Remuneration and Assigned Duties as Predictors of Lecturer Commitment in State-Owned Colleges of Education in the North-West Geopolitical Zone, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Remuneration and the nature of assigned duties are among the most directly experienced dimensions of condition of service for lecturers in Nigerian Colleges of Education. Their relationship with lecturer commitment the psychological and functional bond between a lecturer and their institution carries direct implications for the quality of teacher education outputs. Crucially, establishing the level of lecturer commitment as the dependent variable is a necessary precondition for interpreting these predictive relationships.  Objectives: This study examined: (i) the level of remuneration of lecturers; (ii) the level of assigned duties of lecturers; (iii) the level of lecturer commitment to work; and the relationships between remuneration and lecturer commitment, and between assigned duties and lecturer commitment, in state-owned Colleges of Education in North-West Nigeria.  Methods: A correlational survey design was employed with 302 lecturers drawn from four institutions. The Condition of Service of Lecturers Questionnaire (CSLQ, reliability = 0.82) and Lecturers Commitment Questionnaire (LCQ, reliability = 0.84) were used. Mean, standard deviation, and PPMC were applied at α = 0.05.  Findings: Remuneration was at a high level (mean = 2.54) but with low-level deficiencies in allowances (mean = 1.84), promotion (mean = 2.27), and housing incentives (mean = 2.26). Assigned duties were at a high level (mean = 3.83) with all lecturers affirming core teaching, research, and assessment responsibilities. Lecturer commitment was at a high level (mean = 3.38) with notable gaps in training attendance (mean = 2.29) and academic autonomy (mean = 2.49). Remuneration significantly predicted commitment (r = 0.246, p = 0.000 Ho1 rejected), while assigned duties did not (r = 0.093, p = 0.099 Ho2 retained).  Conclusion: Remuneration is a significant predictor of lecturer commitment; assigned duties though performed at a consistently high level are not. The level of commitment, while nominally high, conceals sub-dimensional vulnerabilities in professional development and autonomy that institutional management must urgently address.