Restiveness across Nigerian university campuses appears to be a phenomenon as old as tertiary education in the country. Each university has had to contend with this menace which appears to have defied solution.
This informed the gathering of Deans and Officers of Students’ Affairs in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria, (ADOSATIN) in Sango-Otta, Ogun State recently with the theme, “Effective Management of Students Lives on Campus:
The Role of Students Affairs Department”, to proffer lasting solution to the issue of students’ unrest in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The association identified effective management of students’ lives on campuses as the panacea to students’ restiveness which often disrupts academic activities.
They noted that university campuses are filled with students who have tendency to be restive and violent in their character dispositions and added that the display of this tendency has often culminated into crisis when their demands and expectations are deliberately unmet.
“In a situation where some essential municipal services on campus like water and light are not sufficiently provided, the tendency for students to be violent in forwarding their request to management of the institution becomes imminent.
The campus must be made conducive for both academic and non-academic activities through the effective management of students’ lives,” they stated.
The association, in collaboration with the Global Centre for Security Operations and Management, Nigeria which organised the conference, observed that it had become necessary in view of the perennial students’ restiveness across Nigerian university campuses.
Declaring the conference open, Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals and former deputy governor of Lagos State, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire maintained that the role of the Deans of Students’ affairs in each campus was very key in making life of students on campus very conducive for learning.
Adefulire who was represented by Deputy Director, Mrs O.M Olaopa, further noted that over the years, campuses around the country had been plagued with a lot of vices and other problems which had seriously inhibited learning experience in schools.
The problems include cultism, overcrowding of lecture halls, classrooms, accommodation shortages, lack of laboratories and equipment for research and development, inadequate remuneration for lecturers and shortage of academic staff and high student population among others.
The conference was attended by Deans, Associate/Sub-Deans, Directors, Deputy Registrars, Chief Security Officers, Guidance and Counselling Experts and Officers of Students’ Affairs Division while participants were drawn from Universities, Polytechnics, Monotechnic, and Colleges of Education across the country.
It featured presentations from resource persons on diverse issues; and these include:
a. Role of Students Union Leaders in the Maintenance of Peace on Campus/Issues of Cultism and Possible Ways of Controlling It.
b. Statutory Roles of Students’ Affairs in the Effective Management of Students’ Lives on Campus.
c. Managing Diversities of Cultures, Social Teaching, and Religion on the Campus.
d. Controlling Prevalent Cases of Cultism in Nigeria’s Tertiary Institutions.
e. Addressing the Issues of On and Off Campus Accommodation Problems.
f. Managing Students in the Tertiary Institutions: The Emerging Trend.
g. Managing Stress in the Workplace.
h. Understanding Value of Counselling Services to the Effective Management of Students’ Lives on Campus/Inter-functional Relationship between Student Affairs and Other Units in Tertiary Institutions.
i. Curbing Drug and Substance Abuse in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria: Imperatives for more Rewarding Education for Nigerian Youths.
j. Provision of Municipal Services on Campus as related to the Lives of the Students/Emergency Management in the Campus System.
k. Understanding Loss, Grief and Bereavement in Crisis: The Process of Healing, Growth and Reconciliation among Campus Communities.
l. Understanding the value of Counselling Services to the Effective Management of Students’ Lives on Campus.
m. Realistic Stress Management Strategies in the Workplace and
n. E-networking for Crime Control in the Institution.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the conference, participants identified a number of contemporary issues and challenges in the management of student’s affairs in tertiary institutions. These include:
a. Absence/inadequate orientation programme for fresh students.
b. Inadequate/poor state of hostel accommodation and health facilities
c. Insufficiency of municipal services such as water, light, sanitary and Cafeteria Services.
d. Cultism, drugs and substance abuse.
e. Increasing number of indigent students.
f. Pervert Sexual habit and consequences, cohabitation, rape, homosexuality, unwanted pregnancy and prostitution.
g. Absence of or inadequate guidance and counseling Services
h. Interference (Internal and External) in Student unionism.
i. Abuse of the essence of student unionism.
j. Students’ affairs officers’ vulnerability to stress and inaccessibility of same students’ affairs officers to student.
k. Inadequate networking among students affairs officers in tertiary institutions across the country.
After critical examination of the aforementioned problems, participants came to the conclusion that these problems badly account for students’ unrest and poor performance in tertiary institutions in the country.
Consequently, the conference made the following recommendations:
a. Fresh students should be given early orientation.
b. Government, management of institutions, and private organisations are enjoined to provide more hostel accommodations and related facilities on campus.
c. Concerted efforts should be made for adequate provision and maintenance of municipal services.
d. Adequate re-orientation, monitoring, prevention and control measures should be taken by all stakeholders to curb the menace of cultism, drug abuse, pervert sexual habit and other social vices.
e. Scholarships, bursaries and social security should be provided to address the increasing number of indigent students.
f. Institutions are advised to establish functional guidance and counseling units/centres.
g. Stakeholders are advised to abstain from unnecessary interference in students’ unionism.
h. Management should ensure that student leaders are given regular training on leadership and accountability.
i. Student affairs officers are urged to be more student friendly in the discharge of their duties and properly manage their work schedules to avoid stress.
j. Student affairs officers are encouraged to take advantage of the ADOSATIN platform for better networking and service delivery.
Highlight of the conference was the setting up of a steering committee headed by Prof Stanley C. Udedi, Dean of Student Affairs, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and the convener of the conference.
Other members of the committee include Mr. Muhammed Mahmud Abdu, Dean of Students’ Affairs, Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, Zaria; (Vice President 1),
Prof. Gbenga Onibi, Dean of Students’ Affairs, Federal University of Technology Akure, (Vice President 2), Mr. O.O Olaluwoye, Dean of Students’ Affairs, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo State (Secretary),
Prof. Abdulmojeed T. Ijaya, Dean of Students’ Affairs, Federal University of Technology, Minna (Welfare Director) and Dr. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, Dean of Student Affairs, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, (Treasurer).
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