AN EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF SECRETARIAL STUDENTS ON EDUCATION WORK EXPERIENCE

A Case Study of Nigerian Universities

ABSTRACT

Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) programme is purposefully designed to bridge the gap between the theory and practice for students from tertiary institutions. This paper examines the success of SIWES in the provision of practical skills and competence to Secretarial Students from Nigerian universities in office technology and information systems. A research question and null hypothesis were formulated and data collected from 215 final year secretarial students of 2008/2009 session and 32 Lecturers of Business Education section from five selected Nigerian Universities. A six-item questionnaire was generated for data collection. Percentage and frequencies were used to analyze the research question, while T-test was used to test the null hypothesis at the significant level of 0.05. The findings revealed that University secretarial graduating students did not acquire the desired knowledge, skill and competences in modern office technology and information systems while on SIWES. Many of them did not get appropriate placement where they could benefit from these practical skills and competence. The paper recommends that the departmental model offices should be adequately equipped with modern office equipment such as computer, scanner, digital fax machine, digital copier, mobile note-taker to adequately expose secretarial students to modern office technology and information systems while still in the school.

CHAPTER TWO

INTRODUCTION

The government’s decree No. 47 of 8th Oct; 1971 as amended in 1990, highlighted the capacity building of human resources in industry, commerce and government through training and retraining of workers in order to effectively provide the much needed high quality goods and services in a dynamic economy as ours (Jemerigbe, 2003). This decree brought about the establishment of Industrial Training Fund (ITF) in 1973/1974 and this had subsequently led to the formation of Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) to bridge the gap between classroom and work environment.

Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) is a programme that is managed by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and according to Chukwurah (2007), it is charged with the responsibility to provide students in the tertiary institutions with an opportunity to gain practical skills, knowledge and competence in addition to what they have learnt in the classroom during their academic pursuit at their undergraduates days. It is also designed to prepare students for the industrial working situation they may likely find themselves after graduation. SIWES is a skill training programme designed to expose and prepare students of Agriculture, Engineering, Technology, Environmental, Science, Medical Sciences, pure and applied science and vocational education for the Industrial work situation which they are likely to meet after graduation. The Duration of SIWES is four months in Polytechnics at the end of NDI, four months in College of Education at the end of NCE II and six months in the Universities at the end of 300 or 400 or 500 levels depending on the discipline (Wodi and Dokubo, 2009)

The objectives of SIWES are to enhance the industrial skill acquisition and work experience of students, augment their theoretical knowledge to make them efficient at solving practical problems of the work environment. It also include the preparation of students for the industrial works situation which they are likely to meet after graduation and expose students to work methods and techniques in handling equipment and machinery not available in their institutions,(Asikadi, 2003) However, interactions with the university’s secretarial students on SIWES in some selected Nigerian universities reveal that the objectives of enhancing the industrial skills acquisition and work experience of secretarial students especially in the area of exposing them to modern office technology and information systems has not been achieved.

Statement of the problem

The advanced office technology and information systems and its subsequent influx in banking industry, manufacturing companies, educational and research institutions, according to Amoor (2008) has as a matter of fact, place a high demand on Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) to adequately expose secretarial students to the practical computer application packages and other office related equipment such as digital fax machine, scanner, mobile note-taker, and the internet. Unfortunately, this demand is not met because according to Ezechukwu (2006), many students do not secure placement in organizations where they would be exposed to the practical application of modern office technology and information systems. She stressed further that many students resorted to doing their SIWES in their parents’ houses. In addition, Igbinoba (2002) said that SIWES has not delivered the desired results since many students on this scheme do not acquire the expected practical skills and competence.

Interactions with the students on SIWES revealed that most of the time secretarial students were not properly placed in offices where they would acquire the practical skills and competence in modern office technology and information systems. Some of them, who were assumed properly placed, were not strictly supervised by the institutions’ supervisors and this reduced students’ commitment, and therefore, thwarted the effort of this scheme.

In view of the opinions of the scholars and the interactions with the secretarial students on SIWES, the researcher had an irresistible urge to evaluate the performance of university secretarial students in connection with the acquisition of practical skills and competence in modern office technology and information systems before and after SIWES.

Research Question

How successful is the Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) in the provision of the practical skills and competence to secretarial students in modern office technology and information systems?

Null Hypothesis

There is no significant difference between the mean score of secretarial students before and after the practical skills acquired in modern office technology and information systems during SIWES

REFERENCES

Amoor S.S. (2008) Integrating the Internet with the Curriculum of Office Education Programme in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria. The Information Manager, 8 (2) 2008 1-4.

Asikadi, E. (2003). Restructuring SIWES to meet the national development plan in educational system. National Conference of National Association for Research Development, Asaba, 2003 1-2

Chukwurah (2007) Implement of Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) in Nigerian Universities. http://u08cgpublisher.com/proposal/344/index_html

Ezechukwu, M.O. (2006) The Critical Problems in Secretarial Training: The Way Forward. Journal of
Professional Secretaries and Administrators. 4 (12) 46

Igbinoba, M.O. (2002) Bridging the Gap between Education and the Industry. Business Education Journal 1, (2) 25-26

Jemerigbe, H.I. (2003). NECA/ITF Interactive Forum, July 14, 2004, Wodi, S.W. and Dokubo, A (2009): Appraisal of Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) in Five Tertiary Institutions in Rivers State, Nigeria. European Journal of Social Sciences, 7 (3), 42