STUDY OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF OFFICE TECHNOLOGIES IN SECRETARIAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN NIGERIA POLYTECHNICS (A CASE STUDY OF THE INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY ENUGU)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. 1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 

As life is becoming more dynamic, more complex in educational, socio-cultural, industrial and commercial developments due to the increasing technological advancements, the secretarial profession is not left out and the jobs of secretaries appear and at first sight among those threatened. This is because of new machines, which are threatening to take-over the jobs performed by three categories of workers thereby making them face job hard of redundancy, retrenchments which will lead to mass unemployment will result. 

Nigeria is undergoing technological revaluations just like any other developing country of the world. This technology advancement has actually revolutionized most office activities and procedures. Until recently, the study of secretarial educations programme in our polytechnics especially institute of management and technology (I.M.T), Enugu was based mainly on shorthand, typewriting and office practice. The activities had greatly changed since supervisor of the polytechnic by the NBTE.
The task and activities of these categories of workers in most offices and business circles lave also increased tremendously because of the high office responsibilities expected of the secretary to now handle with little or no supervisions. The scope of the course they now cover before qualification has also greatly increased.
They now have to be trained and educated in too many course and have to acquire more technical skills to be able to handle and manipulate the very modern office machines now inherent in most business offices if they have to be marketable and employable.
Secretarial professions now have to battle with the skills of handling the electric typewriters, scanners, ward processors, the facsimile (FAX) machines, the computers etc. This is to enable him meet up with the increasing demand of information as and when urgently required which could not have been so carried out with the use of manual typewriters. 

It should be noted that these automatic, light -technological machines couldn’t do everything or operate themselves without the human aid, thus making the needs and quests for the professionals in secretarial filed necessary. 

The most current and implicating question in the minds of the present day secretarial studies educators and curriculum planners is what to do in order to keep peace with the technological changes in secretarial office equipment. This is because the more knowledgeable the secretaries are in the use of these office technologies, the better prepared our country will be to develop technologically. 

Hence, in the opinion of Kanu (1987), there must be positive attitude towards continuous updating of knowledge for everyone, especially the secretaries, if this age of technological advancement is to be acquired and improved advancement and inter – personnel skills developed.

1. 1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

Since a lot of office work is based on the basic knowledge of key boarding and clerical skills, it became apparent that if secretarial education curriculum in our polytechnics are not reviewed, revisited and updated from time, to adequately take care of these technological changes, the products of this profession might not be able to face challenges they will meet in future in the course of their working life. 

It therefore, becomes apparent that those concerned with the training and education of secretaries in our polytechnics and other institutions of higher learning should always adjust their curriculum is to catch up and stay afloat with the incessant technological changes and advancements. The problem then is how far has I.M.T been able to adjust its curriculum to reflect the current development? How far have they been able to purchase the equipment required for the training? Do they have qualified personnel to handle these equipments? Are the students being adequately prepared?

1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 

The main purpose of this project is to find out the implications of office technologies in secretarial education curriculum in I.M.T Enugu, specifically, this purpose targets at: 

1. Identifying the implications of office technology on the secretarial education curriculum in I.M.T Enugu 
2. The cause of frequent changes in educational curriculum especially that of secretarial education programme performance. 
3. To ascertain whether / if these office technologies that are used in the different to offices today are available in the Department of secretarial studies of institute of Management and Technology (I.M.T), Enugu where secretaries are trained. 
4. Identify whether the curriculum planners recognized these implication before going on the drawing board, drawing especially for secretarial 

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 

Technological development has taken a rather tremendous new dimension since the middle of this century. According or Ndubuisi (1981), since there is need to promote interest in more and advanced technology; provision should also be made for institutions, the nation as a whole, curriculum planners and business world. By finding out the implication of office technology on the secretarial educations curriculum in our polytechnics especially IMT, all that are involved in the training of these category of professionals and the curriculum planners, will be able to adjust their curriculum and course contents to suit the needs of the expanding technological business world. Their products, the students, secretaries would then be prepared well enough enter the now world of automated offices and still face squarely the implications inherent in high technological environments without fears of retrenchments. The studies will among other things, serve as a guide to the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) in determining these new trends that are designed to become an integral part of business studies and include some of the programmes in the school syllabus. Finally, the country and the business parastatalsswill also benefit from this study since the school of business has been producing very proficient and marketable personnel that will stand the vigorous test of time through updated planed curricula, especially in this era of technological advancement.

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTION

In order to obtain more purposeful and significant results from the data analysis, the following questions will be tested in the course of the study

1. What are the implication of office technologies in the secretarial education curriculum in the institute of management and technology Enugu?
2. Is the institute prepared to meet up with the implication in training students for today’s and future technological office environment?
3. What effects have the frequent changes in curriculum brought to the secretarial studies department?
4. Being aware of the technological changes in the country do you think this will have any effect in your career as secretaries?

1.6 SCOPE/DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

As a result of the broad nature of secretarial education curriculum, the researcher limited this work to office technology aspect of the curriculum.

However, the research will concentrate his research work on the IMT, Enugu polytechnic. It is within this precinct that this study is delimited.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS                       

Breading Unemployed Graduates: Training and turning-out of graduates who cannot be employed because they lack of the required skills for handling and manipulating modern office machines and equipment.

Curriculum: Subjects / courses included in course study like secretarial studies or taught in a particular school or college.

Office Technologies: The application of the use of modern office machines and equipment in performing office tasks for quicker and greater production. 

Computer Literacy: Being educated or enlightened on the uses, functions and operations of the electronic data processing machine called the computer, which is capable of handling, processing, staring and retrieving information at the shortest possible time. 

Office Automation: The use of different types / kinds of machines aided devices to work in an office in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the employed manpower. 

Technological Revolution: Drastic charge shift from the use of old fashioned machine and equipment to the recently manufactured (modern) are. 

Techniques: Methods of getting things done or preferred.