Management of Security Challenges in Nigerian Universities: The Role of School Administrator

Abstract

The study examined ways of management of security challenges in federal universities in North East Nigeria. The design of the study is descriptive survey research design. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. Data were collected from 35 respondents. The instrument used for data collection was questionnaire of 24 items. The instrument was subjected to face validation by three experts, two from department of educational administration and planning and one from department of measurement and evaluation all from university of Nigeria, Nsukka.  The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha to get the reliability coefficient of 0.81.  Using mean and standard deviation, the research questions were answered, while the hypotheses were tested using t-test statistics at .05 level of significance. The findings revealed various forms of security challenges in federal universities in North East Nigeria to include: secret cult activities; students’ unrest; kidnapping; boko haram crisis among others. The findings also identified strategies for managing the challenges. The study recommended that government, school administrators and individuals should provide adequate fund, open and free flow of information to be established among universities and their host communities for effective management of security challenges in the universities in Nigeria.