Education Quarterly Reviews

This study assessed quality assurance practices in Colleges of Education in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, Nigeria. Three null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised ninety (90) Heads of Departments and Deans of Schools in the three Colleges of Education under study. Census sampling was used to select the sample size of 90 Heads of Department and Deans of Schools. To test the three hypotheses, data was generated using an 18-item questionnaire titled "Assessment of Quality Assurance Practices Questionnaire" (AQAPQ). The instrument was validated by experts in Educational Administration and Planning, and Measurement and Evaluation. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha reliability method with the results ranging from .76 to .85. Population t-test analysis of single mean was used for data analysis. The results of the analysis revealed that quality assurance variables such as maintenance of infrastructure and students' admission policy were significantly low, while curriculum implementation was not significantly low in Colleges of Education in Akwa Ibom and the Cross River States. It was concluded that quality assurance practices in Colleges of Education in Akwa Ibom and the Cross River States, Nigeria were high in curriculum implementation, while in the maintenance of infrastructure and students admission policy, it was low. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that, administrators of Colleges of Education should endeavour to ensure that quality assurances are effectively practiced to achieve the desired results. on the maintenance of facilities and quality output among students. Four hypotheses were formulated and tested at .05 and .01 levels of significance. A sample size of 210 was used in the study. An adapted 34 - item questionnaires were validated and administered to the respondents for data collection. The statistical analyses used were independent t-test and One-way analyses of variance (ANOVA). The finding showed that maintenance of infrastructure is a complex task that is even more difficult with taking decisions to prioritize aspects. The finding identified several factors that contribute to the deplorable conditions of colleges of education in Nigeria. These include inadequate government intervention, no sense of ownership by stakeholders, inadequate funding, and vandalism. Furthermore, lack of maintenance, neglect, deferred maintenance, and overcrowding were also identified. A multi-stakeholder framework for the proper maintenance of colleges of education infrastructure is proposed to eradicate existing poor conditions. However, it clear that the of of occur due to financial paucity. As a result, school facilities are not properly equipped and maintained for teaching and learning tasks. Even where these facilities are, there exists a high cost of them. An example of poor was where only 6% budgetary allocation was made to education which was not enough for the provision and maintenance of educational facilities. Osakwe reported of insufficient allocation given to tertiary institutions in Nigeria which hinders the provision of school amenities for students' learning. At this juncture, lack of facilities in schools can be compared to a farmer without a working tool. As such, lack of facilities in schools hinders effective teaching and learning.


Introduction
Education is a process that starts from birth to adulthood and ends when the person dies. It equips individual with societal norms, knowledge, and skills for self and national building. The knowledge and skills acquired when properly utilized leads to national development. However, Dauda, (2010) sees education as an investment in human capital development which yields positive results in higher institutions of learning world over. which are primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. According to the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) tertiary education means the third stage of education that takes place after secondary education The main function of the tertiary institution is to solve manpower problems. They are set up to prepare the individual for job performance in the civil services, business organizations and private enterprises, through the inculcation of the necessary knowledge and skills. But from a national point of view, Colleges of Education have not been able to live up to this expectation.
However, according to Adedipo, (2007) tertiary institution is guided by quality assurance practices such as curriculum implementation, admission policies, maintenance of infrastructural facilities, which serve as a mechanism to achieve educational goals. According to Okebukola (2004,p.14) "quality assurance is avoidance of error on students or individuals undergoing studies in colleges of education or tertiary institutions as a whole, ensuring that they came out with knowledge and skills needed to meet up with the needs of the society". This implies that when the input is adequately supplied and utilized, products of tertiary institutions will be well equipped and focused on their educational activities. Babalola (2004) encouraged the best use of quality practices in tertiary institutions for a good turnout.
In this study, quality is a degree to which a task is excellently performed, meaning how excellently, educational tasks are performed. Achieving quality, therefore, calls for motivating teachers and students for improvements in education. It is on this note that Ajayi and Adegbesan (2007) saw quality as an aspect of teaching-learning and students' performance to achieve educational objectives. Quality assurance is meeting or maintaining standards in the utilization and management of resources, the processes of utilizing them to meet the required standard and ensuring that the output satisfies the expectations of people.
According to Ehindero (2004), objectives of establishing quality assurance in schools include: quality control strategy in education, uniformity in the standard of education at all levels, educational supervision, professional qualification of the teacher, the number of classrooms and class size, availability of educational facilities, and proper utilization of financial resources. If all these factors mentioned are met, the educational organization at the College of Education level will be highly productive.
With regards to education, Arikewuyo (2004) viewed quality in education as the performance of students in examinations and the importance attached to the needs of students in society. However, quality assurance is associated with quality control because it is the method used to ensure that what is needed is achieved with a focus on results and standard. In the institutions (Colleges of Education), quality assurances practices have not produced the expected results, and it is on this note that the main concern of this study is the assessment of the extent of quality assurance practices associated with maintenance of infrastructure, students' admission policy and supervision of instruction.

Statement of the problem
Tertiary institutions no matter their classifications strive to maintain a high degree of excellence in their academic programmes. The high degree of excellence is determined from the quality of their products (graduates). As a result of this desire, tertiary institutions embark on several practices to realize this goal. These practices include the maintenance of infrastructure, adherence to students' admission policy and supervision of instruction. From observation, these practices have not been effectively carried out. Instances of dilapidated infrastructure, poorly maintained classroom and office blocks and broken tables and seats; non-adherence to carrying capacity in students' admission, and poor placement of students in terms of courses of study; irregular supervision of lecturers' instructional activities and poor supervision of students' work amongst others, abound. These have negatively affected the quality of students produced at Colleges of Education.
On this note, there have been public outcries about the quality of graduates of these tertiary institutions. In some cases, the graduates have been adjudged to be poor as a result of their inability to defend the certificates they hold. More so, some of the students after graduation are not able to showcase what they learnt when occasions warrant such. The problem of this study was therefore conceptualized in this question: what is the extent of quality assurance practices in Colleges of Education in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States, Nigeria, with regards to maintenance of infrastructure, adherence to students' admission policy and supervision of instruction?

Statement of hypotheses
To guide this study, the following hypotheses were formulated: 1) Quality assurance in the maintenance of infrastructure in Colleges of Education is not significantly low.

2)
Quality assurance by adherence to students' admission policy in Colleges of Education is not significantly low. 3) Quality assurance in the supervision of instruction in Colleges of Education is not significantly low.

Literature review
A number of studies were reviewed to give backing to this study. They were presented in sub-headings.

Maintenance of infrastructure in Colleges of Education
Jonathan and Kayode (2010) carried out a study on school facilities in colleges of education in Nigeria and came out with the findings that no school can thrive well without the use of school facilities. This implies that facilities such as essential amenities, structures, equipment, fittings, and school materials are essential in boosting performance in schools. They are very important in that, and they facilitate student's learning. One of the challenges facing colleges of education today is insufficient facilities needed in order to teach the students to become quality graduates (Yahoo, 2011). This implies that Colleges of Education in Cross River and the Akwa Ibom States lack school facilities especially in the field of sciences. It is noted that chemistry, physics and biology students of the colleges cannot excel without practical works. From observation, it is disheartening to know that the laboratory equipment of these colleges is not adequate, thereby hindering proper teaching and learning. According to Akpochafo and Filho (2007), poor maintenance of facilities and equipment are clearly seen in insufficient classrooms and broken seats. It is a condition whereby classrooms and chairs are not enough for students. This actually distorts teaching and learning in colleges of education. Okoro (2007) sought to determine maintenance of faculties and academic quality in tertiary institutions in Abia and Akwa Ibom states. The study tested three hypotheses at .05 level of significance, with a sample of 108 administrative officers of two institutions using purposive sampling technique. A 32-item adapted questionnaire was administered to the respondents. The statistical analyses used were simple and multiple regression analysis. The result showed that facilities such as school libraries, hostel accommodations, and classrooms were not sufficient for students' use. Oranu, (2004) in the same vein complained about the absence of physical facilities in colleges of education. This implies that the lack of teaching tools for science and technology subjects hinders students' growth. On this backdrop, Nwana (2000) is against the inadequate supply of facilities in schools; an attitude which leads to low level of educational standard in the country. In line with this, Akuegwu, Nwi-ue, and Agba (2008) posited that higher institutions had not produced the number of quality graduates needed for the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme due to inherent problems in their infrastructural facilities, quality of their instructions and students evaluation. This call for attention to be given to educational facilities to enable students of higher education perform well to meet societal expectations. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004) on the other hand, admitted the awareness of government on a limited supply of facilities. Under this condition, educational goals cannot be achieved because teaching and learning cannot succeed without sufficient facilities to carry out the teaching work. Akinola, (2007) carried out research work on coping strategies and infrastructural deprivation by means of collective action amongst colleges of education in Nigeria and came up with the discovery that the inability of the government to properly address the problem of infrastructure particularly in colleges has led to the poor academic performance of students. The result further explained that most school management authorities find themselves producing poor quality graduates that cannot withstand the taste of time and compete effectively in the labour market. Fakayode, Omotesho, Soho, and Ajayi, (2008) examined the place of infrastructures in colleges and found out that the state of infrastructure is critically poor in terms of bad roads, electricity, library, and laboratory in colleges and therefore called on a state of emergency in the educational sector. Jajac, Knezic, and Marovic, (2009) conducted a study on the maintenance of school facilities and quality output among students. Four hypotheses were formulated and tested at .05 and .01 levels of significance. A sample size of 210 was used in the study. An adapted 34 -item questionnaires were validated and administered to the respondents for data collection. The statistical analyses used were independent t-test and One-way analyses of variance (ANOVA). The finding showed that maintenance of infrastructure is a complex task that is even more difficult with taking decisions to prioritize aspects. The finding identified several factors that contribute to the deplorable conditions of colleges of education in Nigeria. These include inadequate government intervention, no sense of ownership by stakeholders, inadequate funding, and vandalism. Furthermore, lack of maintenance, neglect, deferred maintenance, and overcrowding were also identified. A multi-stakeholder framework for the proper maintenance of colleges of education infrastructure is proposed to eradicate existing poor conditions. However, it is clear that the lack of maintenance of school facilities occur due to financial paucity. As a result, school facilities are not properly equipped and maintained for teaching and learning tasks. Even where these facilities are, there exists a high cost of maintaining them. An example of poor funding was where only 6% budgetary allocation was made to education which was not enough for the provision and maintenance of educational facilities. Osakwe (2009) reported of insufficient allocation given to tertiary institutions in Nigeria which hinders the provision of school amenities for students' learning. At this juncture, lack of facilities in schools can be compared to a farmer without a working tool. As such, lack of facilities in schools hinders effective teaching and learning.
Edwards, (2002) conducted a study in the District of Columbia school system and came out with the findings that students' academic achievements did not meet the set standard. Cash (2013) examined the level of maintenance culture of school infrastructure like furniture in Virginia Colleges of Education and came out with the findings that poor achievement was associated with lack of proper maintenance of school infrastructures. Similarly, Hines' (2006) conducted a study of urban colleges of education in Virginia and the relationship between quality assurance in terms of building condition and student achievement. He came out with the findings that students' achievements were (11%) percent lower in substandard buildings than students' achievements in excellent buildings. Corcoran, Thomas, Lisa, Walker, and Lynne (2008) sought to determine the effect of infrastructures on quality job performance among staff in California. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested at .05 level of significance. A sample size of 674 was also drawn from the population of all public staff in the state. A 33-item questionnaire was constructed, validated and administered to the respondents. The statistical analysis used was Pearson's Product Moment Correlation analysis and simple regression analysis. The result showed that building renovations in one district motivated teachers to work.

Students admission policy in Colleges of Education
The admission policy is a guiding principle that confirms the stipulated number of students to be admitted to higher institutions of learning based on their academic abilities and potentials. They are trained to acquire skills and talents so as to teach future managers in nursery and primary schools, at the same time, prepare them for secondary education. It is on this note that the FRN (2004, p. 36) stresses that "acquisition of physical and intellectual skills to enable individuals to be independent and useful members of the society, contribute to national development through high-level relevant manpower training and develop the scholarly ability of individuals to appreciate their local and external environments" are part of the goals of higher education. In the time past, there was no policy guiding students' entrance into tertiary institutions. During this period, institutions set up their own academic standard which led to varieties of standards. This happened because there was no quality assurance method. Thus, institutions used that as an opportunity to satisfy their individual desires (Nwogwugwu, 2003).
However, admission policy came into existence in 1989 when the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) was established (NCCE, 1993). Ehiametalor, (2005) carried out a study on the problems of admissions into Nigerian colleges of education and came out with the findings that the policy led to poor academic performance. They are: 1. Catchment area policy: This policy stated that admission percentage should be preserved for the indigenes. 2. Backwardness factor: This required a reservation of admission percentage to educationally disadvantaged areas (states). 3. Quota system: Demanded consideration of admission based on population and ethnic group 4. Fee discrimination: Created room for lower fees charges on the indigenes where higher institutions are domiciled. Onwuka, (2001) is against this policy as it leads to a reduction of admission standards and gives room for unmerited candidates to be admitted into colleges of education in Nigeria. Therefore, the method of giving consideration to indigenes in terms of admission has consequently reduced education quality in Nigeria. Ndiomu (2009) frowned at the quota system of admitting candidates into tertiary institutions by the federal government because it gives room for inequality and low standard of education. This method is an indication of non-adherence to a standard point in each state or country. For instance, a candidate from a particular state may score sixty-five (65%), and yet he or she is not admitted due to higher scores by students from the same state. On the other hand, a candidate from another state may also score forty-five (45%) then he or she is given admission because few candidates from that state scored above forty-five (45%). This simply means that the process of admitting students into Nigerian colleges of education has some in-built problems that prevent the most qualified candidates to be offered admissions. Adejo in Ndiomu, (2009 p. 13) states that "this situation consequently affects the quality of colleges of education in these institutions." Onwuka (2001) is of the view that equal opportunities of admission into tertiary institutions should be given to all candidates irrespective of their educational backgrounds and catchment areas. Hence, the quota system showing the specific candidates needed should be approved by each state. Yoloye (2000) complained about inequality in the Nigerian system of education when pointing to a quota system as a "reasoned compromise" dependent on origin. However, requirements for entry into Nigerian colleges include age, credits passed, catchment area and student's performance. Yet, there are still complains of admitting unmerited candidates into the system.
Research carried out by Asuru (2002) on implications of examination malpractice for sustainable development reported that students who took part in examination malpractice were the unqualified candidates who did not meet up with the admission requirements. Another violation of admission requirement which leads to a low standard of education is the report made by Ugwunga in Onyishi, (2007) that 34.9% of candidates were enrolled into colleges of education in sciences against the stipulated policy of not less than sixty (60%). Based on poor academic standards and non-restriction to admission policy, Mohammed and Iyele in Israel and Israel (2014) attributed low academic standard to unqualified candidates admitted into Nigerian colleges of education. This attributes demands strict adherence to admission policy, for quality and high standard to be achieved in Nigerian colleges of education. Hommock and Owing (1980) affirmed the significance of supervision in terms of organization of learning programmes, methods of evaluation, teaching methods, students' progress, curriculum contents, staffing procedure and availability of resources. Eye, Netser and Kenel, (2001) saw supervision as a stage of school administration, focused mainly on the attainment of the appropriate instructional expectation in colleges of education. Thus supervision can be perceived as a process of monitoring the policies, principles, and objectives of the institution in order to achieve set goals. It also involves the application of experts' knowledge and experience to supervise, evaluate and cooperatively improve the conditions and methods of instructional programmes in teaching and learning processes. According to Mbiti (2004) supervision is one of the tactics of efficient and proper management, and so can be regarded as the nervous system of an educational organization.

Supervision of instruction in Colleges of Education in AKS and CRS
Ozigi (2007) insisted that the essence of supervision is to have a comprehensive view of the activities and problems of instruction and to assess the extent to which it is fulfilling its basic obligations; the ultimate aim is to improve the overall efficiency and raise the academic standard of colleges. Supervision of instruction enhances effective teaching and learning, resulting in the achievement of educational objectives. It enables teachers to become acquainted with sources of aids in solving their instructional problems (Fasanmi, 1986). Accordingly, supervision of instruction among other things exists for the purpose of improving instructions through necessary concern for the teaching and learning conditions of students. Supervision of instruction helps in ensuring that educational policies and laws are properly enforced so that students' performance objectives in nature, creative and systematic in approach are realisable. It also promotes the spirit of finding out facts through experimentations and continuous evaluation.
From the foregoing, it is pertinent to note that effective supervision of instruction by school administrators will help strengthen lecturers' morale to contribute meaningfully to the high academic performance of students. For students' to succeed they need to be guided. At this juncture, teachers or lecturers are vested with the responsibility of supervising students' activities such as; attendance in class, assessment, examinations, and projects. By so doing, lecturers can provide meaningful feedback to the school management through students' output and at the same time encourage the weak students to work effectively. This is imperative because students learning are the primary function of the school in order to fit into societal demands (the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004). However, students' success is dependent upon teachers' skilful delivery. To achieve this goal, standards should be maintained on the type of instructions, lesson plans, and teachers encouraged to seek information from reliable sources before embarking on the lesson. Ogunsaju (2009) in an empirical study on the role of supervision on organization found out that, effective supervision serves as a mediator between the people and the programme. Studies by Eya and Leonard (2012) with college students in Zaria, found that effective supervision help teachers to improve their instructional competencies. Ogunsaju's (2003) empirical studies with 200 college administrators on supervisory outcomes found out that the qualities of effective supervision must include honesty, objectivity, fairness, and firmness in assessing educational problems with a view to finding lasting solutions in order to promote students' centred teaching and learning. Obilade (2001) opined that instructional supervision is a helping relationship whereby the supervisor guides and assists the teachers to meet the set targets. Thus, the focus of instructional supervision should be on establishing the relationship with stakeholders in the school system for the purpose of achieving set objectives. In the same vein, Olaniyan (2009) conducted a study on the role of instructional supervision in the college of education with final year students as subjects and came up with the findings that instructional supervision serves as a means to help, guide, stimulate and lead teachers improve in their teaching procedures.
It has been observed that instructional supervision is an essential activity for the effective operation of a good school system. It is a practice officially designed to improve teachers' behaviour to facilitate student learning and effective goal attainment of schools. Effective supervision of instruction involves supervisors' ability to reinforce teachers to improve students' learning. Therefore, supervision of instruction if effectively carried out will enhance the behavioural change of teachers and boost students' performance.
Aderonmu and Ehiametalor in Kiadese (2000) identified roles of supervisors in the school system as planning, staffing, coordinating, observation and curriculum development. These are evidence that the role of the supervisor in a school system especially in colleges of education in Nigeria is very crucial.
In Nigeria, tertiary education, especially at college level, occupies a unique position among lower levels of education, and so, supervision must focus on improving lecturers' instructional delivery. It is only when lecturers are masters of their trade that they can produce tangible results in training quality students well equipped with knowledge, experience, aptitude, and skills to transform primary and secondary education.

Methodology
This research was carried out in Akwa Ibom and the Cross River States situated in the South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. There are two state government-owned colleges of education in these states with one federal government owned college. The survey research design was adopted for this study. The population of the study consisted of ninety (90) Heads of Departments and Deans of schools otherwise known as institutional heads in the three Colleges of Education studied. The sampling technique adopted for this study was census sampling where all the subjects were constituted into the sample.
To test the three hypotheses, data was generated using a questionnaire titled "Assessment of Quality Assurance Practices Questionnaire" (AQAPQ). The instrument had 18 items, 6 of which measured each of the 3 variables studied. The instrument was validated by 2 experts in Educational Administration and Planning and 2 experts in Measurement and Evaluation. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha reliability method with the result ranging from .76 to .85, an indication that the instrument is reliable in achieving the objectives of this study. The researchers administered the instrument with the aid of 3 trained assistants. This measure yielded 100 percent returns rate. Data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using Population ttest analysis for the single mean. Summaries of results are presented in tables.

Hypothesis one
Quality assurance in the maintenance of infrastructure in Colleges of Education is not significantly low. The variable in this hypothesis is a quality assurance in the maintenance of infrastructure. Population t-test of single mean statistical analysis is used to analyse the data obtained. From the result presented on table one above, it could be discerned that, with 90 respondents (Heads and Deans of schools), the sample mean was found to be 19.23 with a reference mean (population means) of 15.00 and a corresponding standard deviation of 5.03. The t-calculated value is 3.75 which is greater than the critical t-value of 1.987 at .05 level of significance and 89 degrees of freedom. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected. This implies that quality assurance in the maintenance of infrastructure in colleges of education in AKS and CRS is significantly low as shown in table 1.
Hypothesis Two Quality assurance in adherence to students' admission policy in Colleges of Education is not significantly low. The variable in this hypothesis is a quality assurance in adherence to students' admission. Population t-test of single mean statistical analysis is used to analyse the data obtained. The result in table 2 above showed that with 90 respondents (Heads and Deans of schools) the sample mean found to be 18.05 with a reference mean of 15.00 and a corresponding standard deviation of 4.28. The tcalculated value is 3.17 which is greater than the critical t-value of 1.987 at .05 level of significance and 89 degrees of freedom. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected. This implies that quality assurance in adherence to students' admission policy in Colleges of education in AKS and CRS is significantly low.
Hypothesis three Quality assurance in the supervision of instruction in colleges of education is not significantly low. The variable in this hypothesis is a quality assurance in the supervision of instruction. Population t-test of single mean statistical analysis is used to analyse the data obtained. It is clearly seen from Table 3 above that with 90 respondents (Heads and Deans of Schools) the sample mean was found to be 13.06 with a reference mean (population mean) of 15.00 and a corresponding standard deviation of 4.81. The calculated t-value of 1.62 was found to be less than the critical t-value of 1.987. Therefore, the null hypothesis which states that quality assurance in the supervision of instruction in Colleges of Education is not significantly low is accepted. This implies that quality assurance in the supervision of instruction in colleges of education in AKS and CRS is significantly high.

Discussion of findings
The result of the findings as shown in table 1 is an indication that quality assurance in the maintenance of infrastructure in colleges of education is significantly low. Thus, the null hypothesis is rejected. This finding is not surprising because colleges of education in Akwa Ibom and the Cross River States are overwhelmed with dilapidated buildings that derail students' learning. Good facilities are an important requirement for students learning because it makes the environment to be conducive and stable for teaching and learning. However, where ventilations are not conducive as observed during the course of this study, it negatively affected learning as well as the wellbeing of both students and lecturers. This may be as a result of government inability to appropriately maintain infrastructural facilities in most colleges of education. Inadequate provision and maintenance of amenities are as a result of insufficient funding. The present study is in agreement with Akinola (2007) who found out that, the failure of the government to properly tackle the problem of infrastructure, particularly in colleges has led to the poor academic performance of the student in colleges. This result could be an explanation of why most school management authorities find themselves unable to stem the tide of producing poor quality graduates that cannot withstand the taste of time and compete effectively in the labour market.
The present study is also in consonance with the study of Glickman, Gordon, and Ross-Gordon (2001) who found out that inadequate funding, lack of building and provision of recreational facilities are the greatest need in the colleges of education. Maintenance of infrastructure is a complex task that is even more difficult with taking decisions to prioritize aspects to be maintained. Several factors that account for the deplorable conditions of infrastructure in colleges of education in Nigeria include inadequate government intervention, no sense of ownership by stakeholders, inadequate funding, and vandalism. Furthermore, lack of maintenance, neglect, deferred maintenance, and overcrowding were also identified. A multi-stakeholder framework for the proper maintenance of colleges of education infrastructure is proposed to eradicate existing poor conditions.
Similarly, Edwards (2002) found out that, students in excellent building conditions performed well than students in fair and poor building conditions supported this finding. It, therefore, follows that quality infrastructure engenders conducive learning environment which relates positively to students' academic performance in colleges of education.
The result of the findings in table 2 revealed that quality assurance in students' admission policy in Colleges of Education in AKS and CRS is significantly low, which suggests that quality assurance policy was not followed in admitting students. This leads to lowering of academic standard. By not adhering to quality assurance in students' admission, colleges of education end up admitting unqualified students who turn out to be a liability to them. As a result, academically sound candidates were not able to gain admission while some academically weak candidates were offered admission even when they were not qualified. At this juncture, educational quality was negatively affected.
The study is in agreement with the findings of Asuru (2002) who came out with the finding that, candidates who were not qualified for admission but were admitted due to some factors were beneficiaries of examination malpractice. This is expected because where students find it difficult to cope with the rigours of academic programme, they are likely to resort to disingenuous ways of passing their examinations, of which examination malpractice is chief. In tandem with this finding, Ugwunga in Onyishi, (2007) frowned at the non-adherence to admission policy in colleges of education, whereby the allocation of not less than sixty (60%) in sciences was ignored in preference to admitting students who lack basic and requisite qualification. This was contrary to policy stipulation. Under this condition, colleges of education have proved incapable of meeting the expectation of producing high-level teaching manpower for the primary and secondary school systems. Similarly, Mohammed and Iyele in Israel and Israel (2014) attributed the low standard in education to students who did not meet the admission requirements but were admitted into the college.
The findings of the study in table 3 showed that supervision of instruction in Cross River and Akwa Ibom is significantly high, suggesting that it is satisfactory and meeting the expected standard. This finding has reinforced the age-long belief that the success or failure of any college educational enterprise depends among other factors upon the supervision of such enterprise be it a school or an organization. Thus the success of any school achieving its goal and objectives depends on the professional responsibilities and leadership role of the supervisor. The finding is in consonance with that of Anuna, (2004) who in a study found supervision of instruction to be essential tool or instrument needed to enhance quality control and maintenance of standards in the secondary education system throughout Nigeria. Similarly, Eya and Leonard's (2012) study outcome with college students in Zaria that effective supervision help teachers to improve on their instructional competencies laid credence to this finding. It, therefore, follows that where the quality of instructional supervision is high, there is the tendency that teachers will be on top of their trade, followed with high academic standard and achievement.
In line with this finding, Obilade (2001) opined that instructional supervision is a helping relationship whereby the supervisor guides and assists the teachers to meet the set targets. Through this, teachers can be able to record a high level of performance with the attendant result of guiding students to achieve similar results in their academic endeavours.

Conclusion
Based on the findings, it was concluded that quality assurance practices such as maintenance of infrastructure and students' admission policy are poorly adhered to and practiced while supervision of instruction records outstanding success. Thus colleges of education in Akwa Ibom and the Cross River States achieved tremendous results in one aspect of quality assurance practice, while in others, they recorded dismal failure, showing that they not all round good in adhering to quality assurance practices.

Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were drawn. 1. The government should establish a sound supervisory and maintenance agencies that will be solely responsible for maintenance of infrastructure in Colleges of Education. 2. There should be strict adherence to students' admission policy in Colleges of Education. The quota system, favoritism, and nepotism should not be allowed in admission into tertiary institutions of learning. 3. Quality assurance in the supervision of instruction in Colleges of Education should be strengthened to achieve higher results. This will help to promote standards in the educational system.