ABDUL WAHAB, S. & TAFIDA, MIDDLE LEVEL MANPOWER PRODUCTION; A PANACEA FOR ‘ACHIEVING THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN : ‘ NIGERIA BY. . : ale tote th ABDULWAHAB, S. & TAFIDA, I. . 5 FCE(T), GOMBE. °° wy ete Abstract A sure measure of attaining increased productivity, alleviating poverty, achieving self reliance, maintaining eace and security, combating unemployment and ensuring sustainable development is through the development of human capital. Human capacity building is about education and health: With highly skilled and healthy citizens, the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is ensured. This paper illuminates with special focus on vocational and technical skills; tre current trends in the production of middle level manpower in Nigeria, reviews existing programs on ‘Vocational Technical Education, identifies: challenging issues: in the production of middle level manpower and proffers useful suggestions for improvement. . Introduction. » 2 . ‘Nigeria as a nation is endowed with abundant riatural and human-resources. Inspite of these, the country. is bedevilled with social menaces such as unemployment, poverty, food insufficiency, low productivity, high rate of infant mortality, lack of social amenities, insecurity, epileptic power supply and dilapidated infrastructure, The root of all these problems might not be unconnected with the prolonged military regimes in Nigeria These are junta thatderived pleasure in wasting money on projects like FESTAC, 77 than investing in human capital. In recent time, the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration by various Governments in African countries has elicited concerted efforts towards combating their precarious indices of development. ‘The millennium summit was held in Now York between 6 and 8 of September, 2000 and is targeted towards improving, the quality of life of the world's poorest individuals: The millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as described in UNDP (2003) are dedicated to eradicating poverty; achieving universal primary education; promoting gender ‘equality and empowering women; reducing child mortality; improving matemai health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development. In pursuit of these laudable goals, the Federal Government of Nigeria embarks on.so many economic, educational, political, agricultural, industrial and social reforms. The end products of these reforms have started to manifest. In areport compiled by UNDP in 2006, it was discovered that.the poverty level in Nigeria hhas declined from 65.5% in 1996 to 54.4 in 2004. it was concluded that thereis the possibility of achieving most of the MDGs in Nigeria by the year 2015 with sustained government and non-governmental efforts... - One prominent measure employed by the Nigerian Government to alleviate poverty, reduce unemployment rate, increase productivity and improve food sufficiency is the capacity, building of its citizens. Inconsonance, strategies were also map-out t0 revitalize vocational and technical education programis at secondary and post secondary school levels. These programs were designed to provide trained manpower in:the applied sciences, technology and business particularly at craft, advanced craft, and technical levels. It is in conjunction with this, that this paper was purported to illuminate the current trends and challenging issues in the production of middle level manpower in Nigeria soastobringaboutanimprovement.. ‘TheConceptofMiddleLevelManpower Senet ‘The training and production of adequate and competent.technical manpower as viewed by Olawepo (1991) is crucial to any industrial, technological and economic developments. In this context, middle level manpower refers to individuals that are well-armed with adequate intellectual and vocational or technical skills needed for successfl involvement in an occupation or cluster of occupations. These individuals usually receive additional training at the post secondary school level and operate at sub professional or professional level. The training is focused on various fields of human endeavors relating to engineering, other technologies, applied sciences, business and management. Goals and Structure of Vocational and Technical Education in Nigeria. ‘Vocational and technical education as described by UNESCO (1996) refers to all forms and levels of education process involving in addition to general knowledge the study of technologies and related sciences and the The Voice of Teachers, Vol, No, 1, 2009 [110MIDDLE LEVEL MANPOWER PRODUCTION; A PANACEA FOR ACHIEVING —_—_—_—_—_— ‘THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN NIGERIA acquisition of practical skills, know-how, attitudes and understanding relating to occupations in the various sectors of economic and social life. It is therefore,.a type, of education that provides students with scientific principles relating to their fields of technology and requires them to make practical application of the concepts by working with tools and machines. In Nigeria, the goals of this type of education as stipulated in the education policy document (FGN, 2004:30) are: woe ‘ , oet 1. +. To provide trained manpower in-the applied sciences, technology and business:particularly at craft, advanced craftand technical levels. ft boo 2. TTo provide the technical knowledge and, vocational skills necessary for agricultural, commerciat and economic development. wo 3... To give-training and impart the, necessary skills to: individuals, who shall be» self-reliant economically. ‘ : In pursuance of these goals, three levels of raining were set in motion, ‘They are:~ 1 Pre-vocational and technical education which is three-year training offered at Junior Secondary Schoo! evel and is meant to prepare students for occupational courses. y : 2. ‘Vocational and technical education, offered in Technical Colleges within 3 years,and is aimed at producing craftsmen and advanced craftsmen. \ . 3. ‘Technology education, offered in Polytechnics, Monotechnics and Colleges of Education (Technical) for the production of technical manpower at sub professional or professional level: The Polytechnics and Monotechnics run Ordinary Level Diploma (OND) and Higher National Diploma (HIND) of two-years each, while Colleges of Education (Technical) provide training to teachers in vocational and technical education which lasts for three years. ws Atpresent under the approval of the National Board for Technical Education NBTE, there are 58 Polytechnics, 52 Monotechnics and 159 Technical Colleges in Nigeria(NBTE, 2008) 1, ‘Landmarks in the Development of Vocational and Technical Education Jn Nigeria, vocational and technical education was nat accorded any serious attention partly. because of the negative attitudes the society had towards its recipients, Fafunwa (1974) advanced reasons for this unfortunate neglect of vocational and technical education in Nigeria, Prominent among the reasons was that vocational and technical education was thought to be for people with less academic ability and thereby the best forthem was to be engaged in practical work which had less pay. This lackadaisical attitude torwards vocational and technical education had in recent time been buried, principally because of its roles in national development and the renew interest of the government through policies which popularized vocational and technical education some of the government actions and policies are briefly reviewed below:- Ashby Commission (1959) ‘This Commission was set up in April, 1959 by Federal Government to conduct an investigation into Nigeria's need in the field of post-secondary school certificate and higher education. One of the findings of the commission ‘was that it noted with dismay that technical, commercial and agricultural education did not attract bright young men with school certificate. The commission therefore criticized the emphasis placed on literary education at secondary and post secondary levels. The implementation of the commission's recommendations gave rise to the establishment of craft schools in the North, comprehensive high schoolsis the West and technical training schools in the East. By 1966 according to Fafunwa (1974), the Northern region had 16 craft schools, the West; had 12, the East, 23 and Lagos, 3 making a total of $4 and this number rose to 73 when some private vocational and technical schools were added to it. It should however be noted that it was these schools that metamorphosed into what is now known as Government Technical Colleges. _ : Establishment of Polytechnics and Monotechnics . : In fine with the recommendations of Ashby commissions, the Federal Government in an attempt to encourage technical and commercial education above the secondary level established some Federal Polytechnics and also encouraged State Governments to do the same. This according to Zumuk (1996) gave birth to Auchi Polytechnic. (State) 1973, Kaduna Polytechnic (16 Northern States) 1973, Ibadan Polytechnic (State) 1970, Yaba College (Now Federal Polytechnic) 1963, College of Science and Technology Portharcourt (State) 1970, College of “Technology, Calabar (State) 1972, Kwara State College:of Technology 1972, Institute of Management and Technology Enugu (State) 1973, Katsina College of Arts, Science and Technology (State) 1973, Ramat College of Technology (Borno State) 1976, Sokoto State College of Technology 1976, Federal Polytechnic Akure 1977, Federal Polytechnic Bida 1970, Federal Polytechnic Idah 1977, Plateau Polytechnic (State) 1978, Ogun State Polytechnic Abeokuta 1978, Federal Polytechnic Yola 1979, Federal Polytechnic Bauchi 1979, Federal Polytechnic Ilaro 1979, Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa 1979, ete. 1 # Gailer’s Commission (1964) In August 1964, a study group on the development of technical education in the country was commissioned by the [ant UE EEEEE EERIE EERE EEE!SS El ‘ ‘ABDUL WAHAB, S. & TAFIDA; Federal Governmeat, The commission was headed by Gailer hence, referred to as the Gailer's Feport, captioned, “A National: plan for’ development of technical éducation’ in:the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This report engineered the Federal Government to embark on training program of technical teachers:-The establishment of ‘National Technical Teachers’ College (NTTC) started in-1967 and ‘enjoyed some assistance from‘UNDP and UNESCO. The actual Nigerian Certificate in Education (Technical) NCE(Tech) and Nigerian Certificate in Edhicatiori (Business) NCE(Bus) programs started in 1969 anid'1970 respectively. The nme NTTC was changed to Federal College of Education (Technical), FCE(T) in 1982. The idea of establishing National Technical ‘Teachers College, (NTTC) Gombe-was conceived in 1969'but actually took off in 1976. So by 1980, there were only two NTTC in Nigeria, One in Akoka, Lagos and the other in Gombe. The two colleges were affiliated to University of Lagos and Ahinadu Bell6 University, Zaria before they were made autonomous. In addition, these colleges also run a one-year program in education subjects leading to the award of Technical Teachers Certificate (TTC) for Technician without teaching qualification. Currently, there are eight Federal Colleges of Education (Technical) inthe country. % " Introduction of the 6,3,3,4System of Education The introduction of the current 6,3,3;4 system of edtication was a miajor action of the Federal Government, that emphasized and popularized vocational and technical education in Nigeria.‘ boot This system of education as viewed by Olaitan (1996) was platined to ensure that all Nigerian Children are well equipped with saleable skills: and technological litcracy necessary for desirable self reliance and économie development, The introduction of this systeni of education Was informed as a result of the comparative technical education seminar abroad. In’ Okoro (1993), the Federal Government appointed nineteen members Commission headed by Adam Skapski in 1963 to visit and identify vocational and technical education system abroad which could be adopted into Nigerian Technical Education. Members of the Commission undertook educational visits of technical inst ns in Britain, Holland, Sweden and United States of American. The Comt ion’ favoured the method or system of vocational and technical education of the Americans to that of the British, This led to the rapid expansion of technical institutions, massive importation of introductory technology tools and equipments and massive training of technical teachers at home and abroad. . “ : Introduction of the Student hndustrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) ¥ This schieme'is meant to compliment the training given to students in various institutions of technical ‘ind vocational education. It gives students the opportunity to interact with work environment and leat the necessary ethics arid work habits required by the occupation. The scheme is organized and financed by Industrisal Training Fund (ITF) set up in 1971 by decree No.47. Fund for the scheme is provided by the Federal Governmient and industries with 25 and above personnel in employment. ” t « Revitalizations of Vocational and Technical Education Programs : twas noted that the curriculum for technical colleges were developed in 1985 and have not undergone any major review since then. There was therefore a general consensus on the need for updating and revision of vocational and technical educé curriculum to meet the demands of the contemporary-society. In line with this, the Federal Government of Nigeria invited UNESCO to help its Ministry of Education to revitalize the National Technical and. Vocational ‘Educations ‘Training program with generous sponsorship from the Government of, Japan. UNESCO responded to this request by: launching i January:2001 an intensive program to update teaching in ‘Nigeria Technical Colleges: and Polytechnics with a view to maximizing potential of learners to become productive participants in economic and social development. The final review as indicated by NBTE (2003) was conducted in Kaduna between 6" and 10° August 2001. A total of 13 curriculum disciplines offered in Technical Colleges and 8 discipline offered in Polytechnics were reviewed. The approved revised curriculum have the feature of containing modern concepts and skills including Information and Communication Technology (ICT). ‘Also, entrepreneurship education has been incorporated so as to.re-oriented students towards self employment. ‘The National Board. for Technical Education. (NBTE). was established in may, 1977 to accredit, coordinate, ‘monitor, supervise, review and advise Government on matters concerning vocational and technical education in Nigeria. : ‘it : ‘Challenging Issves in Technical Manpower Production in Nigeria ° Inspite'of the Government efforts to emphasize and popularize vocational and technical education as.a means of and technical emancipation, the issue of quality-of graduates remains a serious challenge..Olawepo (2991), Olaitan (1996) and Osuala (1998) are unanimous in their conclusion that the Technical College graduates até half baked, unproductive afid unusable by industries without further training. The studies conducted by Agabi (1992), Chinwe (1994), Ajayi (1996) and Abdulwahab (2000) identified vocational and technical institutions with inadequacies such as acute shortage of workshop tools and equipment, inadequate infrastructure, ill-motivated teachers, low quality of consumables for students practical, and over crowded classrooms. Under these : [112 ee eyMIDDLE LEVEL MANPOWER PRODUCTION; A PANACEA FOR ACHIEVING —_—_—_—_—_—_—_—_—_ ‘THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN NIGERIA. conditions, the teaching/learning of practical skills is adversely affected and the quality of the graduates finally produced is questionable. ‘The challenge of poor quality in the production of technical manpower is strong enough to ruin any good plan anid desire for technological self-reliance. It is therefore not surprising when these college graduates are seen perambulating the streets, looking for government's employment, instead of setting dow and use theirheads and hands forsurvival. The poor state of vocational and technical institutions which leads to production of unqualitative graduates is caused by inadequate funding and mismanagement of the available funds, Where mismanagementis allowed to take precedence; funding problem will continuéito exist and the organizational goals remains unattainable, The incidence.of mismanagement of available funds and materials if left ufichecked will continue t6 corrode our vocational and technical institutions. For instance in 1982 there was massive importation of machine tools and equipment and technical drawing equipment for introductory technology at the junior secondary school level. These equipment were so surplus that even the,junior secondary schools in-villages had their’own packed it creates waiting for electricity supply. A tour of most of these schools in urban and rural areas will convince one that the equipmenthave all vamished into a thin hair. Introductory Technology which serves as a production of middle level manpower, is now being taught in classrooms rhetorically. A building on a false foundation is bound to collapse. Recommendations oo " Arising from the problems facing the effective delivery of vocational and technical education in Nigeria the following recommendations are hereby postulated for iniprovement, y 1. The government at all levels should increase the fund allocation to vocational and techical education because itis expensive torun compared to other disciplines. 2. Stringent efforts should be made to ensure prudent management of funds made available to vocational and technical education. 3. Adequate infrastructure should be provided to decongest the classroom forefficient instruction. 4, Adequate tools, equipmentand consumables should be provided to colleges to ensure students activities. 5. Teachers in vocational and technical institutions should properly remunerated to ensure retention and productivity. 6. Technical teachers should be given opportunity by financing then to participate in industrial work experience toimprove their deficiency in practical skills. ‘CONCLUSION Inspite of the government's efforts to emphasize and popularize vocation and technical education in Nigeria over the years it has not attained any tangible industrial, technical, agricultural and economic emancipation. A major challenge to government s efforts is the poor quality of graduates from these institutions which is attributed to inadequate funding of vocational and technical education programs and mismanagement of the available fands and materials. If this incidence is allowed to perpetuate, the attainment of the MDG's by the year 2015 might be jeopardized. Ibis on the basis ofthis that the above recommendations were made for improvement, References Abdulwahab S. 2000), An appraisal of pre-NUi technical education program: its implication on the quality of NCE graduates. Quality in Nigerian Education; Agenda foraction, 10,(2),P.291=208 Agabi, O.G, (1992), Arresting Problems of teaching man-power shortage in V.-E. In Nigeria Vocational Journal, 137-143 Ajayi, B.R, (1996). The State of workshop tools and equipmentavailable technical for teachers training program at tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Unpublished M.Ed Dissertation. Department of Vocational ‘Teachers Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, (Chinwe, N.I. (1994). Position of workshop tools for training in vocational and technical institutions. Nigeria Vocational Journal, 1. 176-184 Fafunwa, A. B. (1974). History of Education in Nigeria. London: George Allen & Union Ltd. |113“SAKINA MURTALA MUSA . AEST ITIE y ath és héld'on Tuesday, Aprii'29, 2008) it’ Port Harcourt, River State,"régretted the rising spate of violent crimes in the ‘égion'in recent times. He sdid the ‘situation has reached an alarming;state that children, mien and women are abducted forransom every where now and then, and that property worth millions of naira is constantly destroyed, all thes¢ factors dre affected by ‘tie environinient'in which’ people live. Also discrimination on the grotinds of gendef, race, disability, age orill Wealth inte villnerabilityto poverty. wat 2. Weak and inappropriate Public Seétor is afiéther problem, ‘lebacy of misritanagement and corruption has encouraged many people to seek ways to sharing the national cake instead of helping to bake it. The ‘were intimidated by he rich and powerful who manipulated laws and regulations totheiradvantage. 3.Poor Economic Management is-'perhiaps ‘the “greatest hindrance t progress, ‘which is encouraged by the dominiance of oil inthe economy. Past governments allowed oil’ incometo influence pending. ‘When income was high, spendiig was high. Today all tiers of government spend far more-than they earn; the deficit for the past five years alone amounts to more than | tilion naira, With eternal and domestic debt of 70 percent of GDP, curreiitiéveniie is latgely eaten up just by debt servicing, ‘According to Sant (2008), despite all export earnings, Nigeria has one of the Weakest economies inthe world and it has lost décades of developrnent due to slow economic growth: Policies Were not-coordinated between Federal and State Governments. As aresult, the national plan and budget have little relevance today s a guide to funding and implementing development programmes. ‘Also Businesses wishing to operate in Nigeria face any constraints including poor inffastnicture, particularly road networks and electricity supply. These have prevented foreign entrepreneurs from investing in Nigeria and inidaced many Nigerians to take thir money and skills abroad, which is known as “Brain Drain”. Observers of the educational sector are of the opinion that the standard of Education i Nigeria has fallen, which is in contrast tothe case before the country's independence in 1960. What is happeniig now ininost schools in Nigeria is-a far cry to ualitative education/learning,infrastructual:development and othr allied equipments to aid learning that was theorder of the day then. 2 3 Teactiers at different levels. government have not been adequately motivated to bring out their very best, riothing that “the working condition of the teacher is the learning condition of the child”. The National Union of ‘Teachers Chairman, Abia State wing, Comrade Sunday Ezenwa Njoku, is ofthe opinion that no country can grow above the level of teachers: Shelter is one of the basic needs of life required for human existence. Itis imperative to bring to Nigerians, the multifaceted problems facing the mortgage industry. in Nigeria which. cannot be over emphasized. « ‘The Federal government throught the. Federal ‘Mortgage Bank of Nigeria as, such concentrates on eitcouraging broad home ownership through a mortgage system that allows for amaximum repayment period of 30 years. Therefore in order. to implement the above policy directives in line with targets of the MDGs means numerous institutional innovations overhaul in terms of legislation and intensive supervision, However, bureaucratic bottlenecks have made it impossible for those who want to access the loan to.do so, Also the state of economy is not also helping matters, as many Nigerians could at present, not afford to take the loan facility made available considering factors such as inflation, high interest rates and high rates offered on land in certain locations in the country, (un summit, 2008). . ‘Conclusions and Recommendations Conclusively, Nigeriasike every other developing country needs as much assistance as it can get through global partners as if strives to achieve sustainable development. The success of NEEDS depends on each of us, as we all have a stake in making NEEDS a success. Without NEEDS, we cannot build a new and economically vibrant ‘Nigeria that ean support us to fulfil our ambitions and those of our children. We have a responsibility to keep our side of the bargain by working hard to make NEEDS asuccess. , fi Iniseffos, some oftesotations propose by NEEDS are: iimpoweriig, People: [NEEDS recognizes that government miust work td tackle poverty, -and addressing the many other social and political factors. To.improve the lives of the Nigerian people, NEEDS includes plans for creating jobs, creating affordable housing, improving health care services, strengtheni ‘skill base; protecting the vulnerable and promoting peace and security. NEEDS would achieve these by; Creating jobs: - The major focus of NEED: p making it easier for private, enterprises to,thrive, by training people in skills relevant for the world of work, and promoting. integrated rural development in collaboration :.., ‘either the states (through their SEEDS Programmes ). In ling of this, the Managing Director of the NDDG, Timi Alaibe, said that the commission has taken the statist in various camps.in the Greek in the Niger/ Delta area since they have already acquired the mastery of piloting boats in the. windy wears of the region, they could be transformed to seafarers where they can contribute positively tothe development ofthe region andthe country. He said about 900 youths.are, at the verge of the commission's iraining programme while some of them had already “been dispatched to South Africa and other countries to learn various vocations that would help them realized their potentials [118‘TIE ROLE OF NATIONAL ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT BEVELOPMENT STRATEGY ——— (NEEDS) IN THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS) BY 2015. Creating Affordable Housing:~ Nigeria needs more houses that average Nigerians can afford to address the problem, NEEDS will take several steps tomake iteasier for developers to buy Jand on which to build affordable houses, cut the cost of building houses by encouraging the use of local building materials; train anew generation of architects in designing low costs housing. Itis suggested by money wise, that the different arms of government and stakeholders should lend support to this by proving long-term funds, provision of secondary mort ‘markets where mortgage stocks haveto be quoted on the Nigeria Stock Exchange, and those interested buy into i ‘Improving Health Care Services: - NEEDS will fully review health care services in order to design a strong national health system that can deliver effective, good quality and affordable services to all Nigerian. They will target priority disease, such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health related illness, and tuberculosis NEEDS has also ereateda National Health Insurance Scheme anda Blood Transfusion Service. Promoting Private Enterprise: - Government would create an environment in which business will thrive. Under NEEDS the govemment will diversify the economy away from oil and solid minerals in order to increase economic stability and ».generate jobs, develop infrastructure, particularly. power. .generation,, transport, and telecommunications infrastructure to stimulate growth ofthe private. sector. Privatization of public enterprises is aimed at improving the state.and enlarging the size of the. private sector. It is also aimed at improving, the efficiency, and competitiveness of enterprises leading to long-term sustainability and contribution to poverty reduction. ‘The Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture: (NACCIMA), has advised government to adopt deliberate policy of tariff- reduction and relaxation of trade barriers in a manner that would spur the growth of oil-sector in the country. These are some of the solutions proposed to the problems, References ‘ AGuide to MDG Action, Taking Effective Action to Achieve the United Nations’ Millennium Goals. Dar , A. (2008), Tackling Militancy Spiritually, Insider Weekly, May 12 Dotis, U.((2008), “Day of Agony” Nigerian Workers Under Growing Poverty as they mark the usual May First Celebration in Insider Weekly. Hikimat,O.(2006),“Government Urged to Protect Local Industries in money wise, November, 27, 2006. Money wise (2006), In Search ofa Vibrant Mortgage Structure. Money November? Mohammed Umar Sanda (2008), Effective Educational Planning for Manpower Supply Towards Achieving'a Sustainable: National Development in Nigeria. A Paper’ Presented at ‘the 10" Annual National Conference organized by the School of Education, Federal College of Education, Kano, Nigeria between 15"- 18"July. ‘National Planning Commission Abuja (2004), National Ecoriomic Empowerment and Development Strategy, National Youth Service Corps, British council and World bank Institute (2007), “Debate to Action” A Millennium Development Goals' Awareness Creation Project. Pamela. S. (2008), Issues, Challenges and Prospects of the Nigerian Mortgage Industry. Leadership Weekend, Jan, 12 °* nie ‘Vanguard (2008), U.N. Summiton the Global Food Crisis. June 6*, a [119