EVALUATION OF THE PROCESS FOR RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, APPOINTMENT AND PROMOTION OF STAFF IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION IN NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
This study focused on Evaluation of the Procedure for Recruitment, Selection, Placement and Promotion of Staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. For the purpose of this research, five research objectives were set to examine the procedure for recruitment of staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State; assess the guidelines for selection of staff in the Ministry of Education Nasarawa State; ascertain the criteria for placement of staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State. The study asked whether the procedure for staff recruitment is followed in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State? What are the guidelines for selection of staff in the Ministry of Education Nasarawa State? Are criteria for placement of staff complied by the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State? The null hypotheses stated that there is no significant difference in the opinions of teachers, Ministry of Education officials and Science and Technical Management Board officials on the procedure for recruitment of staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State. There is no significant difference in the opinions of teachers, MOE officials and STMB officials on the guidelines for selection of staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State. There is no significant difference in the opinions of teachers, MOE officials and STMB officials on the criteria for placement of staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study and data were collected using constructed questionnaire which was prepared and validated by experts in educational administration and planning. The population of the study involved 6523 teachers, 94 Ministry of Education officials and 60 Science and Technical Management Board officials. Hence, out of 13 local government councils of the state, 6 were randomly selected in which 360 teachers, 57 MOE officials and 28 Science and Technical Management Board officials were used as sample for the study. The reliability coefficient was obtained at 0.89 using Cronbach’s Alpha Statistical Technique. The data collected were presented by the use of frequency counts and percentages. The formulated hypotheses of the study were tested using Analysis of Variance at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed among others that there was compliance with civil service policies on staff recruitment procedure in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State; there was no adequate implementation of guidelines for selection of staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State; and there was compliance to the criteria for placement of staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that due process should be strictly maintained by compliance to the civil service rules in recruitment of staff so as to give equal chance for all interested candidates in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State. Candidates’ quality and qualification should be prioritized in selection of staff in the Ministry of Education, Nasarawa State; and placement of staff should be strictly on working experience and area of specialization in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Every organization is made up of two major components; the human and the material resources; without which the objectives of the organization will be difficult to achieve. Human and material resources are input into the system through various processes in order to achieve the desired output. Human and material resources are important because they comprise the workforce of organizations. Rogers (2006) noted that limited success of many adult literacy programmes is often attributed to inadequate resources as well as the utilization of the resources available.
Thus, Recruitment, selection, placement and promotion of human resource is a major part of an organization‘s overall resourcing strategies which identify and secure people needed for the organization to survive and succeed. Better recruitment and selection procedure results in improved organizational outcomes. The more effectively an organization recruits, selects, places and promotes candidates the more likely they retain satisfied personnel. It is important to determine the strategy which an organization uses to recruit, select and place employee and the contingent workforce in terms of their skills and technical abilities, especially in education organization. According to Adebayo (2000), the functions of a personnel department and a personnel officer includes recruitment, selection, training and development, promotion, job evaluation and formulation of manpower policies in an organization. In view of the importance of personnel in the achievement of the objectives of organization in Nigeria, recruitment, selection and placement are processes that are critical to the accomplishment of any organization goals. Therefore, it is important to understand from the beginning that recruitment, placement and promotion are activities entrusted to the personnel department of the agency to take the final decision as to which candidates should be employed.
Thus, educational activities in Nigeria need professionals and qualified personnel in the field of educational programmes, and this can only be done when the qualified teachers and other educational administrators are recruited in line with the procedure and practices of recruitment, selection and placement based on the provision of Nigerian Civil Service Commission. The State Civil Service Commission is in charge of recruitment, selection, placement and promotion in Nasarawa State based on the vacant positions of the work force of specializations needed by the state government. The civil service commission therefore, should be able to offer equal opportunities to all citizens to work in the government service as indicated in section 14(3) of (1999) constitution on provision of equal opportunities for advancement, promotion and equal favourable conditions of service as stated in the Federal Civil Service (1998).
To ensure uniformity, standardization and transparency in the federation decree No.43 section 9(1) 1998 which stated that each Ministry will undertake the appointment, discipline and promotion of its staff under general and uniform guidelines of Federal Civil Service (1998), it further emphasized on the provision of adequate human and material resources in educational organization, pointing out that the qualification and commitment of the personnel is important to the success and upliftment of education in Nigeria. This is because employee‘s talent and qualification always influences the effectiveness of any programme. This commensurate the view of Balami and Dibal (1997), who stated that an examination of these policies on formal and nonformal education reveals that adequate provision should be made for the recruitment and training of professional staff in Nigeria. According to them the individual recruited to work for the education and how the professional competence is developed for
discharging the responsibilities to the organization will affect the level of success that can be achieved.
To encourage proper implementation of recruitment policy in organization, Singer and Ojo (2000), lamented that recruitment is a process of actively identifying potentially qualified employee and encouraging them to apply for position in the organization. Likewise, Aminu (2005), stated that the main purpose of recruitment is to provide an organization with a pool of potentially qualified candidate to select from. This includes collecting, measuring and evaluating information about the candidates‘ qualifications for specific positions. Before the process of recruitment begins, manpower planning precedes it. Manpower planning which is one of the functions of personnel administration, is of utmost importance. It is the process of assessment of an organization‘s requirements in terms of number of personnel needed for a job, job description, skills and specialization it incorporates, duration for which the personnel is required, nature of work, objectives of the job in line with the objectives and goals of the organization etc. It is a sound manpower planning that gives adequate time for recruitment, selection placement as well as training and promotion of such personnel.
In respect of placement of staff, the State Civil Services Commission has the responsibilities of it based on the few numbers of chances available and strictly observed. Thus, if an organization needs to ensure growth and development of its human and material resources, proper placement of staff should be optimally considered. Thus, placement is the process of assigning people into certain position who have been selected for the job. Once a letter of employment has been given, the next stage is to place the newly recruited staff into their area of specializations. Egunyomi (2000), emphasized that newly recruited candidates should be objectively placed in order to get the desire outcome. Most organizations placed their newly recruited staff on temporary and probationary appointment for a period of time usually for the period of one year, at the end of this period, appointment could be confirmed if the performance of the newly recruited staff is satisfactory, this is applicable in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State Nigeria.
Placement is understood as the allocation of people to the job. It is the assignment or re-assignment of an employee to a new or different job. Placement includes initial assignment of new employees and promotion, transfer or demotion of present employees. The placement arises out of promotion, transfer, demotion. Assignment of new employee to a job apparently seems to be simple task. The employer advertises the job and applications are received from candidates for a specific post. The advertisement contains job description and job specifications in detail. When a candidate has been selected, it is logical that the individual is placed in a position that was advertised earlier.
Nevertheless, Promotion is derived from the Latin word meaning ‘to move forward’. It can be a horizontal (same level) promotion or vertical (higher position) promotion along with higher emoluments and responsibilities. It is necessary for rewarding an employee for accomplishments, boosting staff morale, motivation and retains his/her services. It should be just, fair and equal for the true spirit and benefits of the same to be yielded for the organization. The standard specifications should be made clear to all employees of the organization setting forth the duties, qualifications, merit factors and ways of determining the same should be clearly outlined and specified beforehand so that there is no ambiguity regarding the same in any body’s mind.
In Nasarawa State Ministry of Education, promotion and transfer is done based on the time individuals are due for the exercise. Also, promotion and transfer are carryout from the various Ministries, Boards and Parastatals to the civil service commission respectively. Transfer is normally required because from time to time there are vacancies that need to be filled up in an organization and the members of staff are to be posted from one place to another. There are few posts and many contenders therefore the personnel administration has to be very careful and alert while carrying out transfer policy to avoid negative ramifications for the whole organization. Therefore, it is from this background that the present study set to embark on the assessment of the Procedure for Recruitment,
Placement and Promotion of Staff in Nasarawa State Ministry of Education.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
This study focused on the assessment of the Procedure for Recruitment, Placement and Promotion of Staff in Nasarawa State Ministry of Education, Nigeria. It is assumed that non compliance to implement the guidelines on recruitment, selection, placement and promotion is a big constraint that leads to non-achievement of organizational objectives. In the education sector, ―Improper recruitment of staff (teaching and non-teaching staff) can produce long-term negative effects such high rate of training and development costs on personnel, poor teachers‘ and students‘ performance, lack of attainment to educational objectives, poor motivation and incentives for workers and insecurity for the personnel‖ (Kuri, 2011).
Nowadays, the staff placement in educational organization is not a simple task, the exercise has been interrupted with several constraints ranging from political interferences and godfatherism. These factors are causing organizations and individuals to determine the placement process more closely. It was observed that most of educational organizations including Nasarawa State Ministry of Education are faced with political interest during staff recruitment and placement that significantly strikes the compliance to the laid down guidelines for recruitment and placement of staff in the sector. This commensurate with the view of Fajemiroko (1974), who stated that improper recruitment and placement of staff occurs as a result of ethnicity, religious strife, corruption, political interferences, leadership styles and quota system etc. This in turn, leads to poor performance of organizations. From the managerial perspective, the task is to understand and capitalize on each person‘s individually. Since, human attributes vary along many relatively independent ability, interest, biographical sketch and the personality dimensions, a person‘s individuality is best viewed as his/her unique profile
of scores on a variety of individual measures.
Promotion is a major task that boosts staff morale and motivates staff to work harder; thereby increasing productivity and efficiency. Ojo (1998) examined that; ―promotion is a position of greater authority and responsibility more prestige, status and increase in pay‖ it is a vertical movement in rank and responsibility. Therefore, irregular promotion of staff could lead to low staff morale, staff frustration, resignation and premature retirement by the staff. These problems can simply disorganize effective administration and planning in the Ministry of Education in particular and any organization at large. In respect of staff transfer, it is not only as a result of conflicts that staff is transferred in educational organizations, but many organizations use transfer as a system of filling existing vacancies. Sometime, transfer of teachers and their heads occurs through bias and punishment or as a result of school conflict etc. eventually affects the smooth running of schools‘ programmes. Robinson (2002) viewed that constant transfer of teachers, heads and other members of the school do not motivate staff to see the climax of the fruits of their labour. In view of this, the study is set to assess the procedure for recruitment, placement and promotion of staff in Nasarawa State Ministry of Education accordingly.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The study was set to achieve the following objectives:
- examine the procedure for recruitment of staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State;
- assess the guidelines for selection of staff in the Ministry of Education Nasarawa State;
- ascertain the criteria for placement of staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State;
- determine the procedure for promotion of staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State; and
- assess the procedure for staff transfer in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa
State.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were asked to guide the study:
- Is procedure for staff recruitment followed in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State?
- What are the guidelines for selection of staff in the Ministry of Education Nasarawa State?
- Are criteria for placement of staff complied with by the Ministry of Education in
Nasarawa State?
- Is procedure for promotion of staff abided by the Ministry of Education in
Nasarawa State?
- What is the procedure for staff transfer in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa
State?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The hypotheses of the study are stated as follows:
- There is no significant difference in the opinions of teachers, Ministry of Education officials and Science and Technical Management Board officials on the procedure for recruitment of staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State;
- There is no significant difference in the opinions of teachers, MOE officials and STMB officials on the guidelines for selection of staff in the Ministry of Education Nasarawa State;
- There is no significant difference in the opinions of teachers, MOE officials and STMB officials on the criteria for placement of staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State;
- There is no significant difference in the opinions of teachers, MOE officials and STMB officials on the procedure for promotion of staff in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State; and
- There is no significant difference in the opinions of teachers, MOE officials and STMB officials on the procedure for staff transfer in the Ministry of Education in Nasarawa State.
1.6 Basic Assumptions
The study was on the assumptions that:
- proper recruitment of staff is made base on guidelines to improve quality education in Nasarawa State Ministry of education;
- proper selection of staff enhances effective service delivery in Nasarawa State Ministry of education;
- implementation of placement policies harmonizes the condition of services in Nasarawa State Ministry of Education;
- staff promotions are strictly based on National Policy guidelines, this in turn, boosts staff morale in Nasarawa State Ministry of Education; and
- compliance to the guidelines of staff transfer improves staff performance and competence in Nasarawa State Ministry of Education.
1.7 Significance of the Study
The research work is of great importance to the extent that: the study will assess and identify the prescribed guidelines for recruitment, placement and promotion of staff with particular reference to the Nasarawa state Ministry of Education. This is of benefit to the Ministry officials to review and implement those guidelines for proper personnel management.
Outcomes of this study will encourage the compliance to the recommended processes and guidelines of recruitment and selection of staff in Nasarawa State Ministry of Education. This will help graduate candidates and the society to ensure justice and fair in staff selection and recruitment. The study will trace out the significance of regular staff promotion and implementation of promotion guidelines; this will be an encouragement to the management and staff of Teachers Service Board (TSB) to evaluate the criteria for promotion of staff for necessary adjustment.
The study will encourage the ministry to place staff transfer based on guidelines and recommended principles. This, in turn will help to eliminate all form of bias and punishment transfer in educational organization. The study will serve as additional references for further researches and to the educational administrators, personnel managers‘ teaching and non-teaching staff of Nasarawa state.
1.8 Scope of the Study
The study was limited to the Assessment of the Procedure for Recruitment, Selection, Placement, Promotion and Staff transfer in Nasarawa State Ministry of Education. It was also covered all teaching staff, the Ministry of Education officials as well as non-teaching staff of Science and Technical Management Board of the State. These categories of staff were selected due to the fact that they are directly responsible for human resources management in the Ministry.
EVALUATION OF THE PROCESS FOR RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, APPOINTMENT AND PROMOTION OF STAFF IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION IN NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA