PLANNING OF SCHOOL PLANT

UNIT 4 PLANNING OF SCHOOL PLANT

1.0 Introduction

2.0 Objectives

3.0 Main Objectives

3.1 Planning of school plant

3.2 Principles of school plant planning

3.3 Stages involved in the provision of school plant

3.4 Type of spaces on school site

3.5 Problems of school plant maintenance

4.0 Summary

5.0 Conclusion

6.0 Tutor-marked Assignment

7.0 References/Further Readings

1.0 Introduction

In the last unit, we have discussed the meaning of school plant. We learnt that it is made up of all physical facilities which include buildings, equipments, furniture, and vehicles etc. We also looked at the meaning of school mapping as a process of identifying and estimating educational institutions requirements and identify the communities and locations for new schools

In this unit however, we shall be looking at the meaning of planning of school plant, the principles of planning school plant and the guidelines to be followed in arriving at logical effective school plant facilities. We shall also be looking at the various types of spaces expected at the school site, the problems of school plants maintenance and the solutions to the various problems associated with school plants.

2.0 Objectives.

At the end of this unit, you should be able to: (i)

Define school plant planning.

(ii)

List the principles of school plant planning.

(iv) Mention the types of spaces expected to be provided for at the school site.

3.0 Main content

3.1 Planning o f School Plant

School plant is the process of identifying, selecting and acquiring a suitable site for the school to be located, erecting appropriate physical structures that will assist in achieving the educational goals/objectives. The planning process involves citing, construction, and

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provision of recreation spaces for t he achievement of educational goals/objectives. It is a comprehensive process in which a suitable site is chosen and adequate buildings are designed with the aim of satisfying the educational needs of the students.

Essentially, school buildings are designed to meet the educational programme requirements and satisfy the students and teachers physical and emotional needs. The quality of instruction given to the students by the teacher depends on the type of school building and the learning environment. This is the reason why it is emphasized that the school building should be adequately considered, planned effectively and executed thoroughly to allow for effective teaching and learning.

3.2 Stages Involved in the Provision of School Plant.

The provision of adequate and appropriate school plant is one of the most important responsibilities of school of school administrators. To ensure that the school plant is relevant, adequate and efficient, the following six (6) stages should be observed:

Stage of adequate survey of needs

ii

Stage of wise educational planning.

iii

Stage of choice of site.

iv

Stage of architectural planning.

Stage of prudent financial planning.

vi

Stage of efficient plant construction.

The stages can be in form of a model (see fig. 1). Each of these stages has its peculiar characteristics and requires specialists from the ministry of education, school architects, educational consultants, accountants, and the engineers. The model shows the interrelationship of the stages involved in the procurement of school buildings and after the last stage i.e. building construction, it goes back to the survey to find out if there is need for new project or expansion of the existing one.

Figure 1

Survey needs

Educational Planning

Choice of site

Building

Architectural Construction

Financial Planning

Planning

Adapted from Adeboyeje (1994)

3.3 Type of Spaces on School Site

There are five (5) major spaces necessary on the school site to enable it carry on the effective activities of teaching and learning.

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i.

Instructional Space s: These are spaces set aside for students to receive instruction; they include classrooms, auditorium, gymnasium, library, laboratory workshops, arts room, music room, multipurpose rooms and all other rooms set aside for students to receive learning instruction.

ii

Administrative Spaces: These are spaces set aside for administrative offices of the school administrators, other staff members office (academic and non-academic), school counselor’s office, and health centres.

iii

Circulation Spaces: These are spaces meant to occupy corridors, lobby, staircases, and other spaces where students can recreate.

iv

Spaces for Convenience: These are spaces designed for toilets, bathrooms, cafeteria, kitchen, dormitories, custodian sheds and stores.

Accessories: These are spaces meant for car parks, relaxation and football/tennis field, volleyball court and tennis lawn.

3.4 Challenges of School Plant Maintenance

Several challenges are militating against proper maintenance of school plant. These account for the reasons why the school facilities are not what it used to be. Among the challenges, we have:

i.

Financial Constraints

This problem is very common is the primary and secondary schools. The head at these levels of education are starved by the controlling and regulatory body with fund to maintain school plant. Most of them are not even given imprests. This makes it very cumbersome to procure or maintain the essential equipment and structure needed by the schools.

ii

Misuse of School Physical Facilities

Some members of the school make use of physical facilities in the school very carelessly, because of the impression they have that it is government property. This is often common with the way both the students and staff make use of the toilets, lecture rooms, libraries, furniture, fittings, and other school facilities.

iii

Mismanagement of Maintenance Funds and Materials

School administrators in Nigeria mostly do not spend the allocation for maintenance appropriately. Money allocated for maintenance is either used for personal purposes or on things other than maintenance. Left over materials most times are not cared for; they are abandoned after use.

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iv

Lack of Dedication o n the Part of Custodians

The custodians are those in charge of the maintenance of the physical facilities in the school. The attitude of the custodians to work is very poor. Some of them are absent from work without reasons. They lack maintenance culture. Incessant power failure and bureaucratic procedure involved in getting order are other excuses given by the custodians for failing to take proper care of the school plant.

3.6 Solutions to the Challenges of School Plant Maintenance

With the present economic situation, the school administrators are not sure of the amount of money to be received from the government as imprest or for maintenance. The following strategies could be adopted to deal with the challenges of school plant maintenance.

Community Participation:

The need to seek the support of the community where the school is located in solving school plant maintenance problem should not be overlooked. This is because the community needs must have been considered and given priority at the initial plant planning for the school.

Members of the communit y especially members of Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of the school should be actively involved in solving the problems of school plant maintenance. The professionals/artisans among them e.g. carpenters, bricklayers, plumbers, etc should be co-opted as at when needed in the various committees for professional advice or repairs.

ii

Creation of Awareness: The government at local, state and federal levels, educational administrators, curriculum planners should embark on enlightement campaign through the media on the need to properly use and maintain the school plants.

iii

Setting up of Special Committees: These committees should be set up by the school administrators at the beginning of the term. The committees will be in charge of maintaining and carrying out any form of repair on the existing physical structures in the school.

iv

Regular School Inspection/Supervision: Regular school inspection by the school head or ministry of education will assist in detecting the problems on any of the school plant which if necessary action are taken to remedy them early will prevent total breakdown of the school plant.

Provision of Adequate Funds: Government/Supervisory agencies should make available to the institutional administrators adequate funds to maintain school plant in schools. If the government does not make available adequate fund the existing school plant can not be adequately maintained or utilized. Most of the physical facilities in our schools are

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lying idle and have b roken down because of inadequate funds to maintain them.

4.0 Conclusion

The provision of adequate and appropriate school plant is one of the most important responsibilities of the school head. School buildings are designed to meet the educational programme requirements and to satisfy both the physical and emotional needs of both the teachers and learners. For this reason, and many more, school building should be adequately considered and planned effectively to allow for effective teaching and learning. There are five major spaces (instructional, administrative, circulation, convenience and accessories spaces) that must be provided on the school site to enable it carry on effective teaching and learning. However, there are also some challenges militating against school plant maintenance.

5.0 Summary

In this unit, we have considered what the school planning is all about. It is a comprehensive process in which a suitable location in chosen and adequate buildings is designed with the intension of satisfying the educational needs of a community. So also we examined the basic principles to be followed before a good school plant planning can

be done as highlighted by UNESCO (1982). The basic guidelines in the process of arriving at logical school plant facilities were also mentioned. We also discussed the various stages involved in the provision of school plants as well as the various spaces that needed to be provided for on the school site. Various problems facing school plant maintenance such as financial constraints, mismanagement, misuse of school plant facilities etc are discussed as well as the solutions to the identified problems.

6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment

What are the factors militating against proper maintenance of school plant in Nigeria?