Deployment and Utilization of Graduate Teachers and Performance in Nigeria: Public Secondary Schools Experiences in Edo State

Abstract

Secondary education is a key aspect of educational development. It is so core that it bridges the gap between two levels of education that matters in knowledge based economy. The utilization of teachers in their subject areas is critical to performance and the survival of this level of education. This study had the broad objective to investigate the Deployment and Utilization of Graduate Teachers and performance in Public Secondary Schools Experiences in Edo State. The specific objectives were to determine the level of utilization of graduate teachers in Edo State public senior secondary schools and to identify the level of deployment of graduate teachers in the different teaching subjects in Edo State public senior secondary schools. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was made up of 3366 graduate teachers deployed to 306 public secondary schools in the 18 local government areas as at 2010/2011. A sample size of 396 graduates using multi-stage randomly selected procedure determination from a finite population. Questionnaires were distributed to be filled and returned. Validity of the instrument was measured using content validity, and this was done by experts from the academia. Internal consistency was done using Cronbach alpha coefficient test statistic to test the reliability of the instrument, yielding a coefficient of 0.78. The hypotheses were tested using Pearson product moment correlation at 5% probability level of significance and regression analysis with charts for illustrations. The findings indicated that: There is low deployment and uneven distribution of graduate teachers to public schools in Edo State. Also, poor utilization of these teachers was very obvious. Thus, the study concluded that job performance would be very low. The study therefore recommended that government should carry out an analysis to fill areas of scarcity, rationalize distribution of teachers and ensure there is a balance in deployment. This will create a fair system of graduate teachers’ deployment in both urban and rural areas especially in mathematics and English subjects.