QUALITY ASSURANCE CHALLENGES TO TECHNICAL EDUCATION ASSESSMENT IN NIGERIA: THE WAY FORWARD
Keywords:
Entry Assessment, Examination Question Draft, Project Writing and Assessment, Scoring, Practical Facilities.Abstract
The study assesses challenges to quality assurance in the assessment of technical and vocational education run by polytechnics and mono-technics in Nigeria, with focus on entry assessment, institutional examination draft, project writing, supervision and assessment, examination scoring and practical facilities. Educational training and skills required in the learning process are found to have been much compromised of vested interests and politics from various stakeholders in the educational system. Obtaining five credit passes in the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) has been much business oriented than allowing merit to count. Admissions into ND and HND programmes have also been much of revenue generation than true human capital development. Internal examination questions being administered are less concerned of technical and logical designs. Project writing is much of recycling and plagiarizing with lots of grammatical inadequacies. Correcting the research and project writing in the system is being resisted and discouraged. Scoring and grading true achievement of students in tests and examinations have been a subject of low commitment to thorough marking and financial inducement. Practical appreciation of various techniques of handling issues in various specialties is limited due to shortage of functional machines and equipment. The major recommendations intensify merit rating in the student intakes and academic staff employed in managing teaching and learning in technical and vocational education.
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