Education And Manpower Development In Calabar Municipal Local Government Area Of Cross River State: Contributions And Challenges

The main objective of this study was to assess the role and challenges of education in manpower development in Calabar Municipal Local Government Area of Cross River State. A survey research design was used for the study. The population of the study was179,392 while the sample size was 384 using Krejcie and Morgan’s (1970) table for determining sample size. Stratified random sampling technique was employed in the study. This was considered appropriate to ensure that all political wards in the study area were proportionately represented within the sample. Questionnaire serves as instrument of data collection. The instrument was validated by experts and professionals in the area while the reliability of the instrument was confirmed using Cronbach’s alpha, which yielded a coefficient of 0.83, indicating high internal consistency. Descriptive statistical tools such as means, frequencies and standard deviation were used in the procedure of processing respondent’s perceptions on the contributions and challenges of education and manpower development in the study. The findings of the study among others include that, education plays a vital role in manpower development. However, despite the contributions of education, the study revealed that, it faced several challenges in Calabar Municipal Local Government Area of Cross River State which placed limitations on manpower development in the area. The study identified some of the challenges to include, poor funding, infrastructural deficit, corruption, examination malpractices and shortage of skilled and professional teachers due to brain drain. The study concludes that although education is considered pivotal to effective manpower development because it serves as the foundation for skill acquisition, innovation, and national growth but it faces challenges which limit its efficacy. The study therefore recommends among others that, government should provide adequate budgetary allocations for the funding of education, and adopt effective measures to address corruption in the system.