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Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in Nigeriatrained head teachers felt more able to complete school returns following training (UNICEF 2012; seealso Box 11.1).Box 11.1 The Lagos Eko Secondary Education ProjectThe Lagos Secondary Education Project is a USD 90 million partnership between <strong>the</strong> World Bank andLagos State aimed at improving <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> education in <strong>the</strong> state’s 620 public junior and seniorsecondary schools. Evidence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> project’s success is plain to see in <strong>the</strong> improvement in <strong>the</strong>students’ exam results. Results in English, Maths, Basic Sciences and Biology in 2012 rose substantiallyfrom <strong>the</strong> baseline in 2008. In <strong>the</strong> externally administered West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate <strong>of</strong>Education (WASSCE), for example, 38.5% <strong>of</strong> students achieved five credits or more in <strong>the</strong>ir exams, asagainst 10.4% in 2008, resulting in <strong>the</strong> World Bank rating <strong>the</strong> project as ‘highly satisfactory’.As <strong>the</strong> project website states, <strong>the</strong> ‘premise [is] that better results are achieved when power isdevolved to schools’ (www.lagosekoproject.org). School grants have been <strong>the</strong> main tool to drive <strong>the</strong>project’s achievements. Schools have been able to access NGN 1–3 million discretionary grantsannually for <strong>the</strong> duration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> project in order to carry out development plans put toge<strong>the</strong>r with <strong>the</strong>involvement <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> SBMCs. School grants focused predominantly on teacher development in <strong>the</strong> firsttwo years, but have subsequently shifted more toward purchasing equipment and teaching materials.O<strong>the</strong>r features <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> project have included:Standardised student assessments, both for tracking student progress and as a tool forsupporting teacher development. Teachers have been trained in item writing and exammoderation for WASSCE;Ongoing head teacher and teacher CPD. More than 25,000 teachers have now been trained inEnglish, Maths, Science, management, and o<strong>the</strong>r areas such as ICT, health and safety,classroom management, budgeting and leadership, both in Nigeria and internationally (e.g. inGhana, Kenya and Tanzania);Annual Governor’s Award for outstanding schools, head teachers and students. Cash awardsare spread across 128 schools that have shown most improvement over <strong>the</strong> year;Support for low-attaining schools, for example by supplying grants for activities such ascoaching after school hours and Saturday support. Likewise, practical sessions in Sciencesubjects were implemented and <strong>the</strong> training <strong>of</strong> teachers in WASSCE marking. Improvementshave been observed in <strong>the</strong> performance <strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> schools;Engagement <strong>of</strong> sanitation managers in school (paid for through school grants). Each schoolhas at least one, resulting in improved cleanliness and an improved overall schoolenvironment for teachers and students;Grants to 12 special needs schools; andSix-month mentoring programme for 200 teachers in MELT (Model <strong>of</strong> Effective Learning andTeaching), with <strong>the</strong> mentors to be distributed throughout <strong>the</strong> six education districts.Moreover, 25 ‘master mentors’ are also to be subsequently trained.Source: World Bank (2013)Notwithstanding <strong>the</strong> above, <strong>the</strong> GEP I evaluation (Chege et al. 2008) noted that, despite training on howto complete <strong>the</strong> SDP template, head teachers struggled to do so, even with <strong>the</strong> aid <strong>of</strong> a manual.However, <strong>the</strong> report also acknowledged that <strong>the</strong> template was perhaps too complicated, not very userfriendlyand needed <strong>review</strong>. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, it may be that head teachers were hampered by lowliteracy and/or numeracy levels, as many classroom teachers are (see Section 10.5) – a possibility that is<strong>of</strong>ten overlooked in discussions <strong>of</strong> head teacher management and leadership capacity.EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 131
Review <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>literature</strong> on basic education in NigeriaIn an initial survey <strong>of</strong> 330 public primary schools across <strong>the</strong> five ESSPIN states, over half <strong>the</strong> schools hadno SDP, a figure that escalated to 71% in <strong>the</strong> follow-up survey (Antoninis 2010). However, by <strong>the</strong> midterm<strong>review</strong>, 94% <strong>of</strong> Phase 1 schools could produce an SDP and just under a quarter <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> schoolsprovided evidence <strong>of</strong> four or more SDP activities having been completed (ESSPIN 2013a).11.4 Monitoring and evaluation: school inspections and school supportM&E and pr<strong>of</strong>essional support to head teachers and teachers is supposed to be carried out by <strong>the</strong> LGEAthrough <strong>the</strong> ES and school supervisors. Each school supervisor, who may receive an allowance with <strong>the</strong>irsalary, oversees a cluster <strong>of</strong> schools, which should be visited several times a term. However, urbanschools tend to be visited more <strong>of</strong>ten and some remote rural schools are rarely, if ever, visited (FME2005; Williams 2009; Schiffer et al. 2013).School inspection should be a supportive, collaborative process – not a fault-finding one – in whichconstructive ideas are formulated for teachers’ and schools’ improvement (FME 2011a). The limitedavailable research has shown that, like head teachers, school supervisors usually focus on administration(e.g. checking registers, lesson notes and whe<strong>the</strong>r or not teachers are in class teaching) ra<strong>the</strong>r thangiving pedagogical or development support (Boulton et al. 2009; Williams 2009; Dunne et al. 2013).The Adamawa study reported that LGEAs were aware that school supervisors also have capacity-buildingneeds, and that some were appointed for reasons o<strong>the</strong>r than merit (Dunne et al. 2013). That said, <strong>the</strong>rewere reports <strong>of</strong> LGEAs <strong>of</strong>fering training to teachers on specific issues, such as how to use teaching aidsor make lesson notes, although it is not known how frequent or effective <strong>the</strong> training was or whatproportion <strong>of</strong> teachers had access to it (ibid.).School inspections are also periodically carried out by federal, state and LGEA teams, as discussed ingreater detail in Chapter 6. The lack <strong>of</strong> clarity regarding roles and responsibilities, one study concluded,can ‘result in many visits but few tangible benefits’ (Boulton et al. 2009: 7). Lack <strong>of</strong> funds at LGEA levelcan also limit <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> school visits school supervisors can do (Williams 2009; UBEC 2012a). Thereis certainly a lack <strong>of</strong> information on what exactly is monitored in schools, <strong>the</strong> types <strong>of</strong> recommendationsthat are made, and what (if any) follow-up occurs to see whe<strong>the</strong>r recommendations have been actedupon.However, most head teachers in <strong>the</strong> 2004 ESA survey at both primary and secondary level reportedschool inspection visits being ‘rewarding and enlightening’ and listed various improved practices thatresulted from <strong>the</strong> visit, such as adopting new ideas, improved lesson planning or record-keeping andbetter CA practices (FME 2005). Even though no observational data were <strong>of</strong>fered to confirm <strong>the</strong>improvements, <strong>the</strong> fact that head teachers were positive about <strong>the</strong> experience (provided <strong>the</strong>irresponses were genuine) means that inspection visits may indeed provide important morale boosts.11.5 Teacher pr<strong>of</strong>essionalism11.5.1 Main disciplinary issuesThere are no available reports from <strong>the</strong> TRCN documenting <strong>the</strong> type and frequency <strong>of</strong> complaints filedagainst teachers, nor what action (if any) is taken. However, <strong>the</strong>re is a fair amount <strong>of</strong> qualitativeevidence ga<strong>the</strong>red from interviews and school observations, which highlights <strong>the</strong> following major areas<strong>of</strong> concern:Widespread teacher absenteeism (Urwick and Aliyu 2003; Adelabu 2005; Adekola 2007; Sherry2008; Dunne et al. 2013);EDOREN – Education Data, Research and Evaluation in Nigeria 132
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