This study is intended to understand teaching quality of English student teachers when they conduct their teaching practicum. Teaching quality is conceptualized based on the principles of effective teaching resulted by teacher effectiveness studies. Thes


 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 215  

Principals’ Perceptions on Admission Services in Kwara State 
Secondary Schools, Nigeria: A Phenomenology Approach 

 

YUSUF SULEIMAN
1
, ZAHYAH HANAFI

2
, AND MUHAJIR TANSLIKHAN

3 

 
Abstract  

Admission service is an essential service that is needed for the implementation of 
school programmes and for students‟ academic success in secondary schools. 
Therefore, this study investigated principals‟ perceptions on admission services in 
secondary schools. The research design adopted for the study is phenomenology 
approach. The participants of the study consist of all principals in Kwara state 
secondary schools. Purposive and convenience sampling techniques were used to 
select 20 principals as participants needed for the study. Instrument titled “Interview 
Protocol on Admission Services IPAS” was used to elicit views on admission 
services from the participants. Findings of the study revealed that effective admission 
service had a link with students‟ academic achievement in school. Specifically, it 
indicated that students who went through initial admission screening, such as 
entrance examination and oral interview performed excellently when given 
admission. Also, their views revealed that admission service was one of the 
fundamental services in school system and its importance cannot be underestimated. 
Finally, it was suggested that proper planning of admission process should be put in 
place to ensure good admission service exercise in the school system.  

 
Keywords 
Admission services, principal, phenomenology approach, secondary school  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
1. Department of Educational Management and Counselling, Faculty of Education, Al-Hikmah University, 

Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria; yusufsuleiman@alhikmah.edu.ng   
2. School of Educational Studies, Geomatika University, Malaysia 
3. Universitas Dr. Soetomo, Indonesia 

mailto:yusufsuleiman@alhikmah.edu.ng


 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 216  

Introduction 
 
Admission service is a systematic process of admitting qualified students who have 

satisfied the entrance requirements designed by the school. It is also the process by which 
candidates seeking for admission to schools are selected based on their intellectual ability 
using the school‟s requirements in selecting the prospective students (Archibong, Jude, & 
Etudor-Eyo, 2011; Hsie & Hu, 2006; Israel & Israel, 2014; Juradja & Munich, 2010; Lewin, 
2015). The presence of admission services in school is key to overall academic success in the 
education system. Applicants‟ desire for education often put an enormous pressure on 
secondary schools concerning candidates to be selected for placement in schools (Adnett, 

McCaig, Slack, & Bowers‐Brown, 2011; Welsh, 2002; Yusuf, Zahayah,  & Tanslikhan, 
2016).     

According to Corcoran and Baker-Smith (2010), the admission unit of the school 
determines the eligibility of the applicants, as it is saddled with the responsibilities of dealing 
with those seeking admission. The strategists used for selecting are a quota system, gender, 
politics, and influence. Okoroma (2008) opined that the rate of admission seekers in the 
Nigerian education system is increasing on a yearly basis due to the passion that people have 
for education. This becomes problematic for schools in deciding on what strategy to adopt 
for the selection of the applicants. The most common strategy for selection of applicants in 
the Nigerian education system is test and interview. Ludeman (2002) and Juradja and 
Munich (2010) highlight functions of admission services to include; doing research on 
demographic trends in school-going population; evaluating the credentials of students of the 
school; notifying the students about the deferment and termination of students and 
strategies to recruit new students. Sawyer (2013) is of the view that scores of the applicants 
are the best method that admission personnel can use to screen out those that got the lowest 
score during the test. Before applicants can be screened out, certain benchmarks must be put 
in place to serve as a standard. It makes it easy for a school to take decision on who to be 
admitted and who not to be admitted.  

Furthermore, there is a double standard in admission and selection process in the 
education system, which hinders quality education in Nigeria (Okoroma, 2008). According to 
Asuru (2002), poor admission policies/unqualified candidates are a common feature in 
Nigerian education system. Okoroma (2008) regrets the level of nepotism, favouritism and 
other vices have beclouded the admission and selection process at all levels of education, 
which has allowed unqualified candidates to get admission, leaving eminently qualified 
candidates to be denied admission. Israel and Israel (2014) confirmed that the poor quality 
of education in Nigeria can be attributed to poor quality of students admitted into schools 
and that some students got admitted without going through a proper admission process. In 
the same vein, Okoroma (2008) and Yusuf (2017) submit that non-adherence to admission 
standards allow poorly qualified candidates to be admitted into education system in Nigeria. 

Moreover, studies suggest that the principal has the responsibility of ensuring 
efficient and effective services (including admission services) in secondary schools (Yusuf, 
2017). Specifically, school‟s principal, in conjunction with the admission section, set out the 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 217  

strategies to be used for the selection of qualified applicants who are seeking placement in a 
school.  

In view of the above, the present study investigated principals‟ perceptions on 
admission services in Kwara State Secondary Schools, Nigeria. Specifically, it aimed to 
inquire from the principals their views on issues relating to admission services. Since 
principals are saddled with the responsibility of ensuring effective implementation of 
admission services, it is believed that their views would shed more light on how admission 
services influence students‟ academic success in secondary schools with a view to offer a 
better understanding of the study phenomenon.  Thus, this study is to investigate 
principals‟ perception of admission services via a phenomenology approach. This following 
questions guide the study:  

1. What is principal‟s view concerning contemporary issues on admission service in 
secondary schools? 

2.  What is principal‟s perceived problems militating against admission services in 
school? 

3. What is principal‟s perceived solutions to the problems of admission services in 
school?  

 
Literature Review 
 
Theoretically, student development theory, which is also known as the student 

services theory, is seen as the part of educational psychology, which theorizes that students 
gain in a post-educational environment, has been used to explain the importance of 
admission services in school. The theory articulates that there are certain needs that should 
be provided for students to improve their knowledge. It is assumed that student needs are 
influenced by their environment and genetics). This theory can be classified into five groups, 
namely psycho-social theory, cognitive structural theory, person-environment, humanistic 
existential and student process models (Astin, 1984). The most significant aspect of the 
group is the psychosocial theory, which has to do with future issues that are related to 
sequential age which concentrate on individual‟s advancement through a series of stages 
which is in consonance with the students‟ needs (Moore & Upcraft, 1990). Cognitive 
structural theory has to do with the way students see and rationalize their school experiences. 
Person-environment talks on the relationship between conceptualization of students and 
environment. It specifically looks into student and its environment. Also, humanistic 
existential theory focuses on some conceptualization of human student nature, 
responsibility, self-actualization and freedom and that personal growth is driven by 
self-awareness, self-disclosure and self-acceptance. Similarly, the student development model 
means the practical and abstract of the needs of the student in school (Moore & Upcraft, 
1990), and part of the need is admission services. Basically, psychosocial theory is 
synonymous with the admission services because it helps to test the intellectual acumen of 
the students before placement. Student development theory helps to understand that 
development of students starts from the aptitude and interview test that are conducted by 
the school before their admission. In applying students‟ development theory to this study, 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 218  

this theory provides a framework for better knowledge on how students‟ needs (including 
admission services) should be provided in school so that school can actualize its aim and 
objectives of establishment. Also, the theory enables students to explore variety of services 
provided for them in order to excel in their academic endeavor (Renn, 2008).  

A reasonable number of quantitative studies have established a relationship between 
admission service and academic achievement in schools (Buchanan & Jones, 2010; 
Clinedinst & Hawkins, 2011). For instance, Archibong, Jude, and Etudor-Eyo (2011) 
examined the relationship between admission based on gender and students‟ academic 
achievement in Federal Government Schools in Nigeria. The outcome of the study found a 
significant relationship (high) between admission and academic performance. They were of 
the view that writing and interview are the most reliable ways for determining students that 
are to be enrolled for school programs. They concluded that admission of new students 
should be subject to thorough scrutiny. If the applicants are subjected to due process of 
admission, it would definitely have a positive relationship with their academic performance. 
Future studies were suggested on admission service and academic performance.  

In the same vein, Sackett, Kuncel, Arneson, Cooper, and Waters (2009) worked on 
the relationship between admission service and academic achievement in colleges and 
universities. Their study found a positive significant relationship between admission services 
and academic performance. Likewise, Shaw, Marini, and Mattern (2013) studied the 
relationship between admission, placement tests, and students‟ academic performance.. Their 
first year results were used to determine whether a relationship exists between admission 
services and academic performance in schools. They reported that, admission service do not 
highly significantly correlate with academic achievement. In another related study, Juradja 
and Munich (2010) worked on the gender gap, competitive pressure and admission 
performance in Czech Republic schools. They found that admission services influenced 
academic performance of students.  

Additionally, Albanese, Snow, Skochelak, Huggett, and Farrell (2003) conducted a 
study on admission and students‟ academic performance of medical students. Their study 
showed high correlation between admission and academic performance of students. 
Similarly, Adnet et al. (2011), Hoefer and Gould (2000), Kuncel, Kliegger, Connelly, and 
Ones (2013) all found highly significant relationships in their separate studies. They agreed 
that admission service is the first service to be provided to the prospective applicants. The 
admission service personnel should be proactive in dealing with the applicant seeking for 
admission in schools. Asuru (2002) and Yusuf, Zahayah, and Thanslikan (2016) confirmed 
that admission service is needed to achieve school success. Kuncel, Crede, and Thomas 
(2007) also conducted study on graduate admission test and grade points as the predictive 
indicators. The findings of their study explained that, admission test conducted for 
applicants seeking for admission in the school made students to perform excellently when 
they were admitted. Lamadrid-Figueroa, Castillo-Castillo, Fritz-Hernández, and 
Magaña-Valladares (2012) focused their research on the nexus of admission service and 
academic performance in school. They are of the view that although admission service is a 
good predictor of students‟ academic performance but future studies is needed to confirm or 
disconfirm the current findings. Agboola, Adeyemi, and Ogbodo (2014) examined admission 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 219  

service as a predictor of students‟ academic achievement. Their study revealed a significant 
relationship between students admitted through criteria policy and academic achievement of 
such students. They recommended that stakeholders in admission process procedure should 
assess the helpfulness of admission policies with a view of making a decision on whether to 
review the admission policy or abolish it. 

Moreover, Fan, Tsai, Su, Kosik, Morisky, Chen, and Lee (2010) investigated the 
impact of admission services by using interviews on medical students‟ admissions as it 
correlates with academic performance in Taiwan. The outcome of the study found a low 
relationship between interviews and academic performance. Yusuf (2017) investigated the 
relationship between admission services and students‟ academic achievement in secondary 
schools. An adapted questionnaire was used to elicit data on admission services. The 
outcome of the study found a positive relationship on admission and academic achievement. 
The study suggests that a qualitative study should be carried out to support or 
discountenance the findings. Studies suggest that the role of the school principal covers 
many different areas including teacher evaluation, student discipline, leadership, and many 
others. Being an effective principal is hard work and is also time-consuming. A principal is 
well-adjusted within all the roles and works hard to ensure he/she is doing is best for all 
constituents involved (Akkary, 2014; Amanchukwu & Ololube, 2015; Rinne, Järvinen, 
Tikkanen, & Aro, 2016).  School principal plans, organize, direct, control, and manage the 
educational and administrative aspects of secondary schools including physical and human 
resources. On admission services in school, the school principal plays a vital role in deciding 
upon the strategies to be used for the selection of applicants. Principal, vice-principals, and 
personnel of the admissions unit brainstorm on the tactics to be used to select qualified 
applicants (Akkary, 2014).The principal determines the admission strategies to be used with 
head of the admission unit which is called “Admission Officer”. The admission officer 
superintends the unit in conjunction with other admission personnel of the unit (Adeyemo, 
2010; Juradja & Munich, 2008; Okoroma, 2008; Israel & Israel, 2014; Lewin, 2015; Sawyer, 
2010; Soares, 2012).  

In view of the above studies, it can be deduced that majority of the studies agreed 
that students who are admitted through proper admission process do well in the school 
system. Taken together, it can be said that the phenomenology approach is yet to be fully 
explored to investigate admission services in school.  

 
Methodology 
 
Research design  
 
The research design adopted for the study is a phenomenology type of research. 

According to Creswell (2013), the main goal of the foregoing type is to arrive at a description 
of the nature of the particular phenomenon. The basis for conducting this study via this 
approach is to avail us an opportunity of getting a better understanding of how principals‟ 
perceptions on admission services because the issue on admission services are key to 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 220  

achieving the goals of secondary education as enshrined in the National Policy of Education  
(Creswell, 2013; Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2013; Wikiversity, 2015).  

 
Sampling techniques and participants 
 
The study participants consist of all principals of secondary schools from the three 

senatorial zones in Kwara State. In order to select the needed participants for the study, we 
employed three sampling techniques: stratified, purposive and convenience techniques. First, 
stratified was used to group schools according to three senatorial districts (Kwara South, 
Kwara Central, and Kwara North) in the state. Second, we adopted the purposive technique 
to select secondary schools across the three. Third, convenience sampling technique was 
used to select 20 schools principals out of the schools selected for the study (Creswell, 2013). 
Table below shows how 20 schools‟ principals were selected from the three senatorial 
districts using stratified, purposive and sampling techniques.  

 
  Table 1. Selection of principals for the study  
  

S/N Senatorial District Number of School Selected  Number of Principal Selected  

1 Kwara South  10 10 
2 Kwara Central  6 6 
3 Kwara North  4 4 
 Total  20 20 

     
Data collection, codification and transcription, and analysis procedure   
 
According to Turner (2010), interview protocol is a document is used to conduct an 

interview session. It contains an introduction, the questions to be asked of the interviewee 
and topic to focus on in observation. It is also a set of questions to facilitate and guide 
semi-structured open-ended interviews. In view of the foregoing, we developed an 
instrument titled “Interview Protocol on Admission Services (IPAS)” to enquire information 
from the school principals. The interview protocol has five items; the items were formulated 
based on research questions of the study. We have valid reasons for the use of interview for 
the study. First, interview protocol covers vital information that can be used to collect 
relevant information from the interviewees on admission services. Second, interview 
protocol helps to get an in-depth view, in which an inference can be made from it.  

The interview protocol was checked by experts in the School of Education and 
Modern Languages, Universiti Utara Malaysia, to ensure that the questions contained therein 
suit the purpose of the study. A pilot study was conducted in one secondary school principal 
that was not selected for the main study. The essence of the pilot study was to ensure the 
dependability of the interview protocol before the main data collection. The pilot data were 
transcribed and given back to the principal to check the field-notes and recorded interview 
to be sure whether what we wrote and recorded are exactly what was taken from him. The 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 221  

pilot study‟s findings helped to address and adequately prepare for the main study (Creswell, 
2013; Silverman, 2016; Wikiversity, 2015).  

During main data collection, the selected 20 principals were told to check the 
field-notes and recorded interview to be sure whether what the researcher wrote and 
recorded are exactly what was taken from them. The interviewees were given adequate time 
to respond to the questions contained in the interview protocols. The interviewees were 
successfully interviewed with the use of digital tape recorder, iPad phone, laptop, pencil, 
biro, and jotter. The interview sessions were conducted by the authors of this study 
(Creswell, 2013; Turner, 2010). To ensure the accuracy of the interview conducted, we 
carefully and meticulously paid attention to the tape recorder which was used to grant the 
interviewees from the school principals (Silverman, 2016). The interviews we conducted 
were transcribed; we did the transcription so as to ensure proper transcription of all the 
interviews granted. The transcription of the interviews produced 16 data pages. The 
minimum time spent on informants during the interview was 15 minutes while the maximum 
lasted for 37 minutes. All the interviewees‟ interviews were used for the study. Before the 
analysis of the transcribed interviews, codification and categorization of the themes were 
done. We jettisoned the idea of manual analysis in qualitative research because we believe 
that using sophisticated software will help to understand the work better (Blismas & Dainty, 
2003). After the transcription of the interview, the transcribed interviews were carefully 
coded thematically. Below is the code assigned to the 20 selected principals.  
 
Table 2. Informants and code assigned 
 

Code Assigned Code Assigned 

Informant 1 Informant 11 
Informant 2 Informant 12 
Informant 3 Informant 13 
Informant 4 Informant 14 
Informant 5 Informant 15 
Informant 6 Informant 16 
Informant 7 Informant 17 
Informant 8 Informant 18 
Informant 9 Informant 19 
Informant 10 Informant 20 

Note: Informant connotes principal 

  
Ethical consideration 
 
Ethical consideration can be identified as one of the most essential parts of the 

research. Research may be condemned to failure if this part is missing (Turner, 2010). 
Silverman (2016) defines ethical consideration as a fundamental issue in research, which 
investigator needs to comply with to ensure truth and prevent errors. Thus, ethical 
consideration requires trust, accountability, fairness, and mutual respect among all parties 
involved in research. To ensure that this study is free from ethical issues, therefore we 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 222  

obtained an introductory letter from the Awang Had Salleh Graduate School of Arts and 
Sciences, University Utara Malaysia. The letter was taken to all the selected schools used for 
the study. The school principals agreed to be part of the study by given their approval before 
the commencement of the study. This foregoing is consistent with the recommendation of 
Creswell (2013) on the need for ethical consideration in research. Specifically, he opined that 
research participants should not be exposed to harm in any ways whatsoever, respect for the 
dignity of research participants should be prioritized as well as full consent should be obtained 
from the participants prior to the study. Additionally, the protection of the privacy of research 
participants has to be ensured. Adequate level of confidentiality of the research data should be 
ensured while anonymity of individuals and organizations participating in the research has to 
be ensured. 

 
Findings  

After data collection, transcription and thematic codifications, three main themes 
and ten sub-themes were generated in line with the three research questions and objectives 
of the study. Theme one of the study is based on the issues on admission services, theme 
two is on problems of admission services while theme three is on solutions to the problems 
of admission services in secondary schools. Specifically, table below shows the three main 
themes and their sub-themes.  
     
Table 3.  Thematic coding of the transcribed interview 
 

Theme One: Issues on Admission Services 

Sub-themes: 
1. Meaning of admission services 
2. Nature of admission services  
3. Provision of admission services  
4. Importance of admission services  

Theme Two: Problems of Admission Services 

Sub-themes: 
1. High number of applicants  
2. Improper planning of admission process  
3. Politicization   

Theme Three : Solutions to the Problems of Admission Services 

Sub-themes:  
1. De-politicization  
2. Proper admission planning process  
3. High priority on merit  

 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 223  

Theme one: Contemporary issues on admission services in school  
 

Informants‟ views on issues of admission services form the theme as displayed in the 
general model of the study. Specifically, the sub-themes under theme include meaning of 
admission service, nature of admission services, provision of admission service, and 
importance of admission service.  

Sub-theme one: meaning of admission services, according to informant 5, 
“…admission service is the process of admitting students into the school by following 
certain procedures that are in line with admission guidelines. It is a process of admitting 
students that have the certain criteria for admission into the school system. Similarly, 
informant 7 and 19 were of the view that: 

“Admission can define as the service that takes care of selecting qualified candidates 
that are seeking placement in school. It is an integral part of the input in the 
education system. It is the first services that students get before other services.” 
(Informant 7)  
 
“Admission service is the service provided to recruits the best of the applicants 
seeking admission placement in the school system.” (Informant 19)  

Furthermore, informant 14 opined,“…. Admission service is a process which involves 
selecting candidates who are duly qualified for admission”. Informant 16 who support the 
view of the foregoing expressed, “… Admission services are services provided for applicants 
seeking placement in the school system.” According to informant 17, it is a process of 
selecting the right candidates for placement in school”. In the same vein, informant 13 
understood admission services as:   

“It can be seen as the process of selecting the suitable candidates for placement in 
school. Admission services are meant to pick the students who are academically 
ready for academic rigor in school. Admission services are essential for the 
development of the school. Admission is a process where prospective students will 
undergo before getting admitted into the school system. It is a valuable service in the 
school. It can also be defined as the services that deal with the process of admitting 
applicants seeking placement in the school system.” 

Likewise, the views of informants 9, 2 and 8 are also in consonance with the position of 
other informants; they described admission services as:  

“Admission service is a process in which applicants are selected through certain 
procedures. Admission service is an important service in the school. It is the first 
service that students get before other services.” (Informant 9)  
 
“Admission is about recruiting students into the school for academic excellence. It 
can be defined as the method used in selecting applicants for admission. It is a kind 
of service rendered to students seeking placement in school.” (Informant 2)  
 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 224  

“It is an essential service that is needed for the development of the education system. 
Admission services are done purposely to recruit students into the school system.” 
(Informant 8) 

In summary, it has shown that admission services in the school system are akin to the 
development of the education system. Virtually, all the informants interviewed unanimously 
agreed that admission is a unique service that is first given to prospective applicants seeking 
placement in the school. It is the cornerstone of the education system at all levels of 
education (primary, secondary, and tertiary).  
 

Sub-theme two: nature of admission services, response from informant 10 also 
revealed that “… State government through the ministry of education is responsible for 
admission into the junior section. The ministry spearheads the conduct of common entrance 
examinations…They usually send those that passed the examinations to us for consideration 
based on a benchmark that the ministry sets out.  Similarly, the response from informant 20 
revealed, 

“The admission into junior section is usually decided by the state ministry of 
education. The Ministry conducts entrance examination for applicants and has 
benchmarks which schools will use in admitting students. On senior section, the 
admission is usually based on the performance of students in secondary 
examinations conducted examination body (NECO). Students who pass with five 
subjects (including Math and English) will be admitted to senior classes.” 

Supporting the views of other informants, the view of informant 13 on the nature of 
admission services in the school shows that:  

“Like other public schools, the ministry of education takes care of the entrance 
examination of applicants for admission into JSS1; they only send those that passed 
the examinations in various schools of their choice based on the benchmark for 
admission. On senior section, their admission is based on the performance of 
students in Junior Examinations conducted by NECO. Students who passed with 
five credits and above will be admitted to various classes of their choice based on 
their subjects.”  

The response from informant 15 said that “… We have an admission committee who is 
responsible for the placement in our school…We advertise, conduct examination as well as 
interviews with prospective students in our school. Informant 19 reported,  
 

“Like other public schools, the admission here is being conducted the state ministry 
of education. Firstly, an examination called common entrance is usually conducted 
for applicants seeking placement in our school. After that, successful candidates 
would be picked based on the score obtained in Common entrance. In junior 
section, the admission is always based on the junior examination results.” 

Sub-theme three: provision of admission services in school, interview 
conducted for schools‟ principals confirmed the adequate provision of admission services in 
their respective schools. They point out that the non - provision of the service is a disservice 
to students. The majority of the informants used for the study were very sure of the delivery 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 225  

of the services above in their schools. For instance, informant 14 expressed that “admission 
services are well provided in their school… A school that does not provide it is not a normal 
school… A school is known by the nature of admission services offered for her students”. 
In support of the foregoing statement, informant 19 said, “… the provision of admission 
service is a necessity in education sector, so the provision of it cannot be compromised.” 

Similarly, informant 4 affirmed that “… admission services should be provided at all 
levels of education (primary, secondary, and higher institution), therefore we provide 
admission services in our respective schools.”  Also, informant 12 is of the view that “… 
provision of admission services for students is carried out in our schools. However, schools 
should provide admission services for the development of the education system.  Likewise, 
informant 10 admitted the provision of admission services for their students in school.  
 

Sub-theme four: importance of admission services on students’ academic 
achievement, according to informant 16, admission services help to select qualified 
candidates for admission. It shows the academic excellence of the school. It helps to fulfill 
the essence of education. Informant 6 also lends credence to the importance of admission in 
the school that “… admission services help to select the best students to the school and that 
it creates competition amongst the candidates… It also ensures academic assurance in the 
school”. In support of the other informants, informants 16 admitted, 

“Admission service helps to admit qualified applicants for admission. It promotes 
excellence and it eradicates mediocre in the school system. It also helps to promote 
the image of the school. It promotes academic excellence.” (Informant 16)   

 
“It helps students to perform better when admitted into the school. It helps to fulfill 
the essence of education. It is an essential service in the school system.” (Informant 
14)  

The above on importance of admission into the school system shows the level of magnitude 
of importance in which admission stands for. About what others have said, there are 
expected positive responses are emanating from the informants of the study. Informant 7 
said, “… to recruit the best students among multiple applicants seeking placement in the 
school.” Informant 5 expressed,…” admission services is meant to fulfill the essence of 
education because it helps in selecting the best applicants for admission”. Similarly, 
informant 6 opined that it ensures quality assurance in education. Also, informant 11 is of 
the view that…”it helps to determine the number of students to be admitted.” Likewise, 
informant 18 expressed, 

“The importance of admission is to get students into the school system. Another 
purpose of admission is to fulfill the essence of education which is a social service 
which government is providing to all interested candidates in the state. Another 
important is for the students to be able to finish his/her in time so as to allow such 
students to get admission into the university system. The importance of admission 
service is also to test the intellectual ability of the students.” (Informant 18) 

In the same vein, the more responses emanating from the informants revealed the 
significance of admission services in school settings. Informant 1 said, “… it helps to pick 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 226  

select the best candidates for admission and that it promotes academic excellence as well as 
ensures quality assurance in education”. Buttressing this point, informants 17 asserted, “…It 
makes admitted students perform better and it changes the tone of the school… It also 
helps to select the right candidates for admission to the school. Informant 11‟s view 
concerning the importance of admission is that“… the importance of admission is to scout 
for the best brains for placement in our school, and it helps to promote academic excellence 
so as to enhance the academic performance of students.” 
 

Theme two: Problems of admission services in school 
 

After codification of the transcribed interview, codification, problems of admission 
services in school emerged as theme two of the study. Precisely, high number of applicants, 
improper planning of admission process and politicization of admission emerged as the 
sub-themes of the theme two.  

Sub-theme one: high number of applicants, according to informant 1 …”high 
number of applicants is one of the problems that schools in Nigeria face when selecting new 
students to be enrolled.” In the same vein, informants 1 and 2 expressed, 

“People‟s flair for qualitative education is on the rise. Due to this, we often battle 
with high demand for admission placement in school. Since we have limited space in 
our school, we used admission guidelines to edge out unqualified candidates with a 
view to admit those that are well qualified among them.” (Informant 1)  
 
“Generally, high number of applicants for admission is a serious concern when it 
comes to admission services in education system.” (Informant 2)   

In the same vein, there are other informants who hold similar view concerning the high 
number of applicants that are seeking admission in secondary schools in Kwara State. 
Informants 7 and 8 asserted, 

“The rate at which applicants are seeking placement, most especially in public 
schools is high. High number of applicants is one of the factors that are militating 
against effective admission services in secondary schools.” (Informant 7)  
 
“Even though the state ministry of education does the conduct of the entrance 
examination for the prospective applicants, the number of applicants that scaled 
through the entrance examination that the ministry of education sends to us which 
we are to consider for admission is high.” (Informant 8) 

Furthermore, informant 10 bare his mind on the issue concerning the high number of 
applicants as a problem affecting admission services in secondary schools in kwara State, 
Nigeria. He opined, 

 

“High number of applicants is a common feature when discussing the issue of 
admission services in school. We receive high number of applications on yearly basis 
due to the standard that our school is known for. In order to reduce trim down the 
applicants, we used different admission process techniques to select the best 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 227  

candidates among them. Those selected will then be admitted into various classes in 
our school.” (Informant 10)      

Sub-theme two: politicization, politicization encompasses getting what, when and 
how in an organization. In view of the interview granted in this study, politicization of 
admission emerged as sub-theme of theme two. The view of the informants 8 and 15 
expressed,   

“Generally, the issue of admission services in school is a sensitive issue due to the 
nature of the services. Since education cannot be separated from politics, then 
politics cannot be disjointed from admission services at all levels of education 
(primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.” (Informant 8) 
 
“It is a known fact that some applicants get admitted into school through 
connections, this cannot be rule out considering the nature of our society. Politics 
and education cannot be separated because sometimes it‟s through politics that some 
schools got established and get its resources to function (Informant 15).   

In the light of the above statements, it shows that politicization of admission is common in 
schools because education and politics cannot be separated from each other.  
 

Sub-theme three: improper planning of admission process, planning is an 
essential ingredient to achieve the desired goals and objectives in education system. If the 
school programs are not properly planned, then the goal set by the school will not be 
achieved. In view of the data collected for this study, informants are of the view that 
improper planning is one of the problems of admission services in education system. They 
opined, 

“Improper planning includes inadequate registration and documentation of 
admission seekers, inadequate preparation for entrance examination to be conducted 
for admission seekers, and lack of preparation for interview to be conducted for 
admission seekers.” (Informant 6)  
 
“This issue is a common feature in both public and private schools in Nigeria. Thus, 
improper planning of admission process leads to improper selection of applicants to 
be admitted into the school.” (Informant 18)   

 
Theme three: solutions to the problems of admission services in school 

 
Solutions to the problems of admission services emerged as theme three based on 

research question three of the study. The sub-themes of theme three includes: 
de-politicization, proper admission planning process, and high priority on merit.  
 

Sub-theme one: de-politicization, de-politicization means 
to remove from the arena or influence of politics from something. It can also be defined as a 
way of doing something without having political coloration (Informant 12). Informant 13 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 228  

opined that…”de-politicization of admission and selection services in schools will go a long 
way in ensuring effectiveness in education system.” Similarly, informant 19 expressed, 

“Selection of applicants seeking for admission at all levels of education (primary, 
secondary, and tertiary institution) should be devoid of politics. Since selection of 
applicants is a very sensitive issue, then it is outcome should not be influenced by 
external factors (Politicians, parents, traditional rulers, etc.).  It is advisable that 
these external factors should steer clear of admission selection.” (Informant 19).  

 

Sub-theme two: proper planning of admission process, the interview conducted 
in this study confirmed the above submission on the need to ensure that proper planning of 
admission process is indeed needed to stem the problem of admission services in the school 
system. Informants 1, 4 and 8 are of the view, 

“The solution to the problem of admission services is to ensure that proper planning 
of admission process is put in place to ensure the objectives of which admission 
services seek to achieve.” (Informant 1)  

 
“Since the state ministry of education and public schools involve in admission 
process in public secondary schools in Nigeria, the processes involved should be well 
planned to ensure quality assurance in our education system.” (Informant 4)  

 
“Proper planning of on how to conduct the entrance examination as well as 
interview to be used for the applicants should be well deigned, this would enable 
them to ensure that the aim of education is achieved.” (Informant 8)  

Informant 10 expressed, 
“Proper planning of admission process increases the efficiency of the school. It 
reduces the risks involved before, during and after the admission and selection 
activities. Thus, effective planning of admission such as entrance examination and 
interview should be properly coordinated by the school principals in conjunction 
with the state ministry of education. It utilizes with maximum efficiency the available 
time and resources.” (Informant 10)  

 
Sub-theme three: high priority on merit, on high priority on merit in admission, 

informant 10 expressed, 

“Academic success is determined in view of the success recorded by students in 
terms of grades obtained in their various examinations. Thus, merit is an important 
yardstick for determining students who have done well in the school system. Thus, in 
this study, the interview conducted for informants (school principals) show that high 
priority on merit when selecting applicants for placement in school will help to 
promote academic excellence.” (Informant 10)  

In the same vein, informant 2 is of the view that:  



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 229  

“Admission services in school should be based on merit. Applicants with high grades 
in entrance examination and interview should be selected first in line before 
considering those with those grades below high grades. Instilling merit in the process 
of admission services is a factor that promotes academic excellence and ensures 
quality assurance. Sincerely, the importance merit cannot be over-emphasized, hence 
the need for merit in school system.” (Informant 2)  

The above statement confirms that merit should be used in selecting the applicants for 
admission.  

 
Discussion 

In line with the first research objectives of this study, our objective was to analyze 
the contemporary issues on admission services in school. Thus, evidence from our study 
revealed that there were issues on admission services, they were: meaning, nature, provision, 
and importance. These issues formed the sub-themes under theme one. On the meaning of 
admission services as explained by the informants, they gave an insight into what admission 
services is all about. Thus, they saw it as a careful selection of applicants for placement in the 
school system by using various selection procedures. The foregoing finding is similar to the 
studies of Juradja and Munich (2010) and Lamadrid-Figuera, Castillo-Castillo, 
Fritz-Hernandez, and Magana-Vallandares (2012) who opined that admission service is the 
process of selecting qualified applicants to be admitted in the school system. Concerning the 
nature of admission services in secondary schools, our study established that the nature of 
admission services differs. We found that admission and selection procedures in public 
secondary schools were jointly carried out by the state ministry of education and schools. 
For applicants to be admitted into junior secondary school level, the state ministry of 
education conducts the entrance examination (on Mathematics, English and General Paper), 
and interview (oral examination) for the applicants.  The school chooses the candidates to 
be admitted based on benchmark set by the school. In similar vein, for admission into senior 
secondary section, National Examination Council (NECO), which is a government‟s 
education agency, is saddled with the responsibility for conducting an examination for 
applicants who had completed their junior secondary schools and are interested in going to 
senior section. The nature of admission services is in congruent with the work of Agboola, 
Adeyemi, and Ogbodo (2014), who are of the view that the nature of admission in public 
schools is the same. On provision of admission services in the school system, we found that 
admission services were provided in schools. This finding is similar to the work of Adnett et 
al. (2011) who observed that the provision of admission services helps to fast track the 
development in the education system. This will, in turn, manifest in the academic 
achievement of students. Also, we found that admission service was an important service 
that influences students‟ academic achievement in secondary schools. Students who passed 
through the admission and selection process (i.e., examination and interview) tended to do 
well when admitted into school. This finding is congruent with the earlier studies conducted 
by Albanese et al. (2003) Archibong et al. (2011), Shaw et al. (2013) and Yusuf, Zahayah, and 
Thanslikan (2016) who conducted studies on the relationship between admission services 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 230  

and students‟ academic performance and found that the importance of admission cannot be 
underestimated because it helps to determine the success of the school. Likewise, the finding 
is in line with the studies carried out by Kuncel, Crede, and Thomas (2007) and Sacket et al. 
(2009) who concurred that good admission and selection procedures help to promote 
academic achievement in secondary schools. 

For the second research objective of the study, which sought to identify the 
problems militating against admission services in secondary schools, three key problems 
were found to be militating against admission services in secondary schools. They are high 
number of applicants, politicization of admission, and improper planning of admission 
process. High number of applicants was an important factor that militates against effective 
admission services. The number of applicants seeking for placement was more than the 
number of applicants that schools can accommodates. This study is in consonance with the 
work of Okoroma (2008) who opined that the high number of applicants seeking for 
admission in schools is alarming. This trend is applicable to primary, secondary and tertiary 
institutions. Also, the politicization of admission was a factor that affects an effective 
admission service in secondary schools as expressed by the school principals selected for the 
study. The selection of applicants for admission is often influenced by external factors (e.g., 
applicants‟ parents, politicians, etc.). This affects the proper selection of applicants to be 
admitted into the school system. Another problem facing admission services in schools is 
the improper planning of admission process. Improper planning process entails inadequate 
planning on how to execute admission process such as examination and interview. This 
finding is in line with the study of Okoroma (2008) who is of the view that lack or 
inadequate planning of admission services is one of the banes of education in Nigeria.  

On last research objective of the study, we sought to proffer solutions to the 
problem of admission services in the school system. Three important solutions 
(de-politicization, proper admission planning process and high priority on merit) were 
offered by the school principals which they believe can help to ensure effective admission 
services in education system. Firstly, de-politicization of admission in this context as 
explained by the school principals encompasses separating politics from services in 
education system. Politics of any kinds should not be mixed with the issue of admission 
services in school, if the school‟s goals and objectives are to be achieved. The selection of 
process of the applicants should not be influenced by external factors. Admission issue 
should not be tampered with or manipulated because it may lead to ineffectiveness in school 
(Okoroma, 2008). Secondly, proper planning of admission process is suggested by the school 
principals as a way of providing efficient and effective admission services in school. Since 
planning is a crucial and paramount function of school principals, effective admission 
planning process gives the school principal a sense of direction, and brings a clear idea of 
what need to be organized. In order to achieve the purpose of admission services in school, 
the objectives laid down in planning become guiding post for directing and mobilizing the 
activities involved in admission services. The quality of leadership, motivation and 
communication displayed by school principals to a large extent is conditioned by these 
objectives. Thirdly, high priority on merit is given by the school principals as another 
possible solution to the problem of admission services in education system. Applicants who 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 231  

perform brilliantly during the entrance examination and interview and obtain high score 
should be given admission in view of their sterling performance in the selection process. 
Admission in schools should be based on merit because merit often leads to academic 
excellence. This finding is in line with the study conducted by Killgore (2009) who averred 
that applicants should be admitted according to their success in entrance examination and 
interview conducted by the school. Selective admissions practices mean that the “best” 
students are rewarded with admission to the best schools. Meritocratic values should be 
incorporated into admission practices in education system. The finding is also in tandem 
with the student psychosocial aspect of student development theory, which postulates that 
admission services helps to test the intellectual acumen of the students before placement. 
Student development theory helps to understand that development of students starts from 
the aptitude and interview test that are conducted by the school before their admission 
(Renn, 2008).  

Taken the research objectives achieved in this study together, thus our study 
contributed to the body of knowledge from three perspectives, namely practical, theoretical, 
and methodological perspectives. From practical perspective, our study will serve as a guide 
to government at all levels to have a better understanding of admission services with a view 
to improve it. It will also assist educational planners, policy makers and school 
administrators in how to implement the various activities involved in admission services so 
as to ensure effectiveness in school. From theoretical perspective, our study extends the 
existing studies by validating students‟ development theory, which helps to understand the 
importance of admission services to students‟ academic achievement. From methodological 
perspective, we increase the body of knowledge in view of the interview protocol developed 
for this study, which helps to investigate principals‟ perception on admission services 
because literature indicates that studies on admission services are often investigated using 
quantitative approach.  
 

Conclusion and Recommendations   
 

Based on evidence from our study, it can be said that admission service is one of the 
fundamental services in school system. Its importance cannot be underestimated. Being the 
first service that students will first experience before other services, it should be well 
provided so as to ensure that the aims and objectives of secondary education are attained. 
Based on the findings of the study, we recommend (1) entrance examination and interview 
should always be used to select applicants that are seeking placement in secondary schools, 
(2) proper planning of admission process should be put in place to ensure an itch free 
admission service exercise in the school system, (3) admission services in the school should 
be devoid of internal and external influence, and (4) merit should be the watchword of the 
school principals when providing admission services in the school system, this will ensure 
efficient and effective admission service in school; and lastly, admission services should be 
well provided in secondary schools.  

This study has several limitations which we believe future studies should be able to 
address. Firstly, we selected only secondary schools‟ principals as our informants for the 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 232  

study.  Therefore, future studies should include admission personnel unit in the school with 
a view to getting comprehensive information as regard the admission services in school. 
Secondly, since this study focused on students‟ admission in school, inquiries should be 
made from students so that adequate information about their views on admission will help 
researchers to draw conclusion. Thirdly, we used interview to gather relevant information 
from the informants. Thus, the use of other methods of data collection in research, such as 
focus group discussion (FGD) will help to get information which will assist to know more 
about admission services in school. Lastly, a mixed-method approach of data collection will 
help to get comprehensive information on admission services.         
 

References 
 

Adeyemo, S. A. (2010). The relationship between students participation in school based 
extracurricular activities and their achievement in physics. International Journal of Science 
and Technology Education Research, 1(6), 111-117.  

Adnett, N., McCaig, C., Slack, K., & Bowers‐Brown, T. (2011). Achieving „transparency, 
consistency and fairness‟ in English higher education admissions: Progress since 
Schwartz? Higher Education Quarterly, 65(1), 12-33.  

Agboola, B., Adeyemi, J. K., & Ogbodo, C. M. (2014) Academic achievement and admission 
policy as correlate of student retention in Nigerian federal universities. Journal of 
Educaon, 1(8), 324-335.  

Akkary, R. K. (2014). The role and role context of the Lebanese school principal: Toward a 
culturally grounded understanding of the principalship. Educational Management 
Administration & Leadership, 42(5), 718-742.  

Albanese, M. A., Snow, M. H., Skochelak, S. E., Huggett, K. N., & Farrell, P. M. (2003). 
Assessing personal qualities in medical school admissions. Academic Medicine, 78(3), 
313-321. 

Amanchukwu, R. N., & Ololube, N. P. (2015). Managing school plant for effective service 
delivery in public secondary schools in Rivers State of Nigeria. Human Resource 
Management Research, 5(4), 95-102. 

Archibong, F. I., Jude, W. I., & Etudor-Eyo, E. (2011). Influence of gender and quota 
admission system on students „academic performance in unity schools. International 
Journal of Academic Research, 3(5), 84-98.  

Astin, A. W. (1984). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. 
Journal of College Student Personnel, 25(4), 297-308.  

Asuru, V. A. (2002). Examination malpractice: Implication for sustainable development in 
Nigeria. ECOJOTE , 1(1),152- 159.  

Blismas, N. G., & Dainty, A. R. (2003). Computer-aided qualitative data analysis: Panacea or 
paradox?. Building research & information, 31(6), 455-463.  

Buchanan, J., & Jones, M. L. (2010). The efficacy of utilizing Nvivo for interview data from 
the electronic gaming industry in two jurisdictions. Review of Management Innovation & 
Creativity, 3(5), 1-15.  



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 233  

Clinedinst, M. E., & Hawkins, D. A. (2011). State of college admission. Washington, DC: 
National Association for College Admission Counselling. Journal of Social Issues, 59, 
865-890. 

Corcoran, S. P., & Baker-Smith, E. C. (2016). Pathways to an elite education: Application, 
admission, and matriculation to New York City's specialized high schools. Education 
Finance and Policy, 13(2), 256-279. 

Creswell, J. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. London: 
SAGE Publications, Incorporated.   

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. 
London: Sage publications.  

Fan, A. P., Tsai, T. C., Su, T. P., Kosik, R. O., Morisky, D. E., Chen, C. H., & Lee, C. H. 
(2010). A longitudinal study of the impact of interviews on medical school 
admissions in Taiwan. Evaluation & the Health Professions, 33(2), 140-163.  

Hoefer, P., & Gould, J. (2000). Assessment of admission criteria for predicting students‟ 
academic performance in graduate business programs. Journal of Education for Business, 
75(4), 225-229.       

Israel, P. C., & Israel, H. C. (2014). Admission guidelines in colleges of education in South 
East, Nigeria: An Analysis of Implementation. Mediterranean Journal of Social 
Sciences, 5(17), 123.  

Juradja, Š., & Münich, D. (2008). Gender gap in performance under competitive pressure. 
Centre for economic policy research. Economics of Education Review, 22(3), 82-109. 

Juradja, Š., & Münich, D. (2010). Admission to selective schools, alphabetically. Economics of 
Education Review, 29(6), 1100-1109. 

Killgore, L. (2009). Merit and competition in selective college admissions. The Review of Higher 
Education, 32(4), 469-488.   

Kuncel, N. R., Credé, M., & Thomas, L. L. (2007). A meta-analysis of the predictive validity 
of the graduate management admission test (GMAT) and undergraduate grade point 
average (UGPA) for graduate student academic performance. Academy of Management 
Learning & Education, 6(1), 51-68.  

Kuncel, N. R., Klieger, D. M., Connelly, B. S., & Ones, D. S. (2013). Mechanical versus 
clinical data combination in selection and admissions decisions: A meta-analysis. 
Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(6), 10-60.   

Lamadrid-Figueroa, H., Castillo-Castillo, L., Fritz-Hernández, J., & Magaña-Valladares, L. 
(2012). On academics; admissions criteria as predictors of students' academic success 
in master's degree programs at the national institute of public health of 
Mexico. Public Health Reports, 127(6), 605-611. 

Lewin, K. (2015). Educational access, equity, and development: planning to make rights realities (Vol. 
98). Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation 
(UNESCO).  

Moore, L. V., & Upcraft, M. L. (1990). Theory in student affairs: Evolving perspectives. New 
directions for student services, 1990(51), 3-23.  

Okoroma, N. S. (2008). Admission policies and the quality of university education in 
Nigeria. Educational Research Quarterly, 31(3), 3-24.  



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 234  

Renn, K. (2008). The application of student development theories in a practical introduction 
to use student development theories. Journal of Higher Education, 3, 14-25.  

Rinne, R., Järvinen, T., Tikkanen, J., & Aro, M. (2016). Changes in education policies and the 
status of schools in Europe: the views of school principals from eight European 
countries. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 46(5), 764-788. 

Sackett, P. R., Kuncel, N. R., Arneson, J. J., Cooper, S. R., & Waters, S. D. (2009). Does 
socioeconomic status explain the relationship between admissions tests and 
post-secondary academic performance? Psychological Bulletin, 135(1), 1-22.  

Sawyer, R. (2010). Usefulness of high school average and act scores in making college 
admission decisions. ACT Research Report Series 2010-2. ACT, Incorporation: Iowa 
City.  

Sawyer, R. (2013). Beyond correlations: Usefulness of high school GPA and test scores in 
making college admissions decisions. Applied Measurement in Education, 26(2), 89-112.  

Shaw, E. J., Marini, J. P., & Mattern, K. D. (2013). Exploring the utility of advanced 
placement participation and performance in college admission decisions. Educational 
and Psychological Measurement, 73(2), 229- 253.   

Silverman, D. (Ed.). (2016). Qualitative research. London: Sage Publication.  
Soares, J. A. (2012). The future of college admissions: Discussion. Educational Psychologist, 

47(1), 66-70.  
Yusuf, S. (2017). Structural equation modelling of relationships of personnel services, perceived principal 

supervision with academic achievement in secondary schoosl. (Doctoral Dissertation, Universiti 
Utara Malaysia).  

Yusuf, Y., Zahayah, H. & Taslikhan, M. (2016). Relationship between Admission, 
Extracurricular Services and Academic Achievement in Secondary Schools: A Partial 
Least Square (PLS) Approach. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(8), 27-38. 

Turner III, D. W. (2010). Qualitative interview design: A practical guide for novice 
investigators. The qualitative report, 15(3), 754. 

Welsh, E. (2002). Dealing with data: Using NVivo in the qualitative data analysis process. 
In Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 3(2), 1-12.     

Wikiversity. (2015). Multiple response analysis. Available 
at: https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Multiple_response_analysis .  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 



 

 

IRJE | Vol. 3 | No. 2| Year 2019 |E-ISSN: 2580-5711 235  

 

 
Biographical notes 

 
Dr. YUSUF SULEIMAN is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Educational 

Management and Counselling, Al-Hikmah University, Kwara State, Nigeria and also an 
Associate Lecturer with Unicaf University, Cyprus. He is the Founder/Chief Executive 
Officer of Yusa‟ad Educational Services Limited and also a consultant to Success Heritage 
Model Academy (SHMA), Delta State, Nigeria. He is an expert in quantitative and qualitative 
research. His area of expertise includes school services, supervision, entrepreneurship, training 
and leadership. Email: yusufsuleiman@alhikmah.edu.ng OR y.suleiman@unicaf.org.    
 

PROFESSOR Dr. ZAHAYAH HANAFI is currently a Lecturer in School of 
Educational Studies, Geomatika University, Malaysia. She is an expert in quantitative and 
qualitative research. Email: zahyah20022@yahoo.com    
 

Dr. MUHAJIR TANSLIKHAN is currently a Lecturer in School of Education, 
Universitas Dr. Soetomo, Indonesia. He is an expert in both quantitative and qualitative 
research. Email: muhajir98@gmail.com.    
   

mailto:yusufsuleiman@alhikmah.edu.ng
mailto:y.suleiman@unicaf.org
mailto:zahyah20022@yahoo.com
mailto:muhajir98@gmail.com