APPRAISAL OF MANAGEMENT OF SANDWICH PROGRAMMES OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN SOUTH SOUTH NIGERIA

The objectives of sandwich programmes of colleges of education are to enable serving teachers to improve their knowledge, skills and competencies for effective performance of their duties. However, it has been claimed that the sandwich programmes of colleges of education are not properly managed as to accomplish the specified objectives. One then wonders whether these sandwich programmes are actually managed in conformity with the established NCCE guidelines. The general purpose of the study, therefore, was to appraise the management of sandwich programmes of federal and state colleges of education in South South Nigeria. The study adopted an evaluative survey design. It was guided by six research questions and four null hypotheses. The study population were nine colleges of education in the South South Nigeria. Through purposive sampling two colleges that run sandwich programme in the study area were selected.  There were 231 respondents, comprising 67 heads of units, 144 senior administrative staff that are at the rank of Assistant Registrar and above in the two colleges of education in South South Nigeria that run sandwich programmes and also 20 sandwich students that were used for the  Focus Group Discussion. Data  for  the  study were  collected with  four  research instruments that included A 40-item researcher-developed questionnaire, observation rating scale, focus group discussion guideline and documentary evidence. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while the null hypotheses were tested with t-test statistic at 0.05 level of significance. Some major findings of the study were that: The colleges of education in South South Nigeria to a great extent adhered to the NCCE guidelines on planning of sandwich programmes, financial management for  sandwich programmes, personnel management, communication and supervision of sandwich programmes. Conversely, the colleges of education in South South Nigeria, to a little extent, adhered to the NCCE guidelines on provision and management of physical facilities and equipment for sandwich programmes. The results of the study also showed that there was no significant difference between the mean ratings of heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education on the extent to which colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE guidelines on planning for: sandwich programmes, personnel management for sandwich programmes, and communication for sandwich programmes, among others. From the  research  findings,  some  recommendations were  made  which  include:  the sandwich programmes of colleges of education should be planned well ahead of their commencement in order to have ample time for the procurement and allocation of the factor resources required for their effective implementation; in planning for sandwich programmes, the colleges of education should give adequate considerations to the availability of the required funds, personnel, physical facilities, equipment and instructional materials for the sandwich programmes; colleges of education should diversify the sources of funds for the sandwich programmes so as to have enough funds to run their programmes effectively and efficiently, among others.

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INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

In Nigeria, Colleges of Education are tertiary teacher education institutions established for the production of qualified teachers for Nigeria’s primary and junior secondary schools. Colleges of education are, therefore, teacher education institutions designed to  produce  highly  motivated, conscientious and  efficient classroom  teachers  for  primary  and  junior  secondary  levels  of  Nigeria’s educational system (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004).   Colleges of education provide professional training in education courses, teaching subjects, general studies courses and methodology leading to the award of the Nigeria Certificate in Education (N.C.E). In addition to the regular programmes which last for three academic sessions, colleges of education also run sandwich programmes aimed at equipping students (Pre-NCE holders) with the requisite knowledge, skills, and competencies for maximum performance on their jobs.

The sandwich programmes of tertiary education institutions which include federal and state colleges of education have been conceptualized in different ways by different authors. In this case, Azuka (2008) defined sandwich programmes as teacher education programmes organized and run by tertiary education institutions

in order to enable serving teachers to improve on their educational qualifications

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while they are on the job. In the view of Emenike (2010), sandwich programmes are academic opportunities provided in tertiary education institutions with a view to improving the knowledge and skills of serving teachers. In the same vein, Agbazue (2011) conceptualized sandwich programmes as programmes designed for the professional development of serving teachers outside the regular academic calendar.

Conceptualizing   the   importance   and   the   objectives   of   sandwich programmes of tertiary education institutions, Kabiru (2004) and Gassan (2008) maintained that the sandwich programmes enable serving teachers to improve their knowledge, skills and competencies for maximum performance.

Based on the above conceptualizations of sandwich programmes, one can deduce that they are programmes designed for the professional development of teachers for the effective performance of their duties whilst maintaining a regular employment.   Consequently, sandwich programmes are operationally defined in this study as professional development programmes offered in colleges of education for serving teachers with a view to improving their knowledge, skills and competencies for increased performance on their jobs.

The sandwich programmes of tertiary education institutions are planned, organized and run during the long vacation periods while the intervening periods are used for supervising students’ teaching practice and research projects. Thus, the sandwich programmes allow serving teachers to stay on their jobs during the

school  year  and  return  to  the  tertiary  education  institutions  during  the  long vacation periods for the continuation of their academic work. It is in recognition of this fact that Gassan (2008), Ede (2010) and Chuta (2010) remarked that sandwich programmes are organized to enable serving teachers to improve their educational standards  without  the  option  of  resigning their  appointments. This  has  made sandwich programmes very popular among teachers who see it as providing better alternatives to full-time studies.

The  South South of Nigeria has one federal and one state colleges of education that run sandwich programmes. These include Federal College of Education, Obudu and Delta State College of Education, Agbor. Thus, these two colleges of education were used for the study. Historically, the sandwich programmes of the federal and the state colleges of education in South South of Nigeria started in the 1980’s (Emenogu, 2006). According to Emenogu, the Delta State College of Education, Agbor commenced its sandwich programme in 1988; while the Federal College of Education, Obudu, started its sandwich programme in

1990.

In   order   to   ensure   quality,   high   standards  and   uniformity  in   the management of colleges of education in Nigeria, the National Commission for Colleges of  Education (NCCE) was  established by  Decree  3  of  1989  as  the supervisory agency for colleges of education in Nigeria. According to the NCCE

(2003), the objectives of colleges of education in Nigeria include, among others, to:

produce highly motivated, knowledgeable and skilled teachers for primary and junior secondary levels of Nigeria’s educational system; encourage further the spirit of enquiry and creativity in students and provide them with the intellectual and professional background adequate for their assignment as teachers and make them adaptable to changing situations.(p.7)

Based on the above objectives of colleges of education, the NCCE has a manual which serves as a benchmark that guides colleges of education in Nigeria in the management of the sandwich programmes in order to achieve the programmes’ objectives which are to enable serving teachers to improve their knowledge, skills and competencies for effective performance of their duties. It is noteworthy that the achievement of the objectives of the sandwich programmes of colleges of education depends to a large extent on how well the organizers and managers of the sandwich programmes are guided by this manual in the management of the programmes.

Management has been defined in various ways by different authors. According to Adegoke (2002), management is the systematic co-ordination of all the resources of an organization by way of planning, organizing, directing and controlling with  a  view to  achieving identified organizational objectives. The Federal Republic of Nigeria (1993) had earlier conceptualized management as the organizational function through which educational institutions procure and utilize

human, financial and material resources effectively and efficiently for the achievement of desired educational objectives. In addition to these definitions of management,  Sherleker  (2000)  and  Igwe  (2006)  defined  management  as  the process of planning, directing and implementing organizational policies and decisions that will lead to the effective and efficient achievement of specified organizational aims and objectives.

Consequent upon the above conceptualizations of management, one can conclude that management is an organizational function which involves planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling the activities of the organization in order to accomplish its objectives. In other words, management can be seen as the process of achieving organizational objectives through the co-ordinated performance of specific functions. One can infer from the foregoing definitions of management that management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education involves the planning, organizing, directing, communicating, supervising and controlling of the human, financial and material resources of colleges of education for the accomplishment of the  goals of sandwich programmes. In this  study, therefore, management is operationally defined as the organization, co-ordination and  utilization  of  the  human,  financial  and  material resources of  colleges  of education for the attainment of the specified aims and objectives of the sandwich programmes.

The National Commission for Colleges of Education (2003) in its manual for  managing  sandwich  programmes  of  colleges  of  education  in  Nigeria articulated, among other things, the functional areas of the management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education in Nigeria and they include: planning for sandwich programmes, financial management for sandwich programmes, personnel management for sandwich programmes, communication for sandwich programmes,  provision and management of physical facilities and equipment for sandwich programmes, and supervision of sandwich programmes (see Appendix D, P. 208)

Planning is fundamental in all the functional areas of the management of sandwich programmes of  colleges of  education. Cartwright (2005) noted  that planning is a systematic preparation for future action. Planning, in the view of Balogun (2006), is the preparation of a set of decisions that will lead to the accomplishment of identified organizational goals. Anderson and Bowman (1996) cited in Emenike (2010) defined planning as a process of preparing a set of decisions for action in the future directed at achieving goals by optimal means.

Based on the above conceptualizations of planning, one can conclude that planning precedes  action,  since  it  tries  to  predict  and  control  future  events. Planning can, therefore, be seen as the act of getting prepared in advance or preparing an action ahead of time with a view to achieving a desired objective. What one can infer here is that planning for sandwich programmes of colleges of

education entails defining, clarifying the goals, purposes and objectives of the sandwich programmes, investigating conditions and operations necessary for the organization and management of the sandwich programmes and the ultimate realization of the identified goals, purposes and objectives.

Financial management is another component of the management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education. Okunamiri (2002) and Chamberline  (2011)  referred  to  financial  management  in  education  as  the functions which are  concerned with  procuring, expending and  accounting for funds in an effective manner for the achievement of educational goals. Arising from this definition of financial management is the fact that it is in the course of financial management that funds are procured for the running of sandwich programmes of colleges of education and efforts also made to ensure that the funds so procured are judiciously utilized and proper records of receipts and expenditures also kept.

Personnel management is another functional area of the management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education. In the view of Casio (2006), personnel management is the organizational function through which organizations procure, develop, motivate and utilize the staff for the effective achievement of the desired organizational goals. This definition of personnel management implies that personnel management is a rational activity through which colleges of education

procure, develop, motivate and utilize the teaching and non-teaching staff for the accomplishment of the goals of the sandwich programmes.

Communication is also a vital component of the management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education. Balogun (2006) defined communication as the means by which people are linked together in an organization. Obi (1997) had earlier viewed communication as an organizational function concerned with the sharing of information, feelings and attitudes between and among organizational members. These definitions of communication imply that effective communication is pivotal to the effective management of the sandwich programmes of colleges of education.

Provision and management of physical facilities and equipment is another aspect of the  management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education. According to Mgbodile (1997) and Nnamdi (2004), provision and management of physical facilities and equipment are basically concerned with the task of procuring, utilizing and maintaining the physical facilities and equipment of an organization in  an  effective  and  efficient  manner  for  the  achievement of  the organizational goals. From this definition, one can deduce that the provision and management of physical facilities and equipment in colleges of education aim at ensuring that the physical facilities and equipment are adequately provided, properly utilized and maintained for the effective implementation of the sandwich programmes and the ultimate realization of the set goals.

Supervision is  equally  an  operational  task  area  of  the  management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education. In the views of Igbo (2002) and Aguokagbuo (2002), supervision is the process of guiding, directing and stimulating  growth  with  the  overall  aim  of  improving teaching  and  learning outcomes. This definition implies that the focus of supervision of sandwich programmes in colleges of education is on the smooth running of the sandwich programmes for the effective and efficient realization of the goals.

It  is,  however,  pertinent  to  note  at  this  juncture  that  in  spite  of  the established NCCE guidelines for the management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education in Nigeria, it seemed that these guidelines are not duly adhered  to  in  the  management of  these  sandwich  programmes. For  instance, Barikor (2009) claimed that the sandwich programmes of all colleges of education in South South geo-political zone of Nigeria lack proper planning as they are not planned well in advance before their commencement while little or no consideration is given to the availability and procurement of the required funds, teaching and non-teaching staff, physical facilities, equipment, and instructional materials for the sandwich programmes. This, in effect, leads to poor management of the sandwich programmes.

The Chairman of the Cross River State Secondary Education Management Board in a Circular dated 22nd September, 2011 re-called all teachers on sandwich programme  in  all  colleges  of  education  on  the  ground  that  the  sandwich

programme period clashed with the academic periods of post-primary schools in Cross River State. This is an indication that all is not well with the planning, organization and management of sandwich programmes in colleges of education in South South Nigeria.

The researcher in visits to the colleges of education in South South Nigeria observed with  dismay that  the  school  climate there  is  quite unconducive for effective teaching and learning as the sandwich students are taught in overcrowded and poorly ventilated classrooms with miniature seats, while a large number of them live in far locations outside the college campuses as they were not provided with hostel accommodation on campus.

Furthermore, the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE)

which is the supervisory agency for all colleges of education in Nigeria had in its

2005 report on the state of sandwich programmes of colleges of education in Nigeria indicted all colleges of education in Nigeria for the poor management of their sandwich programmes (Iyayi, 2007). Iyayi  was deeply worried by the ugly state of affairs with the management of sandwich programmes of all colleges of education in Nigeria stated in the following lines that:

The sandwich programmes of all colleges of education in Nigeria have been nicknamed “crash programmes” as  a  result  of  the  hasty  and  haphazard manner  in which these sandwich programmes are planned, organized, implemented and managed and with gross inadequacies   in   human,   financial,   physical   and material   resources   required   for   their   successful

implementation. Moreso, sandwich students have very short time to rush through this programme in a given contact period and then, they are subjected to many examinations which they have not prepared for. There is  also  no  free  flow of  information between school management, staff and sandwich students concerning sandwich programmes and general school activities; while little or no time is spent on supervision of the academic activities of sandwich students (p.4).

However,  the  foregoing  views  concerning the  ugly  state  of affairs  with  the management of the sandwich programmes of the two colleges of education in South South Nigeria has called for an empirical appraisal of the management of the sandwich programmes of the federal and state colleges of education in order to determine the extent to which these colleges are guided by the NCCE manual in the management of the sandwich programmes. Regrettably, no study known to the researcher has been carried out to appraise the management of the sandwich programmes of the federal and state colleges of education in South South Nigeria.     This study, therefore, appraised the management  of  sandwich  programmes  in  the  two  colleges  of  education which  run sandwich programmes in South South Nigeria. Bullon (2005) conceptualized appraisal as the process of judging how successful, effective or valuable something is. Implicit in this definition is the fact that appraisal entails judging how successful, effective or valuable the  management  of sandwich programmes of colleges of education in  South South Nigeria has been. Consequently, appraisal is operationally defined in this study as the process of assessing or  determining the  effectiveness,  efficiency  and  quality of the management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education in comparison with the established standards and guidelines for the management.

From the background of this study, the sandwich programmes of colleges of education in South-South Nigeria appear not to be properly managed. Could it be that they are not managed in accordance with the established guidelines? This anomalous situation, therefore, called  for  an  appraisal of  the  management of sandwich programmes of federal and state colleges of education in South South Nigeria so as to empirically determine the extent to which the organizers and managers of these sandwich programmes adhered to the established NCCE guidelines.

Statement of the Problem

Sandwich programmes of all colleges of education in Nigeria appear to  be “crash programmes” as a result of the hasty and haphazard manner in which these programmes are planned, organized, implemented and managed. In these programmes, there appear to be gross inadequacies in human, financial, physical and material resources required for their successful implementation.

Consequently, the sandwich programmes of colleges of education in South South Nigeria appear not to be properly planned and with little or no consideration given to the availability and procurement of the factor resources needed for their successful implementation. The recall of all sandwich students (Cross River State Secondary School teachers) by the chairman of the Cross River State Secondary Education  Management  Board  in  2011  on  the  ground  that  the  sandwich programme period clashed with the academic periods of post-primary schools in

Cross  River  State  seems  to  suggest  that  the  management  of  the  sandwich programme lacks proper planning.

Moreso, the school climate in Federal and State Colleges of Education in South South Nigeria also appear to be very unconducive for the effective implementation of the sandwich programmes. Hence, there is a need to ascertain if the sandwich programmes of Federal and State Colleges of Education in South South Nigeria are properly managed in conformity with laid down guidelines. Consequently, the problem of this study, put in a question form, was: To what extent do Federal and State Colleges of Education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE guidelines in the management of sandwich programmes of Colleges of Education.

Purpose of the Study

The general purpose of this study was to appraise the management of sandwich programmes of federal and state colleges of education in South South Nigeria. Specifically, the study sought to:

1.  find out the extent to which heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE guidelines on planning for sandwich programmes.

2.  find out the extent to which heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE guidelines on financial management for sandwich programmes.

3.  determine the extent to which heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE guidelines on personnel management for sandwich programmes.

4.  identify the extent to which heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education in  South South Nigeria follow the NCCE guidelines on communication for sandwich programmes.

5.  ascertain the extent to which heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education in  South South Nigeria follow the NCCE  guidelines  on  provision  and  management of  physical  facilities and equipment for sandwich programmes.

6.  ascertain the extent to which heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE guidelines on supervision of sandwich programmes.

Significance of the Study

This study is theoretically and practically significant. Its theoretical significance hinges on the discrepancy evaluation model. The discrepancy evaluation  model  was  developed  by  Provus  in  1971  and  its  fundamental assumption is that any discrepancy which exists between established programme standards and actual programme performance should be identified. This means that the discrepancy evaluation model is basically concerned with the comparison of programme performance with established programme standards.

Consequent upon the above assumption of the discrepancy evaluation model, an appraisal of the management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education is seen as a systematic process of determining whether discrepancies exist or not between the management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education and the established guidelines or standards for their management. Thus, the theoretical value of the results of this study lies in the fact that the results of this study revealed the discrepancies that exists or that do not exist between the management of sandwich programmes of federal and state colleges of education in South South Nigeria and the established guidelines for their management. It is, therefore, the discrepancy evaluation model that has established the base for this investigation to determine the extent to which federal and state colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the established NCCE guidelines for the management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education in Nigeria, hence, the relationship of the discrepancy evaluation model to this study.

In practical terms, this study will be of benefit to administrators of colleges of education, National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), sandwich students, Nigeria as a nation, educational policy makers, and future researchers. This study will benefit the identified groups in the following ways:

The findings of this study will be of immense benefit to the administrators of colleges of education by acting as a feedback mechanism with which they will realize the extent to which they adhere to the established NCCE guidelines for the

management of the sandwich programmes. This feedback will enable them to improve on the management of sandwich programmes in the different colleges in conformity  with  the  laid  down  guidelines  and  then  realize  the  goals  of  the sandwich programmes effectively and efficiently.

The  findings  of  this  study  will  also  be  of  benefit  to  the  National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) by enabling it to understand the extent to which colleges of education adhere to its guidelines on the management of sandwich programmes. This will enable the NCCE to  monitor closely the compliance of colleges of education to its established guidelines on the management of sandwich programmes. The NCCE will then be in a better position to devise appropriate measures that will bring about an improvement in the management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education for better results.

An improvement in the management of sandwich programmes will benefit the sandwich students by creating a school climate that is conducive for effective teaching and learning. This will enable the sandwich students to become well equipped with the requisite knowledge, skills, and competencies for maximum performance on their jobs and thereby contribute maximally to the educational development of Nigeria as a nation.

The findings of this study will give educational policy makers a clue on the extent to which colleges of education follow the established guidelines for the management of the sandwich programmes. This will enable the educational policy

makers to draw up appropriate policies that will generate strict adherence to the guidelines for the management of sandwich programmes of colleges of education.

Finally, the findings of this study will constitute a knowledge base for future researchers that will be interested in this field of investigation. This study will,  therefore, augment the  available literature in  this  field  of  study for  the guidance of its future researchers.

Scope of the Study

This study was de-limited to the public colleges of education in South South Nigeria which include federal and  state  colleges of  education that  run sandwich programmes. The justification for the use of federal and state colleges of education in  South South Nigeria for the study lies in the fact  that they are included in the colleges of education in Nigeria which have received series of criticisms for the poor management of the sandwich programmes.

The study, in its content, focused on the appraisal of planning for sandwich programmes, financial management for sandwich programmes, personnel management  for  sandwich  programmes,  communication  for  sandwich programmes, provision and management of physical facilities and equipment for sandwich programmes, and supervision of sandwich programmes.

Research Questions

The study was guided by the following research questions:

1. What  is  the  difference  in  the  mean  ratings  of  heads  of  units  and  senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education on the extent to which the colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE guidelines on planning for sandwich programmes?

2. What  is  the  difference  in  the  mean  ratings  of  heads  of  units  and  senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education on the extent to which the colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE guidelines on financial management for sandwich programmes?

3. What  is  the  difference  in  the  mean  ratings  of  heads  of  units  and  senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education on the extent to which the colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE guidelines on personnel management for sandwich programmes?

4. What is the difference in the mean ratings of heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education on the extent to which the colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE guidelines on communication for sandwich programmes?

5. What is the difference in the mean ratings of heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education on the extent to which the colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE

guidelines on provision and management of physical facilities and equipment for sandwich programmes?

6. What is the difference in the mean ratings of heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education on the extent to which the colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE guidelines on supervision of sandwich programmes?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses guided the study and they were tested at 0.05 level of significance:

Ho1:There is no significant difference (p<. 05) between the mean ratings of heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education on the extent to which colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE guidelines on planning for sandwich programmes.

Ho2: There is no significant difference (p <. 05) between the mean ratings of heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education on the extent to which colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the NCCE guidelines on financial management for sandwich programmes.

Ho3: There is no significant difference (p < .05) between the mean ratings of heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education

on the extent to which colleges of education in South South Nigeria adhere to the

NCCE guidelines on personnel management for sandwich programmes.

Ho4: There is no significant difference (p < .05) between the mean ratings of heads of units and senior administrative staff of federal and state colleges of education on the extent to which colleges of education in South South Nigeria follow the NCCE guidelines on communication for sandwich programmes.

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