STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING GENDER EQUITY IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN BENUE STATE NIGERIA

Abstract

The purpose  of this study was to determine  the strategies  for  increasing gender equity in Technical Education in Benue State. Five research questions and five hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted  for  the  research.  The  total  population  was  268,  comprising  244 technical teachers and 24 principals and vice-principals in the eight Technical Colleges  in Benue  State.  No  sampling  was carried out as the  number  of technical  teachers  in  the  eight  Technical  Colleges  was  accessible.  The instrument used was a questionnaire constructed with a five point Likert scale. The method of data analysis included Mean, and t-test of difference between two means. The analysis of the data was carried out by means of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15.0 for window evaluation version. Some  major  findings  of  the  study  revealed  that:  adequate  provision  of educational  facilities  will  enhance  gender  equity  in  Technical  Education; equipment, machines and power hand tools if provided adequately and in good condition  will  enhance  gender  equity;  proper   organization  of  Technical Education workshop facilities will enhance gender equity; proper administration of Technical Education will also go a long way to enhancing gender equity. The implications of these findings for all in Technical Education were highlighted. Based  on  these  findings,  the  study  concluded  that  provision  of adequate training  facilities  and  proper  organization  of Technical  education  workshop facilities  will  enhance  gender  equity.  It  was  therefore,  recommended  that government in collaboration with technical Education institutions should make provision  for adequate  number  of hand  tools,  equipment  /  machines  and materials in good condition and Technical Colleges should emphasize on proper administrative measures and provide competent administrators.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Nigerian  government  has  realized  that  high  level  of   technological acquisition and development through technical education is a precursor to social, economic  and  industrial  development  of  the  country.  Technical  education according to Federal Ministry of Education (FME) (2004) is defined as that aspect of education which leads to acquisition of practical and applied skills as well as basic scientific knowledge. Technical education is a type of education or training designed  to prepare the individual learner  to be self-reliant and increase his earning in occupation where technical information and understanding of the law of  science  and  technology  as   applicable  to  modern  design,  production, distribution and services is  essential for success (Bebebiafai,  2003). In other words, technical education is meant to prepare beneficiaries for employment in recognized occupation by inculcating skills, knowledge and attitude required for utilizing the natural resources needed for economic development of the nation and for their own self improvement.

Technical  education  involves  manual  dexterity  (use  of hands)  that  is practical skills, competencies and specific work habits that demand commitment, high articulation to design, construct, maintain and repair technological goods. Practical work consumes energy and demands high level of coordination.

Federal  Ministry  of  Education  (2004)  stated  the  goal  of  technical

education as programme that should provide trained manpower in the applied

science,  technology  and  business  particularly  at  craft,  advanced  craft  and technical levels; provide the technical knowledge and vocational skills necessary for agricultural, commercial, economic development; give training and impart the necessary skills to individual who shall be self-reliant economically. Achievement of the above stated objectives would be to the extent of producing and ensuring high quality and quantity of human resources. Production of adequate human resources invariably entails  equipping the youth (both male and female) with employability  skills  in  technology  that  will  enable  them  live  functional  and productive live. The scenario in Benue State has been more males seeking and acquiring  technological  skills  than  females.  This  no  doubt  spells  doom  for technological development and emancipation of the country especially as over half  of entire  population  are  females.  The  population  census  figure  (2006) showed that females constitute more than 50 per cent of the total population therefore, they must be involved in all spheres or plans of the country’s labour force including technical education. Olajumoke (1990) observed that, Nigerian educational system, especially technical education which have high potential to create jobs for the unemployed and solve most of the human problems, is yet to be  embraced  by  majority  of  Nigerian  women.  Girls  and  women  are  very important in nation building. The highest possible welfare is achieved only when individuals  (women  and  men)  in  any  nation  produce  to  the  limit  of  their capabilities   (Ogbuanya,   2008).   Therefore,   there   can  be  no   meaningful development  in  Benue  State  if girls are deprived  of opportunity  to  acquire technical skills. It is then very necessary that deliberate effort be made to bridge the gender gap in technology skill acquisition for national development.

Ministry  of  Women  Affairs  and  Social  Development  (MWASD)  (2006) defined gender as the relationship between men and women and the ways in which the role of women and men, girls and boys are socially constructed. The word gender refers to the social roles allocated respectively to men and women in a particular society at a particular time (National Gender Policy (NGP) (2006). Gender is a concept used to analyze the roles, activities and responsibilities of men and women in any society. Role is the way in which someone or something is involved in an activity or situation and how much influence they have on it. Roles  are  simply  expected   behaviours,  obligations,  rights  and  privileges. However  roles are  performed or acquired  by observing  and interacting  with others through socialization via social institutions. Such roles are conditioned by a  variety  of  political,  economic,  ideological  and  cultural  factors  and  are characterized  in  most  societies  both  federal  and  states  by  unequal  power relations. World Bank (2006) stated that gender identity is the sense of being male or female, which most children acquire by the age of three. This shows that sense of gender is deeply internalized early in ones life and as such only deliberate and concerted efforts can bring about change of attitude and belief.

Global  development  strategy  now  involves  promoting  gender  equity. Gender equity is a situation where women and men have equal conditions for realizing their full human rights and potentials; are able to contribute equally to national,  political,  economic,  social  and  cultural  development;  and  benefits equally from the results (NGP, 2006). Odekunle (2008) defined gender equity as the proportion of shared resources between men and women, which a school of thought believes might not be  achieved  in this generation  because of some

cultural,  economic,  political,  psychological  and  social  factors.  Gender  equity demands that the underlying causes of discrimination be systematically identified and removed in order to give men and women equal  opportunities. In other words,  gender  equity  refers  to  a  situation  where  both  sexes  are  equally motivated and given fair and just distribution of all means of opportunities and resources in training for skill development and acquisition.

Gender equity is a fundamental human right which aims to achieve equity

of  opportunity,  services  and  resources  as  well  as  equality  of  treatment  by employers and service providers. The efficient use of women side by side with men could contribute to rapid development, since education especially technical education  helps to prepare citizens for participation in  national development. Girls are most often required to help the families with household and agricultural work, and to also care for the younger siblings or for the elderly or sick family members. However, this has resulted in  differences in sex roles and the role expectation, which call for strategies to remedy the situation.

Strategy is used in reference to the activities or ways of persuading or

encouraging women to participate in technical education programme. Strategy is a well planed series of actions for achieving an aim especially success against opponent. According to Chandler (1990) strategy is the  determination  of the basic long term goals and objectives of an organization, and the adaptation of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals. Karen (1998) also defined strategy as a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal,  most often “winning”. Similarly, according to the author,  strategies  are  used to  make  the problem  easier to  understand  and

solved. Karen maintained that strategy is about choice, which affects outcomes. This  could  be  adopted  to  encourage  females  to  participate   in  technical education.

It appears varied cultures in Nigeria and in Benue State, give preference

to male children as they are regarded as the heirs of the family. The blueprint on women  education  identifies  certain  problems  in relation  to the  education  of women among which are, socio-cultural factors. These include early marriage, practice of purdah by the Muslims, economic factors, such as cost of acquiring education; school location patterns in urban and rural areas; opportunity cost of formal   education   to   parents;   time   spend   on   household   activities,   sex stereotyping  in  occupational  choices;  curriculum  and  instructional  materials, among others.

Socio-cultural factor has been a constraint to women education, especially

technical education in Nigeria and Benue State in particular. There are  some traditional  roles  assigned  to  males  and  females  for  instance,  for  females, nursing, teaching, cooking, for males, science, engineering, etc. The masculine image associated with science and technical courses, had been attributed to be one of the reasons for non-orientation of girls in those fields. It has been noted that there are many more males than females in  technical colleges in Benue State.  Women  of  all  ages  avoid  occupations  which  they  consider  to  be exclusively  meant for men for fear of being  discriminated  against  (UNESCO,

2002). Courses taken to be exclusively for men include engineering and other related fields such as technical education. Such belief may have come from the fact that socially and culturally women are taken to be weaker  sex especially

when task involved demands high energy input. Adedavoh (2002) stated  that males generally are noted for energy achievement and enterprising more than females. This type of negative belief is sown deep in the sense of boys from birth. They are made to belief that they are superior to girls. Boys are trained to take up challenges and risks more than females. The latter is culturally trained to take up less challenging task that will enable them farewell in the kitchen and in other family chores instead of technical  courses. Apart from the socio-cultural barriers and negative beliefs about what women can or cannot do in terms of occupation, there are other barriers that could hinder gender equity in technical education. These include lack of functional facilities, poor workshop organization, ineffective  administration  and  types  of  skill  being  acquired  from  technical education programs.

Technical  education  is  a  practical  oriented  course.  Its  teaching  and

learning  involve  more than ordinary  classroom.  Technical  education  provides experiences, which enable individuals to develop competencies and skills needed for an occupation. However, girls appear to be very few in technical education programmes. Well equipped workshop and other infrastructure is a prerequisite for all technical college courses. Hinum (1999) stated that quality of facilities has impact not only on educational outcomes but on the well being of the students and teachers. Unfortunately, technical environment is lacking in Nigeria and the infrastructure and other conditions are grossly inadequate for the installation of technical education equipment even when they are available (Olalekan, 1999). Lack/insufficient teaching materials constitute major impediments to success in technical education (Okwori, 2004). Females by culture and orientation are not

trained for strenuous tasks as in technical education. They fancy comfort and fare better in conducive, less stressful conditions. If functional and  adequate facilities such as state-of-art equipment, adequate teaching  learning materials are provided, more females will be attracted to technical education programme to acquire the necessary skills needed for occupation.

How facilities are organized in a workshop can also motivate or prevent females from going for technical education. Ogbuanya (2008) emphasized that well organized workshop encourages students to be productive, innovative and enterprising, thereby involve in generating ideas  and taking action as well as developing techniques and products that satisfy human needs. Well organized workshop Facilities enhances safety. Abimbade (2008) asserted that all technical education subjects expose students to basic hand tools and equipment. The use of hand tools and equipment exposes students to accident and danger if not well organized. Females by orientation like to work in a less risky, less hazardous and accident free environment.

The  way  technical  education  is  administered  can  make  or  mar  the

programme. The success of any programme is dependent on proper planning, efficient administration and adequate financing (Akula, 2006). Bureau of Labour Statistics  (BLS,  2008)  stated  that  the  successful  operation  of  educational institutions  requires competent administrator.  It  went further to explain that educational administrators who manage secondary and technical colleges are the principals,  they  set  academic  tone  and  actively  work  with  the  teachers  to implement the curriculum.

Technical  education  is capital intensive.  It requires adequate  fund  for provision of equipment. In recognition of this, the Federal Ministry of Education (FME, 2004), section 12, article 120 states that financing of education is a joint responsibility  of the federal,  state and local  government  and private  sector. There are technical colleges own either solely by the state or federal government in Benue State. Ownership  may  affect the quality and quantity of resources available to a particular  technical  college. Bureau of Labour Statistics (2008) suggested that as school budget become tighter, many principals become more involve in public relations and fund raising to secure financial support for their schools  from local  business  and community.  The success  of such moves in Benue  State Technical  Colleges no doubt depend to the large extent on  the location of the schools. Technical Colleges in Benue State rural areas  may be disadvantaged in fund raising than urban areas as most people around may not be buoyant  enough  to lend  financial  support.  It is also  possible  that  some technical  colleges in Benue State are located in rural  areas where  no much business opportunity is available, as compared to urban areas.

The type and extent of skills developed can be source of attraction of

females into technical education. International Labour Organization (ILO, 2008) affirmed  that  effective  skill  development  system  is  connecting  education  to technical training, technical training to labour market training entry, and labour market training entry to workplace and life-long learning. When females from both federal and state levels can link skill being acquired in technical colleges to employment opportunity, no doubt, they will be motivated to learn such skills.

The acquisition  of technological  skills is a productive  venture  that can  help women become self reliant and self employed (Fafunwa, 1992).

The skills will surely bring about social equality and self development

among  members  of the society  and  these  skills  are  prerequisite  for  nation building  (Chung,  2001).  Knowledge  of  information  technology  will  help  in facilitating females participation in technical education, since it  has become a potent force transforming social, economic and political life globally (Abimbade

2008). Virtual skill has been noted to be less energy sapping than practical skill.

Combining virtual skill learning with practical skill in technical subjects can be source of attraction/motivation of females to enroll in technical colleges in Benue State. Removal or reducing the impediments to female involvement in technical education can go a long way in enhancing gender equity in technical education programmes in Benue State. This no doubt, will bring about needed quality and quantity of human resources required for technological development in Nigerian.

Statement of the Problem

Skills required for technological development in Nigeria at secondary level are acquired from technical colleges. Technical colleges are meant to  produce craftsmen and technicians who will be enterprising and self reliant. The quality and quantity of human resources needed in Nigeria demand that both males and females suppose to acquire skills for technological development. Unfortunately, Females  seem  to  shy  away  from  technical  education  courses  especially  at technical  college level. A clear evidence  of  this is seen in female enrolment figures  in  different  technical  colleges  in  Benue  State.  For  instance,  female

enrolment in 2008/2009 session for carpentry and joinery, electrical installation, fitting and machining, welding and fabrication, motor  mechanics, refrigerator and air conditioning, radio and televisions at government technical college (GTC) Makurdi is zero %, 2.5%, zero%, 2.6%, zero%, zero%, zero% respectively of total enrolment (see Appendix D). To further give light on the low participation of women in technical subjects (See appendix E) for the enrolment of boys and girls in government  technical college, Mbakuha Abunde, Lessel for 2006-2007 and  2007-2008  sessions.  The  gap  is  rooted  in  attitudinal,  structural  and systematic  gender  based  inequalities  (NGP  2006).  On this basis alone, it is expected that opportunities and activities will be shared equitably irrespective of gender with a view to close up the gender gap in technical education activities in Benue State. The problem of how to increase women involvement in technical education  is  a  big  challenge  to  both  federal,  state  and  local  governments because gender disparity is culturally engraved in the society, especially Benue State.

It is not coincidence that most human and material developed countries

of the world are also the most educationally developed and progressive nation. The strategic use of technical education for planned and purposeful growth and development  is possible because they have put in place,  technical education systems, which are considered vital and well nurtured to such an extent that it will respond to individual and national development aspirations and expectations. For instance in Korea, according to Chung (2001), a new article was released to promote equal education for both sexes. The article stipulated that state and the local governments should establish and execute policies for realizing the spirit of

gender  equity  in  education.  The  author  stated  that  in  technical  schools, exclusively of admission to male students was established in departments that have  been  traditionally  recognize  as  male  fields,  which  include  electrical, mechanical and civil engineering.  The author  stated that Girl-Friendly science and  technical  programmes  were  developed  in  1999  for  secondary  school students with the purpose of  increasing  female  entrants to the science and technical fields.

In Nigeria, the psycho-social burden of the girl child is not helpful to her

education,  especially  in  the  non-traditional   careers  such  as  science   and technology. Culturally, family affairs was considered the ideal role of the women in the traditional Nigerian society, especially in Benue State. Women were not allowed  to participate  in technical  education  programme.  Gender  inequity  in training and employment opportunities is an age long issue in Nigeria, which has in no small measure affected female participation in technical education to the detriment of the goal attainment of technological development in Benue state and in Nigeria at large.

Most of the causes of gender inequality are socio-culturally stereotyped

beliefs and attitude. Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW,2006)  stated that stereotypical  images and negative messages  about  technical  education  have  contributed  to  low  enrolment  of females in technical  education  programme.  Dyankov (1996) emphasized  that religion,  tradition,  social  structures,  cultural  norms  and  value  systems  have restricted females opportunities in effective participation in technical education programme. The way technical college programme is being organized in Nigeria

has  also  been  accused  of  contributing  to  low  interest  of  females  in  the programme (Ogbuanya, 2008).

Enhancing gender equity in technical education course should not be left

to chance. Deliberate efforts must be made to achieve it. Women  constitute more than 50 percent of the total population of this country and so cannot be overlooked  in implementation  of technological  policies and  programmes.  The problem of this study put in question form therefore, is how can gender equity be enhanced in technical colleges?

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to determine strategies for increasing gender equity in technical education in Benue State. Specifically the study determined:

1.  Provision of training facilities that can enhance gender equity in technical education.

2.  How  technical  education  workshop  facilities  should  be  organized  and utilized to enhance gender equity.

3.  Provision of technical and virtual skills that can enhance gender equity.

4.  Administrative  measures  that  can enhance  gender  equity  in  technical education.

5.  Socio-cultural measures that should be adopted to reduce socio-cultural

hindrances that hinder gender equity in technical education.

Significance of the Study

The  study  of  the  strategies  for  increasing  gender  equity  in  technical education is expected to be significant to the generality of the people in view of the important role women play in the social and economic development of the society. The findings of this study will be of immense benefit to the government, proprietors of the technical colleges (State Ministries of Education), the National Board   for  Technical   Education,   teachers,   parents,   female   students   and curriculum developers. The information from the findings will be made available to  these  groups  through  publications  of  this  work  as  text  materials  for consultation in various libraries; for conferences, seminars and workshops.

The findings of this study could be used to develop policy framework for

mitigating gender disparity in technical education in Benue State in  particular and in Nigeria at large. It is hoped that this study would guide policy makers in coming out with paradigms that would remove gender  inequality in technical education, after restructuring the old policy on technical education.

The  findings  will enable  state  ministries  of education  (proprietors  of  the Technical  Colleges)  to  take  decisions  on  the  kinds  of  improvements  or reorganizations of courses in technical colleges that are  necessary in order to enhance the teaching and learning process. Improvements that may be carried out  by  state  Ministries  of  Education  in  the  technical  colleges  will  help  in increasing the enrolment of females in technical education programme for the benefit of students and teachers, in teaching and learning processes.

The findings of the study could be used to establish policy guidelines for the technical  training of females.  The information  generated  from the  study will enable  the Federal and State Ministries of Education  to  reorganize  technical

education programmes and facilities to make them attractive and accessible to males  and  females.  The  findings  of  this  study  if  implemented  in  technical education programmes could go a long way in helping the technical education students  during  training  to  acquire  skills  necessary  for  employment  in  the manufacturing industry.

The  NBTE,  which  is  charged  with  the  responsibility  of  accreditation  of programmes and enforcement of standards in the technical colleges, may use the outcome of this study to come up with standards for future  planning of technical  courses  and  for  enhancing  the  enrolment  of  females  in  technical education.  The  findings  of  this  study  would  be  useful  to  technical  college teachers.  This  is  because  based  on  the  findings,  the  technical  education authority  could  make  serious  effort  to  provide  those  tools,  equipment  and instructional materials identified by  the  study for enhancing gender equity in technical education programmes.  The provision of these facilities will enhance these skills acquisitions desired of trainees. As technical teachers, the findings of this study will also equipped them with adequate information on strategies that will help to increase gender equity in technical education. This approach will also benefit women  in  general who will as a result of the new strategies, acquire useful  skills   for  gainful  employment.   Curriculum   developers   in  technical education will also benefit from the findings of this study, as it will help them to identify  and include in the curriculum those courses and facilities suitable for both male and female in technical fields. More importantly, the findings of this study will help to change  attitudinal  perceptions  of parents towards  women education, particularly, technical education and provide them with empirical data

on  how  to  encourage  their  girl-child  to  participate  in  technical  education programmes. The findings of the study would be useful to  parents who deny their female children equal educational opportunities as their male counterparts because  they believe  that  to invest  on women  is  an economic  waste.  The findings of the study would be useful to scholars in girl-child education because it would add to the existing literature in that area. Thus, future planning based on the formation of new policy on  gender equity, will motivate students and teachers and improve the participation of females and also enhance the teaching and learning processes in technical education programmes. The findings of the study would be useful to the society which adopts all measures to ensure that females do not venture into male-dominated courses.

Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide the study:

1.  What provision of training facilities can enhance gender equity in technical education?

2.  How  should  technical  education  workshop  facilities  be  organized  to enhance gender equity?

3.  What provision of technical and virtual skills can enhance gender equity in technical education?

4.  What administrative  measures  can enhance  gender equity in  technical education?

5.  What socio-cultural  measures  should be adopted  to reduce  the socio-

cultural hindrances that hinder gender equity in technical education?

Hypotheses

The  following  hypotheses  were  formulated  and  tested  at  0.05  level  of significance:

H01:        There  is no significant  difference  between  the mean  responses  of technical   teachers,   principals/Vice-principals   in   urban   and   rural technical colleges on provision of training facilities that can enhance gender equity in technical education.

H02:        There  is no significant  difference  between  the mean  responses  of teachers,  principals/Vice-principals  of  federal  government  technical colleges  and  state  technical  colleges  on  how  technical  education workshop facilities should be organized to enhance gender equity.

H03:        There  is no significant  difference  between  the mean  responses  of urban  and  rural  technical   teachers,   principals/Vice-principals  on provision of technical and virtual skills that can enhance gender equity in technical education.

H04:        There  is no significant  difference  between  the mean  responses  of teachers,  principals/Vice-principals   of  federal  and  state   technical colleges on administrative measures that can enhance gender equity.

H05:        There  is no significant  difference  between  the mean  responses  of urban and rural technical  teachers,  principals/Vice-principals  on  the socio-cultural measures to be adopted in order to reduce socio-cultural hindrances and to enhance gender equity in technical education.

Scope of the Study

The hindrances to women participation in technical education are many and varied. Consequently, this study is delimited to measures (strategies) that could be adopted to reduce these hindrances and increase gender equity in technical education in Benue State. The focus is on the eight technical colleges in Benue State of Nigeria.

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