Practices and Challenges of Human Resource Development in Secondary Schools of Hadiya Zone, South Ethiopia

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to assess the practices and challenges of human resource development that have been carried out by Hadiya Zone Secondary Schools. To this effect, descriptive survey research design was employed by which questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis were used as instruments of data gathering. Both primary and secondary sources of data were used. The primary data sources were teachers, principals, supervisors, woreda education officers and zone education department experts. The school documents were used as a secondary data source. The data were collected from randomly selected 100 secondary school teachers including 21 principals and 3 supervisors were selected by using availability sampling and 9 Woreda Education Officers and 3 zone education department experts of Hadiya Zone were selected purposefully. A total of 136 respondents were included as subjects of the study. The findings of the study indicated the absence of the systematic needs assessment practices, no HRTD plan incorporated in strategic plans, objectives of TDP had not been well presented to trainees, no clear and transparent training and development criteria for selecting trainees and trainers. the practice of preparing and implementing TDPs had been constrained by low attention of top level educational leaders, lack of adequate budget, selection of inappropriate trainees and trainers, allocation of insufficient time. Based on the findings, the following conclusion was drawn; due to lack of systematic training and development needs assessment capacity and potentials of individuals had not been built for better future performance, appropriate individuals were neglected from the selection for the TDPs, secondary schools and education departments fail to measure the effects and benefits of the TDPs to the organization and the employees/ teachers and administrative staffs/. Based on the conclusions, the following are recommended: appropriate attention to be given to training and development needs assessment, allocation of necessary resources for TDP, planning TDP in association with strategic plan, arranging of induction/orientation programs, applying on-the-job methods, creating systematic monitoring and evaluating practices of TDP, arranging awareness creation programs and formulating clear and transparent TDP directives, and giving more emphasis on professional development rather than other activities in secondary schools and woreda education offices.