QUALITY ASSURANCE
School inspection
Every school in Kano State is inspected against twelve statutory criteria and given one of five verdicts. The report is published, the school may appeal it, and no charge is made for any part of the exercise.
Who inspects, and why
Inspection is how the State knows whether a school is teaching. Enrolment figures and examination entries say how many children are on a register; only a visit says whether the lessons are prepared, the syllabus is being covered, the laboratory works, the toilets are usable and the records would survive scrutiny.
Public schools are inspected by the Directorate of Quality Assurance at the Ministry with the zonal education offices. Private, community, mission and voluntary schools are inspected by the Kano State Private And Voluntary Institute, which uses the same twelve criteria, so that a parent comparing two schools is comparing like with like. Tsangaya and Islamiyya schools in the integration programme are inspected on the criteria that apply to what they teach.
Inspection is free. No school pays for a visit, for a report or for an appeal, and the annual inspection fee an approved private school pays is a licensing charge to the Institute, not a payment to a team. A parent, a school-based management committee or a parent-teacher association may ask for a school to be inspected, in writing or through the feedback form, and the request is answered within 15 working days.
The twelve statutory criteria
Each criterion is scored out of ten by the team, and the total of 120 produces the verdict. Every score is evidenced in the report.
| Criterion | What the inspector looks at | Evidence taken |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching & Learning | Lessons actually observed: preparation, delivery, questioning, pupil participation and whether pupils can do at the end of the lesson what the objective said. | Three to six lesson observations across classes and subjects |
| Curriculum Coverage | How much of the term's scheme of work has been taught, and whether the pace will complete the syllabus before the examination. | Schemes of work, lesson notes, pupils' exercise books |
| Teacher Qualification | Whether every teacher holds a recognised qualification, a TRCN registration and a current State teaching licence, and teaches the subject he is qualified in. | Staff list checked against the teachers register |
| Pupil–Teacher Ratio | Class sizes against the establishment, and whether teachers are deployed where the pupils are rather than concentrated in the office. | Class registers, the posting record, a headcount on the day |
| Classroom Condition | Roof, floor, walls, windows, doors, board and light. Whether a classroom is usable in the rains and in the heat. | A walk of every block, photographed |
| Furniture Adequacy | A seating place for every pupil, a table and chair for every teacher, and the condition of both. | A count against enrolment |
| Library & Textbooks | Textbooks per pupil per subject against the entitlement, teachers' guides, a library or reading corner, and whether books are in pupils' hands rather than locked away. | Stock register, issue record, a sample of classes |
| Laboratory & ICT | Whether practicals are done: benches, water, gas or spirit, chemicals in date, glassware, and for ICT whether the machines work and are used. | Laboratory record, practical notebooks, an equipment check |
| Water & Sanitation | A working water source, toilets in use and separate for boys and girls, hand-washing, and refuse disposal. | Physical inspection of the facilities |
| Safety & Security | Perimeter, gate control, fire precautions, first aid, safe electrical fittings, and the safeguarding arrangements for pupils. | Site walk, first-aid box, incident record |
| Records & Governance | Admission register, attendance, continuous assessment records, the log book, the stock register, minutes of the school-based management committee and of the parent-teacher association. | The records themselves, sampled |
| Inclusion & Gender Equity | Enrolment and retention of girls, provision for learners with disabilities, physical access, and whether the school is following up children who have stopped attending. | Sex-disaggregated enrolment, access ramps, the follow-up record |
The five verdicts
A verdict is a total out of 120, converted to a band. What follows a verdict matters more than the word itself.
Outstanding
102 – 120
Teaching, records and facilities are strong across the board. The school is cited as a model, hosts school-based training for the zone and is inspected again in two years rather than one.
Good
84 – 101
A sound school with specific things to improve. The named improvements are followed up at the next routine visit.
Satisfactory
66 – 83
The school meets the minimum standards. An improvement plan is agreed with the zonal office and reviewed within one term.
Needs Improvement
48 – 65
One or more criteria fall below standard. A written improvement plan is required within 14 days and a follow-up visit is made within 60 days. For a private school, a renewal is held until the follow-up.
Inadequate
Below 48
The school is not delivering education to the standard the law requires, or a criterion presents a danger. Immediate action is directed, a follow-up follows within 30 days, and for a private school the approval may be suspended.
The visit, hour by hour
A routine inspection takes one school day, with a team of three to five drawn from the Directorate, the zonal office and a subject specialist.
Notice
A routine inspection is announced by at least seven days. A follow-up visit after Needs Improvement or Inadequate, and a visit prompted by a complaint, is unannounced. Every team carries written authority and identification, which you should ask to see.
Entry meeting
The lead inspector meets the head teacher, explains the twelve criteria and the shape of the day, and asks for the records. The head teacher, not a deputy, should be present for this.
Lesson observation
Between three and six lessons are observed across classes and subjects, chosen by the team and not by the school. The observer sits at the back, does not teach, and speaks to the teacher afterwards.
Records and facilities
The admission register, attendance, assessment records, log book, stock register and committee minutes are sampled. The team then walks the classrooms, toilets, water point, library, laboratory and perimeter, photographing what it scores.
Scoring
The team scores each of the twelve criteria out of ten, with the evidence written against each score. Scoring is done at the school, not afterwards from memory.
Exit meeting
The head teacher is told the findings, criterion by criterion, on the day. Nothing appears in the report that was not raised at the exit meeting. The head teacher may record a disagreement in the visit record there and then.
Report
The report is issued within 15 working days: the scores, the evidence, the verdict, the required actions and their dates. It goes to the school, the local government education office, the zonal office and the board that manages the school.
How a school prepares
Nothing here is preparation for an inspection so much as ordinary running of a school. Have it ready on any day.
- Schemes of work for the term for every class and subject, and lesson notes up to the current week.
- Admission register and attendance registers, written up to the day.
- Continuous assessment records with the scores that will make up the termly report.
- The school log book, with visits, incidents and staff movements recorded.
- Staff list with each teacher's qualification, TRCN number and licence expiry date.
- Stock register and the textbook issue record by pupil name.
- Minutes of the school-based management committee and the parent-teacher association for the session.
- The approved fee schedule, where the school is a private one, displayed where parents can see it.
- Water point working, toilets clean and separate, first-aid box stocked, and the fire precautions in place.
- Sex-disaggregated enrolment for each class, and the follow-up record for pupils who have stopped attending.
Publication, and how a school appeals
The verdict and the date of every inspection are published against the school in the public register, so a parent can see how a school was last judged before choosing it. The full report, with the scores and the evidence, goes to the school and to the offices above it, and a summary is published. Names of individual teachers and of pupils never appear in the published version.
A school that disagrees with a verdict appeals in writing within 14 days of receiving the report, to the Director of Quality Assurance for a public school or to the Executive Secretary of the PVIB for a private one. The appeal must say which criterion is disputed and what evidence the school relies on. A general complaint about the team is not an appeal.
An appeal is decided within 21 working days by an officer who was not on the visiting team. It may confirm the verdict, adjust a criterion score, or order a fresh inspection by a different team. Where a fresh inspection is ordered, its verdict replaces the first and the register is corrected. An appeal does not suspend a direction made on grounds of safety: a dangerous building is closed while the appeal runs.
What an inspection is not
No inspector may collect money, ask for a gift, ask to be entertained or ask for anything at all from a school. There is no fee for a visit, for a favourable verdict, for a report or for an appeal. Ask for identification, note the names, and report any demand on 0800 MOE KANO or through the feedback form the same day.
Equally, a school may not refuse a team entry, empty its classrooms before a visit, present a borrowed stock of books, or produce records written up the night before. Obstruction is itself scored under Records & Governance, and it is a ground for suspending a private school's approval.
Inspection findings are not a matter between the team and the head teacher. The report goes to the local government education office, the zonal office and the managing board, and the verdict is published.
Questions schools and parents ask
How often is a school inspected?
Can a parent ask for a school to be inspected?
Are the reports public?
What happens after a verdict of Inadequate?
Do inspectors observe every teacher?
Our school scored badly on Laboratory & ICT but has no laboratory.
How long does an appeal take, and does it cost anything?
See how a school was last inspected
Every school in the register carries its last verdict and the date it was given. Request an inspection, or read the criteria before your school's next visit.