnel Administration

This responsibility begins with;

  • Admission, registrationa dn classification of students
  • Provision of adequate teaching and learning facilities and conducive learning environment.
  • Evaluation and report of students progress.
  • Provision og guidance and counseling, health and safety programmes.
  • Enforcement of discipline with humanitarian touch rather than the custodian approach in applying the doctrine of in-loco-parents
  • Care of boarding/food or transportation.

The concept of pupils/students personnel administration according to emenike[2004] is all the activities and serves that are rendered to pupil/students for the achievement of the educational objectives, which are not the normal classroom instructions. They include those processes and functions that emphasize intellectual, social, emoional, cultural and physical development of pupils/students and also help to build curriculum, improve methods of insrucions and develop programs [crookedsto, 1972]

A school administrator is expected to appreciate, understand and accept the students disposition and make efforts to decrease the tradiional social distance between the students and the teachers and him/her. he adopts a structure/mechanism that will increase students’ invovlvement in making certain educational decisions and ensures that there is no violation of the fundamental human rights of the pupils/students because no matter how small a child is, there is a constitutional provision for his/her rights.

A suitable climate where the students will have the feeling of satisfction, sense of belonging, identification and achievement needs should be created. Whatever punishment a student is being given for an offence must be commensurate with the offence committed and it has to serve detergent, retributive or reformative functiond. Hence, there is need to set up students disciplinary committee to avoid negligence of duty or wrongful acts that could bring damages to the puplis/students and tort liability.

It is necessary that a school adminstraor remains abreat of professional ethics and official rules and regulations regarding relationship with students e.g. administration of corporal punishment, suspensiom/expulsio, immoral acts with students etc. Above all counseling is very important in pupils/students personnel administration. As egbochukwu [2003] pointed out, lack of effective monitoring and corrective mechanisms prevalent in our, lack of effective monitoring and correcyive mechanisms prevalent in our educational administrators to ensure that adequuate and appropriate strategies are put in place to orientate, monitor, councel and evaluate students in a school.

It has to be noted that all educational programmes/activities and facilities need to be geared toward the development of the students cognitive affective and psychomotor domains [chils- centred strategy], since school are built for the interest of students and not for teachers or adminstrator.

Financial Management/Shool Business Administration

This is an important aspect of a school administrators responsibility considering the igh interst and awareness of the general public on education. Moreover, which government, parents and individuals huge expenditure on education, the damnd for accountability from schoool adminstrators through financial reporting. All these demand carefulness and a good sense of economy.

It is the respomsibility of a school administrators to device ways of generating and managing funds for specific programmes and acivities with the help of a bursar/account officer. He prepares the school budget by compilling various requisitions from the varous requisitions from the various units in the school. Budget making is often described as a school programme expressed in fiscal terms [Ozurummba 1999]. A good budget has 3 major aspects namely;

  • The proposed programme of a school
  • The expenditures necessary to support such a progrmme&
  • The anticipated revenues to cover such expenditure.

School budget is the translation of educational needs into a financial plan which is interpreted to the public in such a way that when formally adopted, it expresses the kind of educational programme the school is willing to support financially and morally for one year period [okeke et al in Ozurumba 1999].

Honest and judicious use of school money has to be made. records of income and expenditures are to be kept and reciepts for payments and expenditures need to be filled. every sschooled needs to have a bank account and approval should be sought and obtained before expenditure

Importance of school budgeting in schoool adminstration;

  1. It is a projection of teh anticipated educational programme for nrxt academic year since it is prepared in advamce
  2. It indicates the main sources of funds for implementing the educational programme.
  3. Budget guides school adminstrators inthe disbursemment of public funds for education by making use of the financial instructions
  4. It gives information to the public about about the kind of educaional programme planned for their children.
  5. After bufget implemention, teh experiences gained fron it lead to more careful planning, better syatems contol and judicious expenditure of funds etc [Ozurumba 1999]]

Sources of revenue for schools

  1. Pay as you earn [PAYE]; monies deducted from salaries of all categories of workeds at the ending of the month
  2. School fees; monies paid by students for recieving educational service
  3. Rates; local government councils are empowered to collect rates and part of the money collected is used in funding edcation.
  4. Registration fees; moies derived from regidtration new students
  5. Property rate; in large cities and urban centres people who own substantial property whivh yield heavy incone are taxed certain percentage and the amount realized is used to maintain essential services such as education.
  6. Education rate: This could be introduced through education review commision for adults, males and females, to pay certain amount per annum or half percent of annual gross income to support education. Also certain amount of money could be deducted from every contract job awarded for example, in 1980 imo state through educational revision commision intoduced registeration fee and education rate which were later abolished at the end of 1980/81 session and replaced with school fees.
  7. Education levies: Boards of Governors (BOGs) and parents teachers association (PTA) at times may deside to sponsor projects through payment of agreed levy.
  8. Endowment: Rich citizens, organizations like old boys.girls or companies can assist in the development of qualitative education by establishing endowment funds for special school projects.
  9. Donations: public spirited individuals during sports festivalss, foundersday celebration, silver or golden jubilee celebrations could make some cash donations to assist the school.
  10. rentals; some school facilities and services, staff quaters, hallls, field, choral/cultural groups catering unit could be used to generate revenue.

It is the responsibility of a school administrator to devise means and ways to explore some of these sources within the limit of his/her powers so as to run the school and judiciously too.

Administration of school plants:

The fist step towards effective formal education is the provisiomn, maintennance and proper utilization of school buildingd, laboratories, libraries, furniture, firld and equipment. According to fsdipe [1998], school plant is the non consumable materials in school for the promotion of teaching and learning activities. These include school site,building equipment, machinery, vehicle, books, computers electrical and water facilities as well as field and farm. They are essential ingredients for effrctive teaching and learning beacuse learning occurs as a result of series of inerection between the learner and his envirioment which consist of these facilities [emenalo 2006]

  • It is the responsibility of a school adminstrator ton ensure that;
  • Provisions are made of the needed facilities in school
  • The facilities are properly utilized and maintained.
  • To locate, design, arrange and space the furninture to suit the students environment and
  • Instill maintenace culture in both the students teachers

Shool Community relations

school community relations or public relations is another operational area or responsibility of every school administrator. Okeke [1997] defines it as genuine cooperation inplanning and working and working for good of the school with the public giving as much as receiving. Alao, Nnabuo and Emenalo [2002] see it as series of planned activities and media through which the school seeks to learn about their community and inform the community, when necessary the purposes, programmes problems and the needs of school. It is two way process and flow of ideas between the school and the community with the intent to provide mutual understanding and effective team workk. Stability or consistency and fixed programmes are hadly anticipated in schools aare in continous process of interaction and rapid change , school community relations is crucial for school administration because a school does not operate in a social and geographical vacuum.

Strategies for Effective school-community Relations

A school Administration should selll the school tho teh community and e acquainted with the values, expectations, needs and aspirations of the community through the following methods.

  1. Inviting community members to certain school activities, like send off, parents day, prinze-giving ceremony interhouse sports, etc
  2. Taking students out for an exursion to places or persons of importance in the community.
  3. Seeking and having the cooperation, support and interest of parents and other members of community.
  4. Allowing the use of school facilities like hall and field by the community.

however, in the course of interacting and communicating with these diverse reference groups, a chool Administrator needs to be very skillfull and diplomatic so as not to be dabble into local politics.

Conclusion

Since admiistration generally is the art of organizing and managing human and material resources to attain organizational goals and achool administrator is the policy implementer of education, a lot depends on him/her for full realization of educational goals. This could only be possible if the administrative responsibilties of a school administrator are effectively and efficiently executed.

Refrences

  1. Adebola, O.J. [2006] school administration and supervisory educations management; thoughts and practice, ibadan; codat pub. [p.221-222]
  2. Crookson, B.B [1972] an organizational model for student’s development ASPAA journal 10[1]
  3. Emenalo, F.C [2006] the teacher as a key player for the actualization of the UBE programme; a paper prented at NUT imo state wiing conference of delegates held at teachers’ house owerri on 14th feb 2006
  4. Emenalo, F.C [2004] effective administration in secondary school system paper prensented at a 3-day workshop organized by M.O.E Owerri for sec. sch. principals in imo state. owerri 8th 10th january
  5. Emenike. O. [2004] students personnel administration issues in educational administration. enugu emphathy international P.170
  6. Fadipe, J.O [1998] modern strategies of school plant maintenance management of nigerian education. project monitoring and school plant maintenance. A publication of the national instute for educational planning and administration, ibadan.
  7. Mgbodile, T.O [1997] the nature and scope of educations administration management; Dynamics of educations administration & management.
  8. Nnabuo. P.O.M and Emenalo, F.C [2002] communication and school community relations in imo state secondary schools.
  9. Okeke, B.S, [1997] schools and community: introduction to educations administration. Owerri; klet-ken computers.
  10. Ozurumba, N.M [1999] effective financial management in primary schools. s paper presented at a workshop organized by private school proprietors of imo state at geotina montessori nursery/primary school. owerri on 18th feburary.
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