Principals’ Perception of Health Services in Kwara State Secondary Schools: A Qualitative Approach

Resumen

The common problems of learners that contribute to absenteeism in school include malaria, cough/catarrh, typhoid, headache and stomach ache. This led to the formulation of national school health policy in Nigeria to promote health services in schools. In view of the foregoing, this study assesses principals’ perception of health services in secondary schools. The study population consists of 551 principals of secondary schools (public and private) in Kwara State, Nigeria. Purposive and convenience sampling techniques were employed to select 20 principals. Instrument tagged “Interview Protocol on Health Services (IPHS)” was used to elicit data from the participants. Data collected was transcribed and analysed via thematic approach. Findings revealed that majority of the schools does not have school clinic to dispense health services to learners. Our fidings also show that most of the schools lack health personnel and equipment. This study concludes that comprehensive health services were not provided for learners. The study recommends that the government should come up with policy statement on school health services that will help to provide quality health services to the learners. Adequate budget should be made by the government for the implementation of the policy. Lastly, the study provides practical and methodological contributions to the body of knowledge in the fild of education.