USERS PERCEPTION OF LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS AS SECURITY MEASURES IN SECONDARY SCHOOL, MINNA, NIGERIA

Abstract

Nigeria like every other country of the world is faced with varying category of security challenges ranging from the activities of terrorist groups and kidnappers to other criminal activities. As open systems, the schools have been deeply affected by these security challenges. School environments are no longer well secured and safe for effective teaching and learning to take place. A correlation exists between security and landscape that predates to ancient times, where landscape was used for both attacking and defensive strategies. However, the aim of this paper is to examine the perception of secondary school users with the type of security system in their schools so as to determine opportunities to improve security in schools using landscape element. Post-occupancy evaluation as a research method was employed to carry out this study. Data for the study was obtained using an observation schedule and questionnaire forms and samples were randomly selected from Government secondary schools in Minna. The data was analysed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel packages. The findings revealed that users are not satisfied with the present security measures in their schools. The paper therefore, recommends that landscape elements be applied as security measures in secondary schools.