ABSTRACT
Reforms
in the Nigerian Public service have been targeted at addressing the challenges
of ineffectiveness and inefficiency in service delivery. As one of the measures in addressing these
deficiencies, the Public Service Review Commission of 1974 recommended the
creation of training institutions. This led to the establishment of the
Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) which is the foremost training
Institute for the Public service. Despite this effort, it appears that
ineffectiveness and inefficiency still persist in service delivery. This study
therefore examined the relationship between Human Capital Development (HCD)
programmes and service delivery between 2003 and 2014 in Nigeria’s Public
Service.
Survey
design was adopted. The population of the study comprised of 1,495,000 staff of
the Nigerian Public Service, specifically Ministry, Department and Agency (MDA)
who had received training between 2003 and 2014. A sample size of 1,200 was selected using
stratified random sampling technique. A validated questionnaire was employed to
collect data on Participation in training (PT) measured on 8-point scale (Cronbach's
alpha (α=0.89); Content of curriculum (CC) on 11-point scale (α=0.83); Benefits
from Courses attended (BC) on 6-point scale (α=0.85) and Utilization of
knowledge acquired (UK) on 6-point scale (α=0.80) respectively. A total of
1,520 copies of the questionnaire were administered with a response rate of
86%. In addition, in-depth interview was conducted with 6 officials of ASCON,
82 trainees and 20 supervisors of trainees. Data collected were analysed using
descriptive and inferential statistics. Hypotheses were tested, using
correlation and regression analysis at 5% level of significance. The
qualitative data from the interviews were transcribed and content-analysed.
Findings
revealed that PT was significantly associated with UK (r=0.430, p<0.05).
Conversely, CC showed a weak negative insignificant relationship with UK (r=
-0.242, p<0.05). Findings also
revealed a significant but positive weak relationship between BC and UK
(r=0.012, p<0.05) and a negative weak not significant relationship was
observed between UK and HCD (r= -0.003, p<0.05). Furthermore, HCD programmes
of ASCON were significantly influenced by challenges such as inadequate fund,
lack of good infrastructures and duplicity of roles by Management development
Institutes (MDIs). (β1= 0.245; β2=0.059; β3=0.114;
R=0.88; R2= 0.79; p<0.05).
The
study concluded that the training programmes of ASCON have been positively
contributing to HCD but has not been significant enough in terms of service
delivery in the Nigerian Public Service. It was therefore recommended that
policies be put in place by the Nigerian government to ensure that Training
with ASCON is made mandatory, Training Needs Assessment be conducted before
embarking on training to enrich the content of curriculum and an upgrade of
infrastructures at ASCON must be undertaken. In addition it crucial that
government re-evaluates the roles of MDIs. Finally, it is pertinent for the
Federal government and its MDAs to regard training as an investment and not
cost.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The concern of human capital and subsequently its
development has been a recurrent global issue because of the major role it
plays in the achievement of growth and development which has been a major
challenge for African governments as a whole and to Nigeria in particular. The
role of human resources in achieving organisational objectives cannot be over
emphasized; infact, the ability of any organisation, the public service
inclusive, in implementing its strategy and achieving its goals and objectives
depend on whether it can organize, develop and manage its human resources
effectively. It is in recognition of this fact that Carlson (1994) opined that
any organisation that aspires to a positive change or improved quality in
service delivery would as a matter of necessity, strive to acquire quality
human resources.
Human capital development originated approximately half a
century ago under the leadership of Jacob Mincer, Theodore Schultz, and Gary
Becker. It is “human” because
it is embodied in man, and it is "capital"
because it is a source of future satisfaction, or of future
earnings, or of both (Schultz, 1971 p.48). It takes into consideration
investment activities and processes that produce vocational and technical
education, knowledge, skills, health or values that are embodied in people. It
implies building an appropriate balance and critical mass of human resource base
and providing an enabling environment for all individuals to be fully engaged
and contribute to goals of an organisation or a nation. Any effort to increase
human knowledge, enhance skills, productivity and stimulate resourcefulness of
individuals is an effort of human capital development (Enyekit, Amaehule&Teerah, 2011). Human capital has its origins
in classical economics. The notion of human capital goes back to Adam Smith. He
was of the view that human capital was part and parcel of economic wealth creation
and development and held that human beings should be perceived as capital.
Economists have written extensively on the of role human
capital in development:
By investing in themselves, people can
enlarge the range of choices available to them. It is one way that free men can
enhance their welfare. He concludes his analysis as follows: Truly, the most
distinctive feature of our economic system is the growth in human capital.
Without it there would be only hard, manual work and poverty except for those
who have income from property. (Schultz, 1961 p.2)
Human capital is
therefore a major catalyst for any meaningful development of an economy and
economists regard expenditures on education, training, health care, and so on
as investments in human capital. Over time in Nigeria, human capital
development had continued to enjoy high premium in national development
process, for instance, the Federal Government set up the Ashby Commission to
investigate the needs of Nigeria in the field of post-primary and higher
education between 1960 and 1980 (Alani& Isola, 2009).
Recent theories on economic growth regard human capital
as a significant determinant of economic development and thus make human
resource the ultimate root of wealth of nations, while capital and natural
resources, though important, are passive factors of production. The success of
any productive program depends on human innovative ideas; they are the active
agencies who accumulate capital, exploit natural resources, build social,
economic and political organisation and transmit national development
(Adelakun, 2011). It has been empirically
proven that those countries of the world that have realised sustainable
development have invested heavily in human beings (Ibok & Ibanga, 2014).
A nation with abundant
natural resources cannot achieve its full potentials without skilled human
resources; technical innovations that have occurred in the developed countries
and a few developing countries are a product of human capital development
(Alani &Isola, 2009). Human capital development is regarded as the crux of
the development efforts of developing countries, particularly in this
"knowledge" society of the 21st century. This is because,
comparative advantage is derived more from technical innovations and the competitive
use of knowledge and less from natural resources and cheap labour endowment
(World Bank, 2002).
As common with other developing countries with colonial
heritage like Nigeria, the departure of the colonialists created a vacuum which
required educated personnel to take over the functions of government. Education
became crucial in the development of these countries. Those who had education
at that time, no matter how minimal gained access to clerical, administrative
and teaching jobs. They became the "creme de la creme" of the society
(Omojimite, 2011). In spite of the acquisition of education it became apparent
that performance on a job schedule is more than acquisition of certificates,
rather training is of great importance in acquiring required skills in order to
achieve expected result in terms of service delivery.
Service delivery in the
Nigerian public service has for decades been battered with myriads of criticism
due to the display of indiscipline, insensitivity, incompetence, rudeness, corruption,
laziness, absenteeism, lackadaisical approach to work and many other vices by
public servants (Oyedele, 2015). It was
the attempt to correct this anomaly that gave birth to the various public
service/civil service reforms. Prior to independence and after, the Nigerian
government carried out series of reforms of the public service aimed at
improving the quality of service delivery. Specifically, 14 major attempts had
been made to address the state of the service delivery through commissions,
committees and teams, beginning with Hunt’s Commission of 1934 to Obasanjo
service renewal programme of year 2000
(Adegoroye, 2006 ).
Despite these reforms it appears the
development of human capital has not been sustainable; the media is regularly
agog with the news of ineptitude in the delivery of public services either
directly or indirectly. For instance, the Federal Government expenditure
increased by about 500 percent between 2000 and 2012, but the aggregate public
service quality increased by only 1.9 percent (Otivei, 2015). This is one major
factor that instigated the interrogation of the role of human capital
development in service delivery in the Nigerian public service today.
It must however be
noted that until the last four decades
in Nigeria, there has been a general resistance to investment in
training in the public service because of the belief that:
Employees hired under a
merit system must be presumed to be qualified, that they were already trained
for their jobs, and that if at some point there is a shortfall in the
expectations pertaining to job delivery, it is seen as an evidence that initial
selection of personnel was at
fault.
(Okotoni
&, Erero, 2005 p.1).
This conjecture is
however not limited to Africa or Nigeria in particular, in England, for
example, employee development was traditionally seen as a cost rather than
investment (Constable and Mc Cormick 1987). This lack of investment in training
and development was identified as a major factor in Britain's economic
performance in the past, and it has been argued that without the investments
which was later undertaken, the United Kingdom will still be trapped in a
low-usage, low skills economy. In recent decades, there has been government
focus on measures to increase skill levels and reduce skills gaps in the United
Kingdom contrary to what was hitherto the practice, other studies revealed that
the United States' economy is strong and will remain strong because of the high
premium placed on training (Finegold, Levenson &Van Buren, 2005). The need
for training institutions in Nigeria can be traced back to 1896 when some
educated persons in Lagos proposed the establishment of a Training College and
Industrial Institute. Though the idea was supported by the British government,
it was not ready to make financial commitment. The lack of financial commitment
on its part and the incapability of the initiators to raise the required funds
led to the termination of the proposal (Okotoni
& Erero, 2005).
It
was the recommendations of the Public Service Review Commission (1972-1974)
that emphasized on specific manpower policy objectives. The commission stated
explicitly that: "Of all the aspects of personnel management, perhaps the
most important for us here in Nigeria is training ...Training will be the most
urgent consideration in accepting and implementing our report" p 7.
The recommendations of the second national development
plan (1970-1974) which gave considerable attention to the concerns for training
of public servants and the report of the Public Service Review Commission
(1974) culminated into the establishment of Training Institutes and manpower
development agencies by the Government; such as the Centre for Management
Development (CMD), the Industrial training Fund (ITF), National Centre for
Economic Management and Administration (NCEMA), Nigerian Institute of
Management (NIM), and National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies
(NIPSS), National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) and National Institute for
Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA). Subsequent Civil Service
Reforms have continued to accentuate the importance and the need for training
and retraining (Inyang & Akaegbu, 2014 p.93). The Ayida Panel (1994) stated
thus: "Training ensures the acquisition and updating of the right skills
needed for improved performances. It is therefore a right of every civil
servant and an obligation on the government as the employer of these civil
servants".
Today, various universities, polytechnics and colleges of
technology/education have been designated to serve as training and development
centres for manpower development in the country. Most of these institutions
have designed or modified their programmes to accommodate the training needs in
the public services. Ever since the establishment of the aforementioned
training institutes, over four decades ago, human capital development has been
an ongoing concern in the Public service. The Public servants that are trained
on a yearly basis run into tens of thousands (ASCON Brochure, 2014).
The Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, ASCON was
established through Decree No. 39 of 1973 (now ASCON Act, Cap 6, Vol. 1 LFN
1990) to offer higher management training for senior executives of public and
private segments of the Nigeria economy; offer and plan for a comprehensive
study and exploration of the principles and techniques of management and
administration, and for exchange of ideas and experience, as well as for
promotion of better understanding among persons engaged with management and
administration arising in diverse areas of national life; carry out research
into the difficulties of management and administration connected with different
aspects of national life; and commence and facilitate study courses,
conferences, lectures, seminars and other activities to support the aforestated
among other objectives (ASCON, 2014).
This research examined the relationship between Human
capital development and service delivery in Nigeria. Specifically, to evaluate
and assess the impact of the trainings/education being administered by the
Administrative Staff College of Nigeria on public service delivery.
1.2 Statement
of the Problem
One
of the greatest challenges of the public sector is to build a competent and
effective cadre of highly qualified, able, motivated and efficient human
resource at all levels of public management. Developing the human capital is
therefore essential for any nation to provide excellent and high quality public
service to the stakeholders in the 21st century. Nigeria is ranked 152
among the 185 countries rated in the 2014
Human Development Report. Among the developing nations of the world,
Singapore is ranked 9, Malaysia is ranked 62, Thailand 89, India 135 and in
Africa, Tunisia is ranked 90, South Africa 118, and Ghana 138. The major
indices considered in the ranking include: economic performance (Gross Domestic
Product (GDP), Gross National Product (GNP), per capita income, life
expectancy, literacy rates, water, nutrition and sanitation status, health
risks and technology diffusion and use. Nigeria is one of the most expensive
countries to operate industries, mainly because of the state of poor
infrastructures.
This
is further aggravated by the Nigerian economy which is monolithic in nature,
that is, Nigeria can only boast of crude oil as her major export and source of
income as at date, the health care system is poor, and the confidence reposed
on the Nigerian education about four decades ago has also been grossly eroded.
All these are symptoms and indisputable evidence of the low human capital
status of Nigeria. The role of human capital has increased in importance in
safeguarding the nation’s future competitive advantage. It is important that
the public service focuses on its ultimate asset, namely people to deliver its
services. It is worthy of note that on a yearly basis the Federal government
devotes huge amounts to the education sector; for instance, from 2007-2013,
amounts between N224 billion to N634
billion were allocated on an annual basis (Federal Ministry of Finance, 2014
http://www.fmf.gov.ng/). The
documented records of ASCON also show that about 100,000 (hundred thousand)
public servants had gone through various training programmes administered by
ASCON in the past ten years.
Given
the assumption that inefficiency in the public service results from inadequate
human capital development, it becomes ironical for a country that spends huge
sums of the national income on human capital development to be regarded as
inefficient in her public service performance. In spite of the large number of
public servants from across the federation that have undergone human capital
development programmes conducted by ASCON; this has not translated to higher
level of efficiency. The general perception of the Public service as a haven of
ineptitude suffices. The several civil service reforms that have been
implemented as a result of low efficiency such as the Dotun Philips (1988),
Allison Ayida (1995) and Obasanjo Civil service Renewal programme (2000) attest
to this. In the light of these facts and the vast literature reviewed, there
has been studies that examined the influence of human capital development on
Nigeria's economic growth with varying outcomes (Oluwatobi & Ogunrinola,
2011). Other studies in Nigeria have
examined, among other important issues, the nature of causality between human
capital development and economic growth (Awe & Ajayi, 2010). Similarly, scholars have evaluated the
influence of government expenditure on the education sector in Nigeria, links
has been established between education and selected human development
indicators (Oriakhi &Ameh, 2014;
Awopegba, 2001). Furthermore, while the importance of education and training
as major indices in developing the human
capital has been recognised, the impact
of the training institutes established by the government in order to develop
the human capital for effective and
efficient service delivery has not be sufficiently addressed by
researchers. This study therefore seeks to investigate the relationship between
human capital development and training programmes of ASCON and service delivery
by Nigeria's public service....
================================================================
Item Type: Ph.D Material | Attribute: 186 pages | Chapters: 1-5
Format: MS Word | Price: N3,000 | Delivery: Within 30Mins.
================================================================
No comments:
Post a Comment