CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Human resource could be seen as people, who work in organizations, having certain qualities or abilities, talents, and attitudes; and who influence production, quality and profitability. They are people who could set out strategies and goals, design work systems, produce goods and services, monitor quality, allocate financial resources and market the products and services (Bratton and Gold, 1999). According to Eyiuche (2002), human resources make up the ultimate basis for the wealth of a nation. Human resources differ from other resources because of their ability to evaluate and to question management actions. For instance, capital and material resources are passive factors of production while human resources are the active agents that accumulate capital, exploit both natural and material resources, build social, economic and political organizations and cause national development enhancement. In the context of formal education, human resources have to be specifically educated in order to be able to carry out their professional responsibility (Oluremi, 2001). However, the problem here rests on the appropriate development of human resources.

As education is regarded as national investment, the most valuable of all capital is that invested in human beings. It appears that lack of adequate

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investment in human resources development has been responsible for the slow growth of the less developed countries in the world. Human resource development is a process of acquiring and increasing the number of persons who have skills, education and experience which are critical for economic and political development of a nation (Eyiuche, 2002). This implies that human resource development (HRD) involves acquisition of skills, knowledge and the application of knowledge and skills acquired. HRD according to Nwangwu (2007) is a process of staff improvement through strategies that foster self development, self actualization and self growth. Development involves all those activities that are geared towards the growth and improvement of skills, knowledge, abilities and attitudes of the staff of the system. A well planned and systematic HRD programme will enhance the performance of the TVE programmes in terms of increased productivity, and will reduce costs, as well as engender high staff morale and stability in the system. HRD is growth oriented that may require in-service programmes (Nwangwu, 2007).

It seems that a greater proportion of problems confronting the development of technical education in Nigeria currently are rooted in inadequate supply of technical teachers arising from inadequate HRD strategies. The peculiarities of inadequate supply of technical education teachers may include deficiencies in quality and quantity. Most technical teachers available appear to lack industrial experience, and pedagogical training. Also limited

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training facilities constitute the greatest bottle-neck for staff training and re-training (Olu and Beecroft, 1987). Eze (2007) stated that TVE teachers should be specialist in their trades because lack of adequately trained TVE teachers could affect students’ enlistment in TVE programmes. Eze emphasized that if people lack technical skill, knowledge and entrepreneurial consciousness, most of the constituents of the environment will be greeted with ignorance and there may not be any commitment to discover and tap the available resources because the knowledge may be lacking and the necessary technical skill may not be acquired. In a country where the technical staff and human resources available lack these abilities, it is assumed that such country might remain underdeveloped. It is also assumed that such country where the necessary human resources, lack adequate knowledge and the technical know-how for promoting economic development, advancement may not be foreseen and predicted.

The development of human resources has been the main focus of TVE because TVE objectives rest on skill acquisition and application of scientific knowledge in problem solving. It also involves practice, application of knowledge and manual inhibitions of mastery using the hands. TVE helps in meeting the manpower needs of the society and no country has ever been able to achieve and sustain any degree of technological development without a conscious and conscientious effort to develop its technical manpower. TVE

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ensures the production of adequate and appropriate productive manpower which leads to wealth creation, material progress, resource base development and national empowerment which accelerates economic growth, reduce inequality and eradicate absolute poverty.

TVE enhances the manual dexterity, technical skill and knowledge, and the entrepreneurial consciousness of the people with a view to improving the economic development of the country through human empowerment. Also the solution to underdevelopment in a country and to minimize economic backwardness and instill capacities and instruction to progress is to introduce and implant a robust and viable TVE system. However, the achievement of these good qualities of TVE programmes depends to a great extent on the development and proper utilization of human resources. TVE teacher as a key factor in human resources need to be adequately developed through training and effectively utilized for proper achievement of TVE objectives and also to enable them carryout their professional and administrative duties. The success and effectiveness of TVE depend on the quality and quantity of teachers available for the TVE programmes. That is to say the realization of educational goals of TVE programmes depend to large extent upon the quality and quantity of TVE teachers engaged in TVE system because the TVE teachers cannot give out what they do not have.

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In developing TVE teachers as a key factor in human resource development there appears to be some constraints. This may be one of the reasons why most students do not study technical vocational courses in tertiary institutions in the state. The constraints may be in so many forms. It can be in form of lack of availability of adequate trained technical teachers, non-availability of material resources or inadequate human resources management. In order to make human resources productive and dependable, there should be adequate HRD strategies in TVE programmes. It is against this background that this study is designed to assess the extent of the constraints on human resource development and strategies for improvement in TVE programmes in Anambra State.

Statement of the Problem

Technical vocational education is a powerful vehicle for development and sustenance of competence, efficiency and effectiveness in graduates of technology education (Okoye, 2006). Unfortunately, the human resources development in this discipline appears to be seriously neglected by successive governments in Nigeria. For instance, early 80’s, the Federal Government made efforts to empower technical personnel in the country through Technical Teachers Training programme (TTTP) Over-seas, and subsequently in Indigenous Universities, the programme had since stopped due to the same

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negligence. Consequently, there has always been dearth of professionally trained technical instructors / teachers or practitioners, inadequate supply of training materials and facilities, and grossly inadequate funding. These shortcomings form constraints against adequate HRD in technological studies in Nigeria and Anambra State in particular. Admittedly Nwanoruo (2002) maintain that some of the constraints on HRD in Nigeria include lack of adequate funding, non-availability of instructional materials and lack of qualified technical manpower. The consequence is that the graduates of this programme are not adequately trained. As a result they appear to feel inferior and thus entertain some inferiority complex and incompetent amidst counterparts. Worse still, there has always been low regard for manual application which had always assumed greater proportion among TVE graduates (Okorie, 2002).

On the other hand, the learning environment appertaining to TVE programmes is nothing to write home about. For instance, Eze (2007) noted that poor training and learning environment in TVE workshops have resulted in production of incompetent vocational graduates who cannot adapt to changing economic situation in Nigeria. In this awareness, it becomes pertinent to organize a study in this category to assess the constraints that affect HRD and determine strategies that could improve HRD in TVE programmes.