Evaluating Basic Skills Acquired By Graduating Students In Public Universities In Rivers State.

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue II, February 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186

Evaluating Basic Skills Acquired By Graduating Students In Public Universities In Rivers State.

Ihechi Ihechi Florence Jack (Ph.D)¹, And Obeten, O. Okoi.^2
1Department of Educational Management, Faculty of Education, University of Port Harcourt. Rivers State, Nigeria.
²Department of Educational Management, Faculty of Educational Foundation Studies, University of Calabar, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.

Abstract
This study investigated how basic skills can be acquired for job creation of university graduates in Rivers State, Nigeria. Two objectives were stated, two research questions guided the study and two hypotheses were also tested. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The population was 17,628 university graduating students comprising 10,000 male, 7,628 female from the three Universities in Rivers State. A sample of 408 respondents comprising 246 male and 162 female was drawn using stratified random sampling technique. The instrument used to generate data was self-designed questionnaire that has reliability coefficient of 0.82. The data generated were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, while z-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that each of the basic skills components such as production skills and agricultural skills can create jobs for university graduating students in Rivers State who practice them economically by having them to either become gainfully employed or self-employed. Based on the findings, conclusion was drawn and the following recommendations among others were made: Government should lay more emphasis on the development and teaching of basic skills as general courses in the Universities. University administrators should monitor and supervise adequately the teaching and learning of basic skills in their various institutions.

Keywords: Basic Skills, University Graduating Students, Job Creation, Rivers State.

Introduction

Generally, education is the single best predictor of skills acquisition and also the hall-mark of a nation’s socio-economic development. Educational attainment plays an important role in the start-up of adulthood life of young people because of the increasing need for skills in today’s economy. Education at the tertiary level, stands as a critical factor in the knowledge economy to a very large extent, because certain skills acquired at that level determine the manpower requirement of a country as well as labour market outcome. The role of skill acquisition in educational management cannot be over emphasized because it is stated clearly in the National Policy on Education (FRN, 2013) document and blue-print of Universal Basic Education (UBE, 2004) of the need to get students exposed to basic meaningful skills that can drive the economy of a country if practiced, so as to help create jobs for themselves and the society at large.
Nigeria as a country with an increasing population estimated at about 200 million people has an need and demand for basic necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, water, infrastructure, social amenities, good sanitary conditions among others. However, the availability of these necessities in adequate composition, proportion, quantity and quality is absent due to the exposure rate of her population hence the menace of unemployment as well as inadequate employment opportunities that will meet up with the accelerated growth rate of graduating youths from the universities per year. A high, skillful level of education generally creates more favorable employment prospects and consequently opens up the possibility for better living conditions for young people (Obeten, 2021).

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