Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to make a case for school leaders in rural schools in Nigeria to build effective engagements with their communities in improving school attendance rate. The state of rural education in Nigeria has been a concern going by the fact that rural communities have the highest number of school dropouts and illiterate people. No country can make headway with a large army of illiterates and school dropouts because education is regarded as an instrument for national transformation. A good number of rural students do not show commitment towards attendance. While the government is often looked upon to address this issue, there seems to be limited focus on rural schools, especially the role of leadership, in addressing the challenge. Therefore, the paper proposes that rural school leaders should adopt a multi-actor approach in engaging their communities to mobilise both human and material resources in addressing poor student attendance and other school challenges associated with the problem. The paper also proposes an approach or a model of engagement.
Highlights
IntroductionEducation is perceived as an instrument for national transformation (Anazia, 2019) and the level of progress made by a country (be it economic, social, or even political) is highly dependent on the importance it places on its education
Education is perceived as an instrument for national transformation (Anazia, 2019) and the level of progress made by a country is highly dependent on the importance it places on its education
This paper has provided a brief overview of specific challenges facing rural education in Nigeria, the problem of absenteeism
Summary
Education is perceived as an instrument for national transformation (Anazia, 2019) and the level of progress made by a country (be it economic, social, or even political) is highly dependent on the importance it places on its education. Education deepens people’s critical thinking abilities contributing to enhanced reflection regarding their cultural beliefs systems, values, attitudes and leads to skill development and access to more opportunities to changing own and others’ lives for the better (Fazilah, Zaharah & Azizah et al, 2012) These reasons provide a solid rationale for the importance of establishing national policies on education aimed at ensuring that every citizen can maximise their potential through education provided at its highest level of quality. The high rate of school dropout in rural communities leads to children not reaching their full potential regarding their performance on key academic areas This diminishes their ability to lift themselves out of poverty and hinders their contribution as citizens to the development of the country (Haruna et al, 2015; Nworgu & Nworgu, 2013). This paper, seeks to contribute to making a case for school leaders in public rural schools to intensify engagements with their communities in improving school attendance rates
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