Influence of School Location on Students Access to Vocational Technical Education in Yobe State

This study investigates the influence of school location, specifically urban versus rural settings, on students access to vocational and technical education in Yobe State, North East Nigeria. Geographical disparities in educational provision are a well-documented challenge in Nigerian education, with rural students consistently accessing fewer resources and lower-quality instruction than their urban counterparts. In Yobe State, the additional challenges of conflict, displacement, and weak infrastructure amplify these disparities. A descriptive survey design is adopted, with 280 students and 60 teachers from 20 secondary schools in Damaturu, Potiskum, and Geidam local government areas, equally divided between urban and rural settings. A validated questionnaire measures access dimensions including programme availability, teacher qualifications, workshop quality, and commuting distance. Independent t-tests compare urban and rural groups on each access dimension. Findings are expected to show significantly lower access scores for rural students across all dimensions. The study also explores community-level factors such as infrastructure, security, and cultural attitudes that compound access barriers for rural students. Recommendations include a targeted rural vocational education improvement programme, community school construction partnerships, mobile vocational training units, and deployment incentives for technical teachers willing to serve in rural areas. This study contributes to educational equity research in North East Nigeria and provides evidence for targeted policy intervention in rural vocational education provision. Keywords: school location, access, vocational education, Yobe State, rural-urban disparity