DUE PROCESS COMPLIANCE BY THE FEDERAL AND STATE INSPECTORATES OF EDUCATION IN THE NORTH CENTRAL ZONE OF NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The Federal Government of Nigeria has adopted education as an instrument “par excellence” for effecting national development. The Federal Republic of Nigeria in the National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004) states that any successful system of education must be hinged on proper planning, efficient administration, good organization and adequate financing. This demand the due process compliance of the inspectorate of education. The Public Procurement Act (2007) looked at Due Process as a mechanism for ensuring strict compliance in other to harmonize and update the rules and procedures that should guide the implementation of educational policy and contract award with the federal government of Nigeria.
Nigerian since the early 80s has been confronted with magnitude of educational problems. This problem in brief include low priority accorded to inspection Un-wanted interference in the school administration by the political leaders, multiplication of school with few inspectors, refusal to implement the laid down plan and poor financial management practices, Nigeria therefore has been battling with how to achieve its major educational objectives. These objectives include improving educational standard, quality assurance and reformation of the federal and state inspectorate of education. It has not been easy for Nigeria to realize the above objectives some of the factors responsible for this are poor performance because of the following reasons: Unwillingness of stake holders in education to enforce innovation due to political instability, misplacement of priorities, shortage of basic infrastructural amenities and utilities and problem of qualified personnel government use due process policy and implementation mechanism to address a number of issues. Including budget implementation service delivery, quality assurance, reformation of the inspectorate of education and several developmental concerns.
Due process started by the budget monitoring and price intelligence unit under madam Obiageli Ezekwesili 2007. Anumber of new rules and standards have been put in place by the inspectorate while there have been effort at sensitizing the state branches of the federal inspectorate of the education. The prime objective of the Due process is to harmonize and update all the federal and state inspectorate of education policies and practices on inspection. Also to strictly enforce the Due process principles of transparency, in other to ensure efficient and integrity based monitoring of the implementation of FIS and SIE guide line with Due process principles.
Moreso is concern with the prevention of extra budgetary spending by the inspectorate and ensuring that only projects with due appropriation by the finance department of the inspectorate are certified and thus funded for execution. The. Process for improving quality education in Nigeria generally includes improved curriculum, proper planning for effective and efficient administration, and also improved funding, monitoring and adequate inspection and supervision. This is in consonant with the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2006) policy document which outlines the objectives of inspectorate service in education to include provision of adequate and effective planning; provision of administrative and management control for maintenance of the system; quality control through regular inspection and continuous supervision of instruction services and provision of adequate financial support.
            Administration and organization of education and educational agencies have been described as the spring board to rapid education growth. This has a multiplier effect on the socio-economic, intellectual and skill development in any nation. Jibrin (2006) views process as a series of things that are done in order to achieve a particular result. Rabiu (2009) views process as a series of acts or changes proceeding from one to the next. In this context Due Process Compliance is a series of practices and procedures of obeying rules and regulation made by the Federal Inspectorate of Education.
The core ingredients of Due Process which the federal and state inspectorate services ensure Due compliance in all states within the north central zone are enumerated as follows: Personnel administration, financial management practices, effective legal instrument, adequate facilities for mobility, harmonization of inspection instrument and report, welfare and promotion, training, discipline and implementation of the inspection recommendations.
The Due process practices of the personnel administration of the federal and state inspectorate is concerned with recruitment of adequate and qualified staff, selection, promotion and appraisal of federal inspectorate staff, maintenance and training of staff. It also looks at the staff development and sustainability. This explains why the personnel administration is fundamental for ensuring effectiveness, efficiency and value for Due Process practices of the Federal Inspectorate of education in the north central zone. The chain of command in the federal and state inspectorate of education as complied with the Due process on the personnel administration is seen in (Appendix J). The Director as the Chief Executive in the Federal Inspectorate headquarter preceded by Deputy Directors Inspectorate heading basic education senior secondary schools, and Deputy Directors inspectorate Vocational Science and Technical Education on the Hierarchy of the Administration. After Directors and Deputy Directors, followed by Assistant Directors Inspectorate Non-formal Education, Assistance Directors Inspectorates Primary Schools, Junior Secondary Schools, Unity Schools, State Schools, and Private Schools Statistics Data Analysis, Personnel, Finance, Science and Technical Education and finally Assistant Director Inspectorate Vocational Centres.
Procedure for implementing educational policy as the arm of the due process must involve planning, in order to complied with the Due process practices of the federal and states inspectorate of education there is need for adequate planning. And therefore planning connotes taking wise decisions for the purpose of achieving set out goals and this involves three major stages, which according to Abolade (2006) are pre-inspection stage. Actual inspection stage and post inspection stage as complied by the Due process. For proper and successful inspection, there is the need for adequate planning. The scope of preparations that needs to be made is usually dictated by the nature and type of inspection to be conducted. Irrespective of the type, Abolade said that preparation for an inspection involves four (4) major tasks: data collection about the school to be inspected by the inspectorate unit of Federal Inspectorate Services (FIS) and State Inspectorate Education (SIE); selecting members of the inspection team from FIS and SIE; appointing a team leader among the assistant or deputy director of the FIS or SIE and mobilizing material resources and planning logistics. With the large number of educational institutions required to be visited by inspectors, which is impossible at a time, a method of selecting only a representative sample of schools from the three geopolitical zones of the state is adopted.
The process of going out to the schools for inspection involves data collection about the school, advance information to be supplied on arrival of the inspectors. These include statutory and non-statutory records as well as infrastructural facilities on the ground; selecting members of the team involves selection of a competent team based on the Due process compliance usually guided by the personal qualities, academic and professional qualifications of inspectors; in appointing a team leader, the person appointed the leader, may not necessarily be the senior but a person with experience,  comportment and other personal qualities that he can command the respect of other members of the team, while mobilizing resources and planning logistics rests with the team leader at the headquarters in case of the state inspectors while the zonal directors of education take charge of the arrangement at the zonal level.