School statutory records are those basic records kept by a school with detailed information or data collected on various aspects or activities of a school and specially preserved for future use. School statutory records are very essential for school establishment approval and accreditation purposes. These records details and preserves the progress reports recorded by the school over time and across the board. The essence of this paper presentation is to educate young proprietors and school administrators on the effective usage of these records as well as their types.
TYPES OF SCHOOL STATUTORY RECORDS
There are lots of statutory records a standard school ought to keep. As much as possible, cancellation and erasing are not allowed in this record. These records are:
ADMISSION, PROGRESS AND WITHDRAWAL REGISTER
The facts entered in this all-important school statutory records include:
- Student’s/learner’s admission number
- Student’s/learner’s name
- Student’s/learner’s date of birth
- Student’s/learner’s state of origin
- Student’s/learner’s local government area of origin
- Student’s/learner’s admission date
- Student’s/learner’s parent’s/guardian’s names and addresses
- Student’s/learner’s exemption from religious instruction if any
- Student’s/learner’s last school attended
- Student’s/learner’s previous schools and classes passed
- Student’s/learner’s incoming transfer certificate file reference
- Student’s/learner’s outgoing transfer certificate number
- Student’s/learner’s records of progress through classes
- Student’s/learner’s date of leaving the school
- Student’s/learner’s cause of leaving the school.
ADMISSION, PROGRESS, AND WITHDRAWAL REGISTER USES
- School population can easily be retrieved from these basic school statutory records.
- Serves as an index for statutory financial allocation to States from federal accounts.
- It indicates at a glance the numerical growth of the school over the years.
- It provides addresses of parents and guardians for contact in cases of emergency or invitation to a school function.
- It provides at a glance authentic information on the academic progress of a child.
- It is a basis for guidance and counseling and other formative assistance to students.
- It serves as a factual reference point for issuing transfer certificates, testimonials, and referee reports on students in the school.
THE REGISTER OF ATTENDANCE AND FEES
This is another school’s statutory record. The facts entered in this school statutory records includes:
- The school’s admission numbers
- Names in alphabetical order relative to other students.
- Student’s/learner’s sex
- Student’s/learner’s handicap if any
- Student’s/learner’s age
- Student’s/learner’s fees paid
- Students/learners’ daily attendance in two columns – morning and afternoon.
- Student’s/learners weekly totals
- Student’s/learners termly totals
- Student’s/learners total attendance in the year
- A provision for the school administrator to check and initiate the correction on entries made on weekly basis.
- Provides attendance for afternoon students
- Provides a clue for questionable lateness.
HOW TO MAKE ENTRIES IN THIS RECORD EASIER
- Names of girls are often written before now in red but now in black ink and those of boys in blue.
- The attendance register is often left open for thirty [30] minutes after roll call to accommodate latecomers who would have been erroneously marked absent from school.
- Red oblique strokes are often used by thoughtful teachers to indicate lateness and differentiate blue strokes used for punctual students.
- Periods of holidays should be crossed out and holidays are written on the cross out.
- Teachers who are weak in arithmetic should seek the assistance of more competent colleagues to avoid the forbidden cancellation in the record.
THE ATTENDANCE REGISTER USES
- The primary purpose of the attendance register is for accounting.
- It provides clues for identifying regular and irregular attendance to school as well as lateness to school.
- It helps to check truancy and for alerting parents/guardians for corrective measures on this undesirable act.
- It helps the school to identify those owing school fees and serves as the basis for appealing to parents to pay up.
- It is also a useful document for guidance counselors in their formative efforts on students.
THE LOGBOOK
The logbook is a free format type of school statutory records requiring no special spaces for particular items of information.log book provides dates and events to e reported in numbered pages. In completing this school statutory records, it is expected that a little space should be left between different events recorded. The entries should be made in very legible handwriting. Finally, it is advisable that entries for a school year should be started on a fresh page.
Facts to be recorded in the logbook includes:
- Main events that took place in the school. The event could be the visit of important personalities like the president of the nation, the Governor of the state, local government Chairman, or school inspectors/supervisors.
- Names of teachers and what they are assigned to teach in the year.
- Outstanding findings in the school, victory in inter-school competitions, state, national and international sporting, and academic competitions.
VISITOR’S BOOK
The visitor’s book provides the date, name of the visitor, address, and remarks made. It is expected to be, made handily in a specific spot in the school administrator’s office. This is to make it easily accessible to the school’s chief executive whenever an important visitor arrives in the school. A hardcover book with many pages is preferable for durability and age.
This school statutory records also provide information on the interest taken on the school by the important outsider. It also serves as a clue for contacting these people for further information and assistance when the need arises.
THE SCHOOL TIME-TABLE
- This is a valuable piece of paper in which the subject taught in the school and in the classes is documented.
- The total number of periods each subject is taught in a day and in a week and the length of time spent on each lesson are specifically specified.
- It dictates when the school assembly commences, when classes begin and end, the beginning and end of break periods, and when the school day’s work is over.
- It regulates the school’s heartbeat.
See also how to read and understand faster for exams. Students really need to tackle the problem of reading and not understanding.
THE NATIONAL POLICY ON EDUCATION
- This is another important piece of school statutory records.
- The national policy on education is a compendium of the nation’s objectives, educational philosophy, and goals.
- It clearly spells out the goals intended to achieve at each level and type of education and prescribes how those goals are to be achieved.
- It helps in sharpening the perception of a school administrator on what the objectives of his school should be.
- It provides the national parameters/ standards for assessing his school heads.
THE SUBJECT SYLLABUS
- The subject syllabus is a veritable school statutory record.
- The subject syllabus is a document that shows subjects, topics to be taught, and the depth at which each topic should be treated.
- It provides the source from which the scheme of work is drawn by subject teachers.
- The syllabus is a pointer to how adequately a school is living up to its academic responsibilities.
- Present a student to an external examination whose syllabus is not well covered, the school has succeeded in presenting inadequately prepared and disadvantaged students for the examination.
WEEKLYDIARYOF WORK
This school’s statutory record is made up of two parts, the scheme of work and the record of work done. The scheme of work is drawn from the syllabus indicating work to be covered in each subject on weekly basis. Efforts should be made to ensure that the scheme is drawn to guarantee that all topics slated in the syllabus are covered within their season of relevance. Provision is usually made for revision of work done in a term to ensure adequate preparation of learners for examination.
LESSON NOTES AND PLANS A VITAL SCHOOL STATUTORY RECORDS
Permit me to categorically state here that lesson notes and lesson plans are two different records altogether. However, they work hand in hand. Just as the scheme of work is drawn from the syllabus so is the lesson note or lesson plan drawn from the scheme of work. Regulation has it that these two school statutory records must be kept by all teachers and made available on demand by the school head or visiting including supervisors/ inspectors on weekly basis.
IMPORTANCE OF A LESSON NOTES/PLANS
- It is one sure way of ensuring that teachers prepare their lessons adequately before delivery.
- Lesson notes /plans demand that teachers should select topics from the scheme of work and write clear lessons with specific and measurable objectives.
- It demands that teachers must show evidence of previous knowledge possessed by learners which are relevant to the new lesson [Entry Behavior].
- A break of the lesson content into step by step logical sequence, including the learners/teachers’ activities in the course of the lesson [content development] is part of the record.
- Skills employed by the teacher and a well-thought-out evaluation strategy are also covered.
DUTY ROSTER RECORDS
Record is kept on school duties assigned to teachers and prefects. Provision is usually made to accommodate teacher’s and prefects’ comments on the performance of the assigned duties as well as the problems encountered in the discharge of the said duty.
The duty roaster serves as a guide to future staff and prefects on duty. It also helps the school administration to track down defaulting personnel who derelict on duties assigned to them.
TIME BOOK
This is a simple register that provides columns for date, serial number, and name of staff, time in, signature, time out, signature, and remark.
It helps in checking truancy, punctuality, and the duration of staff stay the school for each school day.
THE STAFF MOVEMENT BOOK
This a school statutory record of the movement of staff for each school day. Provisions are made for a serial number, name of staff, date, time left, destination, time expected back, and signature. The document is useful in accounting for the whereabouts of school staff, especially during the visit of school inspectors/supervisors. It also helps the school management in locating staff in cases of emergency.
THERE ARE OTHER SCHOOL STATUTORY RECORDS which I may not be able to give explanations to for want of time though they are self-explanatory going by their names. You can also visit the Federal Ministry of Education official website for further inquiries. However, check below for more school records that must be kept in a school whether Primary, Secondary or Tertiary education.
- Transfer and Leaving Certification
- Minutes of Meetings records
- Conduct book or Punishment book
- Record of pupil’s academic performance
- Records of Pupil’s Personal Hygiene
- Records of physical Development in Health
- Ex-Students records
- Records of Clubs Activities
- Staff records
- Fees Register
- School Budget
- School Impress Account
- Inventory or Stock Book
- Cash Book or Ledger
- Record of Building and Physical Development in the School.
- Inspection Report Book/File
- Records of Games and Sporting Activities
