Deployment of Instructional Materials in Basic Schools in Nigeria: Impact, Challenges and Implications for Decision Making By School Administrators

Abstract

The paper discussed the deployment of instructional materials in Basic schools in Nigeria, focusing on the impact of instructional and factors that have militated against the deployment of instructional materials in Basic schools in Nigeria. Secondary data were used in the paper. The data were collected from both print and online publications. The paper concluded that instructional materials have led to improvement in teachers' job performance and students' academic performance in the basic education level in Nigeria. The paper also concluded that poor funding of basic schools, poor improvisation, high cost of instructional resources, poor storage, poor planning, lack of maintenance, poor capacity building in instructional materials management and corrupt practices as factors that have militated against the deployment of instructional materials in the Nigerian basic schools. To address these problems, the paper hereby recommended that: the government should increase the funding of basic schools, School administrators should encourage teachers to improvise, government should subsidize instructional materials for schools and teachers, School administrators should provide a furnished room to be used as a store for the keeping of instructional materials, the federal and state governments should ensure that educational data were generated in time to ensure effective resource planning and allocation to the basic schools, and the government should deploy ICT facilities to monitor funds released for school administration at the basic school level.