Assessment of the Condition of Public Secondary School Buildings and the Influence of Maintenance Policy

Several studies conducted on the physical conditions of public secondary schools (PSS) in developing countries and Nigeria in particular have concluded on the deplorable state of the schools emanating from such issues as inadequate infrastructure, lack of maintenance, and lack of adequate funds, amongst others [1-4]. The relevance of these issues is underscored by Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) (Quality Education), which emphasizes safe and inclusive learning environments. The inadequacy of infrastructure and the lack of proper maintenance of the few existing facilities have led to subpar school facilities that are deteriorating in quality and cost without attention.

Despite extensive educational reforms and government investments in infrastructure, many PSS remain in poor conditions. The administrative structure of the existing PSS presupposes that maintenance of the infrastructural facilities is generally lacking due to insufficient funds earmarked for their maintenance [5-7]. A quality learning environment with quality school facilities is in short supply, mainly due to budgetary constraints [8]. Inappropriate policy formulation and uncommitted policies implementation have also been identified as responsible for the dilapidated state of the PSS building facilities [2, 9, 10]. The infrastructural facilities of public schools in Nigeria remain inadequate to cope with a system that is growing at a rapid pace, leaving the school environment inconducive to learning [11]. Moreover, the objective of granting the best maintenance practice for public schools has yet to be achieved due to long-term use and budgetary constraints [12]. Thus, the deterioration of PSS's facilities is caused by inadequate maintenance policies and poor response rate to maintenance requests, among other factors [13]. Nonetheless, a significant deficiency in empirical evaluations linking the actual condition of school facilities to the implementation of maintenance policies (IMP) in Lagos still subsists. This study fills the gap by assessing the physical building conditions (BC) of Lagos State's PSS and examining the impact of maintenance policies, thereby, highlighting the shortcomings in the policies, pointing out the extent of IMP and its challenges, and inadequacies of BC. The study’s outcomes will guide policymakers in the need-based formulation, refinement, and enforcement of better outcomes. This will invariably ensure PSS remains functional at minimal cost of maintenance and invariably aid the attainment of SDG 4.a.

The majority of public schools in developing countries lack the necessary infrastructure and resources, resulting in graduates with poor standards [14]. The crisis in the educational system is evident in overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, poor sanitation, inadequate budgetary funding, high rates of youth and out-of-school children, insecurity, and inadequate planning [7]. For instance, many schools in Sub-Saharan Africa are housed in sub-standard structures that fail to meet fundamental health and safety regulations [24]. Similar challenges are encountered in South Asian schools, where insufficient ventilation, lighting, and roofing negatively affect the learning environment [25]. According to UNESCO, there is a need for the effective implementation of standards set out by different countries on school buildings through the sharing of good practice between First World countries and developing countries [26].

The state of PSS buildings in Nigeria reflects many of the challenges encountered in developing countries. Despite attempts to enhance educational infrastructure, maintenance has been severely insufficient, and a large percentage of Nigeria's PSS exist in aging, deteriorating buildings that were constructed years ago [26]. It has further been established that adequate maintenance of PSS building facilities is lacking due mainly to inadequate funding, inappropriate policy formulation, and uncommitted policy implementation [2, 9, 10]. In order to alleviate infrastructure problems, the Nigerian government has also launched a number of programs, such as the Universal Basic Education (UBE) program; however, there are still significant obstacles.

Despite the crucial role played by the Lagos State government through several policies to address the inadequacies in building infrastructural facilities in the state's PSS, the problems of inadequacies in the infrastructure still exist. The state’s PSS are overcrowded, with student-to-classroom ratios higher than recommended [27]. Over 40% of the state's PSS require major upgrades [2]. The majority of these schools have structural degradation, such as cracked walls, broken windows, and leaky roofs, which affect the learning environment [28]. There are other reports of poor educational facilities, such as unhygienic environments, a dearth of laboratories, inadequate libraries, and inadequate sports facilities [26]. Programs like the "School Infrastructure Upgrade Project," which focused on renovating and modernizing PSS buildings, have been carried out by the Lagos State government to forestall education infrastructural deficiencies. However, reports from Oguntolu et al. [2] show that the effectiveness of such schemes has been limited by complications of underfunding and poor upkeep following restoration. The fast urbanization of the state puts a great deal of burden on public services like education. As the population of the state increases, so does the demand for more educational facilities [29]. Additionally, schools and local government organizations typically lack a maintenance culture [10]. Sustainable school infrastructure requires a long-term commitment to maintenance [11].

The importance of maintenance policies in ensuring sustainable and effective infrastructure is acknowledged in the existing literature [6], but little attention has been given to how these policies are implemented at the school level. To examine the direct impact of maintenance policy implementation on BC, this study posits that administrative function, resource allocation, and policy prioritization are potential moderating variables.

According to the profile of Lagos State's PSS administrators, 60.1% are female, and 79.8% are aged 55 or older. Principals made up the largest response category (57.1%), and the majority had Bachelor's degrees (70.8%), which is the typical prerequisite for administrative positions. Interestingly, 28% have been in their current positions for more than 15 years. Furthermore, 85.1% of the schools they oversaw were older than 15, which further supports the applicability of their viewpoints on facility upkeep. The majority of maintenance administrators (58.5%) were male, which is consistent with the demographics of the industry. A significant percentage (32.1%) were between the ages of 45 and 54, and the highest credentials were Bachelor's degrees and Higher National Diplomas (both 32.1%). However, they came from a variety of professional backgrounds in the construction industry. The majority had extensive experience, with 30.2% having worked for organizations including SCRPS, LASIAMA, and the Ministry of Education (Project Unit) for more than 15 years.

5.1 Implementation of maintenance policies

Table 1 presents descriptive statistics on the IMP in PSS in Lagos State. The data were analyzed on a 5-point Likert scale of "Never implemented" to "Fully implemented." Mean implementation ratings and standard deviations (SD) show how widely and consistently policies are applied. All IMPs are only partially implemented (PI), as indicated by the mean ratings, which varied from 2.88 to 3.46. None met the requirements for complete execution, indicating a lack of compliance with defined maintenance protocols. Identifying facility needs is the policy with the highest mean score, suggesting more focus in this area. Two measures, maintenance of comprehensive records and the provision of grants for minor repairs of infrastructural works, were comparatively well-executed.

Table 1. Maintenance policies implementation

The maintenance of science, technology facilities, and the management of external maintenance requests policies measured the lowest scores; these areas suggest no prioritization. Lower values of SD (1.165–1.339) indicate moderate variability, implying uniformity in implementation. Infrastructure funding, needs assessment, and record-keeping are the most often applied policies based on the ranking. Incorporating outside feedback from sources like government agencies or the media is PI. The overall mean score of 3.27 implies partial IMP generally. Though maintenance models exist, the implementation is still inconsistent. The study highlighted the call for effective implementation, improved resource allocation, and uniformity in the blueprint of maintenance policies across all PSS within the state and the country at large.

5.2 Building condition

The current state of facilities in Lagos State PSS is reflected in the BC assessment. Respondents employed a Likert rating system of "Very Poor, Poor, Fair, Good, and Very Good" to evaluate the state of the specified facilities within their schools. The BC were examined across five latent variables: classrooms, workshops, libraries, laboratories, and outbuildings. The results are shown in Table 2. All of these latent variables and their observable components were reported as "Fair" by school administrators. Classrooms, workshops, libraries, and laboratories have latent variables with mean values of 3.04, 2.85, 2.06, and 2.65, respectively. According to the updated interpretation scale, these results are classified as "Fair" (> 2.60 to ≤3.40). This suggests that the current state of facilities such as fences, parking areas, and toilets (which encompass wall partitions, skirting, wall finishes, columns and beams, floor finishes, etc.), is generally moderate, although not in Good or Very Good condition. Additionally, the school administrators perceived that the regular maintenance, cleaning, and repairs of classroom facilities were sufficient. The SD values of 1.148, 1.163, 1.123, 1.084, and 1.105 for the conditions of classrooms, workshops, libraries, laboratories, and outbuildings indicate a spread or variability in the responses regarding the BC. Since the SD are relatively close to 1, it suggests moderate variability in the responses.

Table 2. Condition of building elements

5.3 Observation of the building conditions

The BC assessment was conducted using a checklist designed by Noy and Douglas [30]. The findings from the observation are presented in Table 3. The analysis of the results supports the perception of the school administrators, indicating that the conditions of the BC are neither in “good” nor in “very good” condition. Rather, the facilities are in a state that is just barely sufficient to perform their design function [30-33]. Common issues observed include missing ceiling boards, faulty sanitary wares, inadequate supply of water and power, missing roof coverings, pipe leakages, erosion-damaged landscapes, and parking lots. Additionally, a majority of the schools lack functional workshops, libraries, and laboratories. It was also noted that some of the schools observed had no adequate supply of water. Wall, floor, and ceiling finishes are in a poor state, with some walls and ceilings displaying significant cracks. The severity of damage to the structural elements of certain buildings is so extensive that some have been abandoned, posing a health and safety risk to the users of the school premises. Figure 1 illustrates the state of various damages and deteriorations observed in some of the schools.

Figure 1. Extent of deterioration

Table 3. Building conditions (BC) observation

Table 4. Spearman’s correlation of maintenance policy and facility conditions

5.4 Spearman’s correlation of maintenance policy and facility conditions

Table 4 presents the results of Spearman’s rank correlation analysis between the IMP and the physical BC of facilities in public senior secondary schools in Lagos State. All facility categories, including classrooms, workshops, libraries, laboratories, and outbuildings, show statistically significant positive correlations with IMP, having coefficients (r) ranging from 0.379 to 0.521 and p-values of 0.001. These results corroborate the rejection of the null hypothesis by confirming the association's significance at the 0.05 threshold. The strongest connection (r = 0.521) has been seen in classrooms, suggesting a substantial relationship between improved classroom BC and successful IMP. Notable positive associations were also found for outbuildings (r = 0.478) and laboratories (r = 0.467), indicating that systematic maintenance affects the state of supporting infrastructure. Libraries had the poorest link (r = 0.379), suggesting comparatively less influence or lower policy prioritizing in this area.

All categories of the physical BC fell into the "Fair" category on the five-point Likert scale (1 = Very Poor to 5 = Very Good), with mean values ranging from 2.56 to 2.75. The SD revealed a substantial degree of variation in condition evaluations amongst schools, ranging from 0.913 to 1.100. These findings highlight how crucial it is to apply policies consistently in order to raise the standard of infrastructure. The strong correlations confirm that improved physical BC is a result of well-enforced maintenance strategies. The need for more equitable resource allocation and attention across all facility types is indicated by the weaker correlations in areas like libraries and workshops. The results show that in order to guarantee sustainable school infrastructure and improved learning environments, maintenance planning must be incorporated into a larger educational policy and budgetary framework.

5.5 Model analysis on the implementation of maintenance policy and building condition

The results of the PLS-SEM on the hypothesized relationship between the IMP and BC indicate that all the variables of BC significantly correlate with IMP (Table 5). The reliability and validity of the model exceed the 0.70 threshold for CR and AVE value of 0.50, with indicator loadings greater than 0.60.

Table 5. Model analysis on maintenance policy and building

A statistically significant and positive effect (β = 0.493, p < 0.001) with r-value IMP→BC for classroom, workshop, library, laboratory, and outbuilding as 0.521, 0.423, 0.379, 0.467, and 0.478, respectively, was found when the structural model analysis examined the hypothesized path from IMP to BC. The p-value (< 0.001) for the test of the relationship is significant and less than the critical p-value of 0.05; hence, the null hypothesis is rejected. The implication is that the higher the IMP, the better the BC in PSS. These results highlight the significance of improved policy frameworks and implementation commitment across school districts and indicate that the IMP is causally predictive of improved BC.

Previous studies have highlighted the inadequacies in the availability and maintenance of public institutions' infrastructure, which have been pointed out to affect teaching and learning negatively [10, 13, 14, 17]. The majority of studies have also pointed out the lack of adequate budget for the education sector, poor planning and administration for these inadequacies, but have frequently lacked empirical evaluations that explicitly connect IMP to infrastructure issues. This study, however, establishes a causal and correlational relationship between the physical state of school buildings and the execution of maintenance policies using both PLS-SEM and Spearman's correlation. The study provides a solid empirical foundation by combining perception-based data with systematic observations, in contrast to other research that mostly relied on perception-based evidence [2, 7, 13, 22]. Furthermore, the effects of IMP on BC of the various classifications of PSS facilities based on use have been added to the literature. With this, inadequacies in IMP in specific fields like laboratories and libraries were identified, hence calling for a more integrated and fair approach to maintenance planning. This paper makes significant theoretical advances in the knowledge of managing educational facilities and maintaining public infrastructure in developing nations. Also, by highlighting the mediating and moderating roles of administrative ability, resource allocation, and policy precedence at the school level—areas typically overlooked in previous studies [5, 23], this study advances the theory of policy implementation.

The findings have practical implications for administrators, policymakers, and infrastructure developers. This can be achieved by supporting the government in evidence-based policies that ensure efficient resource allocation, monitoring, and feedback. Also, the school administrators will be better informed about the criticality of the conditions of basic facilities, which may hamper the smooth running of the schools’ objectives. These measures are important for fostering a safer, more conducive learning environment and for uniform and accountable information management for maintenance purposes.