Assessing the Effects of Government Budgetary Allocation on Academic Achievement in Public Secondary Schools: A Case Study of Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria

This study examined how government budgetary allocation affects the academic performanceof students in public secondary schools in Ibadan North, Ibadan South-West, and Ido LocalGovernment Areas of Oyo State, Nigeria. Using a descriptive survey design, data werecollected from 120 respondents, 80 teachers and 40 administrators selected from ten publicsecondary schools. A structured 20-item questionnaire measured budget allocation,infrastructure adequacy, teacher morale, and academic achievement. Findings showed thatgovernment funding averaged 55–58%, which falls below the UNESCO 26% benchmark. Thestudy was anchored on Human Capital Theory and Resource Allocation Theory, and instrumentreliability was confirmed with a Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.87. Correlation results revealedsignificant positive relationships between budget allocation and academic performance (r =0.727, p < 0.05), infrastructure (r = 0.856, p < 0.01), and teacher motivation (r = 0.693, p <0.05). Regression analysis indicated that budget allocation accounted for 52.8% (R² = 0.528)of the variance in student performance. Respondents identified inadequate funding (81.7%),infrastructure decay (68.3%), and low morale (60.8%) as major challenges. Comparativeanalysis showed that Ibadan South-West recorded the highest mean performance (62.1%) andfunding level (57.8%), while Ido recorded the lowest. The study concludes that increased andwell-managed funding can substantially improve academic outcomes. It recommends aminimum 10% annual increase in education budgets, stronger accountability mechanisms, andtargeted investment in facilities and teacher welfare.