Strategies for Retaining Post Primary Qualified Technical Teachers in the School System in Katsina State

– Strategies for Retaining Post Primary Qualified Technical Teachers –

Technical skills are necessary and instrumental to the technological advancement of any nation. Technical teachers are required to impart these skills to the learners. The importance of teachers in the school has been expressed in various forms.

Abstract

The general objective of the study was to determine strategies that influence the retention of qualified technical teachers in the teaching profession in Katsina State vocational and technical schools.

The study was a survey. The population comprised 19 School Administrators and 91 Qualified Technical Teachers. No sampling was carried out as the whole population was used. A structured questionnaire containing 72 items was designed and used for data collection.

A total number of 110 copies were distributed and 109 copies were retrieved given a return rate of 99.1%. The data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions.

And t-test was used to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed the causes of the exodus and the motivational factors to reduce the exodus.

The findings also revealed the Job satisfaction factors and the School administrative factors that influence the retention of qualified technical teachers.

The researcher recommended that the revealed factors for retaining technical teachers should be fully implemented by the State government.

In order to check the constant exodus of this important category of teachers so as to improve the student academic performance for the very much needed technological development. 

Introduction  

Olaitan (1996) described the teacher as a transformer on which the learners depend upon for most of the skills and competencies needed. 

For instance, Power (1996) stated that one teacher in a school is worth more than 100 volumes of books scheduled for the required knowledge, skills, and attitudes of learners.

Supporting this view, Sawyer (1997) declared that the school should be a stimulating place for learners, but that can only be possible with enough qualified teachers.

Technical Teacher is the one who must have undergone a stipulated course of the program (s) under an approved and accredited institution, thereby obtaining one or more of the following qualifications;

Technical Teacher Certificate (TTC), Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE, Technical); Post Graduate Diploma in Technical Education (PGDTE), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. Tech), Bachelor of Science (B.SC. Tech Edu.), Master of Education 1 2 (Med. Industrial Educ.), Master of Science (M.Sc Industrial Education), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D. Industrial Educ.).

The Digest of Statistics published by the National Board for Technical Education (1997), shows that most states have students to technical teachers ratio at about 40:1 with some states up to a 60:1 ratio.

This indicates that most schools are operating above the recommended ratio of 20:1 in Nigeria post-primary schools. The report pointed out that Katsina state had only 67 technical teachers for the 19 schools and colleges.

Olaitan (1999) complained that many professionally trained vocational-technical teachers do settle for jobs in the industries, thereby hampering the realization of the objectives of vocational education.

Reasons for these categories of teachers leaving the teaching job for other jobs are many. Strategies for Retaining Post Primary Qualified Technical Teachers.

Yalams (1993) states that the condition of service plays a dominant role in determining whether technical teachers would remain in teaching or will opt out of teaching.

This is supported by Abubakar (2006) who stated that if the socio-economic status of the technical teacher does not compare favorably with those of his counterparts who are in administration or business, the tendency of him/her leaving the job for another could be obvious. 

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 StudentsandScholarship Team.