Strategic Planning and Educational Quality Management in Public Secondary Schools in Enugu State

This study examines the relationship between strategic planning practices and educational quality management in public secondary schools in Enugu State, South East Nigeria. Strategic planning, which involves setting long-term institutional goals and aligning resources and processes to achieve them, has been adopted in corporate and public sector contexts but remains underdeveloped in many Nigerian secondary schools. A descriptive survey design was adopted, with data collected from 30 secondary school principals and 150 senior teachers across 30 schools in Enugu, Nsukka, and Agwu educational zones. Strategic planning quality was assessed using a structured tool covering mission clarity, goal-setting processes, stakeholder involvement, and monitoring frameworks. Educational quality was measured using inspection scores, examination performance, and teacher retention rates. Regression and correlation analyses were applied. Results reveal that schools with documented and actively implemented strategic plans demonstrate significantly higher quality ratings. Principals who involved teachers in planning processes reported stronger staff commitment to quality improvement targets. The study concludes that strategic planning is an underutilised quality management tool in Enugu State secondary schools. It recommends that the state Secondary Education Board mandate strategic plan development as part of the school licensing and renewal process and provide principals with structured strategic planning training to build capacity for evidence-based school improvement.

Keywords: strategic planning, educational quality management, secondary school, Enugu State, school leadership.