317 318 Nigerian Journal of Business Education Volume I No 2 2013 Nigerian Journal of Business Education Volume I No 2 2013 [NI GERI AN JOURNAL OF BUSI NESS EDUCATI ON ( NI GJBED) Website Url: http://www.nigjbed.com.ng. All Rights Reserved.] Volume 1 No.2 2013 DENTIFICATION OF QUALITY ASSURANCE IN BUSINESS EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN IMO STATE Ezemoyih Chuks Marcel (MABEN) Ugochukwu Ndidi Department of Business Education Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri Abstract The paper discussed identification of quality insurance in business education programme in colleges of education in Imo State. Three research questions guided the study. The population comprised all 48 lecturers teaching business education programme in Imo State. Mean and standard deviation statistical tool was used to analyse the data. Any mean score more than 2.50 was regarded as accepted while any mean score less than 2.50 was regarded as not accepted. It was discovered that quality assurance in business education programme needed funds, infrastructural facilities, qualified personnel and uniform curriculum to produce quality graduates who will meet up with the benchmark of business education programme. Recommendations were made that funds, infrastructural facilities qualified personnel and uniform curriculum should be made available by stakeholders, parent and government. These will make the graduates of business education to meet with tremendous changes in our modern offices and be useful to their work place. Introduction It is no gain saying that business education has become inadequate to meet the challenges of the growing world not only in Nigeria but also in the entire global village. The demand for quality assurance in business education has therefore, became imperative and fast increasing geometrically (Fabiyi and Oladipo, 2004). Business education consists of that group of related, occupationally focused and general education subjects systematically arranged which are prescribed for possible certification in a field. According to Osuala (2007) business education is a programme of instruction which consists of two parts office education, a vocational education programme for office career and general business education, a programme which provides students with information and competencies needed by all managing personnel, business affairs, and using the services of business world. Azuka (2010) defined business education as a programme of studies which aims at creating awareness in business occupations, preparing people to become better citizens and consumers of goods, services and preparing business teachers. It develops in their students certain skills, attitudes and abilities that are relevant in securing jobs in the business world; it also gives them insight into general business and acquaints them with general business information that will make them efficient and national purchasers and consumers of business products. This means that the curriculum content of business education should contain all that are expected of an individual to work effectively in an office as well as teach business courses effectively. The principles and techniques of business education are needed by all in all works of life for use both for vocational and non-vocational purposes. The objectives of business education are to produce highly qualified professional business teachers, who will be able to adjust to the changing needs of students and prospect of modern society. There should be a benchmark or standards expected of the graduates of business education which gives them high quality. Quality means that which best satisfies and exceeds customers need and want (Osuala 2007). There is need for high quality in order to ensure quality assurance. Quality refers to the standard of a phenomenon when it is compared to other things like it. In this context, it is associated with the monitoring and evaluation component of education to see whether the outcome is good and of intended standard. Quality is the ability or degree with which a product, service or phenomenon conforms to an established standard and which make it to be relatively superior to others. With respect to education, this implies the ability or degree with which an educational system conforms to established standard and appropriateness, of the input available for the delivery of the system (Fadipe 1999). Quality in education therefore means the relevance and appropriateness of the education programme to the needs of the community for which it is provided. In view of this, the topical issues in Nigerian education system today centre around the quality of education imparted to the citizenry and the relevance of that education to the life of the individual in particular and the nation in general. Quality education according to Mosha (2010) measured by the extent to which the training received from an institution enables the recipient to think clearly, independently, and analytically to solve relevant societal general feeling that the quality of education impacted with curricula that are limited to parochial concerns may no longer be adequate in the face of prevailing global situation. The curricular they contended have outlived their usefulness. Quality assurance on the other hand is about consistently meeting product specification or getting things right first time every time. Quality assurance in business education programme implies the ability of the program to meet the expectations of the users of manpower in relation to quality of skills acquired by their output (Ajayi 2007). Equally it can be said that quality assurance is the ability of the programme to meet certain criteria relating to academic matters, staff-students ratio, staff mix by rank, staff development, physical facilities, funding and adequate library facilities. There is heavy budgetary allocation to education still business education programme seem to lack fund, qualified personnel, equipment, uniform curriculum, textbooks and above all accommodation. It therefore becomes necessary to identify quality assurance in business education programme in colleges of education in Imo State. Statement of Problem The experience of the industrialized nations has established a causal relationship between I