More often than not, when the performance of a school has become a matter of grave concern, members of the community react by mobilising resources with the hope that once resources are available, everything will fall in place. The understanding is that the provision of adequate teaching and learning materials would set in motion a chain of positive and enabling conditions necessary to upgrade a chronically low-achieving school into a hub of academic excellence. But this is a fallacy.
While there is an iota of truth that the availability of resources is a vital factor in the matrix of producing good student learning outcomes, the presence of materials, nonetheless, does not guarantee good results. The overemphasis on resources has resulted in a situation where other critical factors do not receive a fair share of attention. The call for the pumping of more resources into a low-achieving school is not without any foundation. Community members do not act in a vacuum. They are moved by a plea for help from schools. Support is usually preceded by a school needs assessment. The assessment usually singles out a lack of resources as the main stumbling block to the achievement of good learning outcomes. Schools hardly go beyond merely requesting assistance in the form of duplicating machines, stationery, and sanitary towels for students, to name but a few. In response to this plea, a number of public schools continue to experience the spirit of benevolence from members of the community. The support is much appreciated as it fills a void, which leaves schools seriously limping. This is so because the provision of adequate resources is a vital element in the life of a school. However, making inadequacy of resources appear like the one single major problem is an understatement of the challenges bedevilling schools. There are more serious and deeper challenges of instructional practice and governance, which are critical in the matrix of producing improved student learning outcomes. Schools are hardly open about these matters. Instead, for some reason best known to them, when interacting with stakeholders, they tinker at the edges of the problem. Yet, research has shown that more investments into the development of school principals and teachers are required if schools are to gain some semblance of normalcy. The school principal and the teacher are the chief enablers of high student achievement levels. The fact of the matter is that problems bedevilling schools go beyond the mobilisation of physical resources.
