Executive Summary
With the tepid academic performance of students and the state of the infrastructure of our alma mater, the members of Anglican Girls’ Grammar School Old Girls’ Association, USA conducted an exercise to assess the needs of Anglican Girls’ Grammar School (A.G.G.S), Benin City, Nigeria. Twenty-eight unique needs were identified using questionnaires (that were distributed to the principals, teachers, and students), informal interviews of principals and teachers, and through observation of the school’s facilities.
Data gathered was analyzed and the results show that the needs fall into three main categories namely, infrastructure, staffing, and personal needs. Each identified need was prioritized based on scores from the analysis of the collected data. The science laboratories ranked 1, 2, and 3 among all needs. In the words of a student survey participant, “As an outgoing SS 3 student, I will love to hear that AGGS now has a good and conducive laboratory. Because of lack of good laboratory, we do not carry out effective practicals. Thank you so much for this opportunity.” We must note that all identified needs are important. Is the list exhaustive? Perhaps not, but the work that lies ahead of us is enormous.
We as a group do not have control over the placement of teachers and the admission of students into the school. As noted, there are not enough teachers to teach certain subjects, but the state government is responsible for that. This is one of the identified needs.
It is therefore recommended that needs be tackled in the order of priority. Funds should be solicited to help meet them. Steps should be taken to see what could be done to improve the reading standards of students.