EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF KANO STATE FOREIGN SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME ON MANPOWER CAPACITY BUILDING (2011-2015)
ABSTRACT
The foreign scholarship program is an important strategy for manpower capacity building and development. The Kano state government has sponsored over 2,000 indigenes on foreign scholarship with a view to enhancing the human resource base of the state. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to evaluate the implementation of the Kano state foreign scholarship scheme in manpower capacity building from 2011 to 2015.
Specifically, the study evaluates the program from the standpoint of the level of funding, the credibility of selection and screening exercise, standards and quality of host destinations and institutions as well as how these factors affected the success of the program.
Data were obtained from primary and secondary sources which include questionnaire administration and interview with the respondents while in the secondary source, data from KSSB and MHE, articles, journals, state government publications, and other relevant sources via the internet were used… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
International student mobility in search of education, knowledge, and skill is an important catalyst for human resource capacity building and a crucial aspect for the internationalization of education, building greater understanding and trust between nations across the global spectrum.
Around the globe, the demand for technical and scientific education has expanded dramatically over the past decades, a function of population increase, scientific and technological advancement and expansion of bureaucratic and political institutions as pointed out by Beall and Lemmens (2014)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Statement of the Research Problem
One of the major constraints and challenges bedeviling the development of many nations especially developing ones is a dearth of competent manpower with necessary skills, knowledge, experiences, and technical know-how which obviously has negative effects on any development effort, whether social, economic or political.
In order to enhance and build strong and robust manpower that is versatile enough and capable of accelerating rapid socioeconomic development of the state, the Kano state government had come up with Foreign Scholarship Scheme (FSS)… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Research Objectives
The fundamental objective that underpins this study is to evaluate the implementation of the Kano State Foreign Scholarship Scheme towards human capacity building in the state for the periods from 2011 to 2015. The Specific objectives are:
- To determine the extent to which Level of Funding affect the Implementation of KSFSS towards Manpower Capacity Building in Kano State… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The Conceptual Exploration of Foreign Scholarship
Various definitions have been given by various scholars on the meaning of the concept of scholarship. According to Peterson (2008) in his book Financial Aid Glossary defines scholarship as an award of financial aid for a student to further their education which is awarded based upon various criteria, which usually reflect the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.
He further observed that scholarship money is not required to be repaid and it is a major component of college financial aid in countries such as the United States.
The definition above depicts that the concept of the scholarship is uniquely defined from the standpoint of finance, meaning that a scholarship is a financial aid granted to a student who wanted to further or broaden their education and it is normally awarded if a student has fulfilled certain requirement put forward by the sponsor of financier… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Classification and Types of scholarship
The most common types of scholarship according to Peterson (2008) are:
(i) Merit-based: These awards are based on a student’s academic, artistic, athletic, or other abilities, and often factor in an applicant’s extracurricular activities and community service record. The most common merit-based scholarships, awarded by either private organizations or directly by a student’s intended college, recognize academic achievement or high scores on standardized tests.
Most such merit-based scholarships are paid directly by the institution the student attends, rather than issued directly to the student. Merit-based scholarship are classified in to (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Theoretical Framework
Over the years, many scholars have propounded various theories that serve as a guiding principle for explaining and understanding a phenomenon and make a reasonable prediction thereto. For the purpose of this study, a theory called “Evaluation Theory” was found worthy and relevant to serve as a suitable framework for analyzing our literature in order to shape and guide our understanding on the evaluation of the implementation of KSFSS in enhancing manpower capacity in Kano state for the period under review.
Evaluation Theory
The Evaluation Theory is a philosophical theory propounded by Edward A. Suchman (1967) a research scientist and a firm believer in the necessity to base conclusions primarily on scientific evidence, Edward Suchman considered that evaluation must be approached with the logic of the scientific method.
His work and writings during the 1960s, however, emphasized the need to assess programs in relation to their practical setting. For this reason, he suggested specific criteria for assessing program success… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Application of the Theory to the Study
The evaluation theory was found worthy of application in this study, as a framework for analysis, considering the simplicity and clarity of the theory in evaluating the performance of any given program, policy, or scheme.
This research work tagged Evaluation of Kano State foreign scholarship scheme could best be explained by this theory given its clear and distinctive criteria for evaluating the success or failure of a program like this. These criteria include effort, performance, and adequacy of performance, efficiency, and process.
Efforts: In this nexus, the efforts can be seen as all the inputs, energies, policy statements, and thrust regarding the KSFSS, resources committed, and dedicated for the execution of KSFSS and the results which the Kano state government wished to achieve at the end of the program… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
This study employed a survey research design. This is because the survey method enables us to collect primary data relating to independent and dependent variables of the study from the field through the instrument of questionnaire and interview with the actual beneficiaries and the implementers of the program… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Population and Sample Size for the Study
For the purpose of this research, the targeted population was basically of two categories; the agencies responsible for the implementation of Kano state foreign scholarship scheme on one hand, and those who have actually benefitted from the scheme on the other hand. However, each category is further divided into two.
With regards to the agencies, the Kano State Scholarships Board (KSSB) and Ministry for Higher Education (MHE) are the agencies directly responsible for overseeing the implementation of the scheme, while with regards to the beneficiaries we have postgraduate and undergraduate students… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Rate of Return to Questionnaire
For the purpose of this research, a total of five hundred (500) questionnaires were administered to various respondents cutting across different individuals with different levels of education, working experience, level of study, a cadre of service, age, and gender.
With regards to the staff respondents, the questionnaire was administered by the researcher himself, while with regards to the beneficiaries, the questionnaire was administered in two ways; in the case of returnees, the questionnaire was administered by the researcher through research assistant while for the those… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
However, out of this, a total of 345 which represents 77.52% of the questionnaires administered were duly and correctly completed and screened. The number of questionnaires administered and retuned and screened by each category of the respondents was presented in the table below:
Table 5.1 Rate of Return of Questionnaires
| Categories of population | Number of Questionnaire Administered | Number of Questionnaires Returned | Screened | ||
| KSSB | 50 | 50 | 35 | ||
| MHE | 35 | 35 | 24 | ||
| Postgraduate Students | 210 | 162 | 143 | ||
| Undergraduate Students | 205 | 198 | 143 | ||
| Total | 500 | 445 | 345 |
Source: Field survey, 2017
From the table above, it is crystal clear that there is a high response to questionnaires because the rate of return was 445 which represents 89% rate of return. In fact, looking at the rate of return on each category, we can see that with regards to KSSB and MHE, the rate of return was 100% each because, in each category, the respondents returned the exact number of questionnaires administered to them as shown in the table above… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Discussions
The rejection of the null hypothesis above implies that the implementation of the Kano state foreign scholarship scheme was greatly affected by the credibility of selection and screening exercise conducted by the KSSB and MHE.
This means that the successful actualization and realization of predetermined goals and objectives of the KSFSS scheme is the function of quality, objectivity, and credibility of the selection and screening criteria. Hence… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary of Findings
This study is targeted at “evaluating the implementation of the Kano State foreign Scholarship scheme (KSFSS) from 2011 to 2015. The fundamental philosophy behind KSFSS as encapsulated in the policy is targeted at enhancing manpower capacity in Kano especially in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine, (STEM).
Not only that, but the scheme is also aimed at enhancing the employment prospects of teaming young talented Kano state indigenes who have achieved excellent academic result and have leadership potentials by supporting them to travel overseas and boost their career and future employment opportunities as well as enhancing their academic, professional, intellectual and personal growth… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is indeed pertinent to point out that economic growth and development is all about people. Central to the development is the ability of the people to advance their material well being and this ability is succinctly reflected in the capacity to create wealth through their ingenuity and enterprise.
This is only possible if it is competent, trained, and skillful human resources and this can only be acquired through education and training… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
Recommendations
Based on the findings of this research, the following recommendations are made:-
- Firstly, there is need for the policymakers and designers of KSFSS to ensure that they released adequate funds for the payment of tuition fees, accommodation fees, and monthly up-keep allowance to the beneficiaries so that they can perform very well, academically and intellectually in such a way that the KSFSS could justify its fundamental philosophy of strengthening human capacity building in Kano state.
- More effort should be put in ensuring that the gap between what has been budgeted and spent for the execution of the program was bridged. Similarly, the implementation agencies should ensure prompt and timely payment of monthly stipends, tuition, and accommodation fees to the beneficiaries most especially in view of the fact that they not living in their home country… (Scroll down for the link to get the Complete Chapter One to Five Project Material)
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