ASSESSMENT OF SCHOOL PRINCIPAL’S STRATEGIES TO ENHANCING PHYSICAL SECURITY MEASURES: A CASE STUDY OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS SITUATED IN SOUTH EAST STATES, NIGERIA

The study examined Secondary School Principals’ Strategies and Physical Security Measures in South East States, Nigeria. A total of 1500 teachers were sampled in 272 secondary schools. The technique used in the selection was the disproportionate random sampling technique. The school principal’s strategies and physical security questionnaire (SPSAPSQ) was the instrument used for data collection. It was validated and the reliability test yielded 0.79 Cronbach Alpha coefficients. Mean statistics were used to answer the two research questions while analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the two hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. Results indicate a large concurrence of teachers that the provision of surveillance-communication gadgets and deployment of security barriers by principals impacted positively on enhancing security measures in schools. For enhancing school safety, planning and adequate security measures such as provision of first aid kits, fumigating the environments, covering of gutters, ensuring the perimeter of the school is fenced, provision of lighting materials, installation of CCTV to cover blind spots, liaising with community, security agencies and stakeholders for supports.