The desire of all parents is to
have qualitative and functional educational programs for their children from
nursery school to the university level. This is in conformity with the general
belief that a sound education is the only permanent legacy that parents can
pass on to their children to ensure their future. However, what we see nowadays
is that many countries’ education system is turning out unemployable
illiterates. Hallak (1990) emphasized that the quality of the education system
depends on the quality of its teachers. Alloy Ejiogu (1990) stated that the
quality of education in any given society depend considerably on the number and
the quality of its personnel. David (1995) affirmed that the need for
administrative training program in education is crucial to the success and
quality of the new educational system which currently lacks visible subsystem
of administrative training program. It therefore becomes highly necessary that
school administrators address themselves to those managerial activities that
would lead to improvement of performance, thereby leading to academic excellence
in schools. In fact, recent surveys have it that members of the public hold the
opinion and accuse school administrators of being more interested in their
personal welfare of entertaining visitors than in the programs meant for improvement
of academic standards of their schools. Teachers are equally being accused of
lack of commitment and dedication to duty. Parents are not encouraged
enough to participate in the school
management and in the same vein, the local schools boards have not been fully
responsible for daily administration, management and quality control of schools
with respect to certification and materials development techniques of teaching
and evaluation. Abugbe (2002) affirmed that, a functional educational system is
the cry of educationists the world over. This is because, we are inclined to
believe that educational advancement and innovations can only come forth from
disciplined and committed minds, which operate within an enabling work
organizational culture, a culture pervaded by quality consciousness. Therefore,
there is an urgent need for an organization wide approach and commitment to
quality improvement since no one organization can boast of holding franchise to
the development and delivery of quality products/services; many organizations
have embraced the total quality management concept as a way of survival.
In view of the strategic position
of the university education, there is need for the introduction of total
quality management that will involve all the stake holders especially the
principal, teachers, students, parents and even the community. It must be
emphasized that the success of education rests in no small measure on informed
planning, efficient organization and dedicated leadership; just as learning
cannot take place in a classroom manned by ill-prepared and unskilled teacher,
no educational system can rise above the quality of its administration. The
diversified nature of our society demands a different, more creative solution
to our basic education problem. (Ojo, 2007)
Total quality management is a
management style based upon producing quality service as defined by the customers
and suppliers. TQM is an organizational wide approach to quality with
improvement undertaken on a continuous basis by everyone in the organization. Dale
and Bunney (2003) defined TQM as a quality centered, customer-focused, facts
based, team-driven, seminar-managements led process to achieve an
organization’s strategic imperative through continuous process improvement.
This is why TQM principles are also being referred to as total quality
improvement, world class quality, continuous quality, improvement, total
service quality and total quality leadership.
Statement of problem
Based on the fact stated above, the study sets
out to examine the extent to which quality management system and quality
assurance measure is in place to assure a quality production in the University
system.
Methodology
The study was designed to
ascertain the level of awareness the practice of total quality management (TQM)
system within the institutions of higher learning in the country. The subjects
of the research were one hundred senior academic and management staff. The
instrument used was a standardized evaluation questionnaire for total quality
management system. Data collected were analyzed using a simple descriptive
statistical method i.e. frequency tables and percentages for the response of
the respondents to each of the twelve items on the questionnaire.
RESULTS
In this section, the respondents’
response to the evolution questionnaire for TQM system were analyzed and
discussed. Twelve questions were raised and the analyses are presented below.
Q1:
Management emphasis
Subjects were asked to give their
opinions on the management’s emphasis on production. 78.3% of the total
respondents affirmed that their university’s management placed emphasis on the
quantity or mass production of students; 16.9% of the respondents said the
management emphasis is on both the quality and quantity of the students they
produced while only 4.8% agreed that the university is emphasizing quality of
production.
Q2:
Ethiopian policy on education
On the managements adherence and
conforming with the Ethiopian Educational policy, 36.1% of the total
respondents said they do not have the policy, 56.6% said the university
authorities are following the laid down policy on higher education while 7.2%
of the respondents said, the rules are being bent to suite their own purpose.
Q3
Standards for academic achievement
Since the primary purpose of any
educational enterprise is to produce quality students who will keep the society
going; this question was included to know if there is any standardization of
academic achievement. It was discovered that 57.8% of the total respondents
said, there was tacit standard for such, 28.9% said there is but not documented
while 2.4% of the respondents agreed that there is a genuine standard for
education and measuring of students academic performance of the students being
produced year in year out.
Q4:
Quality checking /quality control:
63.9% of the total respondents
said only the final results are strictly checked while 28.9% said several
checks are being carried out before the results are finally sent to the senate
for approval and 7.2% responded that the university has several quality check
points before a final approval by the senate.
Q5:
Tools for teachings and reporting
51.8% of the total respondents
agreed that, the tools are available, but they are not being used; 22.9 denied
any knowledge of these tools (may be due to lack of orientations) and 21.7%
says the tools are available but, only a part of them are being used.
Q6:
common language (spirit de corp) in the schools:
26.5% of the total respondents said it does
not exist while 51.8% agreed that they are well aware of this but they are not
just very serious about the use where as 21.7% agreed that they have and it is
well respected.
Q7:
Communication system
7.2% of the respondents are of
the opinion that management meetings are held regularly and resolutions arrived
at are passed to the entire school populace promptly; 9.6% percent agreed that
management meetings are held monthly and 83.1% said meetings are held only when
it is necessary.
Q8
Suggestion system
The respondents’ response to this
all important aspect of an organization is 63.9% percent saying that such a
system or means does not exist while 32.5% agreed that suggestion system exits
but not in use, where as a fragment of the total respondents i.e 3.6% agreed
that there is a well organized system of suggestion within the institution.
Q9:
Employees motivation
27.7% percent of the total
respondents agreed that their salaries are very adequate; 66.3% said the salary
being paid to them monthly are barely enough to meet their daily demands while
1.2% of the total population agreed that every worker within the university are
well motivated in all areas.
Q10:
Training opportunity (at home and abroad):
While 37.3% percent of the total
population said that there are no provisions for this, 43.4% said there is
provision but only for the privileged few but a total of 19.3% of the
population in disagreeing with the others said, the provisions are there for
every one without any bias.
Q11:
Total quality management culture
On the awareness of the total quality
management culture and applications, 20.5% of the respondents said, they accept
it as a global program and as a result welcome it in to the university and they
practiced it, while 4.8% said the university did not only welcome it but has put
in place a well organized system for an enduring culture of quality within the
system. However a total of 74.7% percent of the population disagreed with this,
saying that such a culture does not exist.
Q12:
On quality cycles
66.3% agreed that the institution
does not have but it will be good if this can be instituted; 26.5% of the
population said the cycle exists but are not being given any recognition and
7.2% agreed that it exists and well recognized.
DISCUSSION
The results presented above are
quite revealing; they have been able to point to one fact i.e. the need for
total quality control or management with a focus. Results have shown that the
management seems not to really understand what quality actually stands for. Every
manager of education should know that the onus rests on them that they should
have a total commitment to quality and that all aspects of production should
focus on the consumer. This is because the consumer is the most important part
of production; once the products are rolled out, it is usually very difficult
to recall them; take for example, a badly trained medical doctor or nurse can
only kill one patent at a time but a poorly trained teacher is potentially
dangerous, for he can kill generations.
Crosby
(1984) in agreeing with this study stated that quality is established in the
marketplace and not in executive suites. The principle of doing a task right
the first time has to be established as “doing a task well” in order to measure
up to societal demands no education. Within the education set up where the
products are humans, producing a mass unemployable illiterate’s will take any
country nowhere; therefore, the present practice of mass production of
graduates, good or bad has to be reviewed.
Secondly, the present school
policy on learning within the university system should be given a serious
re-think. The present practice of “group achievement or group success” must be
abolished for “individual performance”. This study found that most graduates,
graduating students and the general students’ body find it difficult expressing
themselves in good English (both oral and written). Teachers still teach their
subjects in the local language regardless of the educational policy on the
language of instruction at the higher institutions. In other words, policy
should be taken seriously and standards set for achievement.
It should be emphasized at this
point that quality does not come from mass inspection of results after an
examination has been conducted at the end of a semester, teachers do better
when at every stage, there is quality check on every work done.
For total improvement to be
achieved in the University, the fourteen principles of Deming can be adopted as
a working philosophy for the school. (See Schmoker and Wilson, 1993)
Administrators must stop focusing
upon the judgment of results instead must start focusing upon the improvement
of process-learning teaching, and doing whatever tasks which needs be done (Fullan,
1991).
Conclusion
and recommendation:
In light of the discoveries in this
study, the following suggestion and recommendations are made.
(i) To
create awareness, the federal government should introduce Total Quality
Management as a course in all tertiary institutions in Ethiopia. The course should be a
compulsory course for all disciplines. This will enable every Ethiopian
graduates to have a good grasp of TQM.
(ii) The
management of the University should be more committed to TQM culture within the
school’s set up.
(iii) Staff
training and development serves as a veritable tool to successful
implementation of total quality management; funds should be made available and
staff should be encouraged to go for conferences, seminars, workshops and short
courses.
(iv) The
government should encourage practitioners and consultants who have developed a
wealth of experience in the area of TQM and its implementation to share their
experiences by writing books or articles that can be read and learned from.
(v) The
ministry of Education as the governing body on Education should set up an
enlightenment campaign on the need for all institutions to embrace and enforce
TQM principles in their organizations or schools.
Further research could be
conducted on motivation, performance improvement and practice among the
teachers in the university. A study can further be initiated to conduct a
research into the quantity and quality of teachers within the university and
the rate of teachers turn over in the total economy of Ethiopia.
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**[This article was modified from
a presentation at the 26th annual Faculty of Education Conference in
Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia, May 9-10 2008] see the
conference book of abstract, pp1(1)
