Effect Of SIWES On Self-Employment Of Agricultural Education Graduates For Economic Development: A Case Study Of Federal College Of Education (Technical), Asaba

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine effect of SIWES on self-employment of agricultural education graduates for economic development: a case study of Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population of the study comprised of 30 agricultural education graduates and 20 final year students in NCE (Fulltime and part-time) in the college. Five research questions were raised to guide the study. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher and validated by two experts; one in Measurement and Evaluation and one in Agricultural Education Department of Federal College of Education (Technical) Asaba. 50 copies of the validated questionnaires were administered to the agricultural educators and the students and the 50 questionnaires returned which were analyzed using mean. Based on the analysis, it was revealed that SIWES covers the areas of personal skills such as self-confidence, communication, creativity, innovation and human relation and agricultural education graduates on SIWES have a positive perception of SIWES programme in the College. Based the findings, it was recommended that agricultural education students should be encouraged to participate actively in SIWES in other to acquire the necessary skills for self-employment and management of the institution should ensure that students on SIWES attachment are encouraged to learn the necessary skills and students should be made to carryout practical project individually or in group after returning from SIWES programme to test their abilities.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Theory and practice of the crop and animal production for sustenance of man is known as agriculture. According to Onepede (2013), agricultural education therefore is the type of education that is employed in training learners, particularly undergraduates, improved agricultural production processes as well as the techniques of crop production and animal husbandry. The National Policy on Education (NPE, 2004), noted that Nigeria schools should teach practical skills, knowledge and values that will enable the graduates to solve their real life problems. Leaners learn better when they see, hear, feel or touch, which is the principle of learning by doing. This principle can be best achieved by oneself in practical agriculture activities (Osinem, 2008). Agricultural education practical activities in the school farm help to promote student’s interest to enter into production and marketing of crops and livestock in the society after graduation from school. One of such programmes that expose undergraduate students in agricultural education to the practical experience of agriculture is the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES). The SIWES programme for agricultural education students at colleges of education has become germane in developing students capacity for employment or entrepreneurship after graduation. The agricultural sector is endowed with several opportunities that will provide skills for agricultural education graduates for the production of farm products. These skills are special empowerment for self-employment that enables on to perform a given assignment very well on his own. According to Anyanwoucha (2011), an entrepreneur, who could also be called as self-employed person, is a person who makes plans for business or a piece of work and gets it going. He is the chief coordinator, controller and organizer of the production process. Self-employment is the ability to own and run a business well for profitable returns. Onipede (2013) asserts that to be self-employed mean that the individual would have acquired the knowledge, the skills and the attitude required in order to be successful in the business. This could be said of the relevant skills required of agricultural education graduates for self-employment.

Many agricultural education students who could not get practical skills on agricultural production during schooling have remained economically dependent on other agribusiness investors. They resort to seeking daily or monthly Paid jobs to eke out livelihood. This is because they lack entrepreneurial skills to be self-employed and to effectively function in present day world of work. Combining entrepreneurial skills and occupational skills available in agricultural sector makes agri-businesses successful venture (ILO, 2005).

It is therefore, important to look at SIWES as a means of building the capacities of agricultural education students in our educational system. The Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) is a planned and supervised training intervention best on a stated and specific learning and career objectives geared towards developing the occupational competencies of the participants. It is a programme required to be undertaken by all students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria pursuing courses in specialized engineering, vocational, technical, business, applied sciences and applied arts (ITF, 2004).

Therefore, SIWES is generic cutting across programmes in the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. Thus, SIWES is not specifically meant for any course of study or discipline. In Nigeria, the current form of cooperative education is known as the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES). Often, students mistakenly and commonly refer SIWES as IT, whereas Industrial Training is generic while SIWES is a specific form of cooperative education or industrial training operation in Nigeria.

The industrial training fund established the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) in 1973. The scheme was designed to expose students to the industrial environment and enable them to develop occupational competencies so that they can readily contribute their quota to national economic and technological development after graduation. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate the impact of SIWES on self-employment of agricultural education graduates for economic development.

Statement of the Problem

The Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) offers a practical means of self-employment, self-empowerment and entrepreneurship for agricultural education graduates. The practical relevance of agricultural education is derived in SIWES as agricultural education students are exposed to practical faming skills both in the field and classroom experience. It is a skill development programme designed to prepare agricultural education graduates of Nigerian Colleges of Education for transition for the college environment to work (Akerejola, 2008 cited in Ogbaluijah, 2014). SIWES offers work experience in an educational setting in which students participate in work activities while attending school. This work experience programme gives students the opportunity to be part of an actual work situation outside the classroom.

The impact of Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) has thus, been a cause of concern to education and economic planners, particularly with respect to graduates self-employability factor. Most agricultural education graduates find it difficult to establish a farm for self-employment after graduation. Even when government empowers them with incentives, they divert the fund to other business ventures because they lack the technical know-how of practical farming. In some cases when graduate manage to establish private farms, sustainability and proper management become a challenge and it ends up in futility. There are indeed mixed concerns about how much SIWES is required to adequately impact on agricultural education students’ readiness after graduation. While some institutions and programmes permit SIWES for only three months, others go for up to one year. There have been several research literature in the area of students work experience and its impact on students’ capacity building for the challenges of self-empowerment or self-reliance. Moreover, some schools lack adequate partnership with industries; that which would create and absorbent medium of students for practical experience. It is against this backdrop that the researcher chose to embark on an evaluation of the effect of SIWES on self-employment of agricultural education graduates: A case study of Federal College of Education (Technical) Asaba, Delta State.

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study is carryout evaluation of the effect of SIWES on self-employment of agricultural education graduates in Federal College of Education (Technical) Asaba, Delta State. Specifically, the study seeks to achieve the following objectives:

1. To identify the area of personal skills covered by SIWES in Agriculture.
2. To determine the perception agricultural education graduates on SIWES programme.
3. To ascertain the level of agricultural education graduates’ participation in agriculture after graduation.

Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide the study:

1.    What areas does personal skills cover in SIWES programme in Agriculture?
2. What is the perception agricultural education graduates on SIWES programme?
3. What is the level of agricultural education graduates’ participation in agriculture after graduation?

Significance of the Study

This study would be beneficial to the students, school administrators, industries, government and the academic society at large. Firstly, agricultural education students and graduates alike would benefit from the findings of this study in the sense that it will address the issue of lack of practical skills in agriculture as SIWES will expose them to practical learning of agricultural concepts and avail students the opportunity to be well-equipped with relevant entrepreneurial skills for self-employment after graduation. It would make them not to develop the mindset of depending on government for white-collar jobs. The findings of this research work will inform school administrators on the need of SIWES programme for agricultural education students so as to prepare them adequately for the future challenge of self-employment and self-reliance after graduation. Government and policy makers would find this study useful in policy review and implementation. The present study would expose the need to review agricultural education curriculum to make provision for practical learning and increase the stakeholders that should participate in absorbing agricultural education students in SIWES programme. The study would be useful to the agro-allied industries where agricultural education students are deployed for SIWES to organize trained personnel that psychic up and motivate youth to their workplace and reduce the cost of procuring human resources and capital to be actively involved in industrial operation within the period of SIWES prograrmme. Finally, the findings of this study will form a basis for further researchers in the academic society who might be interested in advancing this study on the other geographical regions of the country.

Scope of the Study

This research would be focused on the effect of SIWES on self-employment of agricultural education graduates in Federal College of Education (Technical) Asaba, Delta State. The study is delimited to final year students and lecturers in Agricultural Education Department of Federal College of Education (Technical) Asaba.

Pages:  55

Category: Project

Format:  Word & PDF               

Chapters: 1-5                                          

Source: Imsuinfo

Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.