Manpower Planning and Education Innovations: the Nigeria’s Experience

Abstract

Education is the means by which citizens are equipped with the necessary attitudes, knowledge and skills that will enable them contribute meaningfully to national and human development. This paper therefore examined the need for manpower planning and education innovations in Nigeria. A survey design was used for this study with a population of one hundred and thirty –three (133) academic and administrative staff from the rank of Deans, Heads of Departments and Senior lecturers from eight (8) tertiary institutions in South- Eastern parts of Nigeria. No sample was used since the population was small and manageable. Research questionnaires where used to collect data from participants. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while the t-test and chi-square were used to test the hypotheses at P-value of 0.05 or 5% level of significances. The findings of the study revealed that manpower structure in the Nigerian education sector had been able to yield the expected results. It equally revealed that education in Nigeria in the last two decades had undergone a series of tremendous structuring and restructuring which resulted to under utilization and loss of trained manpower in the teaching profession. However, the research paper offered practical suggestions to find solution for the situation so that the Nigerian educational system can stem the over-production of real manpower needs for the required national development.