Administrative Strategies for Managing Social Problems in Tertiary Institutions in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated strategies for managing social problems in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The descriptive survey design was used. The proportional stratified random sampling was used in the selection of 1,320 respondents from a total population of 1,650 consisting of administrators (academic and non-academic) and management staff of the three tertiary (university) institutions in Rivers State. A structured Likert format questionnaire called "Administrative strategies for managing social problems in tertiary institutions in Rivers State (ASFMPITIIRS), validated with Cronbach alpha reliability index of 0.75 was used for data collection. One thousand, three hundred and twenty (1,320) copies of questionnaire were administered, but 1,000 copies were retrieved and used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics as the mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research question while the ztest was used to test the null hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. Consequently, the following findings amongst others were made. The strategies for managing social problems in tertiary institutions include: accurate record-keeping, reduction in student enrolment, proper orientation of student on diverse issues, healthy interaction and co-operation between management staff and students and commitment of administrators to duty. There is significant difference between the mean ratings of male and female administrators for five (5) out of twenty (20) dependent variables tested. The null hypothesis is therefore, retained in all the other fifteen (15) dependent variables respectively. It was recommended that there should be accurate recordkeeping in the tertiary institutions in Rivers State. Also, there should be healthy interaction and co-operation between students, staff and management of the tertiary institutions in Rivers State.