CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

1.1 Introduction

This thesis sought to find out administrative challenges facing public primary school head teachers in managing primary school in Buea. This chapter covered the background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research objectives, research questions, significance of the study, and the scope of the study, delimitations and limitations of the study, assumptions of the study, theoretical and conceptual frame work.
1.2Background to the Study

School administration is key in administering the school and plays a crucial role in matters pertaining to the community, whereby its role is not only implementing educational policies and objectives but also raising, nurturing and mentoring the generations and making them fit to live in this rapidly changing era (Wanzare 2013). Therefore, understanding administrative challenges facing the head teachers would help in providing clear environment that would enable education stakeholders combine their synergies to address the challenges for the benefit of learners. Learners’ management has long been noted as a major factor in the effectiveness and improvement of school. Although teaching quality strongly influences level at which pupils can be motivated and perform constant arguments have come up that the quality of management is important in determining motivation of teachers and quality of classroom teaching (Muasya, 2014). Some studies on the effectiveness of school, head teacher management ability has been identified as a significant factor in pupil achievement in schools. This implies that education is a way of creating awareness in people both socially and politically as well as bringing into forth quality and quantity manpower that is skilled and needed in developing the economy of a nation (Shultz,
2011).

During the 1960s there were series of meetings covenanted by UNESCO and their main aim was to achieve universal primary education (UPE) in different countries. The same goal which Asia, Africa and Latin America adopted in their education ministries when UNESCO held a major regional conference early 1960’s which was meant to achieve universal Primary Education. Dawo and Simatwa, (2010) studied on the opportunities and challenges for mixed secondary school head teachers managing education in cameroon and found that there are various challenges that educational administrators face in their day to day running of schools. To start with, according to Everard, Morris and Wilson (2014), in addition to essential teaching skills, institutional leaders have to provide focused instructional leadership. They must exhibit exemplary and effective classroom practice so that they can make accurate judgment and give useful feedback to the
teachers with whom they work. They also have to be result-oriented leaders since among the factors responsible for the failure of the educational policies and programmes is leadership that lack managerial and administrative skills required to succeed (Gichuri, 2013). These skills can only be acquired through learning and experience. In addition,they have to lead towards change where by school leaders are change agents. Systematic change is not well understood even by experts and school leaders have little training to prepare them for the challenge. Ndana, (2011) states that, schools are put in place to facilitate achievement of set objectives by the society through the process of teaching and learning. That is why the schools need to be properly managed and each and every institution of learning needs a culture of proper administration so that there is effectiveness and efficiency towards the realization of its goals. Kamau, (2010) also emphasized on this when he documented that majority of Kenyan teachers have been given schools to head without preparing them fully.They have been found in roles and challenges which are new to them. To
achieve efficiency and effectiveness in administration, adequate administrative skillsare key to any head teacher as well as enough human and physical resources (Kamau,2010).