The teaching profession in nigeria education essay

Before the introduction of western education in Nigeria, history has revealed that Nigerians had their traditional or indigenous system of education which was tied to the peoples’ occupation, religious practice and other aspect of culture. In the southern part of Nigeria predominantly Christians, the traditional education was functional and participatory as the child and adolescent were involved in the practice of farming, trading, craftwork, cooking, sweeping, proverbs, morale uprightness and traditional values (Fafunwa 1995). The traditional educational system has undocumented curriculum which makes it informal. Clestus (2008) affirmed that children in the system were made to understand, appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of the community at large, and assessment of their performances was on regular basis. In the Northern part of Nigeria which is predominantly Muslim, their educational system was slightly different because of their contact with some Arabian territories. Two types of schools were operated namely; Makarantan Allo (Slate School) and Makarantan Ilmi (Advance School). At first the child is enrolled in the Makarantan Allo where they will learn Arabic alphabets and later Quranic verses using Allo (slate). The writing on the slate is done using Tawada (local ink), at this stage the child is under strong supervision of a Mallam (Islamic scholar) who has right over him more than his parents. At the completion of Makarantan Allo the child is then enrolled to Makarantan Ilmi where he will learn other areas like Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) Nahwu (Arabic grammar) and some other Advance Islamic Knowledge (Salahu, 2000). The Islamic system of education was aimed at a balanced development of the individual and the society. It provides spiritual and moral training and also encouraged the acquisition of knowledge and skills which could facilitate worldly/material pursuit (Usman, 2008)As far as western education is concerned, the Portuguese were the first European to influence the education system of Nigeria. They landed in Benin City in 1472 and established trading ports. In 1515 the Roman Catholic Portuguese missionaries had set up a school in the Oba of Benin’s palace (King’s palace) for his sons and chiefs. So between 1515 and 1552, The Roman Catholic churches and schools were established on the Island of Sao Tome and Principe off Nigerian coast, for the training of priest and teachers. These were the first attempts by Christian missionaries to introduce Christianity and western education into Nigeria (Clestus, 2008). These efforts by the churches were subsequently wiped out by slave trade and other cultural reasons, until 19th century there was no missionary efforts, the return of the western form of education was spearheaded by Rev. Thomas Birch freeman assisted by William De Graft who introduced western education in Badagry, Lagos in September 1842. Those that later followed were Church Missionary Society (CMS), the Roman Catholic Mission (RCM), and Church of Scotland. Missionary work and establishment of schools were however limited to areas such as; Lagos, Badagry, Abeokuta, Onitsha and Calabar (Fafunwa 1995). Western education has been in the southern part of Nigeria for long before coming to the Northern part. Hans Vischer (alias Dan Hausa) was the one who drew up the colonial policies on education in Northern Nigeria. The new educational policy did not give official recognition to the long established Islamic Education/Qur’anic Schools in the North. Also aspects of Islamic Education were not incorporated in the school curricular (Usman, 2008). The philosophy of colonial education according to Vischer was to adopt western education to local condition which could facilitate the preservation of local institutions. A school known as the Nassarawa School was opened in Kano in 1910 for the sons of aristocrats in the North. The School consisted of elementary and primary schools as well as technical and vocational schools. According to Yusuf (2008) with the establishment of Nassarawa schools some Emirs in the North started requesting for the establishment of the Nassarawa type of School in their domains. This is how gradually western schools started spreading in the Northern part of Nigeria, thereby establishing western type of education in the whole region. Niger State, formally known as Niger Province occupied an enviable position in Nigeria due to her strategic location. The province was located in the central part of the country, the geographical significance of the province is reflected in the fact that Zungeru village in the province had served as the initial headquarters of the Colonial Government from 1901-1907 (Abdul-Majid 2010). Missionary Schools were established in the province particularly in Wushishi and Bida around 1906. This was in addition to a number of stations established by the Church Missionary Societies in places such as; Kateregi in 1904, Kuta in 1905, Mokwa and Kutigi in 1906. Prominent among the schools that were later established in the province were Bida Native Authority School and Kontagora Native Authority Schools for Sons of Chiefs and their relatives in 1912 (Abdul-Majid 2010).

The Teaching Profession in Nigeria

The history of teaching in Nigeria could be traced as far back as the missionary period, when the missionary trained and employed indigenous Nigerians to help in teaching various communities in the western and southern region. As pointed out by Adeyinka (1971) the missionaries trained their teachers through the pupil-teacher system, a system where the school and pupils lived in the same compound as one big family. The aim of this system is to have a close monitoring of the pupils activities and progress in respect of what they have been taught, because at the end of the training they will be subjected to an examination which will qualify them to be recruited as teachers. Fajana (1978) highlighted that the pupils who are within the age of 14 years had to passed the standard V examination before they will be recruited as teachers. The successful ones will be recruited as teachers to receive an hour instructions daily from their head- teacher who will teach them the elementary technicalities of teaching. With the establishment of teacher training school in the northern part of Nigeria in 1909, the system of teaching recruitment started to take a new shape. Having passed the standard V examination, a candidate must have served as a pupil-teacher for two years as assistant teacher before enrolling into another two years course at the Nasarawa school where he will be trained and made to sit and pass a prescribed teacher certificate examination (Fafunwa 1974). After sometimes there were a lot of criticism on the missionary’s system of teacher training and recruitment. In 1925 a committee was set up by the colonial administration to look on the issue. According to the report of the committee as stated by Jekayinfa (2005) the missionaries system of teacher training was unsatisfactory, the pupil- teacher was over-worked, under-paid, and the curriculum was poorly conceived. So an effective cadre teacher was suggested by the committee, they added that there should be significant improvements in the conditions of service of teachers in order to attract the best candidates into the profession. The recommendation of the committee was implemented, teaching became a profession with teachers becoming highly respected, they played a key leadership role in the local communities and acted as role models. They were next to colonial masters in order of ranking, so they are valued. They were seen as people sent by God to take ignorance away from the land in substitute for fortunes and good tidings of life (Usman 2008). He also added that, because of the respect attached to them, teachers hardly touched their salary as the community provides almost all their daily needs. Not until in 1955 when the western part of Nigeria introduced the universal education which led to massive enrolment of students into schools these led to employment of many untrained teachers which make it difficult for the colonial government to cater for them. In few years later, a commission was set up to review policy on teacher employment. In their report according to Adelabo (2005) it recommended the gradual elimination of untrained teachers in the schools, improvement of teachers’ condition of services, the promotion of efficient teachers to the highest professional grades. At present the teaching profession is no longer respected, the situation and conditions of teacher is said to be poor, the profession is becoming a class occupation in Nigeria teachers no longer form the base of the educated class in the society, the profession no longer carries the social prestige and respect accorded to it in the past, they are today followers rather than leaders (Mohammed 2006). There are so many factors that led to the derelegation of teaching profession in Nigeria, among them are: Low wages compared with other profession: Teachers in Nigeria are the least paid among other profession like medicine, engineering and law. Jagaba, (2008) pointed out that a lot of disparities do exist in terms of teachers’ salaries compared to other professions they receive less salary compared to the work they performed. A lot of them could not cope with the stipend given to them at the end of the month, is not surprising that Bala (2009) added that poor salary and condition of service affect teachers performances which result to qualified and productive teachers moving out to other places in search of better working condition. Lockhead et al (1993) concluded that, absolute low salaries is among the reasons why teacher hold to other jobs to supplement their living, this is a clear indication that teacher salaries is not encouraging at all particularly when compared to other profession, and this may be attributed to their low morale in teaching as many of them prefer to work in some sectors where the payment is reasonable and encouraging. Low staff morale: Teachers are the centre-piece of any educational system. No education system can rise above the quality of its teachers. Teachers whose morale is low are not likely to perform as expected in the school system. According to Ajayi and Oguntoye (2003), the numerous problems permeating the entire educational system in Nigeria such as cultism, examination malpractices, drug abuse, indiscipline, persistent poor academic performance of students in public examinations and many more seem to suggest that teachers have not been performing their job as expected. Fadipe (2003) posited that teachers, apart from students, are the largest most crucial inputs of an educational system. They influence to a great extent the quality of the educational output. Teachers’ irregular promotion, low pay package (when compared to other public workers), societal perception of the job and many more have dampened the morale of teachers. When teachers are not motivated, their level of job commitment may be low and the objectives of the school may not be accomplished. Low status in the society: Teachers are not highly respected as before. In many communities people prefer their children/ward to study courses that will not lead them to becoming teachers, they give priority to professional courses, it is not surprising that the status of those in the profession is not respected because of the little pay they receive from government. In Nigeria, reasonable payment is a factor that earns respect for a civil servant, if your salary is reasonable the community will respect you and your status will be upgraded because of the value money has in our daily activities. Higher teacher student ratio: According to the Nigerian National Policy on Education (2004 p. 22), the ratio of student teacher is 1: 40, but surprisingly because of teachers shortage and massive student enrolment, is very common to find a class with more than 80 students per teacher. Bala (2009) stated that as a result of poor management in our schools which resulted to non-conducive learning environment, more than 100 students sit in a class to receive instruction from a teacher. Poor salary coupled with high students’ population triggered the decision of so many teachers to leave teaching to another profession that the payment is better and with less workload. Poor working environment: Some schools in Niger state are not of standard, they are lacking all the required facilities for learning. Most schools today particularly the government owned schools are not equipped, classes are without chairs and desk, students sit on the floor, no windows and doors, in some schools during the rainy season, teachers had to cancel lesson because of unconducive nature of their classes. In summary, the status of teaching profession in Nigeria is not encouraging at all because the welfare and condition of service of teachers are not given due consideration as pointed by several authors above. But it is important to conclude this part with the advice given by Sunday & Lasun (2009) that, government has to improve on their welfare and teachers have to respect their profession and appreciate their responsibilities as teachers. By doing this, other people outside the profession will respect them and the profession will attract outsiders and retain those in it, they added that parents or guardians need to re-orient their children to go for the profession not to discourage them. This is important because in Nigerian communities many parents prefer their children to go for other courses than education, this is because they want their children to make more money while working, and to them teaching profession is not a profession that can easily enrich individual.

Administration and financing Secondary Education in Niger state

Secondary school education occupies a very important position in the educational system of Nigeria, it is the level that determines the academic and professional career of students, at this level the student determines what carrier he/she wants to choose and what to become in future. The National Policy on Education (NPE 2004 P. 4) has defined secondary education as ” the type of education children receive after the primary education and before the tertiary education” From the above, the strategic importance of secondary education is no longer in doubt, it is the bridge between the primary and tertiary education. Ajayi et. al (2009) added that, the aim of secondary education is to provide opportunity for quality education for primary school leavers, cater for the differences in talents of the pupils, develop Nigeria cultural heritage, produce a generation of people who respect the dignity of labour, foster Nigerian unity and to inspire its students with the desire for achievement and self- improvement both at school and in later life. Before the Nigerian independence, the administration of secondary schools lies within the jurisdiction of the colonial masters, but after the independence of 1960 the Nigerian government took over the schools from the Colonialist. In Nigeria there are two kinds of secondary schools, the federal government owned secondary schools and the state owned secondary schools. Two federal government secondary schools are located in each of the state of the Country, the financing and the administration of the schools is solely shouldered by the federal government, all issues regarding recruitment of staff and their salary, provision of learning facilities in the schools and whatever the school may require are provided by the federal government. On the other hand, each and every state has its own secondary schools. In Niger state for examples there are 215 secondary schools widely spread among the three educational zones of Kontagora, Minna and Bida educational zones, for details see Appendix A. The administration of these schools is run by the state government. Teachers are recruited by the state Secondary Education Board. Qualified applicants will be shortlisted for an interview before employing them as teachers. The minimum qualification of teaching in secondary schools is Nigerian Certificate of Education (NCE) although the board sometimes recruit those without teaching qualification, like holders of B. Sc degrees in other fields due to shortage of teaching staff. As the States controlled the affairs of secondary schools in the area of administration they are also in charge in the area of finance, despite the fact that each State relied on the monthly subvention from the federal government with the internally generated revenue to enable them pay the salary of workers (teachers inclusive) the state are to provide all the necessary facilities to their established secondary schools. Keith (2002) added that, Payment of Teachers’ Salary, provision of Instructional materials, building of classrooms in state owned Secondary schools is the responsibility of the State. In Niger state the case is the same, all the state established secondary schools are financed by the state. Teacher salaries, maintenance of classrooms and other facilities in the schools is shouldered by the state government. Though there is clear evidence that the Government of Niger state is not living up to expectation in the area of financing education. For example from the budget of 2009, 2010 and 2011 the money allocated to education was insufficient as indicated in the table below:

Table 1. 1 NIGER STATE GOVERNMENT APPROVED BUDGET

Year of Budget

Total Budget of the state

Allocation to Education

Percentage

2009

N 69, 090, 088, 075: 00

N 1, 590, 085, 257: 21

0. 23%

2010

N 115, 935, 318, 818: 00

N 1, 939, 454, 377: 00

1. 67%

2011

N 129, 611, 730, 715: 00

N 1, 799, 826, 989: 28

1. 39%

Sources: Niger State Budget and Planning office 2011NB. 1: USD= N155 (exchange rate)From the table above it is glaring that the fund allocated to education was very minimal. According to UNESCO (2010) the required budget allocation to education should be 26%, but looking at the above allocation in Niger state, it is clear that in 2009 Education received 0. 23% of the total budget, while the allocation increased in 2010 to 1. 67%, later dropped to 1. 39% in 2011. This is a clear indication that within the last three years, education was unable to get 2% of the total state budget. By implication of this analysis it is clear that Education is not given much appropriate priority in the state, and that could be another reason why the state is the lowest paid in terms of teacher salaries among her neighbouring states of Kogi, Nasarawa, and Kaduna States. The tables below show salary of graduate teacher in Niger state and Nassarawa States for comparism.

Table 1. 2: Salary of Graduate Teacher (GL 08/01) in Niger state

Annual SalaryN 384, 750. 91Monthly Salary before deductionsN 32, 062. 38

Monthly Deductions

Pension SchemeN 2, 404. 69Federal Mortgage BankN 801. 56Union DeductionN 961. 88Pay as you earnN 774. 27

Total Deduction

N 4942. 4

Source: Account Dept. Niger state Secondary Education Board (2012)

Table 1. 3: Salary of Graduate Teacher (GL 08/02) in Nassarawa state

Annual SalaryN 794, 359. 92Monthly Salary before deductionsN 66, 196. 66

Monthly Deductions

Pension SchemeN 2, 604. 69Federal Mortgage BankN 801. 70Union DeductionN 901. 00Pay as you earnN 794. 27

Total Deduction

N 5101. 66

Source: Account Dept. Nassarawa state secondary education board (2012)NB. In Niger state a graduate is employed as level 08 step 01, while in Nassarawa state he starts with level 08 step 02. From the tables above it is clear that, a graduate’s salary in Niger state after the monthly deductions is N 27, 120. 18 (USD 175. 00) per month, for details see Appendix B, while his counterpart in Nassarawa state earns N 61, 095. 00 (USD 395. 00) per month, after deductions. This could be a reason for teachers to leave teaching profession as indicated by Gladis et al (2007) that lack of financial benefits play a role of teachers leaving the profession. Infact, the condition of secondary schools in Niger state is at sorry stage, although it is not Niger state alone but virtually many states in the country as reported by Ekundayo (2010) who itemised the followings as problems associated with secondary education in Nigeria: Inadequate funding: Lack of proper allocation of fund is one of the obstacles that always affect efficient management of secondary education in the country. Aghenta (1991), added that the success of any secondary school depends upon the resources available to it. So this is clear indication that fund is very important in this regard because with money, all other vital things in the school can be obtained, such as school building, purchase of equipment, payment of teachers’ salaries and allowances and running expenses. In Niger State, so many secondary school principals are finding it difficult to run the affairs of their school because of lack of fund. Some schools make collections from students to enable them have little fund to fix one or two things in the School. Inadequate facilities: School facilities are the material resources that facilitate effective teaching and learning in schools, it makes instructions clearer and understandable. Jaiyeoba and Atanda (2005) commented that educational facilities are those things which enable a skillful teacher to achieve a level of instructional effectiveness that far exceeds what is possible when they are not provided. Secondary schools in Niger state have Laboratories that were virtually empty, classes were over populated, some of these classes are without chairs and desks for students to sit and learn. Poor supervision of schools: Effective instructional delivery and maintenance of standards in the school system are enhanced through regular internal and external supervision. The primary responsibility of inspectors is to see that high standards are maintained and that schools are run in accordance with the laid down regulations. While it has been argued that the principals have been discharging their duties as internal supervisors, the external supervisors (inspectors from the Ministry of Education) appear non-functional as they seldom visit schools to monitor the operations in these schools. Frequent changes in policies: Unlike many countries where policies are consistent and adhered to, in Nigeria the case is different, no matter how good a policy is, once the government that enacted the policy is gone, then the policy will be affected too. For example, in our educational system there were series of changes, from 7-5-4, 6-5-4 to 6-3-3-4 system.

The issue of teacher attrition

The rate of teacher attrition has become an issue to both policy makers and educational administrators which attracted series of research in both developed and developing nations. In the United States, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported that across the nation 9. 3% of public school teachers leave before they complete their first year in the classroom, and more than 15% of public school teachers leave before they complete their first three years of teaching (Rosenow, 2005). As revealed by Greiner & Smith, (2006) up to 50% of beginning teachers exit the teaching profession within their first five years of service in America. But three years later Chang (2009) discovered a little change and reported that 25% beginning teachers in America leave teaching in their third year of entry into the profession and almost 40% leave the job within the first five years. It is not surprising that, Dove (2004) added that American schools required annual infusions of many new teachers to meet the demand of growing students’ enrolment, expanded year of schooling and teacher attrition issue. In a study conducted by Boser (2000) on 10, 080 career teachers in the United States mapped the career patterns of individual between 1992-1993 to 1997-1998, he discovered that one fifth of all teachers who began teaching in public schools between 1993-1994 had left, by 1996-1997 he estimated the attrition to about 22%, the researcher concluded that 50% of all new teachers appointed to schools in high poverty districts left the profession within first three to five years of entering the service. Ingresoll (2001) reported that in 1994/1995 from a force out of just under three million, 417, 588 teachers departed their teaching jobs in America, this number however is more than the number of teachers hired. He further said that in 1990/1991 school year, 191, 179 teachers were newly appointed but in the following twelve months 173, 994 teachers equivalent to 91% left the job, three years later 192, 550 teachers newly entered the occupation but within a year 212, 908, equivalent to 110% of just hired left the occupation. Kirby et. al (1991) reported that about 16% of those who entered teaching in Texas between 1987 and 1996 left the public school system within their first year and 26% within two years. Robinson & Smithers (2001) conducted their studies in England and Wales. 470 schools were contacted, 431 agreed to participate in the study. 62. 4 per cent of the schools returned all questionnaires. Their reports revealed attrition rate of 9. 6% within the schools that participated, and about 70. 5% of the attrition fell in the summer term, with 19. 2 per cent in the autumn and 10. 3 per cent in the spring. They added that the main reasons the teachers gave for leaving were work overload, poor pay, lack of respect, poor discipline and having to teach outside their subject. In a research conducted by Centre for Education and Employment Research of the University of Liverpool (CEER, 2002) it was discovered that in England 12. 8% of secondary teachers resigned, they further commented that the large proportion of about 38. 8% were moving to another full-time position at a maintained school, while 5% and 13. 5% of teachers are leaving and retiring from the job respectively. In another declaration by the Secondary Heads Association (SHA) to the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee in 2004 stated that 50% of teachers in London are over the age of 45, 22% of teachers are aged 35- 44years while 28% of teachers are between the age of 21-35years. The implication of this analysis is that in few years coming there will be significant rise in the loss of teachers, because almost half of the population of the teachers teaching are within the age of 45 and above, by the next 15 years or there about almost half of teachers will leave teaching profession as a result of retirement and replacing this kind of experienced teachers will be very difficult. In Norway, the rate of teacher attrition is low compared to United States and Britain. Schone (1999) revealed that 8. 8% of teachers in Norway left their position just between November 1995 to November 1996 and about 4. 6% left teaching to another profession within and outside the country, whereas a total of 4. 2% moved to another school. In a similar research, Kober, Risberg & Texmon (2005) discovered that 85% of those with teachers degree that are below the retirement age were employed in the autumn of 2003, though only 57% were employed in the education sector, they further commented that 49% of all teachers leaving their teaching positions in 2003 went to jobs in non-educational sectors. In many African countries, the rate of attrition is alarming though the case is minimal in South Africa because of their improved economy and favourable condition of service compared to other African Nations. Hofmeyr & Jaff (1996) observed that teachers in South Africa work for an average of 200 days per year and their salaries is rated higher than other African countries and is promptly paid as at when due. It was added that, not quite long, a new salary scale was approved for them which resulted in making their pay handsome together with increase in other remuneration. The rate of attrition according to them is higher among the white teachers which is about 10. 7% while among the black teachers is only 3. 7%. In Lesotho, a country close to South Africa, Urwick Mapuru, & Nkhoboti, (2005) conducted a research in three district of Thaba-Tseka, Mafeteng & Maseru from 2002-2003, they discovered that Thaba-Tseka being the most remote area, is having the lowest rate of teacher attrition with only 0. 5%, this is due to less opportunity for the teachers of not having access to available job compared to their counterparts in the urban centres who has opportunity of many jobs. In Mafateng, the attrition rate among teachers is 10. 3% while Maseru has the highest with 13. 4% within the year of study. In Eastern part of Africa, from the data of Education Management Information System (EMIS) statistical bulletin (2008) reported that teacher attrition rate in Zambia has rapidly raised within four years, in 2004 the rate was 5. 5%, but increased to 11. 9% in 2008. Malawi government (2004) reported 10% teacher attrition rate as a problem within their educational system. The rate of teacher attrition among teachers in Niger State Secondary Schools is so alarming. In a report released by Niger State Secondary School Board (2011) the rate of attrition from 2009-2011 was analysed. It was shown that as at 2009 the state has 12, 280 teachers while in the same year a total of 1, 338 which is about 10. 9% exited the teaching profession. In 2010, the number increased to 1, 702 amounting to 15. 5%. The number of teachers who exited the teaching profession in year 2011 was reported to increase to 1, 950 which is about 21. 1%. This shows consistent increase in teacher attrition in the state. Teachers are leaving the profession to other profession such as Immigration, Customs, Civil defence corps, Politics and other Civil service which has better payment. One fundamental aspect of the report was that, from the year 2009-2011, the state has lost a total of 4, 990 teachers as a result of attrition, which is about 47. 5%. Out of the three educational zones, Minna educational zone has the highest rate of attrition with 20. 05%, out of the 47. 5%, Bida educational zone with 15. 3% and Kontagora zone with 12. 2% within the period covered by the report. In addition, the rate of attrition was higher among male than female and within the early period of teaching career. Despite the attrition rate across all subjects, science subjects suffer the most. In 2010 the Board conducted Teachers Supply Analysis, they discovered that in Physics subject there are only 28 qualified teachers out of which 18 are contract staff, meaning that, they are either working somewhere but decided to take up a contract appointment because that will not warrant them to become permanent teachers. At this point, one may argue that one of the contributing factors for this high rate of attrition among Niger State Secondary School Teachers can be attributed to the fact that most of the Secondary Schools in the State were located in urban cities. Urwick, Mapuru, Nkhoboti & (2005) highlighted that high rate of attrition is common among teachers in urban centres because of the availability of jobs and access to the required social amenities. In Niger State for example more than 60% of the Secondary Schools are located in the major cities of Minna, Kontagora, Bida, Suleja & Borgu. Teachers in these cities have access to mass media like; television, newspapers and Internet where job vacancies are advertised, so it is becoming easier for them to apply compared to their colleagues in remote areas where they are lacking the required amenities. Apart from teacher attrition which has already posed a trait to the teaching profession, one glaring issue discovered by some researches is teachers willingness or intention to leave teaching profession. Ghana Association of Teachers (GNAT) in 2009 conducted a survey among 1000 teachers in different parts of the country, their outcome revealed that over 60% of the respondents indicated their interest of leaving the job, and when asked their preferred jobs, 29. 2% revealed that they want to work in finance, while 30. 9% want community and personal sector. In a related research, Popoola (2009) realised that 35. 5% of teachers in Ondo state of Nigeria had tried to leave teaching at one point in their work carrier. Reports from the media in Niger state has indicated that, whenever there is advertisement of vacant positions in Agencies, Ministries or Parastatal, majority of those attending interview are teachers, this may not be far from the fact that teachers are among the least paid workers in the civil service compared to the work they performed. Ekundayo (2010) said ” Teachers irregular promotion, low package (when compared to other public workers) societal perception of the job and many more dampened the morale of teachers” It is important to note that there is no actual percentage as regards to teacher attrition becoming a problem, because it varies widely between countries. But researchers like Mulkeen A. et at (2007) stated that teacher attrition rate can be a problem when it fall within the range of 5-30%. This is in line with Pitsoe, & Machaisa, (2012) who mention the same percentage of 5-30% in their research as the usual range of teacher attrition within countries, although the authors concluded that it may varies at times and can be more than the stated percentage.

Why Teacher retention?

Having discussed the issue of attrition in different parts of the world, it is deemed necessary to pinpoint some reasons why retention is important, as my proposed research is aiming at exploring factors in relation to teacher retention. Several researches testified that, teachers make positive impact on schools particularly with regards to the students’ performance (Wright, Horn, & Sanders, 1997; Rowan, Correnti, & Miller, 2002; Goldhaber & Anthony, 2004). So retaining them is very paramount, but one very important fact remained that, not all teachers are good, as good teachers influence students learning, bad teachers may end up imparting bad ideas to the students. Guarino et al., (2004) & Hanushek et al., (2004) suggested that not all teachers should be retained in school, only the good teachers are to be retained. This is a good idea because, retaining bad teachers is just like wasting resources hence they have little or no impact to schools, so flushing them out will even be better for schools in other to give chance for those that will come in and contribute positively. So the submission below and the entire research is aimed at focusing on the need for retaining good teachers. Pitsoe & Machaisa (2012) commented on the importance for retaining teachers, that inability to retain teachers will places the education system at risk of lower teacher quality, greater inequity in student opportunities, and increased inefficiency as more funds are diverted to recruiting and training new teachers. Retaining teachers particularly those at their early age of entrance into the profession is important because if they are allowed to leave, definitely the school have to replace them with another set of novices and this will persistently weak the instructions in the school, but if they are retained they will gradually become experienced since there is general consensus that teaching effectiveness increases within at least the first few years of a teacher’s career (Hanushek et al., 2004; & Rockoff, 2003). If teachers repeatedly leave a school before becoming competent in their practice, students will be taught by a string of teachers who are, on average, less effective than more experienced teachers. It is good to examine the financial implications of inability to retain teachers. In 2000 a research has been conducted by the Texas Center for Educational Research. They discovered that schools in Texas may be spending between $329 million and $2. 1 billion dollars every year as result of teachers leaving the profession (Texas Center for Educational Research, 2000). This huge amount of money will includes recruiting another set of teachers, their training which involves induction/mentoring and other related issues concerning the appointment. The implication of this is that, every year the state will continue to loose large sum of money if they were unable to retain their teachers, but if they can be able to retain them, there will be a large slide reduction on the anticipated amount to be wasted yearly as a result to teacher attrition. In a related study, the alliance for excellent education in the United States (2005) estimated that, the cost of replacing public school teachers who have dropped out of the profession is $2. 2 billion a year. If the cost of replacing public school teachers who transfer schools is added, the total reaches $4. 9 billion every year. For individual states, cost estimates range from $8. 5 million in North Dakota to a whopping half a billion dollars for a large state like Texas. It is not surprising that bulk of researches on teacher retention has been conducted in the United States because of the huge amount of money they are loosing as a result of teacher attrition. Nweke and Eads (2007) conducted their study in Georgia. In reporting the outcome the study they analysed that, within the year of the study it cost the state of Georgia almost $400 million to replace the teachers lost to attrition. They concluded that if the state had reduced attrition by retaining their teachers with about 35%, the cost of replacing teachers would have been reduced by more than $136 million. In summary, it is clear that allowing teachers to quit out of the teaching profession has a huge financial implication as indicated above, so doing all possible best to retain teachers is necessary in other to avoid unnecessary spending, because the money that will be used in observing all the recruitment policy of new teachers, the time that will be wasted in the process counts a lot.

1. 2 Statement of the problem.

Over the years, secondary school teachers in Niger state have complained of government inability to satisfy their needs. Their salaries are not paid when month ends, their promotion is delayed and when implemented, the financial involvement is not paid from the time the promotion took place. The classrooms where they teach is over-crowded and in some cases, the children sit on the floor to learn (NUT 2011). In line with these, Okpala (2006) added that, many secondary school children in Nigeria learn under the shade of trees while many sit on the floor to learn in their classrooms. This makes it difficult for the teacher to manage his class effectively. Besides, government officials from the Ministry of Education, parents, and members of the community where they teach do not have respect for them. In support of that, Baiki (2002) stated that teachers at present time are not accorded the respect they deserved. In addition, to enhance their economy and improve their living standards most of them engage in other business ventures during the school period. The time and energy devoted to the business affect commitment to duty as a teacher and consequently hinders the performance of their students (Nwuju and Uzoaru 2010). Moreover, Idogho (2002) states that when teachers are not adequately taken care of especially with regards to regular and prompt payment of their salaries and other entitlements, their attitude to work automatically changes, and the next thing is to start thinking of an alternative jobs. It is therefore very necessary to address these problems if not there will not be any meaningful achievement in education in Niger state. Studies revealed Teacher attrition as one among the factors associated to failure in students’ achievements in schools (Boyd et. al, 2008; Grace, 1991; & Konnac, 1996). Large decline in student’s achievements in both Arts and Science Subjects can easily be observed in Nigerian Secondary Schools and Niger State as well, the failure rate is so alarming, from the analysis of the results released by the National Examination Council (NECO) and West Africa Examination Council (WAEC). In 2009 Senior School Certificate Examinations conducted by NECO, over 90% of the students who sat for the examination failed. Out of 236, 682 candidates who sat for the examination only 1. 8% made five credits including Mathematics and English language. In 2010 less than 25% of the total candidates of 132, 357 that sat for the Examinations passed with five credits. In 2011 about 24. 86% achieved the University entry requirement (NECO, 2011). The problem is almost the same in WAEC. In 2008 only 23. 5% passed in Mathematic and English Language with credits in three other subjects. In 2009, the percentage increased to 25. 99%, while in 2010 the number declined to 20. 04% (WAEC, 2010)In Niger State, out of the 22, 827 candidates that sat for the 2007 WAEC Examinations only 621 Candidates passed with five credits including Mathematics and English Language representing only 2. 72%. In 2008, the percentage increased to 3. 29%. In NECO Examinations of 2007, the results improved sharply with about 19. 59% of the candidates passed with five credits including Mathematics and English Language. Although there may be other factors that can causes students’ failure in examinations, but this mass failure among students in Niger state secondary schools may be attributed to the shortage of competent teachers as a result of attrition. So there is the urgent need to explore on factors that will help in retaining teachers so as to arrest the issue of mass failure among our secondary school students with the aim of moving our education forward. Quite reasonable numbers of studies were conducted on teacher retention, but most of these studies were in developed nations like Britain, United States and Australia, although few studies can be found on Nigeria which majority of the conducted studies were carried out in the Southern part of Nigeria. No study yet on teacher retention in Niger State and the State is desperately in need of a research of this kind because of the rate at which teachers are leaving the teaching profession. There is the urgent need to conduct this study so as to bridge the gap and to also proffer possible solutions to the existing problem of attrition.

1. 3 Research questions.

This research will attempt to answer the following research questions: What are the factors that causes secondary schools teacher attrition in Niger State, Nigeria? How does teacher attrition factors affects education in the state? How would Niger state government and educational administrators ensure teacher retention in the state? What are those factors that can improve in retaining teachers in Niger state secondary schools from Teachers perspective?

1. 4 Research Objectives.

This research will attempt to achieve the following objectives: 1. To explore the causes of teacher attrition in Niger state secondary schools. 2. To describe how teacher attrition affect education in Niger State. 3. To describe government roles and the roles of school principals in teacher retention. 4. To explore factors that can help in improving teachers’ retention in Niger state secondary schools.

1. 5 Significance of the study.

As teachers continue to leave the teaching profession in Niger state, policy makers must identify factors related to attrition and possible ways of retention if the current situation needs to be addressed. This study tends to provide useful information that will assist Niger state ministry of education in understanding the problems associated with teacher attrition and provide the necessary measures that will help in the retention of teachers in Niger state secondary schools. The study will further help them in planning for incentives packages that will be attractive for workers in the field. The findings of this research may be of help to the Personnel Department of Niger State Secondary Education Board in the area of recruiting and maintaining standard on the process. Considering the vital roles of principals in schools, findings from this study will equip them with the knowledge on how to handle novice teachers, by way of rendering all sort of assistance with the aim of retaining them (novice teachers) in the job. This study will provide policy makers and implementers in the Ministry of Education, principals, and other interest groups with information on the significance of teacher retention in an educational organization and propose best ways on how to tackle the issue of teacher attrition among teachers of secondary schools in the state. The research will also serve as a reference point to scholars who will be wishing and willing to study teacher attrition and retention in Nigeria, and will reduce the wide literature gap that exist in the field particularly in Niger state and Nigeria at large.

1. 6 Scope and delimitation of the study.

The study is specifically aimed at exploring factors in relation to teacher retention in secondary schools of Niger State. The study will cover only government established secondary schools in the state. It does not include private established secondary schools. This is because private schools are owned by individuals although government has responsibilities over formulating educational policies regarding their standard, but do not however have right over their recruitment policies and the welfare of their staff. The major limitation to the study is that, a qualitative method will be used in carrying out the research with limited number of participants to be selected, details of the procedures is explained in chapter three.

1. 7 Definition of terms

Teacher: According to Afe (2002) Teacher in the educational process refers to the person who instructs to provide the teaching-learning process. He assumes various capacities as educator, instructor, tutor, lecturer, counsellor, professor and so on. He is the mainstay or prime mover of the educational system. According to Aghenta (1991), as an input operator into the educational system, the teacher plays a big role in the conversion of raw materials (particularly students) into finished products i. e. graduates. To this study, a Teacher is someone with or without teaching qualification, who found himself in the teaching profession. Retention: According to Adelabu (2005) Retention is the act of putting all the necessary efforts to prevent teachers from leaving the teaching profession. It is also an effort to make teacher remain in teaching profession. In this study, retention means the same. Attrition: Croasmum, Hampton & Herrman (2002) defined Attrition as the movement of employees out of the organisation or any permanent departure beyond organisational boundaries. In this study attrition referred to voluntary exit of teachers out of teaching profession, it could be at the early or mid-period in the teaching carrier.