Social Demand Approach in Educational Planning

Ekaette Emenike Iroegbu

Department of Curriculum Studies,

Educational Management and Planning,
Faculty of Education
University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
ekaetteiroegbu@yahoo.com

(a) Introduction
(b) Types of Planning
(c) Rationale for Educational Planning
(d) Procedures for Effective Educational Planning
(e) Factors Militating Against Effective Educational Planning
(f) The Concept of Social Demand Approach (SDA)
(g) Conditions of the Social Demand Approach
(h) Assumptions of Social Demand Approach
(i) Advantages of the Social Demand Approach
(j) Limitations of the Social Demand Approach
(k) Conclusion
(l) Recommendations

Introduction
Educational planning is defined as a rational process of preparing a set of decision for
future actions directed at achieving goals and objectives by optimal means. Coombs (1974) in a
UNESCO publication titled “What is Educational Planning” says that:
Educational planning in its broadest generic sense is the
application of rational systematic analysis to the process
of educational development with the aim of making
education more effective and efficient in responding to
the needs and goals of its students and society.

It can also be defined as the process of preparing a set of decisions about educational enterprise in
such a way that goals and purpose of education will be sufficiently realized with available
resources. Educational planning is concerned with the problems of how to make the best use of
limited resources allocated to education in view of the priorities given to different stages of
education or different sector of education and the need of the economy.
Planning does not exist in vacuum, goals and objectives must be set. Since development
takes place over a period of time, planning has to be a continuous spiral process. In this sense,
planning is not only concerned with objectives, it also concerns how to achieve them. Following
the democratization of education at the end of the 1950s, planning experts sought ways of
accessing education costs as part of national budget and forecasting the needs of educational
systems. Planning is incomplete unless it includes both formulation and implementation. There
must be a set of decisions and actions to carry them out. One without the other is not planning.

Types of Planning
There are two broad types of planning:
1. Regular Planning: Routine and regular activities such as planning the curriculum, source
of income and expenditure, layout of school building, student enrolment etc. Regular
planning involves a constant review and updating of existing plans to meet the needs of the
time within the regular types of planning. We have long ranged (with a period of 10-15
years), intermediate range (5-10 years) and short ranged (1-2 years). Long range covers all
the mission goals. It is a rational and comprehensive type.
2. Emergency Planning: This is a situation whereby a problem that was not anticipated
during the planning arises and it requires immediate consideration because any delay
causes a lot of harm and it disrupts the activities of the educational progress.

Rationale for Educational Planning

1. Educational plans are designed to avoid imbalances and enormous wastes and replenish
the steadily aggravated shortage of teachers.
2. Resources to be used in education are limited, thus the need to determine in advance a
programme of action for the attainment of the goal within a given time.
3. Planning enables the rising growth in population and the population around the school to
be taken into consideration so as to make adequate provision for them.
4. Planning is necessary for administrative decisions in education, for its aims at putting into
action what educators deem to achieve.
5. Adequate plans help to direct and co-ordinate the actions of employees’ in order to achieve
maximum effectiveness, efficiency and productivity.
6. Planning enables a nation to make its choices clear in terms of the aim and objectives.

Procedures for Effective Educational Planning

Nwankwo (1981) had suggested some of these valid points:
1. It is always said that the first step to solving a problem is to recognize it as a problem. For
an effective plan to emerge, the planner must be aware of the need for formulating a plan.
The planner must realize this need from experience or as may be imposed on him by policy
makers. When such need is recognized, those concerned will begin to scout for avenues to
convert the difficulty in order to enhance a more assuming future.
2. In planning, the planner must formulate statements establishing the exact needs of
education. He must also map out strategies with which to achieve the set objectives.
3. There is need to specify the exact date for the realization of plans. Enough time must be
specified for the maturity of a plan and adequate provisions must be made to accommodate
eventualities.
4. The planner needs to draw up broad outlines indicating the proposals for the plan.
5. The specific structure or framework of the plan must be determined.
6. The procedure necessary is to seek the approval of the plans and proposed strategy. Here,
the planner relies on the consent of government and authorities concerned.
7. There is still the need to organize the planning staff and assign responsibilities
8. Adequate rapport between the different units involved.

Factors Militating Against Effective Educational Planning

a. Administrative bottleneck
b. Lack of adequate demographic data
c. Inadequate resources
d. Political instability
e. Wasteful imbalance within educational system
f. Financial constraints
g. Rising demand for education
h. Youth population explosion
i. Manpower imbalance

The Concept of Social Demand Approach (SDA)

Social Demand Approach is a method in educational planning which sees education as
public social service: a necessity and inalienable right of all citizens who desire it. (Campbell,
2002; Fabunmi, 2007 and Olaniyonu, Adekoya & Gbenu, 2008). It is a consumption view of
education suitable when education is considered as an obligation and not as a privilege. According
to Fabunmi (2007), the Dutch adopted the SDA in planning her educational system when
government stated that:
If a sufficiently qualified citizen stands at the door of any
type of school, he must be admitted, and it is the
responsibility of the appropriate government authorities
to anticipate his request so that school capacity will be
adequate to accommodate him.

This method takes educational needs in terms of the current demand for education at the
different levels and projects them on the basis of population increase, age distribution, long-term
national or social goals (inarticulate or defined) and on the basis of what is known about state and
consumer preferences for education. Among such goals and preferences are universal illiteracy,
universal compulsory primary education, and cultural objectives. The stress is upon education as
social infra-structure for development purposes, and as an end in itself. The financial implications
of these targets are then considered. The usual is that the funds required for the educational
expansion are found to be larger than those available either to launch or to sustain it, on the basis
of projections of national income and revenue. A compromise is struck, and what is deemed to be
a feasible plan emerges, cut down to the funds expected to be available. This is the traditional
approach and may work satisfactorily in high-income countries, although even in these, concern
over flagging rates of growth and ever-increasing competition in export markets is leading to
increased emphasis on the contribution of education to technological progress and productive
efficiency.
In this method are involved the following steps:
 a. To estimate the proportion of students completing school education and are likely to enter
into higher education.
b. To estimate how many of these successful school leaving students would apply for
admission to colleges.
c. To determine how many of the applicants should be given admission to higher education.
d. To determine the length and duration of the study.
Thus, the major issue involved in this approach is to forecast future demands for seats, keeping
in mind social and educational trends as well as demographic changes. The underlying assumption
in this approach is that expansion of education is beneficial to the economy and thus, additional
expenditure on education would not create a burden too heavy to bear. This approach is more
prevalent in those societies which favour traditional cultural values, where decisions are taken on
the basis of public opinions (in a fragile polity and sometimes in a democracy) and in societies
where the social environment is generally pessimistic in nature.
The approach is based on currently expressed preferences and does not take into account public
expenditure on education vis-à-vis the benefits as the demand for education may far exceed the
resources available in a vast country like Nigeria. Also, it sometimes leads to a mismatch between
the output of higher education and the demands of the economy.

Conditions of the Social Demand Approach

As aptly noted by Longe (2003) and Olaniyonu et al (2008), adoption of the SDA in any
successful educational programme requires that accurate demographic information be made
available. Such information must include the total number of pupils to be provided with education,
the number of teachers to be trained and re-trained, classroom facilities and laboratory equipment
needed. As a measure of ensuring an accurate projection of pupil population, the SDA requires the
use of population growth rate formula and time series analysis to study past population trends and
extrapolate this to the future. This becomes necessary so that estimated population of pupils can
be determined at present and facilities made available. The SDA relies on private demand for
education and stipulates that all those that demand for education should be given the opportunity
provided that they are qualified. The Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme in Nigeria was
based on this approach (Adeshina, 1981).
 The school believes that education is one of the fundamental human rights of every
individual. As such, it recommends that all those who qualify for admission into a particular level
must be given the opportunity (given admission). It is believed that all expenses and activities on
education are for the good of the country. By this, the government felt that mass literacy was a
birthright in Nigeria and that is why it expends funds on providing mass education to its citizens.
In the 1970s, the federal government realized the need to educate all its citizens. As a means of
achieving this, it started the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme. Generally, the belief
is that when the citizens are literate, it will be easy for them to know their rights, participate in the
choice of who to rule them and avoid political thuggery. To a large extent, political reasons dictate
the adoption of the SDA. This explains why government continues to spend so much money on
education.
Government continues to spend more on educational facilities in order to reduce the gap in
educational opportunities in different states, rural-urban areas and between men and women. It is
important to note that the mass literacy campaign on functional literacy, the political education
programme- MAMSER (Mass Mobilization for Self-Reliance, Social Justice, and Economic
Recovery), and even the nomadic education were all parts of using the SDA to invest in education.
Social Demand Approach is an attempt to democratize and equalize educational policy and it
favours those who:
1. Recommend free and compulsory education as a tool for egalitarian and permissive society.
2. Those who have strong attachment to traditional cultural values.
3. Those, particularly politicians who respect public opinion or regards public satisfaction of
public demand as a key to social and political demands.
4. Criticizing the social demand approach to educational planning, Thompson (1981)
cautioned that only very few countries are able to afford the cost of implementing this kind
of approach.

Assumptions of Social Demand Approach

The SDA makes a number of assumptions, viz:
a. That education is the birthright of every individual and that it must be made available to all
individuals to the limits of their requests.
b. That all children of school age will demand for education that is meant for their ages.
 c. That the demand for education will continue to be greater than its supply.
d. That the unit cost of education will remain fairly constant.
e. That expanded education opportunities will add significantly to social and economic
growth.

Advantages of Social Demand Approach

1. The approach encourages mass education and mass literacy
2. Adesina, (1991) observed that policy makers and governments find the SDA easy to defend
since the philosophy of the approach is the satisfaction of the educational needs of the
people.
3. It is an instrument for building egalitarian societies.
4. According to Musaazi (1985), the SDA can show the planner the resources that can be
allocated to each level of education as long as certain existing trends continue and if private
demand is to be satisfied.
5. It democratizes educational opportunities in the society.
6. One of the reasons which Musaazi (1985) gave for “universalizing basic education” was
promotion of a sense of national unity and the “equalization of educational opportunities.”

Limitations of Social Demand Approach

SDA requires sufficient number of qualified teachers to man various classes and facilities
in required proportion to the expected student population. This will gulp a lot of money. The issue
of funding is a serious case and must be addressed seriously, otherwise, the application of SDA to
Nigeria’s educational demand will fail, yet no alternative to educating all Nigerians due to its less-
complex nature. The financial situation in Nigeria can easily find its place in UNESCO’s (2008)
statement:
The world faces daunting problems notably mounting debt burdens, the threat of economic
stagnation and decline, rapid population growth, widening economic disparities among and within
nations, war occupation, civil strife, violent crime, the preventable deaths of millions of children
and widespread environmental degradation. These problems constrain efforts to meet basic
learning needs, with the lack of basic education among a significant proportion of the population
prevents societies from addressing such problems with strength and purpose.
Other factors include:
1. The approach has no control over factors such as the price of education and it fails to
consider such factors as changes in the prices of education.
2. The approach has no control over absorptive capacity of the economy for the trained
personnel.
3. The approach does not in any way lay claim to whether the resources expended are
economically allotted and to that extent, the approach is poor.
4. The approach does not provide the guidance we need as to how best to meet the identified
needs.
5. The approach adds too much to educational budget.
6. It does not consider the absorptive capacity of the labour market for the graduates of
educational system, thereby making it not suitable for higher education since popular
education leads to poor quality education.
7. The approach is usually very difficult to measure but not impossible, especially when
compulsory education is not in operation.

Conclusion
Education is a fundamental right for all people who can help to ensure a healthier, safer,
more prosperous and environmentally sound world while at the same time contributing to social,
economic and cultural progress, tolerance and international cooperation. Therefore, by virtue of
this indispensable key to personal and social improvement guaranteed by sound education, it is
expedient that quality education is taken to the doorsteps of all and sundry, if not for all levels of
education, but to at least the level defined by the Universal Basic Education Programme in Nigeria.
This can only be achieved through the principles of SDA. The only condition is the fulfillment of
its requirements as exposed by the study.

Recommendations
1. Accurate demographic information must be kept regarding the total number of pupils
expected which will serve as a guide to the number of teachers and quality required,
facilities in terms of classroom and other facilities to guaranteed effective teaching/learning
exercise.
2. There must be a stable source of funding which can come from the three-tiers of
government.
3. There is need to combine both qualitative and quantitative approaches to educational
planning. Combining the two has been found to produce more effective results.
4. The law on defaulting parents to send their wards/children to schools should be enforced
by appropriate authorities.

References

Adesina, S. Educational Management, FDP Education Series, Enugu: Fourth Dimension

Publishing Company Limited. 1990.

Campbell, O. O. (2002). Educational Planning, Management and School Organization. Lagos:

Babs Olatunji Publishers.

Coombs, P.14 (1974). What is Educational Planning? Belgium: UNESCO:IIEP. (Fundamentals

of Educational Planning Series No. 1).

Fabunmi, M. (2007). Perspectives in Educational Planning. Ibadan: Odun Prints.

Longe, R. (2003). Introduction to Educational Planning. In J.B. Babalola (ed). Basic Text in
Educational Planning. Ibadan: Awemark Industrial Printers. pp. 11-12.

Musaazi, J. S. (1985). The Theory and Practice of Educational Administration, London: Macmillan
Publishers.

Nwankwo, J. I. (1981). Educational Planning: Theory and Methods. Lahore/Karachi:

IZHARSONS.

Olanijonu, S. O., Adekoya, S.O. & Gbenu, J.P. (2008). Fundamentals of Educational Planning
(revised and enlarged). Lagos: Micodex Nig. Ltd.

Thompson, A. R. (1981). Education and development in Africa. London: Macmillan Press Ltd.

UNESCO (2008). www.portal.unesco.org/education