CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN HIGHER INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA

The study examined the contemporary issues in human resources management in higher institutions of learning in South-East Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey designed. Two research questions were adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 268 employees selected from University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), and Ebonyi State University, Abakiliki. Since the population of the study was manageable, there was no any sample. The instrument for data collection was structured questionnaire developed by the researchers titled: “Contemporary Issues in Human Resources Management Questionnaire (CIHRMQ). The instrument was faced validated by three experts from the Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The reliability coefficient was calculated using Cronbach's Alpha and was found to be 0.84. Data collected from the respondents was analysed using mean statistics and standard deviation towards answering the research questions. The findings of the study revealed the functions of human resources management in the higher institutions of learning which range from recruitment, selection, induction, remuneration, performance review/appraisal, job design and description, collective bargaining, and retirement and termination. The findings of the study also revealed the contemporary issues in human resources management in higher institutions of learning which include poor working condition, problems of staffing, use of ICT in education, budget, switch over of faculties, high rate of students and staff indiscipline; issues of funding; poor recruitment process; no induction of human resources; poor supervision/appraisal of staff; poor personnel commitment to work and incessant transfer of teachers. Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made among others that government attention is needed for education sector through improved function as education remains the basis for the progress of all other sectors of the society at large.