CAJES Vol. 6 No 3 | OCTOBER 2020 CAJES: Capital Journal of Educational Studies, 2020, 6(3), page 10 – 16. ISSN: 2996 – 103X. ©2020 FCT College of Education Zuba Abuja. http://fctcoezjournals.org MANAGEMENT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION SPORTS FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES IN NIGERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES By Franca Nkoli Ikwuka and Haruna Gabasawa Junaid Department of Physical and Health Education FCT College of Education, Zuba – Abuja Emails: [email protected] and [email protected] (Received June 5, 2020 and accepted June 16, 2020) Abstract Sports facilities, equipment and supplies are fundamental to sports development and achievements globally. The management of physical education, sports facilities, equipment and supplies in Nigerian secondary schools lies with those who are in-charge of physical education and sports (Physical and health education teachers, games masters and sports committee) to provide adequate facilities, equipment and supplies for sports administration, competition, recreation and educational purposes. The extent to which sports facilities, equipment and supplies are provided in schools determines sports participation at all levels of education. This paper discusses the concept of sports, facilities, equipment and supplies. It went further to discuss the relevance of sports facilities, equipment and supplies to the management of sports in Nigerian secondary schools and challenges of physical education and sports facilities, equipment and supplies management in Nigerian secondary schools. The paper recommends that adequate and standard facilities, equipment and supplies should be provided for in all public secondary schools in each of the states in Nigeria among others. Keywords: Facilities, Equipment, Sports, Resource management and Physical Education Introduction Physical education and sports activities have been known to been integral component of the educational programme of all nations of the world. Traditionally, at secondary schools level, facilities, equipment and supplies management are usually the responsibilities of the physical and health education teachers, games masters or sports committee. The relevance of sports facilities, equipment and supplies in teaching and learning of physical and health education and sports in Nigerian secondary schools cannot be overemphasized as they bring 10 CAJES Vol. 6 No 3 | OCTOBER 2020 about academic excellence. Facilities, equipment and supplies are very vital in the teaching and learning of physical and health education practical lessons in order to bring the lesson to the knowledge level of the students, hence they should be managed and maintained by the authorities responsible for that. Sports form an aspect of physical education. They are activities for enjoyment during leisure hours and they involve competition. Some sports are done individually, or with a partner such as swimming, running, jumping, throwing, cycling, tennis, golf, badminton and squash. Other sports are done in teams such as soccer, volleyball, basketball, among others. All sports have their rules which players must obey. Sports in Nigeria today is not what it is used to be in the past. Nevertheless, in the days gone by Nigeria sports, there was a good deal of national plays on the streets and in alleys adjourning school houses, but there was no organized physical exercise and drills. This was as a result of lack of play grounds (Mohammed, 2006). Sports activities have been known to be integral component of the educational programmes of most people, if not all nations of the world. During the era of Plato, physical education and sports were included as an integral component of the educational system. It is therefore the function of the school to socialize the individuals (Orunaboka & Nwachukwu, 2012). In most advanced countries of the world, education authorities have recognized the benefits obtained from participation in sports programmes and as such included physical education in their school curriculum as a part of the learning experiences offered to the pupils/ students. The implication is that a lot of resources were put into physical education to enable the youths enjoy a worthy sports programme for their healthy development (Orunaboka & Nwachukwu, 2012). Sport is a natural part of individual’s life, whether it is for recreational purposes or competition for medals. The opportunity to participate in sporting activities should be understood As a basic human need, which the school system should endeavour to provide. Schools as educational institutions established for the purpose of socialization are to provide opportunity for the development of individuals through sporting activities. The fact that individuals spend substantial part of their time in schools makes it more imperative for schools to provide conducive environment for learning movement skills that could be useful to them in life after school (Kabido, 2006). According to Orunaboka and Nwachukwu (2012), there is a clear indication that the authorities responsible for administration of sports in Nigeria have realized the contributions of the school physical education programmes towards development in Nigeria and are sparing no effort to encourage secondary schools to set up well-structured physical education and sports programmes. This implies that Nigeria secondary schools are now looked upon as one of the fertile grounds for breeding the Nation’s future sports men and women. One of the most important areas of administrative concern of the sports administrators involves the management of facilities and equipment in physical education and sports programmes. The existence of sports facilities and equipment is of vital importance in the conduct of physical education, intramural sports and other sports programmes. The facilities and equipment available in schools for the conduct of sports and games programmes determines to considerable extent the type of sports programmes that can be offered (Anyora, 2013). 11 CAJES Vol. 6 No 3 | OCTOBER 2020 Standard facilities and equipment are essential pre-requisites to good and impressive performances in sports at all levels of participation. Different types of activities require different facilities and equipment, consequently therefore, any short face of these facilities and equipment create difficulties in presenting the desired variety of sports activities. Sports facilities and equipment are very essential for any school that is offering physical education. Their presence in the school can enhance physical education and intramural sports. They complement the theoretical aspect of physical education which takes place in the four walls of the classroom. Sports facilities and equipment therefore need proper management and maintenance for effective use and long lasting. The management of sports facilities and equipment is the responsibility of physical educators and sport administrators at all levels. However, sports facilities and equipment in many secondary schools are poorly managed and 12 CAJES Vol. 6 No 3 | OCTOBER 2020 governing their operations and each of these games has association like Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) for soccer. Sports facilities and equipment are “laboratories” for physical education where games are performed or played and consequently, facilities and equipment are important for achievement of goals of physical education and sports. Sports facilities therefore connote permanent structure built for the sporting activities such as athletic track, stadia, soccer pitches, basketball court, tennis courts, squash court and gymnasium (Ogundairo, 2010). Sport equipment on the other hand refers to those disposable items used in sports such as horizontal bars, weight lifting materials, basketball post, among others (Ogundairo, 2010). Ladani (2004) viewed equipment as those items that are not considered expandable but are utilized over a period of years, such as parallel bars and audiometers. In other words, equipment is the fairly durable materials which are semi-permanent, example, goal posts and basketball stand. Supplies are those materials that are expandable and have to be replaced at frequent intervals such as shuttlecocks and tennis balls (Orunaboka & Nwachukwu, 2012). Facilities, equipment and supplies are therefore aids or tools to facilitate the teaching of physical education, the coaching of sports and for intramural. Quality supplies and well maintained facilities and equipment are essential to good coaching (Ladani, 2007). Facilities, equipment and supplies represent the tools which the teacher or the coach must have to facilitate learning in the gymnasium, laboratory or on the field. Sports facilities, equipment and supplies in secondary schools sports management Facilities, equipment and supplies provision are important aspect of physical education and sports management. Anejo and Okwori (2004) state that the existence of sports facilities is of vital importance in the conduct of physical education, intramural sports and other sport programmes. They further explained that the facilities available in a school for the conduct of sports and games programmes determine to a considerable extent the type of sports programme that can be offered. Standard facilities are essential pre-requisite to good and impressive performance in sports at all levels of participation. In sports, different types of activities require different facilities. Consequently, any limitation of these facilities creates difficulties