Private Sector Participation in the Development of Secondary Education in Abia State, Nigeria: Implication for National Development

Abstract

This study investigated private sector participation in the development of secondary education in Abia State. The study was guided four objectives, four research questions and four hypotheses. The population of the study comprised 5200 persons while a sample size of 1500 private and public secondary school staff were drawn through stratified random sampling technique. An instrument called “private sector participation in the development of secondary school education assessment questionnaire (PSPDSEAQ)” was used for data collection. The PSPDSEAQ had a modified four- point rating scale of Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree. Mean and rank order statistics were used to answer the four research questions, while z-test statistics was used to test the null hypothesis at 0.05 alpha level of significance. At the end of the study, the researcher made the following findings. Private sector participates actively in the development of secondary education in Abia State. Some problems hinder effective participation of private sector in the development of secondary education in Abia State. The study recommended that government should encourage private sector to participate fully in the development of secondary education without any hitch, since private sector also need the product of schools to remain in business, they should consider investment in education as an important responsibility to themselves and to the society. In addition, government should establish a functional framework for the establishment, control and supervision of private schools in Abia State, there should appropriate legislation to provide a legal backing and streamline operation of private schools.

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