Compliance to government regulations n the provision of education in selected private secondary schools of mazabuka district in the southern province
Date
2016
Authors
Malembeka, Nebby
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Zambia
Abstract
As alluded to by MOE (1996:57), “It is very undeniable that private secondary schools continue
to play a great role in educational provision”. Private Secondary Schools being supplementary in
educational provision to the government need to be in compliance to government regulations.
Lack of compliance by private secondary schools, in education provision, may result into
lowering the standards of education and this may necessitate them being closed by relevant
authorities. There is little awareness as regards to private secondary schools’ compliance in
operation of their institutions in following government regulations. So far no known study has
been done in this area to provide information as regards to compliance on acceptable standards
of private secondary schools. Therefore, this study endeavours to assess compliance to
government regulations in the provision of education in selected private secondary schools of
Mazabuka District of Southern Province of Zambia.
The study used a descriptive research design. The sample size comprised 187 respondents and
purposive sampling was applied. The study used a questionnaire to 150 selected pupils, a focus
group discussion of five groups of six teachers, and an in-depth semi-structured interview of two
Standards Officers and five private secondary school head teachers. Observation check list was
also used for triangulation of the data and then data were analysed thematically Statistical and
use of Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings of the study indicated that most of the
private secondary schools in Mazabuka District of Southern Province were not compliant to
Government regulations in the provision of Education. The research further revealed that most
private secondary schools lacked appropriate infrastructure, instructional materials and qualified
teachers for teaching in some subjects like in Mathematics and Science. The private secondary
schools failed to adhere to the educational policies which call for the established private schools
to have all the government documentation from the ministry of education and follow the
prescribed curriculum of the country. The study recommended that the Ministry of General
Education should regulate, monitor and standardise private secondary schools.
Description
MSC.EDUCATION