Examining Student Satisfaction with Vocational Training Services in South East Polytechnics

This study examined student satisfaction with vocational training services in polytechnics in South East Nigeria, encompassing Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia, and Ebonyi States. Student satisfaction is a critical indicator of service quality in higher education and provides actionable data for institutional improvement. A survey design using the Vocational Training Service Satisfaction Scale (VTSSS), a validated 52-item instrument, was administered to 1,000 ND and HND vocational students across ten polytechnics. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified five satisfaction dimensions: instructional quality, facilities, learning environment, administrative support, and career guidance. Mean satisfaction scores were computed for each dimension. Results indicated the highest satisfaction with instructional quality (mean = 4.1/7) and the lowest with career guidance (mean = 2.8/7) and facilities (mean = 3.0/7). Urban polytechnics scored significantly higher on facilities satisfaction than rural counterparts. Female students reported lower satisfaction with physical safety in workshops. The study recommends that polytechnic managements prioritize annual student satisfaction surveys as a quality assurance tool, invest urgently in career guidance infrastructure, and address gender-specific safety concerns in technical workshops. The National Board for Technical Education should incorporate student satisfaction benchmarks into institutional accreditation criteria. These findings provide an original service quality assessment framework for polytechnic vocational education in South East Nigeria. Keywords: student satisfaction, vocational training, polytechnics, South East Nigeria, service quality.