Preparation and maintenance of records in physical education
Answers
Answer:
The maintenance of records involves all activities that ensure that they are in good condition, (e.g. not worn out or torn, that they are legible) and kept in an orderly state. This is a central function of records management. Yet another important activity in records maintenance is retention.
Answer:
The generation and use of information
Both schools and the Ministry of Education (MOE) generate information, which
each in turn uses for the daily running of the schools, as well as for projecting and
planning purposes. For the information to be used effectively, it must be accurate
and reliable. This calls for efficient information management and herein lies the
role of records.
Amongst the information generated by schools, for example, are enrolment statistics (capacities and demand), human, financial and material requirements, expenditures, etc, all of which are crucial to the successful running of an education
system as a whole. Schools are able to provide this information satisfactorily, provided it is on record.
What is a record?
A record is defined as a documented proof of a transaction. This can refer to any
activity which falls within the normal routine of an organisation.
Schools have the task of teaching and providing a learning environment. In so doing, teachers and other members of staff are employed, materials are acquired, pupils are admitted, tested, examined and so forth. Any written or recorded item that
shows the existence of a particular pupil, how many pupils there are in the school,
if a pupil has been transferred, how many desks have been acquired, etc, is a record.
In short, records contain information important to the daily running of schools.
Some activities in a school need to be accounted for, especially when resources
have been or need to be used. It is important for a teacher or school head to justify
certain actions. In the absence of proof of the activity having taken place, it is difficult to explain or account for the resources that may have been expended in the
course of the activity.
Records, therefore, are an important means of accountability because they provide proof. For example, there are instances when a school has to ask for certain facilities from the Ministry or any other funding organisation. Unless the school can
show that it does not have adequate facilities or that it has admitted more pupils, it
is difficult for the funding organisation to justify sending any of the requested
items.
The role of records
Records have a dual function. Not only do they enable a school to have a clear picture of what is available and what is required, but they also provide justification of
certain needs. Furthermore, they serve to extend the memory by which persons
and/or organisations can pass their cultures and achievements on to future generations.
Record keeping is vital to an education system’s information cycle as a whole, because of its fundamental role in the process of efficient information production and
collection. Since some of the most crucial information is produced at the school lev-
4 Records management · School level
el, the importance of creating a systematic record-keeping culture at that level cannot be stressed enough.
For records to exist in the first place, the need for them has to be identified. Such
a need may be a matter of policy or a requirement either of the MOE or the school
authorities. Once this need has been highlighted, one can turn to the issue of the
effective management of the records.
Explanation: