Odimegwu & Agu 0 MAXIMIZING QUALITY PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIAN SECONDARY EDUCATION: A CASE FOR RE-EXAMINATION OF PRINCIPAL SELECTION AND EVALUATION MECHANISMS. By Odimegwu, Christiana O. Crystal Research Consult, Awka, Nigeria Christiharris2001@yahoo.co.uk & Agu, Ngozi Department of Education Foundations, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria ngozi_uj@yahoo.com Being a paper presented at the Distance Education and Teacher Training in Africa (DETA) conference on "Issues and Challenges in Education in Africa – The need for a “new” teacher" held at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, Between 3 - 6 August, 2009.