Business Teacher Education in Nigeria: projecting a new direction

Transcription

1 Journal of Vocational Education and Training, Volume 55, Number 1, 2003 Business Teacher Education in Nigeria: projecting a new direction LAWRENCE E. EKPENYONG University of Benin, Nigeria JULIET NWABUISI Federal College of Education, Umunze, Nigeria ABSTRACT In about three and a half decades since its introduction, business teacher education has made a modest impact on the teaching profession in Nigeria. However, effort to improve its standard and quality seems to have been slowed down by a number of factors such as low public interest, curriculum structure, inadequate personnel, inadequate material resources for training, and slow adaptation to research and technological challenges. Through assessing the current trends in the profession, the article goes on to project the direction that business teacher education in Nigeria should chart in order to remain vibrant and professionally relevant to the teachers, learners and the nation. The Growth of Business Teacher Education In Nigeria The history of business education in Nigeria can be likened to that of a child which was abandoned because the father thought that he already had the type of children he wanted; it was later picked up by a childless man who knew its usefulness, nurtured and groomed it to adulthood. (Ekpenyong, 1992) What the above statement implies is that historically, business education did not come about in Nigeria through government, but through the individual initiative of a few Nigerian entrepreneurs. Such individuals were quick to realize the importance of business education not only to their personal, but also to national economic growth and development. As a matter of fact, prior to Nigeria s independence and 10 years after, business teacher education, like other vocational and technical education disciplines, was not given any thought in Nigerian teacher education curricula. This is not to say that the Colonial educational 33

2 Lawrence E. Ekpenyong & Juliet Nwabuisi administrators did not recognize the importance of this form of teacher education. As reported by Ekpenyong (1992), some form of business and technical teacher education programme was introduced in the curricula of Higher College, Yaba ( ), and of Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology ( ). However, the crude government policies that forced these two precursors of modern technical education in Nigeria to sing their swan song rather prematurely also made the impact of the institutions on technical teacher education to become lost to history. The credit for the re-emergence of business and other technical teacher education programmes in Nigeria, particularly at the university level, must go to the founders of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. In the then Eastern Nigeria Economic Report of 1995, which sought to establish the University, it was recommended that: In order that the foundation of Nigerian leadership shall be securely laid, to the end that this country shall cease to imitate the excrescences of a civilization, which is not rooted in African life, we recommend that a fully-fledged university shall be established in this region without further delay. Such a higher institution of learning should not only be cultural according to the classical concept of universities, but it should also be vocational in its objective, and Nigerian in its content. (Government of Eastern Nigeria, 1995, p. 34). It was in keeping with the above tenet that vocational teacher education was introduced in the university of Nigeria, Nsukka, in the 1965/66 session in the areas of agriculture, business, home economics and industrial-technical education. The only other university that introduced degree programmes in vocational teacher education was Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. This was in 1979, 15 years after its inception. Other universities did not see the need for vocational teacher education. Non-degree Business Education Teachers At the non-graduate level, the Federal Government established one special-purpose technical teachers college, National Technical Teachers College (NTTC) at Yaba in 1969 with foreign technical assistance from USAID and UNESCO. The institution was to provide 1-year and 3-year technical teacher training in the relevant disciplines of vocationaltechnical education, including business education. This was followed up several years later by the establishment of a second Federal technical teachers college in Gombe in A few states, though unable to foot the bill for special-purpose technical teachers colleges, were wise enough to use the facilities in their polytechnics to do so. This explains why business and technical departments were established at the Institute 34

3 BUSINESS TEACHER EDUCATION of Technology, Enugu, Kaduna and Calabar Polytechnics about the middle of the 1970s. With the release of the first edition of the national policy on education in 1977 (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1977), and the recognition and emphasis placed on vocational-technical education in the document, the need to produce teachers of business studies, as well as other vocational and prevocational subjects could no longer be ignored by the Federal and State governments. The direct consequence of these developments was the introduction of business and technical teacher education programmes in some Federal and State polytechnics on the eve of the 1980s. Among the polytechnics that introduced the NCE programme in business education were the State polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi (Kebbi state), Auchi polytechnic (Edo state), and the Federal polytechnic, Mubi (Adamawa state). These institutions and others after them have since been directed by the Federal Government to phase out their business teacher education programmes, since the courses are now available in most colleges of education across the country. Some Federal and State colleges of education such as Kafanchan, Gumel, Illorin and Minna also introduced business education programmes within the period ( ) with the singular objective of meeting the requirements of the national policy on education. It is on record [National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), 1996] that many more colleges of education now have business education in their curricula. It is equally interesting to note that the Federal Government has since shaken off its initial lethargy and slow motion approach to the implementation of its policy on technical teacher education by establishing six additional colleges for technical teacher education. Business education has come to form a rather conspicuous aspect of the curricula of these institutions. The first two of these colleges, which were established in 1988, are located in Asaba, Delta State and Bichi in Kano State; these were followed by those of Omoku (Rivers State), and Potiskum (Bauchi State) in The last two at Umunze (Anambra State) and Gusau (all-girls, Zamfara State) started classes in As pointed out earlier, apart from the two first generation universities, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU), only a few other universities have introduced what can be regarded as fully fledged business teacher education programmes into their curricula. These include the University of Benin, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and, to some extent, University of Uyo. Others, apparently influenced by the nature of their inadequate staff complement and curriculum content, seem to be offering hybrid or crossbreed programmes, which can hardly satisfy the criteria for business teacher education as outlined in the Nigerian national education policy (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1981, 1998) document. 35

4 Lawrence E. Ekpenyong & Juliet Nwabuisi Business Teacher Training/Supply Inadequate workforce supply has, for a long time, been recognized as a major factor militating against the successful and effective implementation of Business Education programmes at both secondary and tertiary levels of education. The pitiable situation in low business teacher supply can be explained in terms of structural imbalances in the educational system (Aina, 2000), although the national policy on education and its implementation guideline provides for the following structure of enrolment: conventional secondary schools (60%); technical colleges (20%); vocational training centres (10%); apprenticeship programmes (10%), the situation on the ground is somewhat different. While there are, on average, 4,448,991 students on roll in 5100 approved secondary schools nationwide only about 43,000 are enrolled in 138 accredited technical colleges. The implication here is that the number of graduating students from technical colleges can scarcely provide the necessary catchments for technical teachers colleges. From existing statistics (Towe, 2000), only 30,515 students were enrolled in the eight colleges of education (Technical) in 1997, and when this figure is placed vis-à-vis the number of technical and vocational areas of specialization, this can be seen as just the tip of the iceberg. The problem is further compounded by the fact that the number of students seeking admission into colleges of education, as depicted in the year 2000 polytechnic and colleges of education matriculation examination results, has continued to dwindle in recent years (Towe, 2000). The above problem has caused the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) to introduce pre-nce programmes with a view to beefing up the enrolment in colleges of education. This is a rather unfortunate development because it can lead to the admission of low ability candidates particularly in those colleges where enrolment into various programmes has remained a perennial problem. The universities are expected to produce graduate business teachers, who are to teach at the senior secondary school level of Nigerian secondary schools, but the annual enrolment and production of such teachers from the few faculties of education with business education programmes has barely exceeded a few hundred. For instance, the number of business education teachers produced by the University of Benin within the past five years has only been in the region of 350. In the early 1980s, the Federal government evolved a deliberate policy to train more technical teachers, including those for business 36

5 BUSINESS TEACHER EDUCATION education, in the United States, under a programme code-named TTTP (Technical Teacher Training Programme). However, the increased cost of overseas training occasioned by astronomic foreign exchange caused the government to have a rethink of their overseas training policy, which explains the present policy of the local training of technical teachers in a few selected Nigerian tertiary institutions, namely: Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; University of Nigeria; Nsukka: University of Benin; and University of Technology, Yola. Curriculum Design and Development The introduction of business studies into the national curriculum as reflected in the national policy on education (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1981) and the Junior Secondary School (JSS) and Senior Secondary School (SSS) national curricula (Federal Ministry of Education, 1984, 1985) has created an enormous challenge for the developers of business teacher education curricula particularly at the NCE and the undergraduate levels. This challenge has emerged in the area of designing programmes that would meet the following requirements as reflected in the prevocational (JSS) and vocational (SSS) curricula in terms of: knowledge integration; learning objectives; spiral and concentric sequencing of course content; modular or specific competency requirements. The key features of business studies curricula as highlighted above have resulted in behaviourally-orientated curriculum patterns, particularly at the JSS level. Again, the organization of course content has depended preponderantly on specifying units of instruction. This has been achieved through spiral sequencing (for theory based subjects, e.g. Commerce) and concentric sequencing (skilled-based subjects, e.g. typewriting) of the content of each subject. Efforts to meet course objectives, on the other hand, gave rise to the definition of performance objectives, which are intended to foster concept, inquiry, learning and utilization relatedness as explained in Ekpenyong (1994). The first impressive effort to train NCE teachers that would meet the curricula structure and course objectives of JSS and SSS Business Studies programmes was undertaken by the National Board for Technical Education in 1985 [National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), (1987). The NBTE Business Studies curriculum had several features that were intended to produce teachers who would be adequately suited for teaching business studies at the secondary school level. Courses were specified in modules with the performance objectives for each module clearly specified. Common core subjects, which every student had to 37

6 Lawrence E. Ekpenyong & Juliet Nwabuisi study for the first 2 years, were specified. Specialization in either accounting or secretarial options was reserved for the third and final year. However, when the NCCE inherited the NCE curriculum from the NBTE in 1990, it decided to shed most of the features of the NCE curriculum as developed by the latter; for instance, the modular structure and course specifications, as well as a statement of objectives were abandoned. What can be seen, therefore, as a serious weakness in the NCCE curriculum for teachers of business education is that of stating course outlines in syllabus context. This, certainly, can hardly help inexperienced students/teachers who need guidance in formulating their lesson objectives appropriately. While the above defects remain, the NCCE must be commended for its effort in trying to bring about important innovations in the business teacher education curriculum, especially the bid to introduce new courses such as entrepreneurship and information technology in its revised curriculum, which is scheduled to take off in the 2002/2003 session. University curricula on business teacher education cannot be said to attain the level of commonality available at the NCE level. This is due to the fact that, while the NCCE has produced minimum standards for its programmes, the same cannot be said of the NUC, as far as business education is concerned. This has created room for some of the poorly designed courses, which pass for business education in some of the institutions. Facilities for Business Teacher Training The importance of facilities to the overall success of any educational enterprise has never been in doubt. It is on this account that Buremoh (1985), Olutola (1989) and Morphet & Roe (1974) emphasize the need for the provision of adequate training facilities. In business teacher education, as is applicable to other technical courses, the need for the availability of functional training facilities and equipment, such as modern office machines in terms of computers, word processors and electronic typewriters, and office copiers, is, to say the least, critical. There is, also, a dire need for adequate working and storage space. It was on this account that in developing the teacher education curriculum, the design teams for various subject areas such as accounting, commerce, word processing and office management produced a list of minimum instructional equipment that would be needed for the provision of quality instruction. Although Oyedeji (1991) could not find a significant difference in the performance of business studies with sufficient instructional equipment and those without it, our experience of business education teaching indicates that lack of 38

7 BUSINESS TEACHER EDUCATION equipment can seriously hamper student progress, particularly in skill subject areas. Experience has shown that contrary to the national curriculum specification (with reference to equipment), most universities and state owned teachers colleges have nothing to show in this area. The supply of adequate equipment can be said to be one area where business education in Nigeria continues to lag behind very seriously. Research There is the common charge by critics, particularly those with no idea of the real content of business education, that there are no serious research challenges in the discipline. However, from all indications business education in Nigeria presents an unmined research field, which asks to be tapped into. To counter this false claim, the past few years have witnessed reports on a number of research works based on business education content by business educators. A significant move to generate research-based information was undertaken by the Nigerian Association of Business Educators (NABE) in 1998 when it held an international conference on the theme Research in Business Education. At that conference several relevant empirical papers were read. Some of those papers were published in the 1991 edition of Business Education Journal. Since this article is not intended for a review of research, only the titles of some of the works need to be mentioned here. They include the following: a survey of factors contributing to students anxiety spurt in shorthand examination (Nwaokolo & Otubelu, 1991); factors responsible for students poor performance in shorthand in higher institutions in Rivers and Imo state (Ugoji, 1991); business education facilities and student academic performance in Ilorin metropolis (Oyedeji, 1991); an analysis of readability of selected ordinary level commerce textbooks (Osu, 1991); comparison of recall performance of typewriting and non-typewriting students (Ekpenyong, 1991). As a matter of fact, there are dozens of studies that have not only focused, but also thrown more light on business education practice within the past few years. Osu (1987, 1988) did conduct studies, which sought to: test the impact of traditional methods and individualized instruction in typewriting; effects of three practice strategies when changing speed and accuracy in typewriting; 39

8 Lawrence E. Ekpenyong & Juliet Nwabuisi the effects of syllabic intensity on vocabulary controlled shorthand dictation. Other interesting studies, which cover different areas of business education and have implications for business studies teaching in schools, include those of Ahukannah (1984), Aremu (1986), Uduma (1987), Davis (1983), Ezeani (1984) and Oyedele (1987). While the number of empirical works on business education has continued to increase, a critical analysis of their quality shows some of them to be below the expected standard (see, for instance, the 1999 edition of Business Education Journal). Adaptation to Advances in Office Technology Adaptation to advances in technology as used here, refers to the extent to which business teacher education departments have attuned themselves to the knowledge and use of modern automated office equipment for instructional and professional purposes. In this area, although the author is only beginning to assemble some useful data, the situation does not appear to be impressive. In recent times, there has been a shift of emphasis from that of teaching business subjects through chalk and talk to that of applying the resources provided by information and communication technology (ICT). It is concerned with systems for the creation, acquisition, processing, storage, retrieval, selection, transformation, dissemination and use of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information (Further Education Unit, 1984). Thus, the availability of items such as printers, disk drivers, fax and Internet facilities in a teachers college should be regarded as a move towards the application of advanced information technology. Apart from a few Federal teachers colleges, most others with business education departments have virtually nothing to show even in the way of peripheral items. Whatever there is (e.g. electronic typewriters, adding machines) is allocated for administrative use. So, in terms of Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) and Computer-Aided Learning CAL), which involve person machine interface, teachers colleges in Nigeria are generally non-starters. The problem may be accounted for by factors such as a lack of funds and the expensive nature of equipment for business education, a situation compounded by the falling rate of the naira and the relative lack of commitment on the part of most of the administrators of institutions where business teacher education programmes are housed. Part of the problem may be traced to a lack of policy on ICT by most teachers colleges. 40

9 Assessment of Current State of Implementation of Business Teacher Education Programmes BUSINESS TEACHER EDUCATION In trying to make an assessment of business teacher education in Nigeria up to this point in time, one has to consider three issues bordering on when the profession was introduced in Nigeria, the environment for its operation and the quality of available personnel. First, basing our estimate on when it was introduced at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, business teacher education as an academicprofessional discipline is only 45 years old in Nigeria. Secondly, the environment for business education generally has not been particularly conducive. The general public attitude towards the programmes, as for other vocationally related programmes, did not encourage its patronage by students, though there has been a gradual, but positive demand for the programme lately. The Federal Government has also recently started to demonstrate its interest in the profession in terms of establishing technical teachers colleges, staff training and funding, though the rate of funding has not actually been as much as should be expected. Inadequate funding has been at the root of the inability of the colleges to move along the line of advanced technology application for instructional purposes. The third militating factor to the progress of business teacher education has been the dearth of suitably qualified teachers, which in some cases necessitates the appointment of less qualified ones. In spite of these and related constraints, one can say that business teacher Education has made some modest progress within the limit of human and material resources available for its provision. Projecting the New Direction To attempt to make projections about business teacher education in Nigeria even in the near future can be very tricky. That is, when considering the following factors: the state-of-the-art of business education as has been X-rayed in this article; the global impact of technological; the application of advanced information and communication technology to facilitate various business transactions, and to aid learning and teaching. However, one can foresee a future where technology, as evidenced in the Japanese fifth generation computers now at an advanced stage of development, will become a rather commonplace phenomenon. One can also foresee a future where: 41

10 Lawrence E. Ekpenyong & Juliet Nwabuisi business education will be required to keep abreast of the technological changes by ensuring that new frontiers of knowledge are explored and brought into the curriculum; new methods and techniques will be needed in the preparation of business educators; some already acquired professional skills will become obsolete and updating of one s knowledge through training and retraining will become the only answer for surviving in the profession. These projections pose a real challenge to business educators and call for a change of approach to business education generally, and to the preparation of business educators in particular. The framework for so doing is discussed below. Policy on Business Teacher Education As business transactions are likely to become more and more complex and computerized, and require individuals who are knowledgeable in the new technologies to handle them, government policy on computer education has to make generous provision for the training of business educators who will be well placed in training young men and women for new jobs that will be occasioned by automated equipment and devices. Government policy must embrace the need for the introduction of an Information Technology Unit (ITU) in all business teachers programmes and in all technical teachers colleges, as this is just one positive means of bringing advanced IT to the doorsteps of business teacher education institutions or departments. This then should fulfil the need to promote the effective use of CAT or Computer-aided Techniques in business teacher preparation. In fact, as a corollary to this, there has to be a national policy, which is positive and cohesive with action, aimed at popularizing CAL at all levels of education in Nigeria. The relevant organs of government, such as the National Universities Commission (NUC), the NCCE and professional associations of business teachers, have to work together with the Nigerian industrial and business sectors with a view to advising the government on the state of technology as it affects industrial workers performance and the economy, and consequently on the strategies for utilizing the advantages of ICT in business teacher and career education generally. Curriculum Business teacher education is at the moment restricted to specialization in the subject areas that are taught at the two tiers of the Nigerian secondary school. 42

11 BUSINESS TEACHER EDUCATION As new ideas accumulate in business and industry, and as Nigeria will have to fully embrace advanced ICT, the curriculum of teachers who will impart these new areas of knowledge will have to be enriched. The introduction of the concept of Artificial Intelligence and other concepts, as well as their application, will have to be brought into the Nigerian teacher education curriculum. Artificial intelligence is not the study of computers, but of intelligence in thought and action. Computers are only used as its tools, since theories of artificial intelligence, as expressed in the form of computer programmes enable the machine to do things that would require intelligence if such things were to be done by human beings (Boden, 1977). Progress in this kind of study has already started in the developed countries of the world, as a preparation for the coming of the fifth generation computers, which will use human language to communicate with people. Research and New Methods of Teaching As the scope of computer-based learning is likely to become much wider, the mode of instruction will equally be affected. The traditional areas of research in business education will become less useful. In order to produce teachers who will be able to teach students in a multimedia classroom of the near future, research efforts in the area of instructional software packages which reflect the Nigerian background will have to be undertaken with professionals in the area of engineering and technology. Business educators will have to be able to produce relevant learning software packages for use in their respective subject areas, instead of waiting for commercially produced ones, which may not meet their particular needs. Staff Development As has been discussed all along, some skills are likely to become obsolete later in the century. This then informs the need for a workable staff development policy that will influence the retraining of business educators whose skills will turn out to be unmarketable. As a way of coping with the new research direction called for in the preceding paragraph, staff development will also have to centre on the area of new technology application in the classroom. It is on this basis that teachers will be able to develop the conceptual skills for designing and conducting their instruction, as well as engaging in innovative research. Furthermore, business educators will have to pay great attention to their own selfdevelopment through a number of processes such as Internet browsing, seminar attendance, reading of current books and journals in their areas of study, and registering and playing active roles in relevant professional associations. 43

12 Lawrence E. Ekpenyong & Juliet Nwabuisi Instructional Facilities In business teacher education, as envisaged here, more advanced instructional equipment will be needed and every teacher will be expected to know how to use it for instructional purposes. In order to solve the problem of teacher inability to use the relevant equipment, every technical teacher education department or institution will have to establish an ITU, as mentioned earlier. The advantage of a college ITU, if properly equipped and staffed, will be seen in the speed of technology transfer, from a few expert teachers who can make use of the facilities, to the generality of teachers and student-teachers who will benefit by being able to use them. In summary, business teacher education in Nigeria may only be able to fulfil its future role in this century through the process of ready adaptability to the demands that may be imposed by rapid changes in technology. Correspondence Lawrence E. Ekpenyong (Assoc. Prof.), Department of Vocational and Technical Education, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria ([email protected]). References Ahukannah, L.I. (1984) The effect of knowledge of shorthand on the accuracy of outlines and transcription, Nigerian Journal of Technical Education, 2(1), pp Aina, O. (2000) Nigerian Technical and Vocational Education in the Near Future, Technical and Vocational Education in Nigeria: vision and action, 1, pp Aremu, E.A. (1986) The suitability, relevance and adequacy syndrome in business education curriculum in Oyo state, Journal of Technical Education, 1(1), pp Boden, M. (1977) Artificial Intelligence and Natural Man. London: Harvester. Buremoh, G.B. (1985) Alleged Fallen Standard of Education: a case study of Kwara state. Unpublished MEd Dissertation, University of Ilorin. Davis, C.E. (1983) The Status of Business Education in Nigeria, Vocational Education Journal (4th edn), P Ekpenyong, L.E. (1991) Comparison of recall performance of typewriting and nontypewriting students, Business Education Journal, 11(3), pp Ekpenyong, L.E. (1992) Business Teacher Education in Nigeria Prospects and Challenges for the 21st century, Perspectives on Teacher Education in Nigeria, APQEN, Vol. 3, pp Ekpenyong L.E., (1994) Methods of Teaching Business Education Curriculum, Monograph Series No. 4. Faculty of Education, University of Benin. 44

13 BUSINESS TEACHER EDUCATION Ezeani, E. (1984) Perception of Classroom Teachers on the Teaching Competencies Needed by Pre-service Teachers of Secretarial Subjects in Anambra State. Unpublished MEd Dissertation, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Federal Ministry of Education (1985) National Curriculum for Senior Secondary Schools, Vol. 4. Business Studies. Lagos: Federal Ministry of Education. Federal Ministry of Education (1984) National Curriculum for Junior Secondary Schools; Vol. 2 Pre-vocational. Lagos: Federal Ministry of Education. Federal Rep. of Nigeria (1977) National Policy on Education. Lagos: Federal Ministry of Education. Federal Republic of Nigeria (1981) National Policy on Education. Yaba: NERDC press. Federal Rep. of Nigeria (1998) National Policy on Education. Lagos: Federal Ministry of Education. Further Education Unit (1984) Information Technology, an occasional paper. London: FEU Department of Education and Science. Government of Eastern Nigeria (1955), Economic Rehabilitation of Eastern Nigeria: Report of Economic Mission to Europe and North America. (Sessional paper No. 6). Enugu: The Government Printer Morphet, L. & Roe, L. (1974) Educational Organization and Administration. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. National Board for Technical Education (1987) Business Education Curriculum. Kaduna: NBTE. National Commission for Colleges of Education (1996) Business Education Curriculum. Kaduna: National Commission for Colleges of Education. Navaokolo P.O. & Otubelu D. (1991) A Survey of Factors Contributing to Students Anxiety Spurt in Shorthand Examinations: Business Education Journal Vol. 11 (3), pp Olutola, A.D. (1989) Education Facilities and Students Performance in WASC Examinations, International Journal of Educational Management, 1, pp Osu, C.O. (1987) The Effects of Three Practice Strategies Upon Chaining Speed and Accuracy in Typewriting with Implications for Typewriting Teachers, Journal of Research in Learning and teaching 1(1), pp Osu, C.O. (1988) Syllabic Intensity: its effects on vocabulary controlled shorthand dictation copy, Journal of research in curriculum, 6(1), pp Osu, C.O. (1991) An Analysis of Readability of Selected Ordinary Level Commerce Textbooks, Business Education Journal, 11(3), pp Oyedeji, N.B. (1991) Business Education Facilities and Students Academic Performance in Ilorin Metropolis, Business Education Journal, II(3), pp Oyedele, J.F. (1987) Perception of Standards for Undergraduate Business Teacher Education Program in Nigeria. Doctoral Dissertation, University of New York, p. 40. Towe, P.E. (2000) An In-depth Review and Assessment of the Present State and Focus of Technical and Vocational Education in Nigeria, Technical and Vocational Education in Nigeria: Vision and Action pp

14 Lawrence E. Ekpenyong & Juliet Nwabuisi Uduma, I. (1987) Teaching Shorthand in Nigerian Secondary Schools: a case study of Imo State, Business Education Journal, I(2). Ugoji, E. (1991) Factors Responsible for Students Poor Performance in Shorthand in Higher Institutions in Rivers and Imo States of Nigeria, Business Education Journal, II(3), pp