School is one of the very most important establishments in human societies. The purpose for which the school is established can only be achieved through effective administration. There is no other way by which the school can achieve the purpose of its establishment other than effective administration. Effective administration therefore is that administration that helps to bring about optimum achievement of any organization/establishment and in this case, the school. One of the very most important aspects of school administration is record keeping.
Record keeping is very important in school administration because it affects all other aspects of school administration such as planning, budgeting, staffing, facilities, discipline etc. And whether the school is primary, secondary or tertiary institution, keeping of records cannot be ignored for record keeping boosts the administrative effectiveness of such school and so, record keeping is not an exclusive of any level of education
What are School Records?
Record, according to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English is:
(i) a written statement of facts, events, etc
(ii) the known p[as of someone’s past behavior]
(iii) anything that provides information about the past, etc.
From these definitions of the dictionary, one can safely say that school records are written statements of information (facts, events, etc) about a school’s life. School records can therefore be defined/described as information keeping documents on school administration. They are at times referred to as the encyclopedia of school activities. Most of them are kept because Education Law of the country requires that they must be kept.
“Education law demands that every educational institution should keep certain school records”. School records are also kept because of the useful information they provide about the students, teachers, the school and the educational system in general.
- Importance of Keeping School Records
The significance of keeping records in a secondary school cannot be overemphasized. Apart from the importance of each record, there is a great value in the keeping of school records.
- It is an important aspect of (school) administration. It is compulsory and can never be jettisoned
- It provides useful information on the progress and development made within the school
- For providing information for parents and guardians who may seek information regarding the general conduct and academic performance of their children and wards at school
- To enable the teacher know something about his students and through this be in a better position to assist them academically, morally, socially, etc in addition to being able to predict their behavior and provide needed information to whoever may need it.
- For research purposes in education and in other fields
- For planning and budgeting purposes
- To enable the school authority provide necessary data about the school which may be required from time to time from the proprietor / proprietress or other agencies of education
- To enable the school authority provide requested information to employer of labor who may need the services of the students for job placement
- To provide useful information about any student intending to further his/her education in a tertiary institution
j. For assessment of teachers and principals
k. To save the school from any unnecessary embarrassment as well as legal tussle
l. For the purpose of continuity in school administration
m. For effective and efficient management of the school
- Types of School Records
There are two types of records that a secondary school can keep. These are statutory and non-statutory.
