Assessment of Stakeholders' Influence on Academic Performance in Public Primary Schools: a Case of Akithii Division of Tigania West District

Abstract

This study particularly assessed the influence of school committees, teachers, parents and pupils on academic performance in public primary schools in Akithii Division of Tigania West District. The success or failure of the education process depends on the interactions of these groups and the changing roles they play in, or are assigned by, the society in which they live.

This study was purely descriptive research. There are 30 public primary schools in Akithii Division with' a total student population of 14000 pupils, 30 school committees (with 420 members), 350 teachers, 30 head teachers, and 1050 parents. The study targeted all the stakeholders in public primary schools in Akithii Division. With a target population of 2954, the study used a sample size of 350 respondents representing 13.16% of the target population. Stratified simple random sampling technique was used to draw the sample. Questionnaires were used in collecting primary data and both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to analyze the data from the field. Findings were presented in the form of frequency tables and percentages.

Study findings reveal that there is understaffing in primary schools in the Division which affects the academic performance of the region. Additionally, majority of the pupils (69.1%) were not satisfied by the number of facilities to support learning in their school. This could also hamper their learning activities. School committees did not have a reward programme for teachers who perform well, a clear indication of lack of motivation for teachers.

Study recommends government should increase allocation of funds to provide for more amenities to facilitate learning in the schools. Such additional funds can also be used in hiring of more teachers to curb the understaffing problem. In addition, School committees can also introduce reward programmes to motivate teachers.