PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NSUKKA EDUCATION ZONE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

In recent times, many parents seem to be confused as to the better type of school (public or private secondary school) to send their children/wards. This study investigated and compared the personnel management practices of both public and private secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. A 20-item questionnaire was constructed and administered to 330 respondents comprising 300 teachers and 30 principals. Proportionate stratified random sampling technique was used in selecting 20 public and 10 private secondary schools, while simple random sampling was used to select the teachers and principals from the sampled schools. The mean, standard deviation and t-test statistics were used for the analysis of data. Among the major findings was that recruitment of teachers was based on qualification in public schools more than in private schools. Respondents from both school types agreed that practices to be adopted for student personnel management practices included demonstrating ability to enforce disciplined learning among students. It was recommended, among others, that the State Government should improve on its efforts to encourage and organize seminars, workshops and conferences for staff of both public and private secondary schools. The Ministry of Education should strictly inspect schools to ensure that only educationally qualified and experienced persons are appointed principals in private schools