UNIZIK inaugural lecture: Ikediugwu decries inefficiency in 21st school mgt

DEAN, Faculty of Education of  Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka Campus, Princess Nkechi Ikediugwu has identified cowardice, compromise, inefficiency, ineffectiveness, selfishness and partiality as the bane of 21st century school management.

Prof. Ikediugwu made this known at the 56th inaugural lecture of  Nnamdi Azikiwe University, in a lecture titled “School Management in Nigeria: Charting New Dimensions for School Management in the 21st Century.

According to the Professor of Education Management, school managers should therefore go beyond school management in their institutions by taking the words of Mohammed Ali in his book, ‘Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee’ which means that they should always take few cups of love, one table spoon of patience, one teaspoon of generosity, one quart of laughter, one pint of concern, then mix willingness with commitment and add a lot of hard work and stir up well, then spread it on their management and serve it to each and deserving person they  meet in the school.

Prof. Ikediugwu noted with great passion the need for school managers to be sensitive to the final whistle and be ready for it to exit.

According to her, fame is a vapour and titles are vacuum.. Managers should not work to please men, rather, they should work to please God because men will eventually forget all your efforts when the final whistle blows but God will reward you.

The dean listed other recommendations to improve school management to include going beyond school management, discouraging sycophancy and mediocrity, promoting continuity and meritocracy, being sensitive to insecurity, be accountable and sensitive to staff problems and needs, creating strategies for fair hearing, plucking all financial leakages, etc.

Prof. Ikediugwu outlined some challenges facing the school management in the 21st century to include challenges from students, social media challenges, cultism and lack of interests.

On the part of government, the academia listed insecurity in the system, poor budgetary allocation, insufficient funds, poor infrastructure/equipment, political interference among others as challenges facing them.