TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE i
APPROVAL PAGE ii
CERTIFICATION iii
DEDICATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
LIST OF TABLES ix
ABSTRACT xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1
Background of the Study 1
Statement of the Problem 7
Purpose of the Study 9
Significance of the Study 9
Research Questions 11
Hypotheses 11
Scope of the Study 12
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 13
- Conceptual Framework 13
- Concept of Wastage in Vocational Technical Education 14
- Factors Leading to Wastage among Self Employed Metalwork
Graduates 17
- Organization of Workshops/working Environment for Self Employed
Metalwork Graduates to Reduce Wastage 18
- Working Methods and Procedures for Self Employed Metalwork
Graduates to Reduce Wastage 27
- Entrepreneurial Skill Training required to reduce Wastage 30
- Skill Acquisition in Technical College 37
- Factors that influence Skill Acquisition 58
- Teaching Methods, Instructional Activities and Facilities relevant
to Metalwork 59
- Structure of Educational System 68
- Employment Status in Nigeria 71
- Theoretical Framework 74
- Review of Related Empirical Studies 79
- Summary of Related Literature Reviewed 84
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 86
Design of the Study 86
Area of the Study 86
Population for the Study 86
Instrument for Data Collection 87
Validation of the Instrument 88
Reliability of the Instrument 88
Method of Data Collection 88
Method of Data Analysis 89
CHAPTER IV: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA 90
Research Question 1 90
Research Question 2 91
Research Question 3 93
Research Question 4 94
Research Question 5 96
Hypothesis 1 97
Hypothesis 2 98
Hypothesis 3 99
Hypothesis 4 100
Hypothesis 5 101
Findings 102
Discussion of Findings 108
CHAPTER V: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 113
Restatement of the Problem 113
Major Findings 115
Implication of the Study 115
Conclusion 115
Recommendations 116
Suggestion for Further Study 117
REFERENCES 118
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Letter to the Respondent 123
Appendix B: Questionnaire 124
Appendix C: Distribution of Self Employed Metalwork Graduates 132
D: Distribution of Technical Teachers 133
E: Result of the Analysis 134
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
- Mean Responses of the Respondents on the
Determinants of Wastage among Self Employed
Graduates of Technical Colleges 90
- Mean Responses of the Respondents on the Training
Activities for Retraining Self Employed Metalwork
Graduates to Reduce Wastage 92
- Mean Responses of the Respondents on how
Workshops/Working Environment should be
Organized by Self Employed Metalwork Graduates
to Reduce Wastage 93
- Mean Responses of the Respondents on the Working
Procedures to be Adopted by Self Employed Metalwork
Graduates to Reduce Wastage 95
- Mean Responses of the Respondents on the Entrepreneurial
skill Training required by Self Employed Metalwork Graduates to
Reduce Wastage 96
- The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the Mean
Responses of the Respondents on the Determinants
of Wastage among Self Employed Graduates of
Technical Colleges 97
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the Mean
Responses of the Respondents on the Training
Activities to be Organized for Retraining Self
Employed Metalwork Graduates to Reduce Wastage 98
- The ANOVA of the Mean Responses of the Respondents
on how Workshops/Working Environment should be
Organized by Self Employed Metalwork Graduates
to Reduce Wastage 99
- The ANOVA of the Mean Responses of the
Respondents on the Working Procedures to be
adopted by self Employed Metalwork Graduates
to Reduce Wastage 100
- The ANOVA of the Mean Responses of the
Respondents on the Entrepreneurial Skill Training
required by Self Employed Metalwork Graduates
to Reduce Wastage 101
ABSTRACT
The study was carried out to determine strategies for reducing wastage among self employed metalwork graduates of technical colleges in Kogi State. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study was 50 comprises of 30 technical teachers in technical colleges and 30 self employed metalwork graduates. A structured questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. Five research questions and five null hypotheses were formulated. Mean was used to analyze the data for answering research questions while analysis of variance was used to test the hypotheses of no significant difference at 0.05 level of significance. The study found out that twenty one determinants were found to be causes of wastage among self employed metalwork graduates of technical colleges, twelve training activities were found for retraining self employed metalwork graduates to reduce wastage, workshops/working environment should be organized in seventeen ways by self employed metalwork graduates to reduce wastage, twenty five working procedures were found to be adopted by self employed metalwork graduates to reduce wastage and ten entrepreneurial skills were required for reducing wastage among self employed metalwork graduates. It was recommended that seminars or workshops or retraining programme on how to reduce wastage should be organized for self employed metalwork graduates already in the field and technical teachers. Curriculum of vocational and technical education programmes in technical colleges should be also reviewed to meet up with modern needs/technologies in the society.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Education in general is an indispensable tool for the continued existence and growth of any nation. Education is a process by which individual is enabled to develop capabilities through the acquisition of knowledge, skills, value and attitudes for the benefit of society (Onuoha, 1986). Federal Government of Nigeria (2004) described education as an instrument per excellence for effecting national development. Osuala (1999) stated that education in general is an exercise that engages everyone. Individual either goes through liberal, general or vocational education. In their view Ogwo and Oranu (2006) opined that vocational education programme depend on general education to provide theoretical explanation on scientific principle and general information on the environment. Technical and vocational education is an integral part of general education (UNESCO and ILO, 2002 in Ogwo and Oranu, 2006).
Technical and vocational education refers to those components of the general education curriculum which introduce students to the elements of technology in order to acquaint them with the role of technology in contemporary life and permit them to develop basic practical skills in the manipulation of simple tools and materials (Osuala, 1999). Encyclopedia Britannica (1994-2001) described technical education as the academic and vocational preparation of students for jobs involving applied science and modern technology. Similarly, National Policy on Education NPE (2004) defined Technical Education as that aspect of education that leads to the acquisition of practical and applied skills as well as basic scientific knowledge. This type of education is obtainable either in secondary or tertiary institutions across the nation.
The aim of establishing technical colleges is to produce graduates with saleable skills. To achieve this, it requires a laboratory setting as a unique learning situation in which the learner may experiment, test, construct, disassemble, repair, design, create, imagine and study (Ezeji, 2004). Technical colleges according to Okorie (2001) are the institutions where craftsmen are trained to the craft level of National Business and Technical Examination leading to award of National Technical Certificate (NTC). Okoro (2006) described technical colleges as the principal vocational institutions designed to prepare students in various occupation areas for employment. If the stated educational objectives are not strictly followed and observed, then it becomes educational wastage. There are several patterns of educational wastage such as school dropout, unguided selection of vocational/technical courses and inadequate educational fund. Manama (1985) observed that to determine efficiency, time and energy invested are compared with the cost utility of other method.
Salami (1993) also explained that wastage is the degree to which human and material resources developed and made available are grossly under-utilised or neglected. Similarly Brunner and Paul in Ajayi and Mbah (2008) added that wastage is the degree to which the actual output fails to correspond with stated goal of education within a given period of time.
In this study, wastage refers to the loss in utility of skill acquired by graduates of metal-work trade. Obialor (1989) explained that wastage connotes a deliberate inadvertent discarding of a useful material or asset, allowing of material to be unused, wrong use of material, or under-utilization of material. Nwimo (2004) said that wastage literally means something not occupied or used for any purpose. This implies that wastage is an error committed that militates against the output of self-employed metalwork graduates. Wastage has been observed among metalwork graduates. Self-employed metalwork graduates are the products of technical colleges who studied metalwork and work for themselves after graduation. These graduates sometimes damage their tools, equipment or machines, materials or even cause more havoc to the work contracted to them. This may be due to little or no skills acquired while in training. In order to reduce these wastages among the self-employed metalwork graduates, strategies are required to be put in place.
Strategies are plans that are intended to achieve a particular purpose. Oziegbunam (2011) described strategies as important features that can be used to promote the effectiveness of a programme or an attempt to bring solution to any area of difficulties. Training activities is one of the strategies to be considered in reducing wastage among self-employed metalwork graduates. Training activities need to be organized for them in form of retraining programme.