Assessment of Influences of Admission into Higher Institutions on the Achievement and Practice of Technology and Vocational Education in Nigeria

The purpose of the investigation was to find out influences of forced admission into higher institutions in Nigeria on the achievement and practice of technology and vocational education. It was focused on industrial technical education, which is an integral part of Technology and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). Purposive random sampling technique was used for selecting three universities, one polytechnic, and one college of education technical where Industrial TVET courses are taught. All third-year and fourth-year students in these institutions were sampled. A total of 210 respondents made up of 150 students and 60 graduates of the industrial TVET programme were sampled. Students’ admission records were studied to ensure that only those who met JAMB general admission requirements were captured in this inquiry. Students’ registration records were studied to ascertain dropout rates, while students’ results were studied for academic achievements. A 38-item Likert-type five-point response questionnaire was used to elicit the interests of the respondents and their level of satisfaction with the TVET programme. Test-retest method was used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. A pilot study involving 25 respondents drawn from higher institutions other than those to be used for this study was conducted, yielding a correlation coefficient of r = 0.79. The data obtained through the questionnaire were analyzed using mean and frequency counts. Chi-square and Analysis of Variance statistical methods were used to test the hypotheses of the study at a 0.05 level of significance. Ninety-three percent of those who did not make TVET their choice were not interested in TVET. Thirty-five percent of the graduates from industrial TVET courses in Nigeria remained in the programme after school. About ninety-four percent of this number teaches TVET courses at secondary and post-secondary levels, 4.1% work in TVET-related government ministries, only 1.2% worked in industries, and 0.7% were self-employed.