ABSTRACT
The study investigated the influence of TETFund on the Management of Federal Universities in South-East, Nigeria. Seven (7) research questions and seven (7) hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population comprised twenty five (25) Principal Officers and six thousand four hundred and thirty one (6,431) Lecturers in the five (5) Federal Universities in South-East, Nigeria. A sample size of six hundred and sixty eight (668) respondents was selected using Consensus and Proportionate stratified random sampling technique. A Structured questionnaire developed by the researcher and titled: Influence of Tertiary Education Trust Fund Questionnaire (ITETFQ) was used in collecting data for the study. The instrument was face validated by three (3) experts in all, two (2) from the Department of Educational Management and the other from Measurement and Evaluation in the Department of Science Education, all in the College of Education, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine the reliability of the instrument. Data analysis was done using mean and standard deviation to answer all research questions and t-test statistics was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 levels of significance. The study revealed that TETFund plays a major role in supporting and improving the management of Federal Universities through the provision of basic infrastructure and resources to improve the quality of educational delivery. The researcher recommended that TETFund should ensure the use of competent contractors and companies in the construction of physical facilities to ensure quality execution of TETFund building construction projects in the respective institutions; provide for and adapt to cutting-edge technology; procure and maintain high-tech resources; sensitize the institutions on the requirements and procedures for accessing TETFund interventions; eliminate unnecessary bureaucracies in accessing interventions, allow the institutions to access missed funds for previous year and expand their intervention on libraries to encourage reading culture in those institutions.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables ix
Abstract x
CHAPTER
1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 18
1.3 Purpose of the Study 19
1.4 Research Questions 20
1.5 Hypotheses 20
1.6 Significance of the Study 21
1.7 Scope of the Study 24
CHAPTER
2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 25
2.1 Conceptual Framework 25
2.1.1 Federal Universities 25
2.1.2 Nigeria Federal University’s Internally
Generated Revenue 26
2.1.3 Management of Federal Universities in Nigeria 27
2.1.4 Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) 30
2.1.5 Funding of Federal Universities in some other
countries 37
2.1.6 TETFund and the Provision of Infrastructural Facilities in Federal
Universities 39
2.1.7 Quality Assurance through the Intervention of TETFund in Federal Universities 40
2.1.8 TETFund on Staff Training
and Development in Federal Universities 44
2.1.9 TETFund on Research and Publication
in Federal Universities 49
2.1.10 TETFund on Development of Libraries 53
2.1.11 TETFund on the
Provision of Instructional Materials in Federal Universities 56
2.1.12 TETFund on the
Provision of Laboratory Resources in Federal Universities 58
2.2 Theoretical Framework 59
2.2.1 Resources
Dependence Theory 59
2.2.2 Human Relations Theory 60
2.2.3 Fayol’s
Principles of Management Theory 62
2.3 Empirical Studies 63
2.3.1 Provision of Physical Facilities in Nigerian
Universities 63
2.3.2 Quality Assurance in Tertiary Institutions 66
2.3.3
Staff Training and Development Programmes 68
2.3.4 Research and Publication 71
2.3.5 Development of Libraries 73
2.3.6 Provision of Instructional Materials
and Equipment 75
2.3.7 Provision of Laboratories
Resources 79
2.4 Summary of Related Literature Reviewed 82
CHAPTER
3: METHODOLOGY 83
3.1 Design of the Study 83
3.2 Area of the Study 83
3.3 Population for the Study 84
3.4 Sample and Sampling Techniques 85
3.5 Instrument for Data Collection 85
3.6 Validation of the Instrument 86
3.7 Reliability of the Instrument 86
3.8 Method of Data Collection 87
3.9 Method of Data Analysis 87
CHAPTER
FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 88
4.1 Result 88
4.2 Summary of Findings 102
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSION
AND
RECOMMENDATIONS 103
5.1 Discussion of Findings 103
5.2 Conclusion 110
5.3 Educational Implications of the Study 111
5.4 Recommendations 112
5.5 Limitations of the Study 114
5.6 Suggestions for Further Studies 114
REFERENCES 116
APPENDICES
LIST OF TABLES
Analysis of Responses on the Influence of Provision
of Physical Facilities in
Federal Universities 88
t-test
Analysis of Significant Difference Among the Mean Ratings of Lecturers and
Principal
Officers on the Provision of Physical Facilities by TETFund 89
Analysis
of Responses on the Influence of TETFund on Ensuring Quality
Assurance
in Federal Universities 90
t-test Analysis of Significant Difference Among the Mean
Ratings of Lecturers and
Principal
Officers on Ensuring Quality Assurance by TETFund 91
Analysis
of Responses on the Influence of TETFund on Staff Training and
Development
in Federal Universities 92
t-test Analysis of Significant Difference Among the Mean
Ratings of Lecturers and
Principal
Officers on the Influence on Staff Training and Development 93
Analysis of Reponses on the Influence
of TETFund Research and Publication in
Federal
Universities 94
t-test Analysis of significant difference between the
mean rating scores of Lecturers
and
Principal Officers on Research and Publication 95
Analysis
of Responses on the Influence of TETFund on the Development of
Libraries
in Federal Universities 96
t-test Analysis of Significant Difference Among the Mean
Ratings of Lecturers and
Principal
Officers on the Development of Libraries by TETFund 97
Analysis
of Responses on the influence of TETFund on the Provision
of
Instructional
Materials in Federal Universities 98
t-test Analysis of significant difference between the mean
rating scores of Lecturers
and
Principal Officers on the Provision of Instructional Materials by TETFund 99
Analysis
of Responses on the Influence of TETFund on the Provision of
Laboratory
Resources in Federal Universities 100
t-test Analysis of Significant Difference Among the Mean
Ratings of Lecturers and
Principal
Officers on the Provision of Laboratory Resources by TETFund 101
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
Education
is regarded all over the world as the key that opens the door for civilization
and development. It is universally accepted as a means for a country’s
economic, social and political development. Education is recognized as the most
important form of human resource development. The universal Declaration of
Human Rights has emphasized the importance of education as a fundamental human
right and a necessary element of development. As postulated by Elechi, Kalu and
Nevobasi (2019), Education is acclaimed as the most effective instrument of
change ever fashioned by man that is capable of changing societal value and
expectation. It is thus considered as a societal force that controls the
destiny of the nation and a vital force in the development of the individual.
Education is also widely
accepted as a major instrument for promoting socio-economic, political and cultural
development in Nigeria. This means that education is the backbone for a
nation’s economic transformation and the means for the country to meet up with
global competitiveness. Formal education comprises lower and middle basic,
which are the foundation of all levels of education for pupils; it is followed
by secondary education after which tertiary education is embarked upon.
Tertiary institutions
according to Federal Republic of Nigeria (2013), are those institutions that
cover the post-secondary section of the national education system which is
given in Universities, polytechnics and colleges of education including
colleges of technology, the advanced lecturers training colleges, correspondent
colleges and institution as may be allied to them. The tertiary
institution is a post-secondary section of the national education system of
Nigeria was established for higher education in Universities, colleges of
education, polytechnics, colleges of Technology Technical Colleges and
Universities of Technology (section five, paragraph thirty-one of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria (FGN, 2013). Other functions of the tertiary institutions
are higher education such as teaching and research, also to be able to develop
students' man power and to develop the nation. Further, the Federal Republic of
Nigeria states that tertiary institution
are to perform the following such as development, inculcation of proper
value - orientation for the survival of the individuals and society.
Tertiary
institutions is to help in the area of acquisition of an objective view of the
local and external environments of individuals and these could be achieved
through teaching research, dissemination of existing and new information and
service to the community such as seminars, workshops and educative forum etc. The
goals of tertiary institutions according to the Federal Republic of Nigeria
(2013) include: to contribute to national development through high
level relevant manpower training; develop and inculcate proper values for the
survival of the individual and society; develop
the intellectual capacity of individuals to understand and appreciate local and
external environments; acquire both physical and intellectual skills both
of which will enable individuals to be self-reliant and useful members of the
society;
promote
and encourage scholarship and community service; forge
and cement national unity and promote national and international
understanding and interaction.
Tertiary
education is the level of education acquired after secondary education, in
higher institutions of learning such as Universities, Polytechnics,
Monotechnics, and other institutions of higher learning offering correspondence
courses, diplomas and certificates (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2013). One of the main differences between a
university and other tertiary institutions is the courses offered; the
university specializes in higher education, but other tertiary institutions
provide the learners specific skills. In the context of this work, the
researcher focussed on Universities.
According to Onwuchekwa
(2016), a university is an institution of higher learning, a place where
people’s minds are trained for clear thinking, for independent thinking, for
analysis and for problem solving at the highest level. The importance of Universities
to the construction of a knowledge based economy and society cannot be
over-emphasized. Universities educate future leaders and develop the high-level
technical capacities that underpin economic growth and development (Odekunle,
2001). In Universities, values, skills, cultural heritage and accumulated
knowledge are deliberately transmitted to the next generation.
Universities are either public or
privately owned, the public Universities are the ones owned and controlled by
the government, they comprise of federal and state Universities. Federal Universities
are tertiary institutions that are established and managed by the Federal
Government, while state governments establishes and manages their various state
Universities. There are 40 Federal Universities in Nigeria. Federal Universities
in Nigeria are not as expensive as private Universities as they are funded by
the Federal government. In terms of tuition, most Federal Universities school
fees are below N100,000 per academic session. They are also larger than private
and state Universities in terms of space, staff and student population. They
also offer diploma and more bachelor degree courses than most private and state
Universities. Some Federal Universities are specialized in different fields
like agriculture, science and technology.
The history of university
education in Nigeria can be traced to the Elliot Commission of 1943, which
culminated in the establishment of University College Ibadan (UCI) in 1948. UCI
was an affiliate of the University of London. Ibukun (1997) contends that the
UCI was saddled with a number of problems at inception ranging from low
enrolment to high dropout rate to rigid constitutional provisions and poor
staffing. In April 1959, The Federal Government constituted a commission (the
Ashby Commission) to advise it on the higher education needs of the country for
its first two decades. Before the submission of their report, the Eastern
Region government established its own university at Nsukka in 1960. The
implementation of the Ashby Report led to the establishment of University of
Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) in 1962 by the Western region,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1962 by the Northern Region and University of
Lagos (1962) by the Federal Government.
Babalola, Jaiyeoba and Okediran (2017), noted that the
UCI became a complete university in 1962. This meant that UCI and University of
Lagos became the first two Federal Universities in Nigeria, the other three
remained regional. In 1970, the newly created Midwestern region opted for a
university known as University of Benin. The six Universities established
during this period 1960-1970 are still referred to as first generation Universities.
Babalola et al. (2017), further remarked
that during this period, Universities in Nigeria were under the purview of the
government. Appointments of lay members of the council and that of the
Vice-Chancellor, were politically motivated (Otonko, 2012).
In the Third National Development Plan (1975-1980), the government established
seven Universities instead of the four proposed in the plan, and also took over
the four regional Universities in 1975. They were Universities of Calabar,
Ilorin, Jos, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Port Harcourt and Ado Bayero University, Kano -
all known as second generation Universities. The third generation Universities
were established between 1980 and early 1990. They are: the Federal Universities
of Technology in Owerri, Makurdi, Yola, Akure and Bauchi. While state Universities
were found in Imo, Ondo, Lagos, Akwa-Ibom, Oyo and Cross-River States. The
fourth generation Universities are those established between 1991 and the
present date. They include more state Universities, Nigerian open Universities
and many private Universities (Otonko, 2012).
Federal
Universities are expected to pursue the educational goals highlighted by
Federal Republic of Nigeria (2013) through teaching, research and dissemination
of existing and new information, service to the community and to serve as a
storehouse of knowledge. The extent to which Federal Universities can achieve
these laudable and well-articulated objectives depends greatly on the
effectiveness of managing the available scarce resources by the institutional
administrators, since the success or failure of an educational system depends
on the provision and effective management of the resources available to it.
Federal Universities in Nigeria depend entirely on the
Federal government for required resources, with around 90 percent of the income
originating from the coffers of the government. This is conversely with what is
realistic in the privately-owned Universities in which just 3.5 percent of the
income is originating from the proprietor, the greater part of the funds are
originating from the students’ educational cost expenses (Akinyemi & Abiddin,
2013). This is reasonable, taking a look at the benefit rationale of the
private Universities and the social advantage thought process of the government
owned Universities. However, the Federal Universities ought to likewise acquire
from their partners in the private sector a few systems that they believe merit
imitation. University education in this modern-day Nigeria has found itself in
a dilemma due to the continuous inadequate financing from conventional sources
even though that, it is so glaring that education itself is a very important
and feasible industry for development of almost all cutting edge economy
(Nkwede, 2019). Insufficient financing of educational system has resulted in
short supply of teaching and learning facilities like the library, conducive
lecture rooms, student halls of residence and staff quarters, decaying and
dilapidation of few existing facilities and infrastructure. Other factors like
staff development, research grants, provision of instructional materials and laboratory
resources are also in decline. Furthermore, Agha (2014) opined that
the challenges confronting Federal Universities in Nigeria include financing
and funding.
Nigeria’s educational sector has waited for decades for a major
government intervention needed to rebuild the capacity for high quality
education in the country. In the absence of the needed intervention,
educational standard may deteriorate from primary to tertiary levels of
learning. Federal Universities
have been in a state of advanced decay due to inadequate funding to enhance the
quality of teaching and learning process. Funding constitutes a serious challenge to educational development in
the country and this has been the case even in the peak of crude oil earnings (Odekunle,
2011).
From the 1980s and beyond,
the decay of all tiers of education was monumental. Facilities had almost
collapsed, teachers and lecturers morale was at its lowest. Enabling environment
for conducive teaching and learning was absent. The administration of
President, Ibrahim Babangida mindful of the reality
of the situation took measures to arrest the rot. In December 1990 the Federal
Government constituted the Commission on the Review of Higher Education in
Nigeria (the Gray Longe Commission) to review the post-independence Nigerian
Higher Education after Lord Ashby’s Commission of 1959. The Longe Commission
recommended among others the funding of higher education through earmarked tax
to be borne by companies operating in Nigeria. An implementation committee
under the chairmanship of Professor Olu O. Akinkugbe was constituted to
implement Grey Longe’s Commission report recommendations also an Agreement was
signed between the Federal Government and ASUU on the 3rd September 1992 on
funding of Universities. In January 1993, the
Education Tax Act No7 of 1993 was promulgated alongside other education-related
Decrees. The Decree imposed a 2% tax on the accessible profits of all companies
in Nigeria. This was a home-grown solution to address issues of funding to
rehabilitate decaying infrastructure, restore the lost glory of education and
confidence in the system as well as consolidate the gains thereto; build the
capacity of teachers and lecturers; teacher development; development of
prototype designs; etc.
When there were just few Federal
Universities, the government handled the burden of funding them solely but from
the mid-1980’s there was a massive increase in the number of Federal Universities
and in students’ enrolment in Nigeria. The government became overwhelmed with
the responsibility of funding the existing Universities and overstretched its
capacity, and then it got to point where the government openly acknowledged
that it could no longer handle the responsibility of funding the institutions
alone (Famade, Omiyale, & Adebola, 2015). From the 1980’s and beyond, it was
obvious that from Primary to Secondary and Tertiary levels, there was the
urgent need for funding to improve educational facilities and infrastructure,
restore morale of teachers and lecturers, and generally create an enabling
environment for conducive teaching and learning. Traditionally, public funding
of education is either directly in form of lecturers’ salaries, instructional materials
or general infrastructure, or indirectly through subsidies to households in
form of tax reductions, scholarships, loans and grants. The main sources of
fund had always been Federal and State taxes, royalties and sale of crude oil,
import and export duties and later since 1994 value added tax (Ugwoke, 2013).
The idea of taxation for education was necessitated due to the wide recognition
of decline in educational standards and the deep rot in infrastructure and
other facilities at all levels of the Nigerian educational system (Ugwuanyi,
2014).
Consequently,
Education Tax Fund (ETF) was established by Education Tax Act No. 7 of 1993 and
amended by Act No. 40 of (22nd Dec.) 1998. The Act imposes tax at the rate of
2% on the accessible profits of all incorporated bodies. The tax applies to all
companies registered in Nigeria. These accessible profits of a company shall be
ascertained in the manner specified in the companies Income Tax Act or the
Petroleum Profits Tax Act as the case may be.
However, the
Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act, 2011 was used to replace the Education Tax
Act Cap. E4, laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and Education Tax Fund Act
No. 17, 2003 the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) was founded under the
Education Tax Act No. 7 of 1993 as an intervention agency vested with the
obligation of disbursing, managing and monitoring the education tax
of public Universities in Nigeria. However, to facilitate the attainment of the
stated objective of TETFund, the TETFund Act, 2011 subjects a 2% Education Tax
on all declared profit of registered companies in Nigeria. Consequently, the Federal
Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) was vested with the responsibility by
the Act to collect Education Tax
(Ugwuanyi,
2014).
The fund is then disbursed to public Universities in Nigeria.
TETFund
also evaluates and monitors the projects implemented by beneficiary
institutions. The disbursement of the fund is mandated as provided in section 7
(1) (a) to (e) of the TETFund Act, 2011 which stipulates that TETFund shall
administer and disburse the amount in the fund to Federal and State public Universities.
The fund so disbursed is for the provision and maintenance of physical
facilities; academic staff training and development, research and publication; instructional
materials; development of libraries; laboratory resources and any other
critical area of need which is considered by the opinion of the Board of
Trustees as significant for the improvement and sustenance of educational
standard in public Universities (TETFund.gov.ng, 2014). This therefore implies
that the cardinal objective of TETFund was to provide additional funding to
facilitate scholarship and grants to meet the educational needs of public Universities
in Nigeria as well as ensure that those resources improve the productivity and
quality of public Universities (Research Clue, 2019).
One such need of every Federal University is the provision of physical
facilities.
Physical
facilities are the foundation of structured teaching and are very crucial to
process of learning in the classroom. Subair, Okotoni and Adebakin (2012)
submitted that the quality of output (graduates) is a function of
infrastructure that determines the students learning environment and their
motivation to learn. Therefore, if quality is to be ensured in the nation’s Universities,
the infrastructural base of the system needs to be improved upon. Osagie in Subair
et al. (2012) opined that
infrastructure represents the aesthetic picture of the institutions conveyed by
the position of structures in relation to one another. It also represents the
empirical relevance of the totality of the in school environment for the
realization of the school business (teaching/learning). He asserted in specific
terms that school plant is made up of landscape, trees, lawns hedges and
accompanying paths, playgrounds, buildings, security facilities and utilities.
However, a well-equipped and well maintained physical plant can make learning a
more pleasant experience and discourage early drop-outs. It can as well attract
qualified lecturers and create the enabling environment for quality assurance.
Subair
et al. (2012) defines quality
assurance as the maintenance of a desired level of quality in a service or
product, especially by means of attention to every stage of the delivery
process. It is any systematic process of determining whether a product or
service meets specific requirements. Quality assurance is a multi-dimensional
concept, which encompasses all the functions and activities in institutions. The
European Commission explains that quality assurance involves the systematic
review of educational provision to maintain and improve its quality, equity and
efficiency. Adegbesan (2010) views quality as what could be judged by both its
ability to enable students to perform well in standard examinations and
relevance to the needs of students, community and the society as a whole. He
concluded that quality serves as determination of graduation based on standard
of excellence beneath which a mark of inferiority is imposed and above which
grades of superiority are defined. Assuring the quality of education provision
is a fundamental aspect of gaining and maintaining the credibility of higher
education programmes, institutions and systems worldwide. The Universities and
the National Universities Commission (NUC) have a shared onus in addressing the
following key areas that are relevant to establishment and maintenance of
quality which are: minimum academic
standard, accreditation, carrying capacity and admission quota, visitation, influence
assessment, research and development, publications and research assessment,
structures, infrastructures and utilities. This also includes staff training
and development.
Staff
training and development is an educational process which involves any activity
that helps staff acquire or sharpen existing knowledge and skills, and also
improve their attitudes and enhance overall performance of the staff. It is a
subsystem of an organization which emphasizes on the performance of individuals
and groups. Effective and efficient training of staff helps in their skills and
knowledge development, which eventually helps organizations to improve. Training
and development is about knowing where you are in the present, and after
sometime where would you reach with your abilities. By training and development,
academic staff can learn new information, new methodology and refresh their
existing knowledge and skills. The motive behind giving the training is to
create an influence that lasts beyond the time of the training itself, and staff
gets updated with the new phenomenon. Training can be offered as skill
development for individuals and groups. For organizations to keep improving, it
is important to have continuous training and development programmes for staff.
The importance of training and development is optimum utilization of human resources
potential through development of skills like time management, leadership, team
management, etc. in order to: increase the
productivity and enhance employee
motivation; provide the zeal of team spirit
for improvement of organization culture; increase profitability and improve
the moral and corporate image.
Training and
development will help Federal Universities encourage and improve the skills of academic
staff to embark on research activities.
Research
is one of the basic functions of Federal Universities; the academic
staff of every university are
compulsorily required to
carry out original researches on their
various fields as their promotion is
basically dependent on their research
outputs. Besides academic staff being
primarily promoted through
research activities, it enhances their
credibility, status and it contributes to the body of knowledge and also add value
both to themselves, their
environs and the larger global
community. Development is a product of research, because through
identifying challenges to challenges around us, we are stimulated to find
solution to our problems, through the cause of researches and improvements,
development occurs, that is to say that research is a means to development.
Whether national development, personal development, educational or what have
you, all can be achieved through research. Results or findings from several
research works have greatly accelerated human development over the years. Such
research results have contributed to the production research papers, textbooks and
the effective utilization of libraries in teaching and learning processes.
The history of development
of libraries in Nigeria Universities dates back to pre-independence time when
the University of Ibadan and its library were established in 1948. As pointed
out by Aguolu (2016), since independence in 1960, there has been an unrelenting
upsurge in the establishment of educational institutions at all levels,
especially university education. Successive Nigerian governments have continued
to invest strongly in education. It must be realized that university libraries,
being integral academic parts of the Universities, generally emerged
simultaneously with their parent institutions. Hence there are as many
university libraries as there are Universities. The proliferation of Universities,
despite the economic recession in the country since the 1980s, has increased
the problems of the Universities and their libraries so much that now their
future seems uncertain. Added to these problems are the problems of Information
and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Nigerian Universities as related to the
development of libraries. Ever since the problem of the literature explosion
became noticeable in the 1970s, the developed world has devised various systems
to facilitate the flow of information both within and across the countries, and
developing countries are invited to take advantage of these devices. However,
this invitation is not often readily accepted by the developing nations like
Nigeria because of some mitigating factors. These include the human factors,
fear, and the level of development-cum infrastructure of the nation and so on.
The case of application of modern technology in the library should start with
the acceptance of the new technology as vital to the effective performance of
the functions of the library. Modern libraries hold curriculum collections that
serve as instructional materials for teaching, these include: charts,
textbooks, workbooks, bibliographies, vertical file pamphlets, kits, curriculum
guides, kits, microfiche, games and other instructional materials.
Instructional materials also known as
teaching and learning materials (TLM) are any collection of materials including
animate and inanimate objects and human and
non-human resources that a teacher uses in teaching and learning
situations to help achieve desired learning objectives. They refer to a
spectrum of educational materials that teachers use in the classroom to support
specific learning objectives, as set out in lesson plan (Lewis, 2019). Instructional
materials may aid a student in concretizing a learning experience so as to make
learning more exciting, interesting and interactive. They are tools used in
instructed activities, which include active learning and assessment. According
to Agung, Shanti and Dewi (2016) TLM
is essential for teachers in planning their lessons, assisting them in their
professional duty, and use them as resources to describe instructions. TLM is
employed variously so that students can have interactions with each other as
much as possible. Basically, any resource a teacher uses to help him teach his
students in a class is an instructional material, which provides the
opportunity to share experiences necessary for new learning, and help make
learning more permanent. Instructional materials assist lecturers professionally; they use them as resources
to describe instructions. For instance, when a lecturer
has to lecture on an abstract topic, his teaching materials will help him to
set specific learning goals, plan how he would approach the lecture and decide
what resources will be best fitted to apply. Other instructional materials like
kits, apparatus, charts other miscellaneous multimedia materials are held in Laboratory
resources in the university.
A Laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which
scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be
performed. A laboratory is a room
or building equipped for scientific experiment, research and teaching. University
laboratory is a great place for students which help them enhance their learning
by understanding the theoretical concepts of science which are thought in the
classrooms. It involves students in activities such as observation, counting,
measuring, experimenting, recording and carrying out field work as opposed to
theoretical work which involves listening to talk and taking notes on such
talks. According to Ukozor (2012) laboratory resources offer unique
opportunities for students and their engagement in collaborative inquiry and
function as a classroom community of scientists. The uniqueness of laboratory
resources is the idea of providing students with the opportunities to engage in
the process of scientific processes of inquiry, investigation, experimentation,
observation, testing and analysis. The laboratory has been given a central and
distinctive role in education and educators have suggested that benefits in
learning accrue from using laboratory activities. Tobin (2010) noted that laboratory activities appeal
as a way to learn with understanding and at the same time engage in a process
of constructing knowledge by doing science. He also suggested that meaningful
learning is possible in the laboratory, if students are given the opportunities
to manipulate equipment and materials in order to be able to construct their
knowledge of phenomena and related scientific concepts. Considering
the relevance of laboratory on teaching and learning, most Federal Universities
in South-East, Nigeria lack a laboratory, talk more of suitable laboratory
resources; even the available ones are grossly inadequate.
Laboratory
equipment are very important in our educational system, in that it continues to
impact academic transactions involving research, teaching, learning and other
extensive activities at Universities. They are used in providing learning
experience and self-directed instructions to a learner using tutorial and
simulation packages. They also help Universities to undertake scientific
research and complete the task of tackling key scientific and technological
problems, and strive to improve them.
According
to STEM learning (2022) Schools should have
enough laboratory resources to make it possible for every teacher to do
frequent practical science safely. Each laboratory should have sufficient
equipment for students to work in small groups.
i.
There should be enough laboratory resources so that the
availability of labs is never a barrier to carrying out practical activities in
the science subjects taught.
ii.
Laboratory resources should be large enough to safely
accommodate the size of classes that will occupy them.
iii.
The spaces should be flexible enough to allow students to
work individually, in pairs and in small groups.
iv.
There should be sufficient equipment to make it possible for
teachers to do standard practical activities expected in their specialist
subject at that level.
v.
There should be ready access to the technology required to
enable collection and analysis of digital data.
vi.
Laboratory resources should be accessible to students with
any special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) encountered in the
school.
vii.
The school should have laboratory facilities such that
students can carry out extended practical science investigations
viii.
There should be a preparation space or spaces with
well-organised, safe storage with easy access to laboratory resources.
ix.
There should be an accessible outdoor space where practical
activities can take place.
x.
Laboratory resources
are essential to the achievement of higher education in any education system.
From the foregoing, it would suffice
to say that the Education Trust Fund (ETF) has an interest on the provision all
of the above discussed in educational institution to improve teaching and
learning. It is the function of educational administrators to ensure efficient utilization
of the provisions or funds made available for these needs.
Educational
administrators are experts that see to the day to day operation of institutions
at all levels: Crèche, elementary
schools, secondary school and tertiary institutions. Ideally, they provide
transitional leadership and layout clear visions for the future of their
educational institutions. They are responsible for the day to day activities of
all administrative duties in their various institutions. An institutional
leader keeps programmes running smoothly and provides exemplary leadership both
to faculty and students in times of crisis and in times of prosperity.
Budgeting, logistics schedules, disciplinary actions, evaluations and public
relations fall under their purview, but most importantly it is the duty of the
administrator to management and make efficient use of funds provided for the
smooth running of their institution.
However,
many educational institutions run the risk of collapse and retrogression due to
the issue of funding. According to Imhabekhai and Tonwe in Ewuim and Aniobi
(2021) highlighted that Nigerian Universities’ education at present is
underfunded; inadequate funding had put the university management under stress
and strains hence they are incapacitated in providing essential services. World
Bank (2009) corroborated that equipment for teaching; research and learning
were either lacking or very inadequate and in a bad shape to permit the Universities
the freedom to carry out their basic function (Agha, 2014). This has led to
rampant crises in the system resulting in strikes by academic and non-academic
staff, dearth of equipment and facilities, indiscipline among staff and
students, upsurge in the activities of secret cults among others.
According to Commonwealth of Learning
(2010), Federal Universities worldwide are experiencing funding cuts even as
global need for training in skills and for professional upgrading increases.
They conclude that providing course programmes is one of the proven ways
institutions meet higher training demands, yet coming up with the funding and resources
for both traditional as well as distance education services remain a challenge.
Scarcity of funds and other educational resources are pertinent challenges for principal
officers of Federal Universities around the world, in Nigeria particularly. Little
wonder no Federal university in Nigeria today can boast of sufficiency in
funding or availability of resources. In the same vein, Ofoefuna and Eya in Anidi (2016)
pointed
out that owing to the cost of some instructional resources, funding for such resources
are not easily available in Nigerian educational institutions. He also argued
that tertiary institutions as funded today in Nigeria may not produce
functional and self-reliant graduates with the limitations imposed by the
present Nigerian economy.
The researcher is therefore motivated to undertake
this present study as a result of many complaints from education stakeholders.
These complaints include: that most Federal Universities lack physical
facilities (ASUU’s strikes are often linked to poor provision of physical
facilities), that the quality of students being produced by Federal Universities
in Nigeria has always been deemed to be below standard; that staff training and development in Federal Universities
has not been pursued with the desired vigor; that research in Federal Universities
has not been adequately pursued due to high cost of field work and
publications, that the development of libraries in Federal Universities has
been largely underfunded and neglected leading to poor reading culture among
students; that many Federal Universities suffer the unavailability of instructional
materials, thereby, hindering the achievement of a specific learning outcome and
finally that laboratory resources in Federal Universities are inadequate as
many students graduate with little or no practical knowledge of lab
experiments, some even graduate without seeing or using some of the equipment
they will use in their careers after graduation.
These
complaints are worrisome because these are some of the core mandates of TETFund
in in Nigerian tertiary institutions. These are also areas that enhance
effective teaching and learning, productivity and quality educational outcomes.
With TETFund interventions on these areas, one would expect effective
management of Federal Universities in South-East, Nigeria. It is therefore against
this backdrop that the researcher intends to ascertain the influence
of TETFund on these variables in the management of Federal Universities in South-East,
Nigeria. Thus, this constituted the gap that the study filled.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Funding
is widely accepted as the life-wire that propels the education sector towards
achieving her objectives. In an ideal state, a sufficiently funded educational
institution would be effectively managed; an improvement on the standard of
education it provides would be evident. There will be available and well
maintained physical facilities like classrooms, offices, lecture halls,
libraries, laboratories and other blocks. There would also be an improved
quality of education, staff members will be routinely trained in workshops and
seminars, interest for research and quality of research publications would be
maximized through adequate funding. Other areas such as the provision of
laboratory resources, instructional materials and equipment etc will not be in
decline.
The funding of tertiary
institutions in Nigeria particularly Federal Universities in Nigeria is faced
with many problems, which led to the creation of TETFund to assist in the
provision of some of the educational infrastructures in tertiary institutions
and it is expected that the supplementary provisions from TETFund would bring
about a significant enhancement to both teaching and learning. In South-East,
Nigeria, many stakeholders in education have complained of grossly inadequate and
deplorable state of physical facilities and poor quality in Federal Universities.
Lecturers of Federal Universities in the region have also complained of lack of
continuous staff training and development programmes, poor incentives to research
and publications, little or poor development of libraries, unavailability of instructional
materials, inadequate laboratory resources to mention a few. These issues are
likely to negatively affect teaching and learning and particularly the
productivity of lecturers, bringing about poor educational delivery in the
institutions.
It is based on these complaints
that the researcher is motivated to determine the influence of TETFund on the provision
of physical facilities, quality assurance, staff training and development, research
and publication, development of libraries, instructional materials and laboratory
resources in Federal Universities in South-East, Nigeria. The gap that the
study intended to fill is to determine the influence of TETFund intervention in
these areas. Hence, the problem of this study put in a question form is what is
the influence of TETFund on the management of Federal Universities in South-East,
Nigeria?
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the study was to determine the influence
of TETFund on the management of Federal Universities in South-East, Nigeria.
Specifically, the study sought to:
1.
Investigate the influence
of TETFund on the provision of physical facilities in Federal Universities in South-East,
Nigeria;
2.
Find out the influence of
TETFund on quality assurance in Federal Universities
3.
Ascertain the influence
of TETFund on staff training and development in Federal Universities
4.
Access the influence of
TETFund on research and publication in Federal Universities
5.
Investigate the influence
of TETFund on the development of libraries in Federal Universities
6.
Establish the influence
of TETFund on the provision of instructional materials in Federal Universities
7.
Determine the influence
of TETFund on the provision of laboratory resources in Federal Universities
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions guided the study:
1. To
what extent does TETFund influence the provision of physical facilities in Federal
Universities in South-East, Nigeria?
2. To
what extent does TETFund influence quality assurance in Federal Universities?
3. To
what extent does TETFund influence staff training and development in Federal Universities?
4.
To what
extent does TETFund influence research and publication in Federal Universities?
5.
To what
extent does TETFund influence the development of libraries in Federal Universities?
6. To
what extent does TETFund influence the provision of instructional materials in Federal
Universities?
7. To
what extent does TETFund influence the provision of laboratory resources in Federal
Universities?
1.5 HYPOTHESES
The following null hypotheses were formulated and tested
at 0.05 level of significance:
Ho1. There is no significant
difference between the mean ratings of lecturers and principal officers on the influence
of TETFund on the provision of physical facilities in Federal Universities in South-East,
Nigeria.
Ho2. There is no significant
difference between the mean ratings of lecturers and principal officers on the influence
of TETFund in ensuring quality assurance in Federal Universities.
Ho3. There is no significant
difference between the mean ratings of lecturers and principal officers on the influence
of TETFund on staff training and development in Federal Universities.
Ho4.There is
no significant difference between the mean ratings of lecturers and principal
officers on the influence of TETFund on research and publication in Federal Universities.
Ho5.There is
no significant difference between the mean ratings of lecturers and principal
officers on the influence of TETFund on the development of libraries in Federal
Universities.
Ho6.There is
no significant difference between the mean ratings of lecturers and principal
officers on the influence of TETFund on the provision of instructional
materials in Federal Universities.
Ho7. There is
no significant difference between the mean ratings of lecturers and principal
officers on the influence of TETFund on the provision of laboratory resources in
Federal Universities.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The
findings of the study would benefit the principal officers of Federal Universities, lecturers,
government, educational stakeholders, TETFund, policymakers, parents
and students as well as future researchers in related areas.
The
findings of the study may help principal
officers of Federal Universities to determine to what
extent the expected influence of TETFund in funding and management of Federal Universities
is being actualized. The findings will also highlight problem areas of need
that require attention and improvement towards ensuring quality assurance in Federal
Universities. The
principal officers
will more so benefit from this study to improve on their supervisory roles for
academic staff performance in educational delivery and they will also be able
to develop motivational strategies that will encourage staff participation in
decision making process.
The findings may motivate lecturers
to have positive attitude towards teaching, as well as greater confidence in
the system. The
findings will further encourage effective utilization of material resources by
lecturers towards quality assurance in Federal Universities.
Findings of the study may sensitize the government
to appreciate more the need to prioritize the educational sector by allocating
increased amount of the budget to the sector as recommended by UNESCO for
developing nations. This would help improve the sector because an investment in
education is as important as the plan for nation-building.
The
findings may also highlight possible breach in TETFund disbursement to vital
areas of infrastructure, quality assurance, staff training and development, research
and publication, development of libraries, instructional materials and
laboratory resources. From the study, TETFund may be moved to improve on their
effectiveness in monitoring and evaluating the utilization of funds and
educational materials delivered to Federal Universities in South-East, Nigeria,
as well as the productivity of these institutions.
This study would motivate Policy
makers, professional development
coordinators, educators, and government officials to adequately prepare, train,
and support TETFund so they may become effective in the development of Federal Universities
and improvement of quality education in Nigeria.
This
study would serve as a mini case assessment to stakeholders of education on
the extent to which the noble objectives of TETFund are being achieved since
its establishment. The findings of strength would
motivate students to have positive attitude towards learning, as well as
greater confidence in Federal Universities. The findings will raise the
interest and confidence of students in Federal Universities,
thereby, increasing students’ enrolment. Students will see this study as a
welcomed development since it would motivate them, because they will start to
see new opportunities that can motivate them.
Parents
will from the findings of the study motivate Federal Universities leaders to
enable them establish good human relationship to improve on their
administrative roles and processes. The parents will also contribute
to provide more facilities and suggest to the management to ensure effective
maintenance culture.
In addition, host communities
will from the findings and recommendations of this study appreciate the
contributions of TETFund in the development of Federal Universities and as well
as assist to provide security to guide the Physical facilities in the Federal Universities.
The
society would from the findings and recommendations be encouraged towards
adequate payment of education tax and as well as express appreciation to TETFund
for effective utilization of the funds to achieve educational goals in Nigeria.
Other researchers
will find the study useful since it would serve as material for related topics.
The findings of this study would get to the beneficiaries through journals,
workshops, conferences, libraries etc.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The
study was delimited to determining the influence of TETFund on the management
of Federal Universities in South-East, Nigeria. Specifically, the study
determined the influence of TETFund on the provision of physical facilities,
quality assurance, staff training and development, research and publication,
development of libraries, instructional materials and laboratory resources. The
study covered the five Federal Universities in South-East, Nigeria including:
University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN); Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; Michael
Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike; Alex Ekwueme University Ndufu-Alike; Federal
University of Technology Owerri.
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