SCHOOL PLANT MAINTENANCE: THE ROLE OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS

Abstract

This paper highlighted the usefulness of maintenance of school plant in public secondary schools in Abia State; x-raying the role of principals in ensuring that all facilities used for teaching-learning process are in good functioning condition. School plant includes all facilities in an educational institution that enhance teaching and learning. It is a very important input into the school system that helps boost teachers’ effectiveness and increase students’ academic performance referred to as the output. The input-output production theory in education lays credence to this paper. Yet many literature are replete with evidences of the existence of poorly maintained school plant in most public secondary schools. Examples are the existence of dilapidated school buildings with leaking roofs or no roofs at all, broken chalkboards and desks, cracked classroom floors and overgrown unkempt lawns. Although all users of these facilities have the responsibility of careful and proper care of these facilities to slow down the rate of depreciation in their use value, the onus lies on the principal to ensure excellent maintenance of the school plant through for example, regular checks, replacement, cleaning, clearing, and repainting as the case may be. The paper concluded that maintenance of school plant as one of the core administrative responsibilities of principals helps in the ultimate actualization of stated education goal and objectives.