Comparative Assessment of Implementation and Utilization of Constituency Educational Systems in 3 Senatorial Districts of Oyo State

Abstract

One of the major desires of every nation is to drastically reduce illiteracy amidst increasing population and quest for better livelihood. In the modern era, education is seen as a global goal whose achievement is integral to the sustainable development of any nation. This is because education is one of the vital indicators used in the measurement and categorization of nations as developed or developing. Secondary education is one of the constituency Projects regarded as a public project nominated by federal lawmakers to extend the dividends of democratic government to various constituencies to spur development at the grassroots level of the country. Constituency projects are carried out by the National Assembly Members to impact various communities within their Constituencies and Senatorial Districts across the country, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A survey was conducted across three senatorial districts in Oyo State, with a total of 157 respondents. This study focused on the assessment of the implementation and utilization of educational constituency projects. Various factors were considered such as Structural Status and Resource Availability, time and duration of establishment, accessibility of schools, and utilization of facilities, government interventions, community participation, as well as challenges and opportunities. The study employed a descriptive research design, using questionnaires as the primary data collection instrument. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of 157 respondents, consisting of key stakeholders, selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and One-way Analysis of Variance using SPSS software 2020. The Result revealed that the distribution of respondents across the senatorial districts was as follows: Oyo Central (60, 38.2%), Oyo North (44, 28.0%), and Oyo South (53, 33.8%). The facilities surveyed varied in age, with some established within the last 5 years and others over 30 years old. The majority of the facilities were state projects (86.6%), while a smaller percentage were federal projects (8.3%) or other types of projects (3.8%). The structural status of the facilities varied, with 77.9% being old and 22.1% being new. In terms of recent renovations, 36.8% of the facilities had undergone some form of renovation, with 49.3% of those renovations being completed, 19.2% ongoing, and 31.5% abandoned. When examining laboratory availability, 50.0% of the facilities had library laboratories, 68.3% had science laboratories, 9.0% had ART laboratories, and 41.4% had computer laboratories. The average number of female students completing SS3 was: 1-10 (4.0%), 11-20 (9.3%), 21-30 (11.3%), and 30 and above (75.3%) while the male students, the distribution was: 1-10 (2.7%), 11-20 (10.3%), 21-30 (20.5%), and 30 and above (66.4%). Teaching aids were present in 49.0% of the facilities. Interventions from PTAs/PTFs in management or financing were reported in 59.5% of the facilities. The average number of male and female personnel staff assigned to the schools varied across the senatorial districts, with Oyo Central having the highest mean for both male (14.36) and female (18.67) staff. One of the main challenges identified in the survey was the lack of equipment or teaching aids for persons with disabilities (PWDs), with only 6.1% of facilities having such resources. Additionally, many facilities reported insufficient furniture (90.8%) and inadequate laboratory equipment (73.8%). However, there are opportunities for improvement through government interventions, community participation, and effective utilization of available budget by all ministries, agencies, and departments of the state.