Assessment of the Challenges of Implementing the Secondary School Physics Curriculum in Rural Schools in Gombe State

Rural secondary schools in North East Nigeria face distinct implementation challenges for science curricula that require specific attention in national and state curriculum policy, and examining Physics curriculum delivery in Gombe State provides evidence for rural science education improvement. This study assessed the challenges of implementing the Senior Secondary School Physics curriculum in rural schools in Akko and Funakaye Local Government Areas, Gombe State, North East Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted, with questionnaires administered to 80 Physics teachers from 30 rural secondary schools. Inventory checklists assessed laboratory equipment availability and condition. Results showed that 82.5 percent of schools lacked a functional physics laboratory. Over 75 percent of teachers reported inability to demonstrate practical experiments from the curriculum. Only 11.3 percent of Physics teachers held undergraduate degrees in Physics, with most teaching across multiple science subjects. Textbook provision was inadequate in 65.0 percent of schools (fewer than one textbook per three students). Internet access for supplementary material was available to only 17.5 percent of teachers. WAEC Physics failure rates in the surveyed schools averaged 72.4 percent. The study concludes that Physics curriculum implementation in rural Gombe State schools is critically under-resourced. Recommendations include mobile science laboratory initiatives, Physics teacher specialist recruitment and deployment policies, textbook distribution programmes, and curriculum adaptation for resource-constrained rural contexts.

Keywords: Physics curriculum, rural secondary schools, Gombe State, curriculum implementation, science education