Expansion Policy of Secondary Technical Education as A Correlate to the Acquisition of Basic Technical Skills by Students in Cameroon

Abstract

This study is aims at investigating the relationship between the expansion of secondary Technical Education on the acquisition of technical skills by students.  Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has been expanding quantitatively yearly without paying enough attention to its adverse effect on quality and the acquisition of the essential practical skills required by students in Cameroon. This study was guided by three research questions and hypotheses.  The sample was 40 Secondary technical colleges and 20 High schools spread in the Center, Extreme North, Littoral, North West and South West Regions of Cameroon. This included 60 Regional Pedagogic Inspectors, 60 Principals and 300 Teachers in the sector who were retained through a simple random sampling technique. Each grouping filled a structured questionnaire that was designed based on a 4-point Rikert Scale for data collection. The data was analysed using the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient.  The findings revealed that: the expansion policy of technical education has significant implications on the attainment of the fundamental objectives of this type of education; the expansion of secondary technical education has a significant impact on the quality of technical education provided by the Cameroon government; that infrastructure is grossly inadequate to enhance the acquisition of technical skills as observed in most of Cameroon’s technical colleges, thus defeating the original objectives to facilitate the development of technical skills.  It was recommended that the government should put a hold on the expansion policy for a period of twenty years and explore strategies and best practice on how to invest in the existing situation with ample provision for infrastructural development, material and human resources required by this sector.

Keywords: TVET, practical skills, expansion policy, infrastructure, implementation, implication and correlate.