*ACCOUNTABILITY IN EDUCATION*
Education all over the world is seen as the corner stone of development. It forms the basis for literacy, skills acquisition, technological advancement as well as the ability to harness the natural resources of the environment for development and this all important sector is faced with myriad of problems in the country. Prominent among the problem areas that brings to light the poor show of the sector are the poor quality of school products, flawed administrative procedures and lack of accountability in the school system, politicized employment and appointment of school heads, improper supervision and defective quality assurance and control mechanism.
Accountability is the obligation to explain, justify, and take responsibility for one's actions. Accountability is the state of being accountable, meaning responsible for something or obligated to answer to someone, such as a person with more authority, like a boss.Every organisation either commercial or otherwise including the school are established and sustained essentially to achieve certain assured objectives. In the education system, one of the vital mechanisms to be put in place towards achieving the goals of the school and ensuring quality service delivery to the society is *accountability* . Accountability etiquette tends to imply that performance is related to the organizational goals. It is therefore a goal-oriental activity viewed from the input perspectives.
In the school system, accountability is usually linked to the management of the scarce resources of education to ensure prudent utilization of available resources for the accomplishment of the stated goals of education. The integration of accountability in the education management processes helps to improve service delivery and control indiscipline in the organization thereby increasing efficiency in the systems. It should be noted that accountability in education is an essential ingredient that is intertwined with the organizational framework.
The absence of adequate teachers, facilities and other resources make the realization of educational goals difficult. The situation could never have been better since, the various parastatals whose responsibility is to fund education adequately has not been able to cope with the arduous task. Schools are no longer making the desired noticeable impact in achieving the set objectives of education. Individuals are fast losing their blind faith in education as an instrument for achieving social awareness, political astuteness and economic prosperity Parents and other benefactors of education are embittered with the outcome of the schools (especially public owned) to the extent that they now seek substitute for their children’s education even in the face of free education programmes in some areas.
In the past few years, calls for accountability in the administration and management of schools have become imperative because of the demand for constructive changes in the education system and the high need for school products that will meet the needs of the society.
In schools, administrators have been observed to neglect the essential task of grooming the future leaders for the hunt of other mundane activities for financial benefits rather than on their administrative functions. Accountability in education has become very imperative considering the fact that the society expects very much from the school system. All operators in the school system have an obligation to live up to their responsibilities by making the education system very responsive, competitive and productive. Educational administrators are both accountable to the entire stakeholders in education as well as accountable for achieving the goal of education using available resources.
Accountability in education desires an administrator that is proficient to mobilize the necessary actors and factors in the system to achieve the desired goals of education and render account of such stewardship.
TO BE CONTINUED.
The Men That Lead
Building Manhood
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