2.2.4 Strategies for curbing human resource wastages in schools
Teacher preparation
Everything in this outline is of direct relevance to pre-service and in-service training for teachers. First of all, it is clear that wastage seems normal to teachers. No doubt they have seen many of their own classmates repeat or drop out. However, all in all, even if they have been shocked now and again by a decision of the education authorities, they think that the system is not too bad, since they have obtained their certificates. On the strength of their success, they readily imagine that they are more gifted than those who fell by the wayside. Furthermore-and here we have mainly in mind the primary school Teachers their training is essentially encyclopedic in character. The idea is to give them a smattering of everything: to the various branches of general education and add an introduction to educational psychology as subject in teaching. Frequently they are required to have some measure of ability for drawing, music, handicrafts and physical education.
Finally, they are introduced to the practice of teaching in traditional classes with few exceptions where the regular teachers are known for their fidelity to the system. It would be amazing; to say the least, if young teachers embarking upon their careers were anxious to innovate. Looks at the problem of teachers from another angle, education, in contrast to other industries, is both a producer and a consumer of high level manpower. If it is to serve other consumers of manpower well, and each successive generation better, it must constantly recoup enough of its own best output to generate a good next crop, to recoup enough of its own best quality products; therefore, education must compete with all other users of such manpower. In this competition, education is inescapably at a disadvantage most of the time, and ends up with a high proportion of ‘second choice’ candidates, because other competitors set the pace for salaries.
It is not possible here to go into this aspect of the problem, which is closely bound up with a country’s skilled manpower needs, its available resources and consequently its economic development. Okon (2009) says a radical change in teacher training would probably lead to an improvement in this situation, although it would be well not to entertain too many illusions for in many countries the social status of the teacher is steadily declining. This slow but sure decline of a profession which is vital for a nation’s future calls for the attention of the authorities and should be seriously investigated by means of sociological surveys. Notwithstanding the administrative measures required to combat wastage through fundamental renovation of teacher training can break the vicious circle caused by teachers who have been educated under a system which involved repeating and dropping out and who perpetuate that system in their classes.
As an indication let us see what a model teacher training college might be like. First of all, the minimum amount of essential knowledge might be determined and, consequently, encyclopedic learning abolished. A teacher cannot learn everything he will need in the time available; more than half of that time should be given over to working methods, seeking documentation and information, becoming acquainted with the material collected and examining it critically.
The sources of information should be as diverse as possible: books, slides, films, tape recordings, radio and television programmes. With government aid, the pupil teacher could build up a personal library which he would take with him to the classroom. Pocket books providing scientific information on a wide range of subjects are now to be found in a number of languages. The expenditure thus incurred seems small indeed when one considers the cost of educational wastage. Environmental studies should have a prominent place: they can be a starting point for field surveys, for becoming acquainted with the economic and social situation of a region, for drafting reports, preparing documents and building models which the student teachers would subsequently use when teaching. Usen, Udofia and Offiong (2012) agree that in all these activities every opportunity should be taken to stimulate students’ inventive and creative powers and the spirit of inquiry. Secondly, students should be encouraged to co-operate and develop a sense of responsibility rather than to compete. This could be done by dividing them into groups, each with a specific assignment.
Authoritarian direction would be replaced by a system of co-operation and participation. Under these circumstances current methods of evaluating performance and results would of course be meaningless and a system of self evaluation would have to be introduced gradually. Experiments with working groups set up on these lines show that our project is feasible provided that care is taken in selecting the teacher educators and preparing them for this new role. It is useless to tell teachers over and over again that they should be guides and advisers, stimulating and encouraging their pupils, unless, in the course of their training, they have themselves taken part in a community experiment in an atmosphere which gives them an idea of what the atmosphere of a class should be.
Thirdly, this experience, day after day, would be an effective lesson in educational psychology. The gap which usually exists between what student teachers learn in their courses on psychology and the theory and practice of teaching and what they see around them at the teacher training college is such that these courses undoubtedly lose much of their value. It is important therefore that theory and practice should not be at variance at the college. Furthermore, an introduction to educational research would replace with advantage many lessons detached from any real situation. Consequently it appears to us that a pilot school should be attached to the teacher training college. Practical training cannot possibly be given except in classes. Obi (2005) opines that the usual method of placing student teachers in the hands of experienced teachers known for their conservative attitude can only produce more conservative teachers, capable at best of continuing the wastage system. Finally, when the young graduates take up their duties, it would be desirable for them to be followed up, guided and encouraged by inspectors who inspire their enthusiasm instead of damping it as is frequently the case. It would perhaps be advisable for a psychologist and the lecturers in the theory and practice of education from the teacher training college to be associated with this follow-up work for the first few years to ensure the maximum continuity between training and practice. Experiment has shown that this is possible if the school administrators understand that the interests of education are more important than their personal prerogatives.
2.2.5 Strategies for curbing infrastructural wastages in schools
School facilities are the material resources that facilitate effective teaching and learning in schools. Nariochukwu (2007) posits that they are things which enable a skillful teacher to achieve a level of instructional effectiveness that exceeds what is possible when they are not provided. Availability of infrastructures and facilities in the right quantity and quality is relevant in education provision. A school with inadequate classrooms and facilities such as chairs, lockers, libraries, textbooks, laboratories, workshop will be uncomfortable for pupils/students to learn. Unfortunately, there are inadequate infrastructure and facilities in many secondary schools in Nigeria. According to Okpara (2006), in most secondary schools in the country, teaching and learning take place under unconducive environment, lacking the basic materials, thus hindering the fulfillment of educational objectives.
Infrastructure refers to the fundamental facilities and systems serving educational system including the services and facilities necessary for economy to function. It typically characterises technical structures such as roads, classrooms, water supply, electricity, laboratory and so forth, and can be defined as "the physical components of interrelated systems providing services essential to enable schools to sustain. Wastage has been an issue of concern in Nigeria’s educational system. Even though the issue affects the entire system, it is worthy of note that secondary education has over the years been recording its share of it. Unfortunately, at a time when Nigeria is clamoring for education for all its citizens by year 2015, many students are dropping out of secondary schools due to institutional and non-institutional factors (Okpara, 2006) while many are also repeating classes due to failure in internal examinations. It is noteworthy that situation where students repeat classes and drop out of schools prematurely constitute waste of the resources of parents and government on the education of the children. When a student repeats class, not only will extra money be spent on their education, the chances of those intending candidates for admission will be blocked. A pupil/student that spends more than the normal years is deemed to have over-utilized resources, both financial, human, and materials.
Materials and equipment wastage in education
Instructional materials, equipment, machines and tools are very necessary for effective instructional delivery in education. These materials and equipment in most cases may or may not be available for use. In some cases even when the materials are available, it may not be adequate. Each of the mentioned cases has one effect or the other on the teaching and learning process and constitutes an element of wastage, since the expected learning outcome, objectives and goals may not have been achieved in education. Such element of wastage is seen in the following areas.
i. Underutilization of building and equipment
There are a number of building and equipment that are scattered in most institutions without being properly utilized, such remain wasted. Akpan (2011) notes that building and equipment that are underutilized constitute wastage, since such building and equipment could have been used for the training of skilled manpower. Also when school workshops and laboratories are kept closed after the working hours of the day, on weekends, during holidays and students vacations, the continuous closures of the workshops/laboratories which remain unutilized during the period is a serious economic setback and constitutes economic waste.
ii. Equipment and maintenance
The importance of equipment and maintenance of facilities is in education are important. In Nigeria, Government spend huge sums of money worth millions of Naira to procure Introductory Technology equipment and supply to schools to lay a solid technological foundation in secondary schools, but these equipment are not properly maintained. Akpan (2011) points out that one of the problems faced by the introductory technology equipment supplied to secondary schools is lack of accommodation. In most schools the equipment are left outside to rot away under the hazards of rain and sun and weather conditions and some are vandalized.
In some situations, the equipment are not installed and some principals complain of lack of electricity, water, workshops and some lack of technical personnel to operate the equipment. Even in some schools where the equipment are installed there is maintenance problem. There is need to maintain the equipment to extend the shelf life of the equipment to continue to function.
There is need to introduce or adopt maintenance culture in schools. This, if practiced in schools will facilitate the respect for honest labour and strengthen the ideas of dignity of labour. Mundia (2014) explains that maintenance culture involves the acceptance by any society or community to practice maintenance as an integral aspect of the system expecting that:
1. there is no end to which a piece of equipment or machine can be put to use if maintained.
2. the equipment or machine should be aided to exhaust its natural life span.
3. it is an economic sabotage to allow an equipment to break-down before it is attended to or taken care of
4. every warning signal in any equipment or machine must be attended to promptly.
5. every individual should be personally responsible for any equipment left in his care.