MLA in Rivers State, An Overview

Monitoring Learning
Achievement
in
Rivers State Public Schools
Volume I
An Overview
Preparedfor the Rivers State GovernmentbyArbitrage ConsultLtd.

1| P a g e A r b i t r a g e C o n s u l t L t d E m a i l : a r b i t r a g e c o n s u l t @ g m a i l . c o m
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 4
Chapter One.................................................................................................................................7
The Monitoring Learning Achievement Study: Meaning, History and Importance.......................7
Introduction to MLA.............................................................................................................. 8
MLA: From 1992 till Date.......................................................................................................9
Aim of the Survey................................................................................................................ 10
Uses of MLA........................................................................................................................ 11
Intelligence Testing............................................................................................................. 11
Social and Economic Assessment.......................................................................................... 11
An Assessment of the Impact of Government Spending and Policies on Education .................. 12
A tool for policyformation................................................................................................... 13
Scope and Methodology...................................................................................................... 14
Sample Selection................................................................................................................. 14
Sample size......................................................................................................................... 14
Data Sources....................................................................................................................... 16
Data Collection andAnalysis ................................................................................................ 16
Challenges faced in carrying out the Study............................................................................ 17
The Study Area: Rivers State ................................................................................................ 17
Chapter Two............................................................................................................................... 20
Review of Monitoring Learning Achievement Surveys in Selected Countries ............................ 20
MLA Surveyin Rivers State................................................................................................... 20
MLA Surveyin Nigeria.......................................................................................................... 21
MLA Surveyin Ghana........................................................................................................... 23
Botswana............................................................................................................................ 24
Kenya................................................................................................................................. 26
Regional Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA) Survey 1999............................................. 27
Lessons fromPrevious Studies ............................................................................................. 29
Chapter Three ............................................................................................................................ 30
General Description and Characteristics of Survey Respondents.............................................. 30
3.1 Background Information Supplied by the Pupils............................................................... 30
3.2 Background Information Supplied by the Parents ............................................................ 40
3.3 Background Information Supplied by Teachers................................................................ 44

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3.4 Background Information Supplied by School Heads.......................................................... 49
Chapter Four.............................................................................................................................. 51
Test Performance................................................................................................................... 51
Pupils Performance in Literacy Test...................................................................................... 53
Pupils Performance in Numeracy Test................................................................................... 54
Pupils Performance in Life Skills Test .................................................................................... 55
Students Performance in English Test................................................................................... 58
Students Performance in Mathematics Test.......................................................................... 59
Students Performance in General Science Test...................................................................... 60
Chapter Five............................................................................................................................... 61
How well did the Pupils/ Students Perform?........................................................................... 61
Chapter Six................................................................................................................................. 70
Factors that Affect Learning Performance (A Test of Selected Variables).................................. 70
Determinants of Learning Achievement....................................................................................... 76
Gender differences................................................................................................................. 76
Locational differences ............................................................................................................ 76
Other factors.......................................................................................................................... 76
Conclusion and Recommendations.............................................................................................. 78
Comparison of Surveyfindings with those from other studies....................................................... 81
References...................................................................................................................................0

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Executive Summary
Monitoring learning achievement is an important exercise in the evaluation of any
educational system. It is a necessary or an imperative to do this if a society must be able to
articulate the effectiveness of policy actions and financial outlay on education. Rivers State
government under Governor Rotimi Amaechi has invested heavily in improving
infrastructure and teaching materials, recruiting new teachers and undertaken policy
reforms in order to achieve all the Education for All (EFA) goals.
This report contains the findings of the Monitoring Learning Achievement survey for primary
and secondary schools funded by the Rivers state government. Learning achievement is
defined as the gap between what is taught and what is learned and the Monitoring Learning
Achievement survey was carried out with the objective of ascertaining the length and depth
of that gap.
To achieve this objective, the following variables were considered:
 Internal variables (within the school environment) including the learning
environment, teaching methods and curricular arrangement.
 External variables (outside the school environment) such as parents’ educational
backgrounds, distance to school and availability of transport.
To obtain the needed information, questionnaires and test questions were administered to
relevant respondents- pupils, students, parents, teachers, principals and head teachers-
across the twenty-three local governments of the state. The principals and head teachers
acted as our primary contacts. The survey covered 1,209 state owned primary and
secondary schools across the twenty-three local governments. 916 of those were primary
schools and 293 were secondary schools. Each school received 15 students’ questionnaires,
fifteen parents’ questionnaires and one questionnaire for the administrative head. Primary
schools were administered 2 teachers’ questionnaires each and secondary schools were
administered 4 teachers’ questionnaires each. In all, the questionnaires sent out totalled:
 13,740 Primary Four Pupils’ Questionnaires
 4, 395 Junior Secondary Students’ Questionnaires
 18,135 Parents’ Questionnaires
 3,004 Teachers’ Questionnaires
 916 Head Teachers’ Questionnaires
 293 Principals’ Questionnaires
Each school received 15 test questions. In all, 18,135 test questions were
administered covering the following learning domains:
 Primary schools: Literacy, numeracy and life skills.
 Secondary schools: Mathematics, English and general science.
Using quality control charts, minimum mastery levels (MML) and desired mastery levels
(DML) were derived for all the domains. The mastery levels are cut-off scores used to rate

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students’ understanding of specific subjects. The MML is the lower limit of the mastery level
while the DML is the upper limit of the mastery level. Scoring below the MML denotes a lack
of understanding. Scoring up to or above the MML, but below the DML denotes a
satisfactory level of understanding. Scoring up to or above the DML denotes excellent
understanding.
The information obtained from the returned questionnaires and test questions was sorted,
analysed and translated as it relates to student performance. The survey unearthed several
factors that affect students’ performance. A sentiment that echoed across the board is the
shortage of basic school facilities. Our respondents bemoaned the lack of such key
infrastructure as libraries, computer rooms and toilets and their availability was rated at
19%, 13% and 22% respectively. Availability apparently does not automatically translate into
functionality as a high percentage of the available facilities were rated as under equipped or
not at all equipped. Our research also turned up elements of inconsistency within the
system. Specifically, there seems to be a principal-agent problem within the system. For
example, despite the state government having lifted the payment of school fees, a
significant number of the respondent parents report to the contrary. Their expenses include
payments for school uniforms, school furniture, text books and the ‘school fees’ itself. This
may or may not be going on with the knowledge of state education authorities and the
school teachers.
The responses received from the teachers reveal that a significant number of them are not
willing to remain in the profession for the long term either because of the nature of their
professional training or because of certain socioeconomic factors. Specifically, only 42% of
the teachers who responded have university degrees in education. The remaining 58%
studied in other fields and they probably view teaching as a temporary source of livelihood
available to them while they search for something more desirable. Also, 36% of the
respondents indicated a willingness to change career given the right incentives, chief of
which were the prospects of better pay, improved working conditions and career
advancement.
Being the primary focus, it was essential that we got into the minds of the students. Their
personal characteristics, the influence of the people around them and the influence of their
physical environment on their ability to learn were important factors that we obtained
through our questionnaires. Very disturbing is the revelation that less than 40% of our
respondents regularly enjoy three meals a day. 35% are victims of bullying. Our survey also
unearthed the fact that most students who miss school do so on health grounds.
The Primary Four pupils did best in the Life skills learning domain and recorded the poorest
mean scores in numeracy. While the JSS Two students recorded the highest mean score in
General science and the lowest in Mathematics. The test performance was found to vary
across the urban and rural areas in the State with the highest scores in most of the learning

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domains being recorded in urban areas though the urban-rural differences in learning
outcome were not statistically significant. Gender differences in learning outcome were also
not statistically significant with girls performing fractionally better than boys.
The majority of parents who responded lack tertiary education. The secondary school
leaving certificate is the most commonly cited qualification for parents in the sample. Only
41% of the parents in the sample regularly participate in school-related activities. A further
46% participate sometimes and 13% never participate.
75% of the students in the sample confirmed that they receive after-school academic
support. It is positive that the most common after-school activity among students is
attending extra-mural classes. This, however, accounts for only 36% of the sample. A further
29% take part in commercial activities and the same percentage perform house chores.
Responses regarding students’ feeding patterns revealed that only 39% of them regularly
have breakfast and lunch while 5% of them usually have neither.
It was established, through statistical analysis, that adequately fed students score higher
marks than their inadequately fed counterparts. Also, students who attend extramural
classes score higher marks than their colleagues who do not attend. These findings are true
to our a priori assumptions. Contrary to those assumptions are the findings that students
with no home assistance with their assignments performed better than their colleagues who
have assistance.
Broadly speaking, the suggestions to solving the above highlighted problems lie in taking the
following measures;
1. More funds need to be allocated to the installation and development of needed
educational infrastructure such as libraries, toilets and computer rooms. These funds must
come from the state government and from the private sector who have an undoubted social
responsibility to the inhabitants of the communities in which they do their business.
2. It is necessary for the government to monitor more closely, the activities of its agents
within the ministry and in the schools. This is to ensure these agents do not perform acts
that deviate from or run completely contrary to the directives of government.
3. Government’s recruitment criteria for teachers should work to separate the true
educationists from those who are just looking to earn a salary. The government must
become partial to applicants of a certain professional and attitudinal persuasion.
4. The school children of Rivers state face major socioeconomic challenges (financial
problems, inaccessibility of proper healthcare) that hamper their ability to learn. These
challenges can be tackled within and outside school with relevant legislation and social
orientation. These efforts should aim to offer the children better protection, provide them
with better health care and arm their care givers with knowledge that will help them to help
their wards become better students.

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Chapter One
The Monitoring Learning Achievement Study: Meaning, History and
Importance
The Monitoring Learning Achievement Study of Rivers State Public Schools is presented in
four detailed volumes which are:
1. Monitoring Learning Achievement Study of Rivers State Public Schools: An Overview-
This volume gives a general description of the study (its purpose, its nature, the
methodology of it and the general results). It is an introductory chapter and serves as the
foundation for the structures and the formats of the succeeding volumes.
2. Monitoring Learning Achievement Study of Rivers State Public Schools: Gender and
Learning Performance- This volume presents and analyses students’ learning performance
along gender lines.
3. Monitoring Learning Achievement Study of Rivers State PublicSchools: Rural and Urban
Differences in Learning Performance- in this volume, it is examined to what extent
students’ learning performances differ along locational lines.
4. Monitoring Learning Achievement Study of Rivers State Public Schools: Determinants of
Learning Performance- In this volume, the factors that affect learning performance are
presented in qualitative and quantitative detail.
This document is the first volume, the overview. It comprises six chapters, the first of which
is titled, The Monitoring Learning Achievement Study: Meaning History and Importance.
This chapter looks at the meaning, the evolution and the uses of MLA and explains its
relevance in the Rivers state context.
Chapter 2 is titled, Review of Monitoring Learning Achievement Surveys in Selected
Countries. Here, MLA is discussed as a global concept. Using various countries as case
studies, it is shown how MLA has been successfully implemented all over the world.
General Description and Characteristics of Survey Respondents is the title of chapter 3. It
contains the findings of the study, presented with the use of graphical aids.
Chapter 4 is titled Test Performance. It is a presentation and analysis of the scores from the
tests administered to Primary Four and JSS Two students. The scores are compared and
contrasted based on gender and location.

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Chapter five is titled, How Well Did The Students/Pupils Perform? In this chapter, the
children’s individual and mean scores are measured against the MML and the DML.
The sixth chapter is titled, Factors That Affect Learning Performance (A Test of Selected
Variables). Here, a few randomly selected variables are analysed to establish the nature of
their relationships (positive or negative) with students’ learning achievement.
The volume is rounded off with a list of conclusions and recommendations deduced from
the results of the study.
Introductionto MLA
Every investment whether financial, mental, physical or emotional requires a return. We as
human beings require returns on our investments. Ideally, returns should surpass
investment and at worst, returns should be equal to investment. That is to say every
investor hopes to make a profit or at least break even.
That brings us to the question; what constitutes a profit and how is profit measured. The
answer varies depending on who you ask. In the profit industry, a profit is achieved when
earnings exceed expenditure and it is measured as the difference between income and
outcome.
The computation of profit is, however, not so straight forward in the public sector. Here,
profit is not measured in terms of how much money is made, but in terms of how many lives
are impacted and how deeply they are impacted. Public spending is intended to effect
specific changes in the consumption patterns, the income distribution and the standard of
living of the populace.
The Rivers state government through its ministry of education has invested heavily in the
state's education sector. At great financial cost, old schools have been renovated, new
model schools have been built, learning facilities have been upgraded, additional teachers
have been employed and the cost of education has been heavily subsidized.
All these actions are being taken for the benefit of the school children of Rivers state. But
are the children really benefiting? What has been the impact of the government's huge
expenditure on the quality of education that the children receive? What has been the
impact thus far of government’s spending on the actual learning outcome? Can the
government do more and if yes, in what aspects can they do more? Is the government's
investment yielding the desired outcome?
The Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA) survey will provide answers to some of the
above questions. Started in 1992, MLA is the brainchild of a joint UNESCO/UNICEF team on
education. MLA is an educational assessment initiative that aims to ascertain the actual
impact of educational investment and socioeconomic factors on actual learning. MLA is a

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tested and trusted method of educational assessment and it is exactly the tool required by
the Rivers State Ministry of Education to evaluate the worthwhileness of its investment in
education.
MLA: From 1992 till Date
MLA has been adopted the standard learning achievement measuring tool in the world.
MLA was introduced in 1992 but its seeds were being sown long before that time. The
United Nations, through its agencies UNICEF and UNESCO, has for decades, been at the
forefront of the fight against illiteracy. In the beginning, their strategy focused solely on
enablement i.e. they assisted member countries to develop their educational systems by
providing financial and professional support. The object of all these efforts was to boost
learning.
As time went by, it became necessary to evaluate the progress thus far. It was agreed that
the best way to determine the extent of learning is to assess the learners themselves. A list
of criteria for assessing the students were then developed. The list includes the following:
1. Students’ learning achievement: Students are to be put through standardized tests
to test their mastery of literacy, numeracy and life skills. Students’ scores will
determine if they have achieved the requisite knowledge for the level of education
that they have attained.
2. Students’ socioeconomic environment: It has been proven that students’
performance in school is influenced by factors other than those which exist within
the educational environment. Factors such as family backgrounds, peer influences,
media exposure, government policies and even geographical environments can
influence students’ ability to learn. To properly assess the students, it is necessary to
determine in what direction and to what extent these influences play a part in their
ability to learn.
3. The learning environment: Nowhere do there exist more factors that affect learning
achievement than within the learning environment itself. Teachers have a profound
and direct influence on students’ ability to learn. The teachers’ educational and
professional backgrounds, their attitudes and the socioeconomic challenges they
face all affect their effectiveness in the learning environment.
Infrastructure or the inadequacy thereof could enhance or diminish a student’s
educational experience. Facilities such as toilets and dispensaries make the school
environment conducive for the students. Libraries and computers are standard
facilities in the modern day learning environment, the absence of which reduces a
students’ learning options.

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Administrative factors could conspire to either encourage or discourage teachers’
and students’ interests in their work.
It was with these criteria in mind that the Monitoring Learning Achievement Project
was developed in 1992. MLA is the product of joint consultations by educational
experts representing UNICEF and UNESCO. It was initially designed to measure the
learning achievement of students in standard four but has since been upgraded to
accommodate students of any standard.
Since the introduction of the Monitoring Learning Achievement study, it has been
implemented in several countries to great success. Countries in which MLA has been
implemented include Ghana, Thailand, Mauritius, Gabon, Botswana, Madagascar,
Senegal and the Republic of Niger.
Aimof the Survey
Data is the basic element on which MLA thrives. So naturally, the process of Monitoring
Learning Achievement begins with the determination of what data is needed. The nature of
the data needed is encapsulated in the characteristics of high performing schools as
determined by the United States Department of Education which are;
1. A clear and shared focus.
2. High standards and expectation for all students.
3. Effective school leadership.
4. High levels of collaboration and communication.
5. Curriculum, instruction and assessment aligned with state standards.
6. Frequent monitoring of teaching and learning.
7. Focused professional development.
8. A supportive learning environment.
9. High levels of parent and community development.
Questionnaires are prepared in such a way as to extract as accurately as possible, data on
the above characteristics. These questionnaires are then distributed to the appropriate
respondents. For this study, the appropriate respondents were determined to be the
students/pupils, parents, teacher and school administrative heads.
On receiving back the questionnaires, the data is extracted, sorted, then descriptively and
statistically analysed as it relates to learning achievement. The knowledge obtained from
the survey serves as a measure of the effectiveness of government policies and spending on
education as well as an effective tool in the determination of future policies and spending
on education.

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Usesof MLA
The Monitoring Learning Achievement survey is a multifaceted educational assessment tool,
the uses of which are multifold.
Intelligence Testing
MLA is an IQ test for students. Specifically tested are the students’ learning achievement in
literacy and numeracy and their mastery of life skills. The tests are composed of topics that
the students are likely to have been exposed to at their level of education. In the
preparation of test questions, standardized educational assessment models are consulted.
These models include.
Trends inInternational Mathematics and Sciences Study (TIMSS):TIMSS is an international
assessment of the mathematics and science knowledge of 4th and 8th grader (loosely ages
9/10 and 13/14 respectively) students around the world. TIMMS was developed by the
International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in 1995 to
allow participating nations to compare students’ educational achievement across borders.
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA): PISA is a mathematics, science
and reading study for 15 year old students. It was developed by the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development in the year 1997 and it covers both member and
non-member countries. It was created with a view to improving educational policies and
outcomes. The data has been used to assess the impact of education quality on the
economy and for understanding what causes differences in educational quality across
nations.
Progress inInternationalReadingLiteracy Study(PIRLS): An initiative of the IEA, PIRLS is a
study of the reading achievement of 4th grade students. According to the IEA “It is designed
to measure children’s literacy achievement to provide a baseline for future studies of trends
in achievement and to gather information about children’s home and school experiences in
learning to read.”
Social andEconomicAssessment
The MLA study is an assessment of the impact of the economy on educational quality and
vice versa. Similarly, it tests for the impact of the social environment on educational quality
and vice versa. MLA is able to achieve this through its extensive and all-encompassing scope
of study.
Respondents to MLA questionnaires cover the spectrum of participants in the educational
system. These are the students and pupils who are the receivers of the education and the
primary focus of the study. There are also the parents and guardians who pay for their
wards’ education. Finally there are the school teaching and administrative staff that teach
and guide the students in the learning environment. The range of questions of these

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respondents is extremely wide and extends well beyond issues that relate directly to
education. The scope of questioning is described below.
Students and Pupils are asked questions relating to:
 Their personal characteristics e.g. age, sex.
 Their family backgrounds: Students provide information about afterschool academic
support.
 Their mind-set: Students’ attitudes to their subjects and their satisfaction or lack
thereof with several aspects of schooling are ascertained.
 The nature of their extracurricular activities.
 Socioeconomic situations such as distance to school, access to transportation and
exposure to media and regularity of attendance and health challenges.
Parents and Guardians are asked questions relating to:
 Their personal characteristics.
 Their family backgrounds: They provide information about their marital status and of
their household sizes.
 Their educational background: This information gives insight into the nature of
employment these parents and guardians will be able to secure which consequently
determines their level of income. Also, when parents’ educational backgrounds are
matched against their wards’ academic performance, we see the correlation and/or
association between the two.
 Their state of mind as regards to their children’s schools and the need for the
children to attend school.
School Staff are asked questions relating to:
 Their personal characteristics.
 Their educational qualification and professional training.
 Work experience and work satisfaction.
 Socioeconomic situations such as distance to school, access to transportation and
exposure to media and regularity of attendance and health challenges.
The questions asked of the respondents cover practically the full spectrum of their
professional and personal lives. In this way, MLA serves a socioeconomic assessment tool as
well as a learning achievement assessment tool.
An Assessmentofthe Impact ofGovernmentSpendingandPoliciesonEducation
Government expenditure and policy formulation on education is made with specific goals in
mind. The structure of the MLA study is such that it can be determined if and to what extent

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these goals are being achieved. Through MLA, it is ascertained if and to what extent
educational spending and educational policies have led to an improvement in the following:
Enrolment rates: By increasing the infrastructural and academic standard as well as
subsidizing tuition costs, government expects the rate of enrolment in its schools to
increase.
Learningoutcomes:The government is providing new learning facilities in its schools as well
as upgrading existing ones in the hope that this will boost the students’ performances across
the learning domains. These facilities include libraries and computers. Simultaneously,
teachers are being put through government sponsored up skilling programs so as to be able
to provide a more qualitative education to the students.
The conduciveness of the school environment: The extent to which students feel
comfortable and secure in the school environment has a profound effect on their
attendance rates, their commitment and consequently, their academic performance. In
recognition of this fact, facilities such as toilets and dispensaries are being built in
government schools. More classes are being built while more teachers are being recruited
so as to achieve the state recommended student/teacher ratio of 25:1.
A tool forpolicyformation
The in-depth analysis provided by the MLA study assists policy makers to formulate accurate
educational policies and determine where and how educational funds need to be spent.
MLA is designed to identify the factors that affect learning achievement, the extent,
frequency and distribution of these factors across various locations as well as the reasons
for the disparities in learning achievement across groups and locations. The causes for
disparities in learning achievement include:
Locational causes: Learning achievement differs across urban and rural locations. This can
be attributed to the differences in population, commercial development and infrastructural
development between the two.
Gender related causes: It has been discovered that there exist gaps in the achievement of
boys and girls. Factors responsible for this include attitudinal differences between the two
sexes as well as differences in the societal attitudes to boy child education and girl child
education.
Foundational causes: It has been established that children with access to quality early
childhood education tend to perform better in school than kids who do not have access.
Also, the quality of academic support received outside of the academic environment has
heavy implications on students’ performance.

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Institutional causes: These are the political factors that affect the quality of education
delivery and the accessibility to education across locations.
ScopeandMethodology
Rivers state government education reforms started during the first term of Governor
Chibuike Amaechi’s regime in May 2009. This reform is comprehensive; encompassing
infrastructural development, human-up skilling and school material supplies. The scope of
this study covers the period when the state started the implementation of the reforms to
July, 2013 when this MLA survey was conducted. Restricted to public Schools alone, it
covered all the 23 LGAs in the three senatorial districts of the state, with emphasis on public
primary and secondary schools in both rural and urban areas in order to ensure a balanced
spread.
SampleSelection
For the purpose of this MLA study, we randomly selected 15 pupils from Primary four and
15 students from junior secondary school two (JSS2) in all the public primary and secondary
schools across the twenty-three local governments in the state, who are believed to have
spent at least a period of 18 months and above in their respective present primary and
secondary schools.
Samplesize
A total of 1,209 number of Public Schools were surveyed which consists of 916 Public
Primary Schools and 293 Junior Secondary Schools. 10,371 Primary four pupils responded
out of 13,740 questionnaires sent out and 3,340 JSS2 students responded out of 4,395
questionnaires distributed. The overall response rate for pupils was 75.5%, while that of
student was 76%. Similarly, out of 18,135 parents’ questionnaires distributed 75.3%
response rate was achieved. Likewise, out of 3,004 teachers and 916 school head
questionnaires distributed a response rate of 42.5% and 71.3% was recorded respectively.
The tables below illustrate the number of questionnaires distributed and responses received
Table 1.1: Number of Questionnaires Distributed in Schools across the LGAs
S/
N
LGAs NO.
OF
PRY
SCHO
OLS
NO.
OF
SEC
SCHO
OLS
PUP
ILS
STUDE
NTS
PARE
NTS
PRY
SCHO
OL
TEACH
ERS
SEC
SCHO
OL
TEACH
ERS
HEAD
TEACH
ERS
PRINCI
PALS
1 ABUA/O 49 31 735 465 1200 98 124 49 31

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DUA
2 AHOADA
-EAST
38 19 570 285 855 76 76 38 19
3 AHOAD-
WEST
60 11 900 165 1065 120 44 60 11
4 ANDONI 58 10 870 150 1020 116 40 58 10
5 AKUKU-
TORU
22 6 330 90 420 44 24 22 6
6 ASARI-
TORU
27 10 405 150 555 54 40 27 10
7 BONNY 21 3 315 45 360 42 12 21 3
8 DEGEMA 24 6 360 90 450 48 24 24 6
9 ELEME 22 5 330 75 405 44 20 22 5
10 EMOHU
A
51 21 765 315 1080 102 84 51 21
11 ETCHE 80 44 120
0
660 780 160 176 80 44
12 GOKANA 39 9 585 135 720 78 36 39 9
13 IKWERRE 39 14 585 210 795 78 56 39 14
14 KHANA 79 22 118
5
330 1515 158 88 79 22
15 OBIO/AK
POR
43 19 645 285 930 86 76 43 19
16 ONELGA 71 19 106
5
285 1350 142 76 71 19
17 OGU/BO
LO
15 3 225 45 270 30 12 15 3
18 OKRIKA 34 6 510 90 600 68 24 34 6
19 OMUMA 21 4 315 60 375 42 16 21 4
20 OPOBO/
NKORO
17 5 255 75 330 34 20 17 5
21 OYIGBO 21 2 315 30 345 42 8 21 2
22 PORT
HARCOU
RT
50 11 750 165 915 100 44 50 11
23 TAI 35 13 525 195 795 70 52 35 13
TOTAL 916 293 13,7
40
4,395 18,13
5
1,832 1172 916 293
Total no of schools surveyed (Primary and secondary schools) – 1,209
Table 1.2: Response Rate
RESPONDENTS NO OF
QUESTIONNAIRES SENT
NO OF
QUESTIONNAIRES
RETURNED
RESPONSE
RATE
Primary four pupils 13,740 10,371 75.5%

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JSS2 students 4,395 3,340 76%
Parents 18,135 13,650 75.3%
Teachers
(Primary/Sec School
Teachers)
3,004 1,278 42.5%
Head teachers 916 653 71.3%
Principals 293 77 28.2%
Data Sources
The data used for this study was sourced with the aid of questionnaires administered to
Pupils in Primary four, Students in JSS2, parents, teachers, head teachers and principals in
sampled schools across the twenty-three local governments. Test questions in different
learning domains including: literacy, numeracy and life skills were administered to Primary
Four pupils, while test questions in Mathematics, English Language and General Science
were administered to JSS2 students.
Data CollectionandAnalysis
A one-day Inception workshop in which all the teachers and head teachers from all the
public primary and secondary schools were present was held at the Ministry of Justice Hall,
State Secretariat, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The aim of the workshop was to explain the
purpose, objective and the methodology of the tests, as well as the modalities for the
selection of students/pupils, teachers, parents and arrangement for returning the survey
instruments after the survey.
The Data gathering technique for the pupils and students involved Simple random sampling,
while Purposive Sampling technique was used to select the Parents of Pupils/students who
automatically became respondents due to their children or wards being chosen. Likewise,
purposive sampling was used to select specific class teachers of Primary 4 pupils, subject
teachers of Junior Secondary Schools, Head teachers and Principals from the sampled
schools.
The collection exercise required the use of two selected class teachers in each of the
Primary Schools and four carefully chosen Secondary School teachers in each of the Junior
Secondary Schools to assist in the Administration of respective test questions, pupil/student
questionnaires and parent questionnaires to each of Pupils/ students. Head teachers and
Principals supervised the process to ensure it went on smoothly.
The sampled pupils/students took the parent questionnaires home for their respective
parents/guardians to fill and returned them the following day. While the selected teachers
and head teachers completed their questionnaires instantly, collated the test questions and
all the respondent questionnaires together and delivered them to the collection point.

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The instruments were administered in July 2013, three weeks to the end of the third term of
the school calendar (2012/2013 Academic Session). The tests and the questionnaires were
completed at the schools, except for the parent questionnaires which the pupils/ students
took home to their parents/guardians.
The tests assessing pupils learning achievement in primary schools covered three areas
namely: (i) Literacy (Vocabulary, Comprehension, Grammar and Writing) (ii) Numeracy
(Numbers, Measurement and Quantitative Techniques) and (iii) Life Skills (Health, Civic and
Environment). Tests assessing students learning achievement in secondary schools covered
Mathematics, English Language and General science. Question papers in each learning
domains were prepared and administered within a stipulated time and were marked by
independent examiners.
The marked sheets, alongside the completed questionnaires from each Local Government
were sent through the Secretaries of the LEA’s (Local Government Education Authorities) to
the central collection point at the State Secretariat where our officials were stationed. Our
officials, after sorting and arranging the responses according to local government areas
forwarded the survey Instruments to the central office in Abuja to be analysed by our data
Analysts. The data Analysts subjected the data collected through various rigorous processes
such as data (inputting, cleaning) to ensure credibility of the data collected to remove
extreme values (outliers) as a means of quality control.
Basic descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, mean, standard deviation were
carried out as well as further tests such as t-tests, correlation, normality tests and ANOVA
were also used to analyse the data. However, narratives of the descriptive statistics were
done to enable easier comprehension by non-technical readers and policy makers without
statistical Knowledge to facilitate Policy Implementation.
ChallengesfacedincarryingouttheStudy
In the course of carrying out the study certain challenges were encountered; such as
omission of vital Information by some respondents. Some respondents were not truthful
with some personal details, therefore such information was disregarded. Some respondent
Information was also rendered null and void as a result of discrepancies observed in certain
responses and was eliminated during data cleaning. Similarly, influence of some teachers in
some schools in the answering of the test questions were observed and accordingly led to
the exclusion of test papers.
TheStudy Area:RiversState
Location,Geography and EthnicCharacteristics ofRivers state
Rivers state is Nigeria’s southernmost state. Its capital Port Harcourt is one of its 23 local
governments. Port Harcourt is considered the commercial capital of Nigeria’s Southern
region. Rivers state is Nigeria’s premier crude oil producing state as well as a hub of

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commercial marine activity due to its abundance of natural water resources. There are two
major refineries and two major seaports in the state.
Rivers state is a multi-ethnic society. Ethnic groups in the state include the Ogoni who are of
Ghanaian origin, the Epeye who emigrated from the old Benin Empire and the Etche who
are of Igbo descent, Ijaw, Ikewrre, Kalabari and Andoni.
The state’s immense oil wealth means that the government has a significant amount of
money available to it to dedicate to education. On the flipside, the plethora of unskilled jobs
available in the oil and gas industry has led many youths to ignore school and go to work
instead. Some people pervert the system and access the oil money through extortion,
lobbying and bunkering.
SocioeconomicEnvironmentofRivers state
Rivers state constantly witnesses the emigration on non-indigenes from within and outside
the country. This is due to the vast employment opportunities available in the state. The
influx of the migrant schoolers is not factored into the state’s educational planning and this
leads to population constraints in the schools.
Following an era of militancy that plagued the state for the best part of the first decade of
this century, peace has returned to the state under Governor RotimiAmaechi. Children who
were kept out of school during the years of insecurity have since returned to school.
However, many of them have resumed in classes suited to their current ages but above their
academic ability. This partly accounts for some of the below par performances currently
being witnessed in primary and secondary schools.
Mainland/Island divideinRivers state
Rivers state is made up of a large mainland and several smaller islands. Government
investment on the mainland exceeds that of the islands. This is evidenced by the disparity in
infrastructural adequacy between the two with the airports located in Port Harcourt and the
sea ports located in Port Harcourt and Eleme which are both located on the mainland.
Perhaps due to their distance from the headquarters of government, no significant
government infrastructure is located outside of the mainland with islands like Kala Ibiama
not even connected to the national power grid. The disparity in government investment
also extends to education with government’s spending thus far being mostly on mainland
schools. Island schools also tend to be less supervised which may lead to high levels of
absenteeism on the parts of both students and teachers. For this reason, island schools may
have a lower all-round standard than that of their mainland counterparts and consequently,
their students may perform less well than their peers across the water.

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Environmentalissues inRivers state
Nwachukwu and Uguanyi noted that “the ambient air quality in Rivers state is far worse
than the World Health Organization Air Quality Standard”. This is especially true in the host
communities of the major manufacturing and exploration companies. Cement dust from
construction sites, lead from paint and carbon monoxide from gas flaring cause respiratory
and blood diseases. The sicknesses associated with poor air quality pose a danger to the
health of teachers and students and may be blamed for some cases of absenteeism.
Crude oil spills have deteriorated the quality of marine resources in the state. The
implications of this are both social and economic. Consumers of wildlife who have been
infected by the pollution are prone to infection themselves. Also, due to the depletion of
the aquatic life, fishing which is Rivers state’s staple profession has become a far less
profitable venture in recent years. With fishermen’s income dropping, they may become
hard-pressed to finance their kids’ education.

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Chapter Two
Review of Monitoring Learning Achievement Surveys in Selected Countries
The importance of education as a fundamental factor in national development has been
globally acknowledged. Not inconsequential to this acknowledgment have been the various
Education for All (EFA) conferences held at different times since 1999 and the annual EFA
global progress reports published to monitor the extent of achievement of the set EFA goals.
All these have stimulated investment in education around the world.
However, investment in education in terms of provision of adequate infrastructure, learning
materials and teachers does not automatically imply that the school goers achieve mastery
of knowledge and skills expected of them at various levels of education. Education is not an
end in itself but a means to an end, which could be national development, skilled labour
force, etc. To achieve these ends, the process of education has to cumulate in knowledge
and skill acquisition. The extent to which investments in education result to better learning
performance of school children has been the reason for the conduct of learning
achievement assessments in many countries. This chapter contains a review of some of
such assessments.
MLASurveyin RiversState
An assessment of the learning achievements of pupils/ students in Rivers State was
conducted in the first quarter of 2013 by an independent consultant funded by the Rivers
State Ministry of Education. It was a preliminary survey geared towards gathering
information for education decision makers as regards the impact of the State government’s
reforms in terms of infrastructural development on the education sector. It emanated out of
a need to match government reforms against performance of students in Rivers State public
schools.
The survey covered two public schools – one primary school and one secondary school- in
each of the twenty-three local government areas in the state. The schools were randomly
selected. 30 pupils/ students were selected from each local government – 15 Primary Five
pupils and 15 JSS Two students. There was also a random sample of school teachers, head
teachers and parents.

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The Primary Five pupils were tested in three learning domains namely: Literacy, Numeracy
and Life skills. While, the JSS two students were tested in Mathematic and English Language.
The test questions in each of the learning domains were prepared and administered by
independent examiners.
Questionnaires were administered to the randomly selected school teachers, head teachers
and parents in order to gather background information on some endogenous factors (within
the school environment) and exogenous factors (outside the school environment) that
affect the learning achievement of pupils/ students.
Generally, the surveyed primary school pupils performed poorly with a total mean score of
43%. The JSS two students performed better with a total mean score of 60%. However, both
primary and secondary schools recorded low scores in the Numeracy and Mathematics
learning domains respectively. The scores were impressive in the Literacy and English
Language learning domains.
The study reports that in terms of overall performance, secondary schools out-performed
primary schools. Locational discrepancies in pupil/ student performance were found to be
narrow and perhaps non-existent.
The information gathered from the questionnaires administered revealed little about the
factors that affect learning achievement of pupils/ students. This was attributed to the
preliminary nature of the study and time constraints within which it was conducted.
However, consideration of the after-school activities of the pupils/ students as revealed by
parents led to the recommendation that remedial classes should be introduced.
As earlier stated, this was a preliminary study and it largely succeeded at its task of laying a
foundation for a larger and more comprehensive MLA survey.
MLASurveyin Nigeria
The history of assessing education standard in Nigeria can be traced back to 1996; however,
in 2003, MLA survey was conducted by the Federal Ministry of Education as a form of follow
up exercise to the 1996 assessment. The scope of the 2003 study was limited to students in
primary schools specifically primary 4 and 6 in 774 LGAs areas across the country.
A multi-stage sampling design was adopted with probability proportional to the number of
schools within the LGAs in each state. 28 schools were sampled in each state and 14 from
Abuja FCT totalling 1,036 schools and at least 20% of the selected or sampled schools in
each state were private schools. From sampled schools, 30 pupils were randomly selected
from primary 4 and 6 respectively.
Two categories of instruments were developed- (1) Learning Achievement Test instruments
in Literacy, Numeracy and Life Skills test; (2) Questionnaire for pupils, teachers and parents.
Nationwide administration was carried out in June/July 2003.

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In all the areas tested the pupils in private schools performed better than their public
schools’ counterpart. The urban schools performed better than the rural schools, boys
performed slightly better than girls, pupils who had pre-primary education did better than
pupils who did not and Life Skills recorded the lowest result of mean score of 25.42%.
Table 2. 1
State Means Scores from 2003 Education Assessment for Primary IV Pupils
S/N States Literacy Numeracy Life Skills Total Average
1 Ogun 50.8 49.27 60.3 160.38 53.46
2 Kaduna 51.63 47.75 56.78 156.17 52.06
3 Enugu 46.64 48.8 59.69 155.12 51.71
4 Bauchi 46.57 45.5 55.14 147.21 49.07
5 Kebbi 47.42 41.43 57.53 146.39 48.8
6 Jigawa 41.32 46.35 53.58 141.25 47.08
7 Yobe 44.58 39.28 52.54 136.4 45.47
8 Benue 27.21 40.78 60.7 128.69 42.9
9 Ondo 42.98 35.03 47.36 125.37 41.79
10 Gombe 44.67 36.71 43.38 124.77 41.59
11 Oyo 42.28 36.41 44.73 123.42 41.14
12 Kogi 43.05 32.2 47.26 122.5 40.83
13 Taraba 19.13 45.15 55.78 120.07 40.02
14 Lagos 41.89 32.54 45.61 120.04 40.01
15 Kwara 41.59 32.59 44.18 118.37 39.46
16 Delta 40.35 30.46 43.77 114.58 38.19
17 Cross River 38.25 34.4 40.77 113.41 37.8
18 Kano 35.46 36.51 40.56 112.52 37.51
19 Niger 36.46 32.65 41.37 110.48 36.83
20 Anambra 37.04 31.04 42.16 110.24 36.75
21 Osun 34.03 32.4 39.45 105.88 35.29
22 Zamfara 22.31 33.17 43.06 98.54 32.85
23 Akwa-Ibom 33.44 28.29 36.39 98.12 32.71
24 Plateau 31.37 29.11 35.89 96.38 32.13
25 Imo 30.3 26.32 37.75 94.38 31.46
26 Abia 30.78 27.63 34.97 93.98 31.13
27 Edo 16.44 36.64 40.05 90.13 30.04
28 Nasarawa 26.87 25.4 33.31 85.58 28.53
29 Adamawa 25.84 22.93 33.85 82.62 27.54
30 Katsina 13.35 29.85 35.14 78.34 26.11
31 Ebonyi 16.19 20.21 30.38 66.77 22.26
32 Borno 19.01 19.32 18.54 56.87 18.96
States in which only two tests were administered
33 Sokoto 27.77 43.94 71.72 35.86
34 Ekiti 35.63 42.65 68.68 39.14
35 Bayelsa 22.61 42.3 64.91 32.46
36 Rivers 25.58 - 32.73 58.31 29.16
37 Abuja 28.33 46.42 74.75 37.38
National Average 35.05 33.74 43.81 110.6 36.87
Source: Nigeria Education Sector Analysis (Draft Report); 2003. Federal Ministry of Education

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Table 2.1 above shows the test result from the 2003 assessment of learning achievement of
primary 4 pupils all across Nigeria. The mean score in Literacy test was 35.05 with Kaduna
state scoring the highest (51.63%) followed by Ogun state (50.8%) while Kastina and Borno
scored the lowest grades - 13.5% and 19.01% respectively. The National mean score in
Numeracy test was 33.74% and Ogun state had the highest grade at 49.27% followed by
Enugu state 48.8% while Ebonyi 20.21% and Borno state 19.32% had the least grades. In Life
Skills test the National mean score was 43.81% while Benue 60.7% and Ogun state 60.3%
had the highest grades while Ebonyi (30.38%) and Borno 18.54% had the lowest grades.
Overall, Ogun state came first with mean grade of 53.46% followed by Kaduna state with 52.
06% mean score while Bayelsa state 29.16% and Rivers state 29.16% came last.
Focusing on Rivers state, and for primary 4 pupils, tests were only conducted in two learning
domains- Literacy test with a mean score of 25.58% (29th position among other states) and
Life Skills test with a mean score of 32.73% (34th position in the federation) and an overall
standing of 36th position among 36 states was dismal while primary six pupils were tested in
Numeracy- 27.78% mean score (32nd position) and Life Skills-23.7% mean score (33rd). The
total mean score for primary six pupils was 51.48% and mean grade of 25.74% which earned
the state 32nd position.
MLASurveyin Ghana
In 2009, an MLA assessment project was undertaken in Ghana. Though enrolment rates in
primary and junior secondary schools in Ghana were rising, as government policies in
education were being implemented but assessments showed that the learning achievement
of students was low.
The study was primarily carried out to examine the relationship between learning
achievements and the level of human and physical resources allocated to schools (primary
schools). There were also concerns about the varying levels of learning achievements among
schools in different areas (districts). Though this was still in relation to how much the
difference in allocation of resources explained the disparity in the level of learning
outcomes between urban and rural areas.
The study was a district-by-district snapshot of the state of education in each of the 139
districts with information on learning achievements, infrastructure improvements and
management characteristics by comparison to national and regional averages, Background
documents on the Education Sector in Ghana were gathered and analysed and in order to
find out the characteristics associated with high or low achievements, data from the NEA
(The National Education Assessment) and the EMIS (The Education Management
Information System) were merged.
The NEA tested learners in grade three and six in a national sample of schools in 2005 and
2007. The test was in English and Mathematics. The EMIS on the other hand refers to a

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collection of reliable information on available equipment, infrastructure and management
characteristics of every primary school in Ghana. In essence, the study was to find out to
what extent the differences in the distribution of human and physical resources across
schools explain the differences in learning outcomes.
Teachers, administrators, stakeholders (senior members of the Ministry of Education,
officials in District Education Offices and head teachers of primary schools and teacher
training colleges) were all interviewed to elicit information on their perception of the
problems and successes of the education sector.
The following indicators across all districts were established to monitor the improvements
of education quality- Achievements overtime on NEA and BECE tests, participation rates in
terms of net school enrolment over time, as well as completion, dropout and repetition
rates, the quality of school infrastructure in terms of drinking water, electricity, toilets and
needed repairs, school management in terms of the frequency of school management
committee meetings and visits from the circuit, supervisor, free meals provided and the
portion of schools with a book to record teacher attendance and teaching and learning
materials in terms of available writing places, library books and textbooks. Descriptive
statistics of the achievement and resource variables were used to identify basic tendencies
and further analyses were conducted using ordinary least squares regressions.
Two case study districts were chosen and the following findings were made:
For the first district, the low level of performance was attributed to: low level of teacher
motivation, reluctance of some individual parents to provide basic needs for their children
and low enthusiasm and commitment to learning on the part of pupils. For the second
district, the low level of performance was attributed to: quality of teachers, low teacher
morale and poverty of the parents in the district.
Furthermore, the findings from the assessment revealed that demographic differences in
resource allocation have been moderated to a commendable extent, but the demographic
disparities in Learning Outcomes have not improved.
Botswana
A learning achievement survey sponsored by UNICEF and the government of Botswana was
carried out in February 1999. It was carried out in accordance with the country’s Revised
National Policy on Education which stipulated assessment and monitoring of progress in
education. It was also to serve as a data collection process for the Education for All (EFA)
2000 assessment report. The study was to assess the achievement of Standard four pupils in
four learning domains which included: Literacy in Setswana, Literacy in English, Numeracy
and Life Skills.

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The assessment was carried out by a selected group of officers from different departments
of the Ministry of Education. Class teachers from primary schools also worked on the
project. Standardized survey instruments were constructed by the working group to ensure
that they would adequately measure the competencies defined for Standard Four pupils in
Botswana. A total of four tests and four questionnaires were developed. The tests were in
Literacy in Setswana, Literacy in English, Numeracy, and Life Skills. The questionnaires were
administered to Standard Four pupils, head teachers, teachers of Standard Four, and
parents of the pupils. While tests were to measure the performance of pupils in terms of
their mastery of defined learning competencies, the questionnaires were designed to collect
information on factors that affect the learning achievement of pupils.
A sample was specified for data collection to represent the total school population in
Botswana. It consisted for seventy primary schools across six regions. A total of 5, 460
(Female: 2, 726, Male: 2, 734) Standard Four pupils were surveyed. A total of 5, 540 parents
responded as did 68 and 159 head teachers and Standard Four teachers, respectively.
The study found the performance of the pupils in the test domains to be generally weak.
The percentage of competent pupils in each of the domains was as follows: Literacy in
Setswana 39.6%, Literacy in English 21.9%, Numeracy 21.2%, and Life Skills 77.7%. Clearly,
the pupils performed best in the Life Skills test.
The performance of pupils was also found to vary significantly across gender with female
pupils outperforming their male counterparts. Variances in performance were also observed
on regional basis.
The study identified a number of factors that affect the learning achievement of pupils. The
factors cut across various areas including the school environment, school location, parental
background, pre-primary education, etc. For example, pupils from homes with telephones,
electricity and tap water were found to perform better than their counterparts without such
amenities. The educational level of mothers was another significant factor identified. Pupils
whose mothers have educational qualifications beyond primary education performed better
relative to others whose mothers have lower levels of education. As regards the school
environment, such factors as teacher absenteeism and the availability of electricity in the
school were reported to affect pupil’s learning achievement; schools where teacher
absenteeism was classified as ‘always’ performed poorly compared to schools where it was
classified as ‘not at all.’ Schools in urban areas generally out-performed schools in semi-
urban and rural areas in all the learning domains with the exception of life skills where semi-
urban schools performed best.
The main conclusion of the study was that the pupils generally did not reach the established
minimum competency levels .Only 39.6% of pupils achieved the competence level in
Literacy in Setswana, 21.9% in Literacy in English and 21.2% in Numeracy. The highest was in

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the life skills learning domain where 77.7% of pupils achieved the competency level. The
minimum competency levels were established in a one-day workshop that had 24 classroom
teachers in attendance as judges. It also concluded that multiple factors affect the learning
achievements of pupils, including factors within and outside the school environment.
Kenya
Kenya participated in the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Education
Quality (SACMEQ) III research project. The project was carried out between 2005 -2011 in
some of the 15 member countries of the consortium. The project was focused on gathering
information on the following: general schooling conditions, the achievements of Grade Six
pupils and their teachers in reading and mathematics, and the knowledge that pupils and
their teachers have about HIV/ AIDS.
The sample taken for the study included 193 primary schools from which 4, 436 pupils, 733
teachers and 193 head teachers were sampled. The SACMEQ Coordinating Centre prepared
the survey instruments which consisted of tests and questionnaires. Specifically, the data
collection instruments were: School Heads Booklets, School Information Forms, Teacher
Booklets, Learner Booklets, and Learner Name Forms. Reading and mathematics tests were
administered to pupils and teachers. Questionnaires were administered to head teachers,
teachers and pupils.
The study found that majority of the teachers and pupils attained minimum competency
levels in reading and mathematics. In the reading test, the national mean score of pupils
was 543.1, while for teachers it was 792.1. In mathematics, the national mean score for
pupils was 557.0 while for teachers it was 906.1. It is clear that teachers performed much
better than the pupils. Amongst the pupils, performance was found to vary across various
subgroups including gender and location. Urban areas out performed rural areas in both
the reading and mathematics test with mean scores of 575.6 and 580.0 respectively. Scores
in the rural areas were 525.6 for the reading test and 544.5 for the mathematics test. Boys
did better than girls in both the reading and mathematics tests with means scores of 544.1
and 567.6respectively, compared to the 542.1 and 546.0 scored by the girls.
For the HIV/ AIDS knowledge test, only 39.2 % of pupils reached the minimum level and only
6.8% reached the desired level. This also varied across locations with pupils from the urban
area scoring higher than those from the rural areas.
The background information gathered from pupils, teachers, and school heads via the
administration of questionnaires was extensive and revealing. From the pupils, data was
gathered in such areas as feeding patterns, language spoken at home, parental education,
living conditions of pupils, the number of books at home, preschool attendance, travel
distance to school, homework assistance, amongst others. From the teachers, data gathered
included: level of education, availability and frequency of in-service training, teacher time

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allocation, and time spent on lesson preparation, frequency and contents of communication
with parents, availability of teaching aids, etc. Information supplied by the school heads
included: their professional characteristics, school resources, pupil behavioural problems,
teacher behavioural problems, frequency of school inspections, etc.
Multilevel analysis was carried out using STATA version 11 (Stata Corp, 2009) to investigate
the pupil-level and school-level factors that affect the learning achievement of the pupils in
the reading and mathematics tests. About 70 predictor variables for both Reading and
Mathematics which were significant at p=.05 were selected using multiple linear regression.
The following conclusions were derived from the analysis:
 Pupils who are absent from school perform poorly in Reading
 Pupils who speak English at home do well in Reading.
 Pupils staying with another family perform poorly in Reading.
 Pupils from families with many siblings perform poorly
 Schools with pupils who borrow books from their school libraries achieved better in
Reading
 Pupils who use computers at home achieved higher scores in Mathematics.
 Pupils who were absent from school to care for their siblings had low achievement in
Mathematics.
 Pupils who stay alone at home perform poorly in Mathematics
 Younger pupils perform better in Mathematics compared to their older
counterparts.
 Pupils in schools with dilapidated buildings performed less well in Mathematics.
Some of the policy suggestions offered by the study were that education stakeholders
should continue their efforts to eliminate absenteeism; caregivers should encourage
children to speak English both at home and at school because it is the medium of instruction
at grade 6. The home background of the pupil was also emphasized as critical to success in
school. Suggestions were directed at parents, caregivers and other significant family-related
institutions to take up the responsibility for quality education. It was also recommended
that more effort should be put into improving the learning environment through the
provision of learning materials, facilities, and improving the quality of teaching.
Regional MonitoringLearningAchievement(MLA)Survey1999
In developing countries in general, there was not a single regional survey, which measured
improvement in learning outcomes prior to WCEA Jomtien, in 1990. The 1999 Regional
Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA) survey, of 9 African countries which was especially
commissioned for Indicator 15 of the Education for All (EFA) 2000 Assessment Survey, was
the first one of its kind in Africa. The 1999 African MLA survey assessed learner performance

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from the viewpoint of what is taught and learnt in and out-of schools. The detailed results of
learning achievement are presented in the various learning domains of literacy, numeracy,
and life skills, respectively below.
Learning Achievement profiles of Selected MLA African countries by learning domains for
Grade 4 pupil
Table 2.2
Countries
Literacy Numeracy Life Skills
Vocabulary
Comprehension
Grammar
Writing
Number
Measurement
Geometry
Health
Civil&
Environment
Science&
Technology
Botswana 70.0 53.0 49.0 27.0 53.0 39.0 54.0 54.0 69.0 49.0
Madagascar 53.0 72.0 48.0 56.0 49.0 32.0 43.0 80.0 72.0 76.0
Malawi 54.0 37.0 35.0 23.0 42.0 43.0 47.0 78.0 80.0 70.0
Mali 85.0 57.0 43.5 45.3 34.1 49.9 48.3 56.2 58.1 55.6
Mauritius 89.0 68.0 60.0 47.8 61.5 52.1 61.7 67.2 67.2 56.7
Niger 80.6 50.5 43.2 32.7 35.9 42.6 45.8 46.2 48.7 48.5
Senegal 75.2 48.4 48.7 36.1 28.9 39.4 38.4 47.6 48.4 40.6
Uganda 80.0 62.0 59.0 47.0 48.7 47.6 52.6 68.4 66.3 64.0
Zambia 72.0 45.0 49.0 28.0 36.0 35.0 37.0 52.0 52.0 48.0
Source: Chinapah et al. 2,000a, p.21 (adjusted).
From table 2.2 above, Literacy test was broken into four major domains which include
Vocabulary, Comprehension, Grammar and Writing while Numeracy test was divided into
Number, Measurement and Geometry, and Life skills was divided into three domains
including Health, Civic and Environment and Science and Technology.
Across board, Literacy test has the highest grade and Vocabulary component of Literacy test
recorded the highest grade. Overall, performance in Numeracy was poor with the lowest
score in Measurement.
Mauritius has the highest grade (89%) in Vocabulary and Grammar (60%) while Madagascar
has the lowest grade in Vocabulary with 53% but has the highest grade in Comprehension
(72%). Malawi has the lowest grade in comprehension (37%).
Mauritius again scored highest grades in all Numeracy components while Madagascar and
Malawi in Life Skills test were the two top performers.
Percentage of Grade 4 pupils who attained the Minimum (MML) and Desirable (DML)
levels of mastery
Table 2.3
Country
Combined Literacy Numeracy Life Skills
MML DML MML DML MML DML MML DML

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
Botswana 57.8 8.7 46.2 6.0 55.4 5.4 71.8 14.9
Madagascar 66.1 11.7 56.9 20.6 34.4 5.6 97.3 60.3
Malawi 54.9 3.0 15.3 1.4 30.7 1.4 95.4 69.4
Mali 54.9 7.3 50.4 13.1 37.9 6.2 69.8 23.7
Mauritius 70.3 24.1 77.6 35.4 70.3 26.4 71.6 32.4
Niger 25.6 2.0 39.3 3.6 15.3 5.7 44.9 7.0
Senegal 31.2 2.0 45.6 6.7 22.9 3.0 36.3 7.0
Uganda 54.4 14.4 64.3 23.3 41.9 10.2 78.8 51.1
Zambia 31.9 5.6 37.8 7.3 19.9 4.4 49.0 26.1
Source: Chinapah et al. 2,000a, p.21 (adjusted).
From table 2.3, overall Mauritius has the highest percentage of pupils who have attained
MML and Niger has the lowest, when the test scores are broken into different domains,
Mauritius has the highest percentage of pupils who have attained MML in Literacy and
Numeracy while Madagascar has the highest percentage of pupils who have attained MML
in Life Skills. Niger has the lowest percentage of pupils who have attained MML in the entire
learning domain except Life Skills where Senegal has the lowest percentage of pupils who
have attained MML.
Though the findings on factors that affect or determine learning outcomes varied among
and within the nine surveyed countries, however, some factors are common to all. These
factors include- content of curriculum, teaching and working environment, school and home
learning environment.
LessonsfromPreviousStudies
There are key concepts that resonate from previous learning achievement surveys, some of
such concepts are highlighted below:
 It is important to not judge the success of the education system on the basis of
increased enrolment or infrastructural development because education is not simply
about more students or well-built classrooms. The success or failure of an education
system can be measured basically by the quality of learning that actually goes on and
the mastery of knowledge and skills that school goers achieve.
 Most of the reviewed studies tested pupils in the following learning domains:
literacy, numeracy and life skills, according to what has been established as the goal
of primary education.
 Learning goes beyond the school environment. The home environment largely
affects the learning achievements of pupils and must not be neglected. Parental
education and learning support at home are vital to learners. This necessitates that
more attention be paid to adult education as the learning achievement of the adult
populace affects that of young learners.
 Teacher training as well as teachers’ working conditions require special attention
because the teacher is perhaps the most important school resource.

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
 Greater attention should be given to the even distribution of education resources in
both urban and rural areas so as to reduce as much as possible the locational
discrepancies in learning achievement.
 The findings of previous MLA surveys as highlighted above echo the globally
acknowledged fact that ‘Education for all is the responsibility of all.’ It follows
therefore that achieving the respective ends for which we have education systems
has to be approached holistically and inclusively. Everyone, ranging from education
policy makers, to parents, school staff and the learners, has a responsibility.
Chapter Three
General Description and Characteristics of Survey Respondents
This chapter details background information on factors that can affect the learning
achievement of pupils/ students in Rivers State. The information generally concerns the
socioeconomic background of pupils/ students, their school environments, school facilities,
the competencies of teachers, amongst others. The information was harnessed via
questionnaires administered on pupils/ students, their parents, teachers and head teachers.
3.1 BackgroundInformation SuppliedbythePupils
The information supplied by pupils indicating their general characteristics as well as factors
that can affect their performance is presented as follows:
 DistributionofSampled Pupils/Students by Sex
Pupils(PrimaryFourPupils)
The gender representation of sampled pupils was fairly equal across all the LGAs. Where
there are differences such as in Eleme, Ahoada West, Emohua, Opobo/Nkoro, Ahoada East,
Andoni, Ogu/Bolo, ASALGA, it is negligible. This is shown below:
Fig 1

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
Students(JSS Two Students)
However, some level of inequality was observed among the JSS two respondents. In Obio/
Akpor LGA there were far more female respondents than males. The reverse occurred in
Ogu/ Bolo.
Fig 2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100 ELEME
AHOADAWEST
EMOHUA
OPOBO/NKORO
AHOADAEAST
ANDONI
PORTHARCOURT
GOKANA
AKUKU-TORU
ETCHE
KHANA
IKWERRE
OKRIKA
TAI
ABUA/ODUAL
OYIGBO
OMUMA
ONELGA
BONNY
OGU/BOLO
ASALGA
Percentage
LGAs
Distribution of Sampled Pupils by Sex Across
the LGAs
Male
Female
0
20
40
60
80
ABUA/ODUA
AHOADAEAST
AHOADA…
AKUKU-TORU
ANDONI
ASARI-TORU
BONNY
DEGEMA
ELEME
EMOHUA
ETCHE
GOKANA
KHANA
OBIO/AKPOR
OGU/BOLO
OKRIKA
OMUMA
ONNE
OPOBO/NKO…
OYIGBO
PORT-…
TAI
Percentage
LGAs
Distribution of Sampled Students by Sex Across
the LGAs
Male
Female

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
 Age DistributionofSampled Pupils/Students
Majority of the respondents in primary four fall within the age range of 9 to 12, while the
respondents in JSS2 fall within the range of ages 13 to 16. Generally, 9 year-olds and 13
year-olds constitute the largest age groups amongst the sampled pupils and students
making up to 30 and 33 percent respectively. Ages 10 and 14 also constitute more than 20
percent each of pupils and students in the sampled population. This is illustrated in the
chart below:
Fig 3
 Pre-Primary Education
Early childhood development and Pre-primary education is widely recognized as having a
significant impact on the performance of children in basic educational programmes by
developing the cognitive ability of the pupils before proceeding into Primary education. 36%
of our primary four respondents had no pre-primary education while 64% had some form of
pre-primary education. This shows that a majority of the surveyed pupils had pre-primary
education. See the diagram below:
Fig 4
0
10
20
30
40
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Percentage
Age
Distribution of Sampled Pupils/ Students by
Age Pupils Students
64%
36%
Distribution of Sampled Pupils by Pre-
Primary Education
Had
Had None

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
 FeedingPattern
Healthy and balanced nutrition affects a child’ general wellbeing. It plays a major role in the
child’s ability to comprehend what is being taught. Hungry children are less likely to
concentrate in class and as a result might perform poorly. From the pupils surveyed, 37%
usually have no lunch, 19% have no breakfast and 5% have neither lunch nor breakfast. Only
39% of respondents were well fed. See the chart below:
Fig 5
 Distanceto School
The charts below show the time it takes sampled pupils/ students to get to school from their
homes in each LGA. In both primary and secondary schools across most of the LGAs, a
majority of the students report a travel time of between 1-10 minutes. However, majority of
Pupils in Ogu/Bolo LGA report a travel time of between 11-20 minutes as do most of the
sampled students in Bonny. See the charts below:
Pupils
Fig 6
39%
19%
37%
5%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Well Fed No Breakfast No Lunch None
Feeding Pattern of Sampled Pupils

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
Students
Fig 7
 Means of TransportationtoSchool
The mode of transportation to school reflects the overall convenience of pupils/ students.
Pupils/ students who walk long distances to school would most likely be fatigued on getting
to school. Such fatigue in turn affects their comprehension and performance. Walking long
distances to school unsupervised could expose them to truancy and other dangers. Most (at
least 7 out of 10) of the sampled pupils/ students travel to school by foot. This is
understandable given the travel time of between 1 to 10 minutes
Fig 8
0
20
40
60
80
ABUA/ODUAL
AHOADAEAST
AHOADA…
AKUKU-TORU
ANDONI
ASALGA
BONNY
ELEME
EMOHUA
ETCHE
GOKANA
IKWERRE
KHANA
OBIO/AKPOR
OGU/BOLO
OKRIKA
OMUMA
ONELGA
OPOBO/NK…
OYIGBO
PORT…
TAI
Percentage
LGAs
Travel Time to School (Pupils)
1-10mins 11-20mins 21-30minms 31-40mins 41mins & Above
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Percentage
LGAs
Travel Time to School (Students)
1-10mins 11-20mins 21-30mins 30-40mins 41mins & Above

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
Fig 9
 Pupils’/Students' Attitudeto Schooling
Here we consider the characteristics of students and pupils in relation to certain push
factors (endogenous factors – within the school environment). As illustrated above, the
major turn off to pupils and students is the fear of bullies (3 in 10). Lack of comprehension
(another 3 in 10) of what is being taught also registers a high percentage. Pockets of
respondents also claim not to like their teachers, and are afraid of punitive measures
employed within the school. Collectively, all these factors could affect learning achievement.
This is illustrated below:
Fig 10
80%
6%
8%
4% 2%
Means of Transport to School (Pupils)
Foot
Public bus
Okada
Parent's car
Others
Foot, 75%
Public Transport,
8%
Okada,
13%
Parent's Car, 4%
Means of Transport to School (Students)
Foot
Public Transport
Okada
Parent's Car

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
Fig 11
 Pupil/StudentAbsenteeism
The respondents revealed that illness is the major causal factor for absenteeism. About a
quarter of respondents stated commercial activities as the reason for their being absent.
House chores, the availability of transportation fare and the condition of the weather, are
other reasons highlighted by pupils for being absent from school. Special health care
provisions or fee-waiver for health services for pupils as well as the provision of school
buses are measures that can be taken to drastically reduce pupil’s absenteeism. Child labour
laws need to be enforced to prevent pupils from being forced to engage in commercial
activities. See chart below:
14%
29%
14% 13%
30%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
I don't Like my
Teachers
Lack of
Comprehension
Fear of
Punishment
I have no friend in
school
Fear of Bullies
Percentage
Attitude
Attitude of Pupils towards Schooling
6%
29%
16%
11%
39%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
I don't Like my
Teachers
Lack of
Comprehension
Fear of
Punishment
I have no friend in
School
Fear of Bullies
Percentage
Attitude
Attitude of Students towards Schooling

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
Fig 12
From the JSS 2 respondents, illness ranked highest as the major reason for absenteeism.
Close to 60% of respondents identified ill health as their reason for being absent from
school. Transport fare and house chores were also highlighted as reasons for absenteeism.
As stated earlier, adequate health care services and provision of school buses to convey
students to and from school are measures that may reduce absenteeism. See Chart below:
Fig 13
 HomeworkAssistance
The chart below shows that a majority of sampled pupils have assistance at home as they
work on their home assignments. Such assistance could help pupils get clarity in areas they
find difficult at school. Pupils with strong academic assistance at home are likely to do
better than those without such assistance.
Fig 14
38%
15%
19%
25%
3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Illness Transport Fare House Chores Commercial
activities
Weather
Percentage
Reasons
Reasonsfor Pupil Absenteeism
59%
19%
8% 7% 7%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Illness Transport Fare House Chores Weather Others
Percentage
Reasons
Reasonsfor Student Absenteeism

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
 After SchoolActivities
Learning does not end in the four walls of a classroom. A child’s activities after school hours
could help to either enforce or jeopardise the child’s understanding of what was taught
during school hours. The charts below show that majority of pupils/ students who
responded attend extramural classes after school. Less than 30% are engaged in commercial
activities. House chores also account for a major proportion of after school activities for
both pupils and students alike. Less than 9% watch television after school. It is important to
note that pupils/ students involved in commercial activities tend to be distracted from their
educational programmes. Enforcement of child labour laws can help reduce the number of
children involved in commercial activities.
Fig 15
Fig 16
75%
25%
0%
50%
100%
Have Have None
Distributionof Pupils by Availability of Assistance in
doing Homework
29% 29%
7%
36%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
House Chores Commercial Activities Watching Television Extra Mural Class
Percentage
Activities
After School Activities (Pupils)

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
26%
28%
5%
41%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
House Chores Commercial activities Watching Television Extramural Class
Activities
After School Activities (Students)

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
3.2 BackgroundInformationSuppliedbytheParents
The information harnessed from parents as regards factors that affect the learning
achievements of their children is stated as follows:
 Gender Distribution
Out of the 13,650 parents who responded, about 57% were females while about 43% were
males. On the average, more females responded in most local government areas than
males. Eleme recorded the highest level of female respondents while Abua/Odua recorded
the highest level of male respondents.
Fig 17
 Relationship ofPupils/Students with Respondents toParentQuestionnaire
The chart below shows the relationship between sampled parents/ guardians with the
surveyed pupils/ students; majority of the parents who responded are the actual biological
or foster parents of the pupils/ students.
Fig 18
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
ABUA/O…
AHOADA…
AHOADA…
AKUKU-…
ANDONI
ASALGA
BONNY
DEGEMA
ELEME
EMOHUA
ETCHE
GOKANA
IKWERRE
KHANA
OBIO/AK…
OKRIKA
OMUMA
ONELGA
OPOBO/…
PH
TAI
Percentage
LGAs
Gender Distribution of Sampled Parents
across the LGAs
Male
Female
55%
25%
14%
7%
0%
20%
40%
60%
Father Mother Guardian Relative
Distribution of Sampled Parents by
Relationship to the surveyed Pupils/
Students

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
 Age Distribution oftheRespondents
The chart below shows the age distribution of sampled parents. About 74% of sampled
parents were aged between 31 and 50 years old. Only 14% were above 50 years old.
Fig 19
 Parents ExpenditureonSchoolrelated Items
The Rivers State government has provided free education for pupils/ students at primary
and secondary levels. However, respondents reported some costs incurred from schooling.
The highest expenditure was attributed to school uniforms, followed by transport fare,
textbooks, ‘school fees’ or levies and classroom desks. School fees and classroom desks are
particularly disturbing considering huge government investment in school infrastructure.
Fig 20
12%
34%
40%
14%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
20-30 31-40 41-50 Above 50
Years
Age Distribution of Sampled Parents
13%
23%
18%
39%
7%
0%
20%
40%
60%
School Fees Transport Fare Textbooks Uniform Classroom Desks
Items
School Related Items on Which Parents
Expend

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
 Parents’Highest EducationalLevels
A majority of the parents who responded have secondary school certificates as their highest
educational qualification. This was the case in 10 LGAs (Abua/ Odua, Ahoada East, Ahoada
West, Akuku – Toru, Asari Toru, Degema, Emohua, Gokana, Ikwerre, Opbobo/ Nkoro).
Fig 21
 ParticipationinSchoolActivities
Participation in school activities is an indicator of parents’ interests in the educational
achievements of their children. Parents who are more committed to their children’s
education tend to spur them to achieve more academically and this could have positive
impacts on the children’s learning achievements. The chart below shows the rate of
participation in school activities by sampled parents, indicating that majority of the parents
participate, although, only 41% of the respondents ‘always’ participate in school activities.
Fig 22
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
ABUA/ODUAL
AHOADAEAST
AHOADAWEST
AKUKU-TORU
ANDONI
ASALGA
BONNY
DEGEMA
ELEME
EMOHUA
ETCHE
GOKANA
IKWERRE
KHANA
OBIO/AKPOR
OKRIKA
OMUMA
ONELGA
OPOBO/NKORO
PORTHARCOURT
TAI
Highest Educational Levels of Sampled Parents
0-6 years
7-12 years
13 years-Above
41%
46%
13%
0
20
40
60
Always Sometimes Never
Percentage
Distribution of Sampled Parents by
Participation in School Activities

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
 Attitude towards Education
Among the sampled parents, only 41% feel that education is the best investment; this is a
worrying statistic as the attitude of parents towards education affects a child’s learning
achievement. Where parents have poor attitudes towards education, children tend not to
get necessary home support and guidance for their school work. The sampled parents
mostly argue against the notion that education of male children is more important than that
of female children. See the chart below:
Fig 23
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Education is the best
Investment
Female Children should be
educated
Male children should be
educated more than female
Parents'Attitude to Education

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
3.3 BackgroundInformationSuppliedbyTeachers
Teachers and students are the two basic elements of any educational institution. It is the
teachers who have the most influence on the students’ academic performance and the
nature of this influence depends on their quality and other factors.
The information contained in this section is based on the feedback received from our
respondents. We present in figures and in words, information such as the teachers’
qualifications, professional attitudes and general mindset.
 Highest EducationalLevels
Children with more experienced teachers who are also frequently assessed tend to perform
better. Here, teacher quality is indicated by the teacher’s educational qualification. From
the chart below, a majority of primary school teachers who responded have at least one
form of tertiary education or another. Only 3% have SSCE qualification as their highest. The
trend is similar for secondary schools.
Fig 24
3%
57%
1%
29%
9%
1%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
SSCE OND/NCE HND B.Ed BSc MSc
Highest Educational Levels
(PrimarySchool Teachers)

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
Fig 25
 TeachingExperience
More experienced teachers tend to deliver better teaching and this in turn makes for better
pupil/ student academic performance. As shown in the chart below, majority of the teachers
that responded had above 12 years of teaching experience. This was the case for both
primary and secondary schools.
Fig 26
2%
12%
4%
55%
21%
6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
SSCE OND/NCE HND B.Ed. B.Sc Post-graduate
Highest Educational Levels
(Secondary School Teachers)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
1-3yrs 4-7yrs 8-12yrs Above 12yrs
Distributon of Sampled Teachers by Years of
Teaching Experience
Primary Teachers
Secondary Teachers

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
 TeacherAbsenteeism
The respondents say they sometimes miss school. Their reasons for such absence are
presented in the charts below. The predominant reason for absence by primary school
teachers is illness. 23% of respondents claim they missed school to attend training
programmes. The trend is similar for secondary schools.
Fig 27
Fig 28
 Distanceto School
Primary school teachers mostly (65%) reported that it takes them less than 30 minutes to
get to school. But only 48% of secondary school teachers reported the same travel time. The
travel time distributions are shown in the chart below:
47%
11%
23%
13%
6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Illness Maternity Training Weather Transportation
Problem
Reasonsfor Teacher Absenteeism
(Primary Schools)
51%
7%
21%
10% 11%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Illness Maternity Training Weather Transportation
Problem
Reasonsfor Teacher Absenteeism
(Secondary Schools)

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
Fig 29
 Interest of Teachers inTeaching
Most of the teachers who responded are not willing to change their careers (See the chart
below). Of the less than 40% of teachers who indicated a desire to change careers,
improved benefits was the most prevalent reason stated. Other reasons stated were
improved working conditions and career development. The teaching profession should be
made more rewarding so as to retain the current workforce and attract new teachers when
needed.
Fig 30
21%
30%
14%
11%
24%
13%
20%
15% 14%
38%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
1-10mins 11-20mins 21-30 31-40 Above 41mins
Teachers' Travel Time to School
Primary Teachers
Secondary Teachers
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Yes No
Teachers' Desire to Change Career
Primary
Secondary

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
 TeacherTraining
Teacher training is important to pupil/ student learning achievement. Through frequent
training, teachers become better skilled at impacting knowledge. Most of the teachers
surveyed had attended up-skilling programmes. However, only 25% reported to have
attended up-skilling programmes more than three times throughout their careers. It is
important to institute frequent training programmes to improve the skill level of teachers.
Fig 31
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Had Had None
Attendance of Up-Skilling Trainings
Primary
Secondary

+ 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 2 3 3 2 3 3 7 8 o r + 2 3 4 ( 0 ) 8 0 7 2 5 7 8 1 4 5
3.4 BackgroundInformationSuppliedbySchool Heads
Information obtained from the head teachers and principals sampled are presented below:
 Highest EducationalLevels
Most of the sampled school heads have undergraduate degrees as their highest educational
qualification. 6% of head teachers and 15% of principals have post-graduate degrees.
Fig 32
 Rate ofTeacherAbsenteeism
The school heads gave the rate of teacher absenteeism as presented in the charts below. It
is established that teachers are sometimes absent from school. However, less than 10% of
teachers in both primary and secondary schools are always absent. It appears that
absenteeism is mostly a rare occurrence or it may be head teachers are frugal with the
truth.
Fig 33
24%
2%1%
33% 31%
36%
52%
6%
15%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Head Teacher Principal
Highest Educational Levels of School Heads
NCE
HND
B.Ed.
B.Sc
Above
9% 8%
67% 67%
10%
17%14%
8%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Primary School Secondary School
Rate of Teacher Absenteeism
Always Seldom At the beginning of a new Term At the end of theTerm

MLA in Rivers State, An Overview

MLA in Rivers State, An Overview

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