Teacher Retention Challenges and Strategies in Technical Education in South East Nigeria

This study examines teacher retention challenges and strategies in technical education institutions in South East Nigeria, covering Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia, and Ebonyi States. Technical teacher retention is a critical workforce challenge, with many qualified teachers leaving technical institutions for better-paying positions in industry, private schools, or overseas employment. The resulting talent drain undermines instructional quality and institutional continuity. A mixed-methods design is employed, surveying 250 current teachers and 50 former teachers who left within the past five years, with follow-up in-depth interviews with 20 institutional administrators. Validated instruments assess job satisfaction, organisational commitment, perceived institutional support, and turnover intention. Multivariate regression identifies predictors of turnover intention among current staff. Thematic analysis of administrator interviews examines retention strategies in use. Findings are expected to reveal that salary inadequacy, lack of career progression, poor working conditions, and weak institutional support are the primary retention challenges. The study also identifies successful retention practices such as professional development funding and housing support. Recommendations include a technical teacher retention package with structured benefits, career ladder systems, and mandatory welfare support provisions from the state government. This study contributes to human resource management research in South East Nigerian technical education and provides an evidence-based retention strategy framework for institutional managers and state education authorities. Keywords: teacher retention, technical education, South East Nigeria, workforce challenges, retention strategies