ASSESSMENT OF GOVERNMENT MAINTENANCE OF TEACHERS WORKING AND LIVING CONDITIONS

Introduction

1.1 Background Of The Study

Work environment is the totality of conditions under which a person or a group of persons works or performs his or her duties. Work environment can be in from of physical environment, human environment and relationship with colleagues and administrators, interaction within the system and the general aura of the work climate.

Nakpodia (2006) believes that in any educational arrangement, the success lies in the commitment of the teachers. But in Nigeria according to him, teachers who are the shapers of civilization are sentenced to perpetual decent poverty. it is only recently with the present democratic dispensation that the Nigeria teachers’ salaries have been made reasonably attractive. Salaries and allowances however are not the only incentive for job satisfaction and commitment.

Education is regarded as a prime mover for socio-economic development and accounts for as much as 20% of the Gross

National Product of developing nations. This is based on the observation that education improves the productive value of human beings by impacting knowledge, skills, attitude and behavior traits referred to as human, social and cultural capital which are required in producing goods and services (Lazear, 2002 & Higlis, 2008).

Employees are considered as the most valuable resource and asset to an organization. Qualified and motivated employees create and deliver value out of other organizational resources. Dynamic and progressive organizations endeavour to attract and retain the right people for the right jobs at the right time through creating and sustaining their motivation in changing circumstances. Employee working conditions is essential to customer satisfaction and organization performance in competitive environment. Decent facilities make additional contributions to teachers work. Employees value work conditions as essential ingredients to their satisfaction; requiring regular maintenance and replacement of facilities that aid their comfort and reduce their stress of abandoning their duties in search of convenient place where comfort facilities are not only put in place but also maintained regularly for optimum enjoyment of their workforce.

Kumari (2011) in his study on job satisfaction of the employees at the workplace indicated that job Satisfaction is a set of favourable or unfavourable feelings and emotions with which employees view their work. A person with high level of job satisfaction holds positive feelings about the job, while a person who is dissatisfied with his/ her job holds negative feelings about the job. Job satisfaction is an important concern for both the employee as well as the employer as it has an impact on much organizational behaviour. Buchel, Melgar, Rossi and Smith (2010) in their study on Job satisfaction and the individual educational level observed that impact of job satisfaction on happiness and well-being is undeniable. They reported that work occupies a large part of each worker’s day and work is one’s main source of social standing, it helps to define who a person is and affects one’s health both physically and mentally. Satisfaction with one’s job is an important component in overall well-being.

Job-satisfaction includes judgments of the job as a whole, possibly including multiple facets such as the work itself, salary and other compensations, advancement, supervision and coworkers These intrinsic and extrinsic job attributes are correlated to involvement or commitment which influence on productivity. Bucheli et al; further reported that job satisfaction could be explained by a set of personal economic and socio-demographic characteristics such as age, education, gender, relative income and cultural background. Cohen and Aya (2010) indicated that job satisfaction has been a key factor for understanding occupational involvement and commitment. It is an overall perceptual response to and general attitude toward the current job. They further reported that lack of organizational commitment or loyalty has been cited as an explanation for employee absenteeism, turnover, reduced effort, theft, job dissatisfaction and unwillingness to be relocated.

Inadequate motivation of teachers in the state and subsequent lack of job satisfaction make them less committed to their work. Consequently they are not well motivated and do not dedicate their time to proper teaching of students nor prepare their lessons well enough to inculcate all necessary skills using adequate methods. Thus their contributions to the accomplishment of school goals are not very positive. They fail to participate in the projects that promote the tone of the name of the school. Equally, students do not do well in their examinations since they do not acquire correct skills. This results in poor output and consequently job dissatisfaction which is apparent in several forms of misconduct on the part of the teachers. Therefore, this study focuses on the assessment of government maintenance of teachers working and living conditions in Oyo state.

1.2 Statement Of The Problem

The work environment to a large extent is a major determinant in employee performance in any organization. A study by Roelofsen (2002) indicates that improving the working environment reduces complaints and absenteeism while increasing productivity. There is adequate empirical evidence linking workplace conditions to job satisfaction (Wells, 2000). In recent years, employees comfort on the job, determined by workplace conditions and environment has been recognized as an important factor for measuring their productivity.

Employee job satisfaction affects the quality of service in the education sector with a consequent effect on the degree of student performance and general output of the employee involved. Therefore, efforts to improve employee job satisfaction can create satisfied employees with a positive effect on student performance and general output of the employee. Organizations must therefore know how to manage a diverse group of workers because as this will aid in recruitment and retention of talented employees and ensure high levels of job satisfaction. Hence, Heartfield (2012) is of the opinion that in order to create an environment for employee satisfaction that can aid performance in workplace (emphasis added), it is vitally important to know which key factors affect employee satisfaction.

Teachers generally seem to be discontented with their teaching jobs and this invariably affects the entire educational system especially secondary schools that provide inputs to higher institutions. The poor standard of education in the country is therefore not unconnected with this problem especially in Oyo state that is already characterized by educational backwardness. Teachers in Oyo state often complain of denial of a lot of benefits including, free medical services for themselves their wives and children; staff housing loans; vehicle and vehicle refurbishing loans; regular promotion; leave grants; disturbance allowance; ad hoc committee allowances; bush allowance and overtime allowance. These among others seem to make them dissatisfied with their jobs. These problems make it glaring that there is a need to carry out a study on the assessment of government maintenance of teachers working and living conditions in Oyo state.

1.3 Objectives Of The Study

The general objective of this study is to examine the assessment of government maintenance of teachers working and living conditions in Oyo state, a case study of Ibadan north LGA.

The specific objectives include the following:

1. To find out the working and living conditions of teachers in Ibadan north LGA of Oyo state.
2. To ascertain the influence of working and living conditions of teachers in Ibadan north LGA of Oyo state on their job satisfaction.
3. To examine the impact of teachers’ working and living conditions on the rate of teachers’ turnover in Ibadan north LGA of Oyo state.
4. To instigate if there is a relationship between teachers’ working and living conditions and their work performances.
5. To determine the role of the government in maintaining a good working and living conditions for teachers in Ibadan north LGA of Oyo state.

1.4 Research Questions

The relevant research questions related to this study include the following:

1. What is the working and living conditions of teachers in Ibadan north LGA of Oyo state?
2. What is the influence of working and living conditions of teachers in Ibadan north LGA of Oyo state on their job satisfaction?