Educational Planning HIPDET (Dr Selfor)
Educational Planning HIPDET (Dr Selfor)
email [email protected]
Level: Masters
Credits: 4
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, the student administrator will be able to define planning
and educational planning, and also examine the various management and planning
systems currently in use in organizations
Course Contents:
SN Mode Mark
1 Class Participation/ Attendance 10
2 Written test/Assignments 20
3 Final Examination 70
Total 100
Some References
Parsons, T. (1969). Politics and social structure. Glencoe, IL: The Free
Press.
There is a huge gap between the formulation of a plan and its implication. Often it
is intensely difficult to bridge. Implementation is the Achilles’ heel (weakness or
2. Strategies: Broad approaches or methods that outline how to achieve the set
objectives. Strategies can be long-term and focus on overall mission and vision.
Educational Planning
The following are some of the most popular and accepted definitions of
educational planning.
- Vision and Mission: Establishing a clear vision and mission for the educational
institution or system is crucial. This guides all planning efforts.
2. Assessment of Needs:
3. Curriculum Development:
4. Resource Allocation:
- Budgeting: Allocating financial resources appropriately to support educational
programs and initiatives.
5. Implementation Strategy:
7. Stakeholder Engagement:
Educational planning serves multiple purposes that are essential for the effective
management and improvement of educational systems. Here are some key
purposes of educational planning:
The concept of educational planning has been evolving since the first usage
of the term in early 1950s. The modern concept of educational planning
endures the following main characteristics:
Questions:
UNIT TWO: BASIC PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATIONAL PLANNING
9. Meeting the needs of the people: Educational planning is done with the
intention of meeting the needs of the country or people. Hence the social,
manpower and economic needs of the nation among others have to the centre
of all considerations.
10. Needs-based and situation oriented: There cannot be a single best plan
for all purposes and all times. Each plan would have a unique character
which would be determined by the needs of the situations. Specific and
unitary plan can be prepared to solve immediate problems. Similarly, short term
and long-term plans may be prepared.
Educational planning takes into account the past and present realities of the
country’s education and training programmes. It is commonly preceded by
a survey of the educational situation and needs. Well-organized statistical
services are necessary to provide essential and reliable data. According to
Reyes, the essential elements of educational planning are as follows:
1. Quantitative Planning: This covers all questions involved in the
expansionof educational facilities based on pedagogical, demographical
geographical, economic, and social factors. Quantitative planning makes
references to school population (enrolment, dropout and promotion), the
recruitment of teachers and supervisors, and the provision of classrooms and
equipment (furniture, laboratories, and so on).
- To avoid surprises
3. In doing the above, the planner and weaknesses relative to being able to
Follows:
- The social demand approach
(i) It is a suitable supporting political tool to meet the need to satisfy the demands
of the general public.
(ii) The approach provides the planners with most appropriate number of places
where educational facilities have to be provided.
(iii) This kind of planning techniques are most suitable where resources are
acutely limited, and such kinds and quantities of education are planned
which will offer the greatest good to the greatest number.
(i) The approach in no way has a command over factors like price of
education.
(ii) The approach has no power to manage the absorption of trained
personnel in the economy. (iii) The approach is poor in the sense that it does not in
any way lay claim to whether the resources expended are economically
prearranged.
(iv) The approach does not provide any kind of guidance as to how best to meet the
identified needs.
(ii) Manpower approach does not need sophisticated statistical studies and
can easily point out the extreme gaps and disparities in the education output
pattern that need necessary antidotes.
Revision Question:
Educational planning can be approached from three perspectives:
social demand, manpower demand and rate of returns. Examine
each
of these approaches. (20pts)
2. Self-financing: Things and fees that parents pay for children when going
to school. Tuition has been important source of revenue for education both
for the private and public schools. Besides tuition fees, self or private
financing of education also takes the form legislation or examination fees
and purchase of books, materials and special clothing such as uniforms, as
well as the indirect cost of earnings or income foregone.
It has been argued that education is a highly profitable personal
investment hence it must be pay for by the individual or his/her family. The
expected benefit (from education) more than compensate for the burden of
high cost. The private rate of return help to explain why for e.g. there is still
strong private demand for education in developing countries were educated
unemployment is prevailing. i.e. in developing countries like Cameroon.
People were there is no employment people still want to be educated.
3. Private gifts and grants: Especially private institutes depend heavily on
gifts and grants from philanthropic foundations and to a diminishing degree
religious orders. Business cooperation also make gifts to institutions. Other
sources of gifts are:
➢ Other individuals may have more selfish motives. E.g. a person vie
like say a hotel school it should never be void of the rent can be used
for the interest of schools.
There exist management and planning systems currently used in the world.
Management by Objectives (MBO)
MBO is a strategic management model that focuses on setting specific, measurable
goals with employees and aligning their objectives with the overall goals of the
organization. While MBO was developed in the 1950s by Peter Drucker and has
evolved over the years, its core principles remain foundational in current
management practices.
Characteristics of MBO
Here are some attributes of the current management and planning systems that
draw inspiration from MBO or have evolved alongside it:
1. Goal Alignment: Modern organizations often use frameworks that encourage
alignment between individual, team, and organizational goals. This ensures that
everyone is working towards common objectives.
2. SMART Goals: The principles of setting SMART (Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals are widely adopted in contemporary
goal-setting processes, enhancing clarity and accountability.
3. Performance Metrics: Current systems often incorporate KPIs (Key Performance
Indicators) and OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) as tools to measure progress
toward goals, emphasizing data-driven management.
4. Employee Involvement: Like MBO, contemporary management practices
emphasize the involvement of employees in the goal-setting process. This
engagement improves motivation and commitment to achieving set objectives.
5. Regular Reviews and Feedback: Regular performance reviews and feedback
sessions are crucial in modern management, allowing for adjustments to goals and
strategies in real-time and ensuring accountability.
2. Focus on Timelines: PERT emphasizes the time required for each task and the
overall duration of the project, helping to identify critical paths and areas where
time can be saved.
3. Flexibility: PERT can accommodate uncertainty in project scheduling by
allowing project managers to estimate task durations using optimistic, pessimistic,
and most likely time frames, which can be particularly useful in complex projects.
4. Identification of Critical Path: By identifying the critical path – the longest
sequence of dependent tasks – PERT helps project managers to pinpoint which
tasks are crucial to meeting project deadlines.
5. Enhanced Communication: The process encourages communication and
collaboration among team members since it requires input from various
stakeholders, fostering a more cooperative work environment.
6. Resource Optimization: PERT helps in optimizing the use of resources by
indicating which tasks can be done simultaneously and which cannot, thus
allowing for better allocation of time and resources.
Disadvantages of PERT
1. Complexity: PERT can become quite complex, especially for large projects with
many tasks and dependencies. This complexity can make it difficult for
stakeholders to follow and can require a significant amount of time to set up.
2. Time and Effort Required: Developing a PERT chart can be time-consuming.
Gathering accurate estimates for task durations and constructing the diagram can
require significant effort from project managers and team members.
3. Reliance on Estimates: The accuracy of a PERT analysis is heavily reliant on the
quality of time estimates provided for tasks. Inaccurate estimates can lead to
misleading results and poor project planning.
4. Limited Focus on Costs: While PERT is excellent for scheduling, it does not
inherently consider cost. Therefore, additional tools or methodologies may be
needed to complete the tasks.