Goal Programming for Resource Allocation in a Secondary School System in Kaduna State

Public secondary schools in Kaduna State, North West Nigeria, contend with competing demands on limited resources including teaching staff, classrooms, instructional materials, and budgetary allocations. This study applies goal programming to formulate a multi-objective resource allocation model that seeks to simultaneously minimize shortfalls in teacher-to-student ratios, classroom occupancy rates, and per-capita expenditure on instructional materials across 20 selected government secondary schools. Data were obtained from the Kaduna State Ministry of Education and supplemented by structured questionnaires administered to school principals and bursars. Six priority-ordered goals are established in consultation with education administrators, and a weighted goal programming model is solved using the sequential optimization approach. Results indicate significant trade-offs between goals, particularly between staffing adequacy and classroom provision, when operating within current budget constraints. The model identifies a resource reallocation plan that achieves 80 percent satisfaction across all six goals simultaneously, compared to the current state where only two goals are met at acceptable levels. The study also conducts sensitivity analysis on budget levels and goal priority weights to assess solution stability. Recommendations include adopting goal programming as a planning support tool within the State's Annual School Improvement Programme. This research demonstrates how multi-criteria decision-making techniques can enhance equity and efficiency in public education resource management across Nigeria. Keywords: goal programming, resource allocation, secondary education, Kaduna State, multi-objective optimization