The Effect Of Employment On Sandwich Graduate At The Labour Market
Abstract
The study looked at the impact of employment on sandwich graduates on the job market, using University of Lagos as a case study. Under sub-headings, a review of the pertinent and associated literature was conducted for this study. By using a questionnaire and a sampling technique, the descriptive research survey was employed to gauge the respondents’ attitudes. To represent the study’s whole population, 200 (two hundred) respondents in total were chosen and used as samples. In this investigation, a total of four (4) null hypotheses were developed and applied. The t-test statistical tool was used as the test instrument, with a 0.05 level of significance. The following findings came to light at the conclusion of the experiment: there is a significant effect of the sandwich program on employment of sandwich graduates at the labour market, there is a significant difference in employment between sandwich graduates and full-time graduates of the University of Lagos, there is a significant gender difference in employment of sandwich graduates due to type of academic program in the school, and there is a significant difference in employment o The following recommendations were made based on the findings of this study: the sandwich graduates should not be subjected to discrimination because of the age differences between the students in question, and when it comes to certificate issuance, the certificates given to the sandwich graduates should not be written in a part-time or sandwich manner that is different from that given to the full-time graduates.
Chapiter 1
Introduction
Background Information
The ability of governments to consistently hire teachers who are suitably qualified to keep up with the rising student enrollment in Nigeria’s secondary schools has been impacted by the growing and expanding fiscal responsibilities of governments at the federal and state levels. Because of this, using Sandwich Programs and part-time programs at tertiary institutions in Nigeria continues to be a reliable way to raise the academic standards of serving teachers while also increasing the overall supply of teachers for Nigerian secondary schools (Mezieobi, 2006).
According to Mkpa (1997), the purpose of sandwich and part-time teacher education is to give teachers and those who are interested in teacher education opportunities for intellectual growth and competence in their professional roles. These individuals would not be accommodated in the regular school-based programs due to job protection and the maintenance of their adult family and socioeconomic responsibilities.
It’s interesting to note that the much-lauded distance education program, promoted by the Obasanjo administration in 2000, has great potential to increase access to education, but it is hampered by a lack of practical communication devices, inadequately packaged programs, an unstable power supply, trained personnel for distance or sandwich learning, and efficient machinery to oversee its implementation. Sandwich and part-time teacher education programs are examples of educational innovation that aim to increase access to the development of human resources in teacher education (Dashen, 2002).
It is impossible to overstate how well prospective students have responded to sandwich programs and part-time study at this difficult economic time. This is so that more people can attend school full-time and focus solely on reading. However, given the socioeconomic climate in our culture, many students come to the conclusion that before beginning any study program, a person must first have a job that will pay them regularly. As a result, it is not uncommon to see applicants racing into sandwich programs these days, which are solely seasonal, leaving the rest of the year free for finding productive employment (Makinde, 1996).
Given the wide range of their professional and non-professional interests, and especially the obstacles placed in their path to full-time study programs like the issues arising from domestic lives, work, and study (Afe, 1990), it is not surprising that the majority of candidates for such a program are adults. One would concur that the ages range from 25 to 51 by which they are supposed to be independent of their parents’ or guardians’ care, according to Afe (1990), a survey of sandwich students’ ages. More than 70% of them are married and have kids.
It’s interesting to note that the number of colleges of education climbed from less than 8 to around 17 by the late 1970s, indicating that sandwich students’ interests in continuing education have usually increased. The NTI – National Teachers’ Institute Centers and other centers with different labels like the Project-Time in the development of additional teachers in our schools are currently training external applicants for the Nigerian Certificates in Education. Ilogu (1996) claims that the purpose of this is to mitigate the impact of the population expansion brought on by the implementation of the National Development Plans (1960–1985) and the Universal Primary Education (UPE) of the 1970s.
According to Makinde (2001), there is a lot of curiosity among higher education institutions on the consequent increase in secondary school leavers today compared to the decline in the number of new applicants into universities each year. In addition, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is making matters worse by using cutoff points in the admission quota for various facilities, which is unprecedented. The majority of adults would be learners who are at a disadvantage because the emerging youth are the main emphasis. The implementation of sandwich programs at various Nigerian colleges is therefore not surprising.
The Institute of Education’s functions are a manifestation of the aforementioned. They include the following:
(a) to arrange for teachers’ in-service training and other programs and courses;
(b) to establish study programs, conduct seminars, and convene conferences;
(c) to plan pre-service, in-service, and continuing education programs for educators;
(d) to create programs that are pertinent to the needs of the society it serves in order to close the gap between the “Gown” and the “Town”.
According to the National Policy on Education (1981), the National Certificate in Education (NCE) would be the minimum requirement for primary school teachers once the 6-3-3-4 system started. As is common knowledge, numerous classes of SSCE graduates have been produced. This assumes that the majority of secondary teachers who formerly held NCE certificates must raise their academic standards in order to successfully integrate into the secondary school system, or else risk being reassigned to the primary school sector (Madufor, 2000).
There is little doubt that the type of curriculum (sandwich) that sandwich graduates have gone through in school has hindered their ability to get jobs. Sandwich graduates do not find employment on the labor market as readily as full-time graduates, despite the fact that sandwich is no longer inscribed on their diplomas. That is to say, they experience severe discrimination on the job market. For instance, Munachi (2000) claims that many firms favor hiring or retaining graduates from full-time programs over graduates from sandwich programs. Employers believe that sandwich or part-time students lack topic mastery because they were not thoroughly trained in their chosen academic fields. They also believe that those who completed the sandwich program are senior citizens who, if hired, might work efficiently and successfully.
Today’s graduates’ employability exclusively rests on the types of programs they studied in school, their age, and their grade point average, claims Onwuama (2001). Onwuama argued that graduates who are relatively young, who completed the full-time program, and who received their degrees in the first class or second upper division are more likely to be hired than those who received their degrees in the second class lower, third class, or who completed the part-time or sandwich program. This is because there aren’t enough jobs in the nation, which has forced employers of labor to adopt a strict approach in order to weed out some applicants who are looking for work on the labor market.
1.2 Description of the Issue
It is impossible to overstate the impact of employment on sandwich graduates at the University of Lagos. There is little doubt that the type of curriculum (sandwich) that sandwich graduates have gone through in school has hindered their ability to get jobs. Sandwich graduates do not find employment on the labor market as readily as full-time graduates, despite the fact that sandwich is no longer inscribed on their diplomas. That is to say, they experience severe discrimination on the job market. For instance, Munachi (2000) claims that many firms favor hiring or retaining graduates from full-time programs over graduates from sandwich programs. Employers believe that sandwich or part-time students lack topic mastery because they were not thoroughly trained in their chosen academic fields. They also believe that those who completed the sandwich program are senior citizens who, if hired, might work efficiently and successfully.
The aforementioned issues drove this researcher to conduct a study of University of Lagos graduates in order to investigate the impact of employment on sandwich students at the labor market.
1.3 Study’s Objectives
The following are among the goals of this study:
(1) Determine whether sandwich programs have an impact on graduates’ employment prospects.
(2) Determine whether sandwich graduates from the University of Lagos and full-time graduates have different employment patterns.
(3) Examine whether the sort of academic program has an effect on the employment of sandwich graduates by gender.
(4) Determine whether age has an impact on the employment of sandwich graduates.
1.4 Research Issues
In this study, the following research questions were posed:
Will the sandwich program have an impact on graduates’ employment prospects?
2. Will there be a difference in employment opportunities between University of Lagos sandwich graduates and full-time graduates?
3. How can we find out if the type of academic program is causing a gender gap in the employment of sandwich graduates?
4. Will age affect the employment of sandwich graduates in any significant way?
1.5 Research Theories
The following theories will be developed and put to the test:
1. The employment of sandwich graduates on the labor market will not be significantly impacted by the sandwich program.
2. There won’t be a noticeable difference in employment opportunities between University of Lagos sandwich graduates and full-time graduates.
3. Regardless of the academic curriculum, there will be no appreciable gender disparity in the employment of sandwich graduates.
4. The age of sandwich graduates will not significantly affect their career opportunities.
1.6 Importance of the Research
Some persons and a certain group of people will profit from this study:
(1) The findings and suggestions of this study will be helpful to the sandwich students because they will enable them to comprehend how employment affects the sandwich program. Additionally, this research can help students comprehend some other barriers to finding meaningful employment, particularly in the job market.
(2) This study would increase the lecturers’ awareness of the impact of students’ (sandwich) programs on their employment on the job market. Lecturers and other educators at other levels of the Nigerian educational system will be able to understand the connection between the nature of the program and the employment of students in the labor market.
(3) The school administration will have a better understanding of how kids are balancing work and school. The school authorities would be able to grant concessions to people who engage in ordinary labor and also enroll in sandwich programmes to refresh their academic profiles with the findings and recommendations of this study.
(4) The results and suggestions of this study will provide useful information to the society. With the help of this study, society will be aware of how a student’s course of study affects their ability to find job.
1.7Area of Study
The University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos study examines the impact of employment on sandwich graduates in the labor market.
1.8 Limited scope of the study
The proper completion of this investigation would be severely hampered by financial, scheduling, and other logistical issues.
1.9 Term Definition
In this study, operational words would be defined as follows:
(1) Employment: In this study, it refers to the work someone does to make ends meet.
(2) Sandwich or Part-Time Students: This refers to the educational program in which students are permitted to enrol in classes on a part-time basis. It differs from studying full-time.
(3) Constraints: These are what obstruct or prohibit anything from succeeding successfully.
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