Perception of Head Teachers and District Education Officers (DEOs) on School Infrastructure Policy Governance in Somaliland

Abstract

The study examined the effectiveness and shortfalls of the school infrastructure policy governance system in Somaliland. The study was a cross-sectional survey, using mixed methods of inquiry. The target population was 920 headteachers and 82 DEOs. The sample was 257 headteachers and 22 DEOs. Multistage sampling was used. Purposive sampling was used to sample regions. Stratified random sampling was used to sample headteachers and simple random sampling to sample DEOs from the sampled regions. Pilot testing of the questionnaire was done on 28 headteachers. Reliability was ensured by Cronbach alpha while peer review and pilot testing ensured validity. Data were collected from headteachers using self-administered questionnaires while DEOs were interviewed. Twenty DEOs and 247 headteachers responded to the study. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis while questionnaire data were analysed by descriptive statistics, frequency and percentage distributions. The school infrastructure policy implementation was ineffective, and the policy administrative structure was ineffective but the policy was stable. There is a need for the ministry to review its policy administration structures to make them effective. The school inspection criteria should be made available in all schools. Keywords Education, Headteachers, Infrastructure Facilities, Policy Administration, Policy Governance, Primary Schools, Public Schools, School Infrastructure Policy, Somaliland