Management of Tuition Hike Protests for Effective Administration in Rivers State Owned Public Universities

Osuji; Catherine U. PhD

doi:10.56201/ijee.v9.no9.2023.pg196.207

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Management of Tuition Hike Protests for Effective Administration in Rivers State Owned Public Universities

Osuji, Catherine U. PhD

Abstract

This study investigated the management of tuition hike protests for effective administration in Rivers State Owned public universities. It was guided by three research questions and three corresponding null hypotheses. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population comprised 9,045 respondents: 6 principal officers from Rivers State University, 4 from Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, 3,744 final-year students from Rivers State University, and 5,291 final-year students from Ignatius Ajuru University. A sample size of 905 respondents comprising all 10 principal officers and 895 students was drawn using multistage sampling. Simple random sampling was used to select faculties, followed by proportionate stratified sampling for students, while census sampling was used for principal officers. Data were collected using a researcher- designed questionnaire titled Managing Tuition Hike Protests for Effective Public University Administration Questionnaire (MTHPEPUAQ), structured on a four-point rating scale. The reliability coefficient of the instrument was 0.78, determined using Cronbach Alpha. A total of 905 questionnaires were administered; 679 (75%) were retrieved and used for data analysis. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while independent t-tests tested the hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that stakeholder dialogue, phased tuition adjustment, and student union participation are all utilized to a high extent as strategies for managing tuition hike protests. The study concluded that the effectiveness of these strategies depends on the level of participatory engagement and responsiveness to student concerns. It recommended, among others, that university management should formalize and strengthen inclusive dialogue mechanisms.

Keywords

Tuition Hike ProtestsPublic University Administration Stakeholder DialoguePhased Tuition Adjustment and Student Union Participation

References

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Management of Tuition Hike Protests for Effective Administration in Rivers State Owned Public Universities

Abstract

Keywords

References

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