Page 1 of 10

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 2

February 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 278

Ensuring Quality in Technical Vocational Education and

Training in Nigeria Higher Education

Obiajulu Loretta Obierika

Department Of Building Technology Education, Federal College of Education (Technical),

Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria

Obiloretta@gmail.com

Abstract

The importance of Technical Vocational

Education and Training (TVET) in the

advancement of technology of any nation

cannot be over emphasized. This is because

TVET is widely recognized as a vital driving

force for socio-economic growth and

technical development of nations. The most

important feature of TVET is the emphasis

of its curriculum on the acquisition of

employable skills with an orientation

towards the world of work. Therefore, in

order to achieve the goals and objectives of

TVET in the Nigerian higher education

system, the quality of the programme needs

to be improved upon or enhanced. This

paper reviewed the concepts of TVET,

higher education, quality and quality

assurance in TVET. It also looked at quality

assurance agencies indicators and TVET;

challenges of quality assurance in TVET

and strategies for ensuring quality TVET in

the Nigerian higher education system. This

paper concluded that government policy

makers, stakeholders and TVET providers in

Nigeria higher education should focus on

best practices in TVET that have worked in

other countries around the world in

ensuring quality TVET in the Nigerian

higher education system. Furthermore,

government should provide adequate funds,

plan, implement and manage TVET

programmes well in our institutions of

higher education.

Keywords: TVET, Higher Education,

Quality Assurance

Introduction

Technical vocational education and

training (TVET) is one of the key agents of

technological development, either as a way

of developing human capacity thereby

increasing the needed work force for

modernization, industrialization and

environmental development or (as a matter

of personnel freedom) developing capability

and empowerment. Skills and knowledge

are the engines of economic growth and

social development of any nation (Goel,

2010). TVET holds the key to attaining the

skilled and entrepreneurial workforce

needed for the changing technological

workforce (Afeti, 2010). According to

UNESCO (2002), TVET is used as a

comprehensive term referring to those

aspects of the educational process involving

- in addition to general education - the study

of technologies and related sciences, the

acquisition of practical skills attitudes,

understanding and knowledge relating to

occupations in various sectors of economic

and social life.

Quality assurance in TVET is a

concept that is concerned with high

performance in activities involved in

technical vocational education such as

teaching, learning, infrastructures, students’

behaviour and the entire academic process.

Quality in TVET refers to input and output

of the progamme, the expressions of

standard by which certain goals can be

achieved. Idialu (2007) in Idialu (2013)

stressed that in order to ensure high quality

in teaching, examination and improved

learning in TVET, it is essential that

students have opportunities to learn from

Page 2 of 10

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 2

February 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 279

teachers who they meet, and then continue

to demonstrate throughout their career,

rigorous professional standards.

The achievement of quality standard

in TVET is an on-going process that is

concerned with pre and post service

education, monitoring, professional

development and certification. (The main

goal of TVET is to create and improve

opportunities for high quality learning

which is measured through

output/performance (Idiala 2013). The

concept of quality assurance and its

implication on higher education cannot be

overemphasized as performance indicators

of TVET still require serious attention.

Good quality TVET is very critical in the

total development of the student, which

ensures proper acquisition of employable

skills with an orientation channelled

towards the world of work.

For quality TVET to be achieved in

a nation, the principal actors in the learning

process – teachers, learners and the

environment – must be cooperatively

organized. In other words, the teacher must

be adequate in quality and quantity, the

students must be well trained and facilities

must be provided as well.

In Nigeria, the goals of technical and

vocational education according to the

National Policy on Education (2004) are to:-

a) Provide trained manpower in the

applied sciences, technology and

business particularly at craft,

advanced craft and technical levels;

b) Provide the technical knowledge and

vocational skills necessary for

agricultural, commercial and

economic development;

c) Give training and impart the

necessary skills to individuals who

shall be self reliant economically.

In order to achieve these goals, the

enhancement of quality should be one of the

objectives of TVET system. This is because

qualitative TVET is the bedrock of

manpower development and skill

acquisition in our societies. Therefore,

quality assurance is an essential process for

achieving the goals of TVET which will

lead to the production of qualitative human

capital development and fulfillment of key

stakeholders’ expectations.

Technical Vocational Education and

Training (TVET)

It has been maintained at national

and international platforms that TVET

provides the needed employable skills and

attitude necessary for effective performance

in the workplace. Winer (2000), and Oni

(2007) described TVET as a specialized

education designed to empower learners

through the development of their skills,

human abilities, cognitive understanding,

attitudes and work habits in order to prepare

them adequately for the world of work or

position them practically for self- employment after graduation. Uwaifo (2012)

refered to TVET as the training of

technically oriented personnel who are to be

the initiators, facilitators and implementers

of technological development of a nation by

adequately training its citizenry on the need

to be technologically literate, leading to self

reliance and sustainability. Badawi (2013)

noted that UNESCO and International

Labour Organization (ILO) defined TVET

as “A comprehensive term referring to those

aspects of the educational process involving,

in addition to general education, the study of

technologies and related sciences and the

acquisition of practical skills, attitudes,

understanding and knowledge relating to

occupations in various sectors of economic

and social life. Thus TVET equips

individuals with skills; attitude and

knowledge that will make them participate

meaningfully in the world of work.

Higher Education

Education is actually the basic

instrument of economic growth and

technological advancement of any society.

However today, the workplace is becoming

increasingly geographically fluid across

national, regional and international borders

due to economic globalization and

development of advanced communications

Page 3 of 10

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 02 Issue 2

February 2016

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 280

and information technologies (Oyebade,

Oladipo and Adetoro, 2012). It is pertinent

to note that qualitative higher education is

especially acknowledged as a vital driving

force for the socio-economic growth and

technological development of nations.

Higher education according to the

National Policy on Education (2004) is the

education given after secondary education

in Colleges of Education, Polytechnics,

Monotechnics, and Universities including

those institutions offering correspondence

courses. The national goals for this level of

education according to (NPE, 2004), shall

be to:

 Contribute to national development

through high level relevant

manpower training;

 Develop and inculcate proper values

for the survival of the individuals

and society;

 Develop the intellectual capability of

individuals to understand and

appreciate their local and external

environments;

 Acquire both physical and

intellectual skills which will enable

individuals to be self-reliant and

useful members of the society;

 Promote and encourage scholarship

and community service;

 Forge and cement national unity;

and

 Promote an international

understanding and interaction.

Therefore, it is expected that these

goals shall be pursued through: teaching,

research and development, staff

development, generation and dissemination

of knowledge through a variety of modes

(full-time, part-time, sandwich, distant

learning etc); access to training fund;

maintenance of minimum educational

standard, inter-institutional co-operation and

dedicated service to community.

Quality and Quality Assurance in TVET

The concern for quality has been at

the core of the motivating forces for reforms

in education. International Organization of

Standardization (IOS) (1994) defined

quality as the totality of features and

characteristics of a product or service that

bears on its ability to satisfy stated needs.

African Union (2007) stated that quality is a

multidimensional concept, embracing all

functions and activities of education system,

including teaching and academic

programmes, research and scholarship,

staffing, students, buildings, facilities,

equipment, services to the community,

academic environment; taking into account

national cultural values and circumstances

and international dimensions such as

exchange of knowledge, interactive

networking, mobility of teachers and

students, and international research projects.

Idialu (2007) also described quality as

standards of something as compared to other

things – that is the degree of goodness or

excellence. Adegbesan (2011) opined that

quality is not just a feature of a finished

product or services but involves a focus on

internal processes and outputs which

include the reduction of waste and the

improvement of productivity. In the same

vein, Adegbesan (2011) in Fadokun (2015)

characterized quality by three interrelated

and interdependent strands;

i) Efficiency in the meeting of its goals,

ii) Relevance to human and

environmental conditions and needs

iii) Exploration of new ideas, the pursuit

of excellence and encouragement of

creativity.

With regard to education, assuring

quality is a fundamental aspect of gaining

and maintaining credibility of programmes

in institutions and national systems of

higher education worldwide. Quality

assurance is designed to prove and improve

the quality of an institution’s methods, and

educational products and outcomes.

Arikewuyo (2004) viewed quality in

education to be judged by both its ability to

enable the students perform well in standard

examinations and relevance to the needs of

the students’ community and the society as

a whole. According to, Oyebade Oladipo