Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term - Senior Secondary 2

Term: 1^st Term

Week: 6

Class: Senior Secondary School 2

Age: 16 years

Duration: 40 minutes of 2 periods each

Date:       

Subject:      Government

Topic:-       Public Corporations  III

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: At the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to

1. Give reasons for the control of public corporations
2. Mention and explain the types of control
3. Explain the problems facing public corporations

 INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES: Identification, explanation, questions and answers, demonstration, videos from source

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS: Videos, loud speaker, textbook, pictures

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES

PERIOD 1-2

NOTE

PUBLIC CORPORATIONS

CONTROL OF PUBLIC CORPORATIONS

Government controls public corporations for the following reasons;

1. it is responsible for overall policies;
2. to ensures accountability;
3. to prevent corporations from falling into the usual government practice of delay and bureaucratic red-tape.
4. to ensure that all societal classes and interests have a sense of belonging in the production and distribution of goods and services, etc.

TYPES OF CONTROL OF PUBLIC CORPORATIONS

1. Ministerial Control: every public corporation falls within the control of the executive arm of government. Public corporations are required to obtain the approval of their supervising ministers / commissioners before taking certain crucial decisions.

2. Legislative Control: public corporations constitutionally fall within the control of the executive arm of government. Therefore, the legislature has some control over their activities as an oversight function.

3. Press/Civil Society Control: the electronic and print media, civil society, private individuals and organizations frequently make criticisms of the activities of public corporations.

4. Judicial Control: the judiciary has the power to declare unconstitutional and by implication, illegal, actions of a public corporation if citizens feel in the exercise of duty, a public corporation violates their rights.

5. Board Control: Boards exercise tremendous control over the activities of public corporations under its control.

REASONS FOR THE CONTROL OF PUBLIC CORPORATIONS

1. Capital involvement;
2. Nature of their services;
3. Prevention of exploitation;
4. Avoidance of duplication;
5. Ensure constant supply;
6. Avoidance of private monopoly; etc.

PROBLEMS OF PUBLIC CORPORATIONS

Both public corporations and the rest of the civil service face identical problems some of which include;

1. Political interference;
2. Public waste;
3. Shortage of equipment;
4. Inadequate finance;
5. Lack of autonomy;
6. Low quality manpower;
7. Poor management;
8. Ethnicity and nepotism;
9. Poor motivation;
10. Corruption;

MEASURES FOR PUBLIC CORPORATIONS’ EFFICIENCY

1. frequent government or political interferences should stop.
2. avoidance of glorification of mediocrity in place of meritocracy by favoritism in appointments of general managers and members of board of directors.
3. avoidance of political victimization of officials of public corporation, etc.

ADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC CORPORATIONS

1. it ensures steady supply of essential service.
2. services are rendered not with the motive of making profit.
3. prevention of exploitation and discrimination in the provision of the essential service.

DISADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC CORPORATIONS

1. frequent interferences from government slows down their effectiveness.
2. enjoyment of monopoly makes them to operate without competition and it renders them inefficient.
3. frequent change of government brings about frequent change in officials of public corporations, etc.

EVALUATION:    1. Give reasons for the control of public corporations

2. Mention and explain the types of control
3. State the problems facing public corporations

CLASSWORK: As in evaluation

CONCLUSION: The teacher commends the students positively