CONDITIONS OF SERVICE AND TEACHER’S JOB SATISFACTION IN SECONDARY SCHOOL IN LOCAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE (EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Management of people at work is an integral part of the management process. Organization cannot succeed without due recognition and appreciation of people through whom any task is accomplished. Nkereuwem (1986) observed that human factor is a major component of enhance the growth of any organization. Therefore, their presence as well as their input must be both recognized and encouraged for the sustenance of growth in the said organization. To understand the critical importance of people in the organization, is to recognize that the human element and the organization are synonymous.
Edem and Lawal (1994) observed that managers, supervisors, human resource specialists, employers and citizen in general are concerned with ways on improving job satisfaction. They all agree that job satisfaction is an essential tool for job performance. In his contribution Assam (1982) advised that it is imperative for human resource managers to beware of those aspects within an organization that might impact employee’s job satisfaction and enhance them. The reason is that in the long run the result will be fruitful for both the organization and employees. All well managed organization usually sees an average worker as the root source of quality and productivity gains. Such organizations do not look to capital investments, but to employees, as the fundamental source of improvement. An organization is effective to the degree to which it achieves its goals.
Despite the large number of teachers employed by government, teaching does not seem to be very effectively done. In the past it was blamed on the enumeration and other entitlements which were poor and unattractive to motivate teachers for effective teaching especially when compared with better-paying jobs in companies and industrial organizations. Also, with the progressively-rising cost of living, teachers were not able to compete with other workers who earned fat salaries and buy in the same market. People mockingly told teachers that “teachers’ rewards are in heaven”. The things that makes for this low esteem of secondary school teachers were poor and irregular payment of salaries, poor working condition of service, lack of recognition in the society, lack of encouragement and denial of some allowances from the government. Following these ill treatments, Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) embarked on strikes after strikes which brought little or no good to teachers. Between the year 1962 and 1976, the prospects of teachers started to unfold as five commissions were set up to tackle the problem of working conditions for the teaching service in Nigeria. The commission, which looked into teachers’ service conditions, were the Morgan in 1963, Adefarasin in 1964, Asian in 1975, Adebo in 1970 and the Udoji commission in 1975. Teachers benefited from each of these commissions and as they climbed a new ladder of hope, they emerge better than before.
