PERCEPTION OF TECHNICAL TEACHERS ON FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR LOW ENROLLEMENT INTO TECHNICAL COLLEGES
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The Study’s Background
Vocational and technical education is a type of education that teaches students the skills, knowledge, and attitude required for a specific occupation.
Wenrich and Wenrich (1974) defined vocational education in terms of the occupations it is concerned with. According to them, vocational education refers to vocational or technical training or retraining provided in public schools or classes as part of a program designed to prepare individuals for gainful employment as semi-skilled or skilled workers, technicians, or sub-professionals in emerging or recognized occupations.
According to Wenrich and Wenrich, these occupations include agriculture, home economics, trade and industrial education, and business education. According to Olaitan (2006), vocational/technical education is a skill acquisition oriented form of training based on the application of mathematics and scientific knowledge in a specific field for self actualization and development.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) defines vocational and technical education as “those aspects of the educational process that involve, in addition to general education, the study of technologies and related sciences, and the acquisition of practical skills, attitudes, understanding, and knowledge relating to occupation in various sectors of economic and social life.”
According to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, technical and vocational education is defined as: an integral part of general education; a means of preparing for occupational fields and effective participation in the world of work; a component of lifelong learning and preparation for responsible citizenship; an instrument for promoting environmentally sound, sustainable development; and a method of poverty alleviation.
Vocational and technical education is available in Nigeria at three levels:
(1) Secondary schools provide pre-vocational or general vocational education.
(2) Vocational (job-specific) education is available in technical colleges and vocational centers.
(3) Postsecondary education is provided by institutions such as Polytechnics and Monotechnics, as well as Colleges of Education (technical)
The Federal Republic of Nigeria defines vocational and technical education goals as follows in her National Policy on Education (2004):
(1) Provide skilled labor in applied sciences, technology, and business, focusing on craft, advanced craft, and technical levels;
(2) Provide technical and vocational knowledge and skills required for agricultural, commercial, and economic development.
(3) Provide training and skills to individuals who will be economically self-sufficient.
VTE entails the acquisition of job-related skills. The individual who takes advantage of the opportunity for vocational and technical education is the primary beneficiary of the education because he or she will gain vocational and technical skills that will enable him or her to engage in productive work for himself or herself or for an employer.
Aside from enabling the individual to hold productive employment, vocational and technical skills acquired during training increase the recipient’s productivity and earning capacity (Uwadiae, 1992). Other advantages include increased employability and job mobility.
People who have been trained for specific jobs in the workplace are more employable and less likely to face long-term unemployment than those who lack specific occupational skills. Because of the numerous applications to which vocationally and technically trained workers can put their skills, such workers can easily switch jobs in search of greener pastures and better opportunities.
According to Uwaidae, vocational and technical education also enables a person to make intelligent use of technological products, to use new technologies, to develop better entrepreneurial skills, and to become a more innovative worker.
Although the individual is the primary beneficiary of VTE, society or the nation benefits as well. VTE reduces dropout rates by providing training opportunities for people who are dissatisfied with traditional forms of education that are disconnected from the realities of the workplace. VTE also lowers a society’s unemployment rate.
In a country like Nigeria, where unemployment is rampant, VTE is the most effective way to combat the problem. VTE could be used to develop marketable skills in students so that they are easily employable after high school.
VTE promotes technological industrial development by supplying qualified workers capable of developing and implementing technologies for industries and economic development. VTE is a mechanism for meeting a country’s manpower needs in agricultural, technical, industrial, business, paramedical, home economics, and other occupational clusters.
The technical colleges are one of Nigeria’s technical colleges. According to Okoro (1998), technical colleges are the most important vocational institutions in Nigeria because they provide comprehensive vocational education that prepares students for entry into a variety of occupations.
Mechanical trades, computer craft practice, electrical engineering trades, building trades, wood trades, hospitality and textile trades, printing trades, beauty culture trades, business trades, and a variety of other courses are available at technical colleges. Technical colleges train technical workers at all levels (operatives, craftsmen, and master craftsmen), as well as in a variety of technical and vocational fields.
NABTEB certificates are awarded to graduates of technical colleges, including the National technical certificate (NTC), the National business certificate (NBC), the Advanced National Technical Certificate, and the Advance National Business Certificate (ANBC). The junior high school diploma is the minimum entry requirement for technical colleges (JSC).
Entry could also be based on evidence of aptitude demonstrated in technical courses, as well as a reasonably good performance in mathematics and science. Technical colleges, which provide job-specific training as part of formal secondary education, produce skilled labor (craftsmen). The vocational education program in technical colleges is intended to produce skilled artisans for the nation’s industrial, economic, and technological development.
Despite the importance of artisans, enrollment in technical colleges has been extremely low. This low enrollment in technical colleges can be attributed to Nigeria’s economic factors and value system. People in Nigeria prefer white-collar jobs to manual labor.
This is due to Nigerians receiving a British-style liberal education as part of her colonial legacy. Nigerians prefer courses such as medicine, accounting, and commerce over courses that are more manual in nature. White collar jobs are preferred over manual jobs, despite the fact that manual labor is more productive and contributes to the nation’s Gross National Product (GNP).
The societal attitude toward VTE programs is intertwined with this economic and value system. In Nigeria, vocational and technical education is widely regarded as an education for the illiterate and underprivileged child. This issue can be traced back to Nigeria’s National Policy on Education provision for technical colleges.
According to Okoro (1999), the National Policy on Education (1981) devalues vocational and technical education and creates unnecessary barriers for students who wish to pursue a vocational-technical program in secondary school. According to him, the National Policy on Education states that trade centers, technical colleges, and similar vocational centers will be established to absorb junior secondary school dropouts who are unable to continue their education in senior secondary school.
This is usually interpreted to mean that after junior secondary school, students are divided into two groups: those who go on to senior secondary school (from which universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education draw their students) and those who go to trade centers and technical colleges and have little chance of continuing their education beyond the technical college or trade center level.
There is no doubt that the senior secondary school has greater prestige and would be preferred by parents and students over the technical college or trade center, even if students would have performed better in technical colleges or trade centers.
The National Policy was reviewed in 2004 as an intervention measure to the situation, and it attempts to reposition technical colleges. Students who complete junior secondary school will be enrolled in senior secondary school, technical colleges, out-of-school vocational training centers, and an apprenticeship scheme, according to the law.
According to the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004), the streaming shall be based on the results of tests to determine academic ability and vocational interest, with a transition ratio of 50:20:20:10 as much as possible. This was a strategy to put technical colleges in a more favorable light than they had previously been perceived by the public, but the policy provision still regards technical colleges as an education for underprivileged and uneducated students.
Furthermore, as part of intervention measures aimed at improving technical college programs. To attract entrants, the Federal Government also converted technical college programs to full secondary education with a six-year duration, offering senior school science, normal craft, and advanced craft programs at the senior secondary level.
Students from primary schools are now admitted to the junior college component of technical colleges, giving the technical colleges a better chance of attracting high-quality entrants and providing an early orientation to VTE. In addition, the federal government renamed technical colleges federal science and technical colleges. However, low enrollment remains a problem in technical colleges.
In the same vein, the Lagos State government has made some concerted efforts to increase student enrollment in technical colleges. This includes establishing the Ministry of Science and Technical College to oversee technical college programs.
The Lagos State government has begun the implementation of a policy aimed at strengthening the state’s vocational and technical education. The Lagos State government has also renamed the state’s technical colleges to state science and technical college as part of strategies to reposition the technical colleges, and as a result, the five technical colleges in Lagos State have been renovated and equipped.
The Lagos State government also recognized that technical colleges could play a significant role in the realization of the megacity project, as well as in making school leavers self-sufficient and employers of labor in terms of skill acquisition. As a result, the Lagos State government presented 49 courses to NBTE for accreditation, but only 45 were accredited. All of these efforts were made to make technical colleges more appealing.
Regardless of government intervention, low enrollment persists. The main result or implication of low enrollment is massive resource waste in terms of financial, material, and human resources. Education represents a significant investment in human capital.
By investing heavily in technical colleges, society foregoes current consumption in order to provide its citizens with knowledge and skills that will make them more productive in the future. Because of the investment in technical colleges, the same resources are not available for investment in other sectors of the economy.
As long as enrollment in technical colleges remains low, government resources spent on improving technical colleges will be squandered.
Aside from wasting government investment and resources, the few students who are admitted to technical colleges lack prerequisite qualifications. They enter the technical college system with little or no interest in the courses that are available. As a result, some students may drop out of the system and end up as touts, okada riders, and other types of miscreants, while the product’s certification may be of little or no importance to them.
Nobody can deny that the world has become a global village, and that technology in manufacturing and service occupations is improving all the time. Nigeria is not left behind in terms of technological advancement. People must be trained for the new jobs that are opening up in the manufacturing and service industries.
Some of these jobs necessitate not only manual skills but also a high level of technological knowledge as well as a broad education. Qualified individuals who have been trained in accordance with the principles of VTE are required for Nigeria to advance technologically. With low enrollment in technical schools, it will be impossible to provide the necessary manpower to keep up with technological advancement.
Another effect of low enrollment is an increase in unemployment. Nigeria has a high rate of unemployment. This is due, in part, to a lack of knowledge and skills that would allow people to take available jobs or work for themselves.
Technical colleges are capable of enabling individuals to obtain the skills required to fill vacancies and become self-employed, thereby reducing the level of unemployment and youthful unrest that has characterized Nigerian society.
The low enrolment rate and its consequences in Lagos State have remained a source of concern for technical college teachers. As a result, the purpose of this research is to ascertain technical college teachers’ perspectives on the factors that contribute to low enrollment in technical colleges in Lagos State.
Statement of the Issue
As the government funds technical colleges and ensures continuous improvement in technical college programs, enrollment in technical colleges is expected to increase so that the country can produce the needed craftsmen for technological advancement. However, low enrolment has been observed in the majority of Lagos’ technical colleges. As a result of the low enrollment, the resources invested in technical colleges will be squandered.
As technical colleges improve and become more accessible, there should be an increase in interest in vocational courses and enrollment in technical colleges. Few students are admitted to technical colleges because they lack prerequisite qualifications.
They enter the technical college system with little or no interest in the courses offered, according to Olaitan (1986). The continued admission of students into technical colleges who have no interest in vocational courses will result in more dropouts and unskilled youth. As a result, craft production in Lagos State will be low.
Nigeria has a high rate of unemployment. This is due in part to the fact that people lack the necessary knowledge and skills to secure and create jobs, as well as to be self-employed. To address the issue of unemployment, technical colleges can produce individuals capable of securing good jobs and becoming self-employed.
However, as long as there is a low enrollment in technical colleges, youths will remain unemployed, leading to unrest and an increase in vices in Lagos State. As a result, the purpose of this study is to ascertain technical college teachers’ perspectives on identifying the factors responsible for low enrolment in technical colleges in Lagos State.
The Study’s Purpose
The primary goal of this research is to identify the factors that contribute to low enrollment in technical colleges in Lagos State. The purpose of this research was to determine;
(1) Societal attitudes are to blame for the low enrollment in Lagos State’s technical colleges.
(2) Economic factors and the value system are to blame for the low enrollment in Lagos State’s technical colleges.
(3) Intervention measures are required to increase student enrollment in technical colleges in Lagos State.
The Study’s Importance
The anticipated outcome, once the societal attitude is identified, will benefit the Lagos State Ministry of Education. It will allow the ministry to identify those who are responsible for students fleeing technical colleges. This will allow them to develop strategies to raise awareness among parents and students about the needs and benefits of being a craftsman.
The anticipated outcome of the economic factors and value system will benefit the industry and labor employers. It will make them aware of the importance of participating in the funding of technical colleges and craftsmen training programs. The benefit is that society will recognize the value of craftsmen to themselves and society.
Individuals and society will benefit from the intervention measures required to improve student enrollment. It will make them realize that being a craftsman will allow them to acquire skills that will allow them to be highly employable and self-employed. The benefit is that the unemployment and dropout rates will be lower, and the government’s resources (both material and human) will be used more efficiently.
Research Issues
The following are the study’s research questions:
(1) What are the societal factors that contribute to the low enrollment in technical colleges in Lagos State?
(2) What are the economic factors causing low enrollment in technical colleges in Lagos State?
(3) What intervention measures can we recommend to increase student enrollment in technical colleges in Lagos State?
Study Assumption
The following assumption was made while conducting this study:
1) The technical teachers in the technical colleges will provide reliable and unbiased responses to the questio
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PERCEPTION OF TECHNICAL TEACHERS ON FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR LOW ENROLLEMENT INTO TECHNICAL COLLEGES
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