Maintenance Strategies and Condition of Public Secondary School Buildings in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area Ogun State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

There is a growing awareness that appropriate maintenance strategies can help to improve the present conditions of buildings in public secondary schools in Nigeria. However, there are few studies on the most appropriate maintenance strategies to be engaged in by maintenance managers to improve the conditions of the existing academic buildings in public secondary schools in this country. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the present conditions of academic buildings and the maintenance strategies in the public secondary schools in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria. The study examined the availability and conditions of academic buildings in Public Secondary Schools. A survey research strategy and stratified random sampling technique were used in selecting thirty-six public secondary schools out of forty-seven in the study area. Structured questionnaire was used to extract primary data from the users of the academic buildings, while direct observations were employed in deriving data on the state of disrepair of the buildings. The quantitative data was analysed using univariate and multivariate analyses; while the qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The result shows that most academic buildings, especially classrooms in public secondary schools investigated were in the state of disrepair, and that there was a need for urgent steps to be taken in addressing the situation. Also eleven of the nineteen deterioration factors investigated were the most significant, five were less significant and two were found not to be significant in explaining the conditions of academic buildings in the schools. In terms of their contribution to deterioration of academic buildings in the public secondary schools sampled, the lack of maintenance body and policy was rated higher than location of the schools. In addition, result of the multiple regression analyses involving seventy-four independent variables and four dependent variables was significant at (p < 0.005) and the 95% confidence level; and the adjusted R2 for the four models were 30%, 25%, 25% and 60%, respectively. Validation of the models confirmed that in the order of importance, maintenance planning; maintenance strategy; physical condition of buildings; and the length of stay of maintenance managers in the schools were the key predictors of the present conditions of academic buildings in public secondary schools in the study area. Findings of this study imply that if adequate attention is given to the development and adoption of appropriate maintenance strategies; maintenance planning, building components and length of stay of maintenance managers in public secondary schools, there will be a significant improvement in the conditions of academic buildings in public secondary schools in the study area in particular, and Nigeria in general.