Effects Of Students’ Unrest In Higher Institutions

This research work viewed the effects of students’ unrest in higher institutions (a case study of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Enugu). It also scanned the collision on the education of Nigeria and suggested solution to the problem. To achieve these objectives, three (3) research questions were formulated. In the review of related literature, it treated the meaning, brief history, causes and effects of students’ unrest in Nigeria. It also treated the suggested strategies for managing conflicts in Nigeria tertiary institutions. It used a structured and closed-ended questionnaire, which was designed in the form of Four-Likert Scale ranging from Strongly Agree (SA) to Strongly Disagree (SD). The instrument was face validated by the project supervisor. The reliability of the instrument was determined to be 0.78 using Pearson Product Correlation Coefficient. This score showed that the questionnaire was reliable. It was reproduced and administered to three hundred and ninety-two (392) students of Enugu State University of Science and Technology. The data obtained from the questionnaires was presented and analyzed in tables. Based on the analysis, it was discovered that the major causes of students’ unrest in higher institutions were illegal and irrelevant fees being levied on the students, incessant increase in school fees and cultism. It was equally found out that students’ unrest had great effects on education as it disrupts the school calendar; leads to destruction of human and material resources; it adds great burden on parents/guardians due to additional cost. It was highly recommended that strong and trained security outfit be mounted in universities to forestall future outbreak of students unrest; the appointment of vice chancellors should be based on leadership quality alone and administrative expertise. Also, suggestions for further research were made by the researchers.