Impact of Community Agents in the Planning of University Education in Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the impacts of community agents in the planning of university education. The study was carried out in the south east of Nigeria, Descriptive research design was adopted. The population comprised all the Deans of faculties in the seven universities in the area of study. Ten (10) Deans were purposively selected for study from the seven universities. A researcher developed instrument duly validated by experts was the instrument for data collection. Seven research assistants (one from each university) were used in data collection. Mean and standard deviation were used in data analysis. The major findings include: (I) there is a very high impact of community agents on planning for staff participation in decision making; planning on how to use expertise of departmental heads in school administration; planning for a cooperative work environment in the faculty and setting faculty plans to be achieved by staff and students. (2) There is a very high impact on community agents on ensuring that there are adequate lecture halls for students; ensuring private sectors participation in providing support and recreational facilities; planning for regular maintenance for repainting faculty building when due: and planning for the provision of generating  sets for the faculties. (3) There is a very high impact of community agents in planning for supplementary sources of fund for faculty projects and in planning how to use money generated for the faculty through community efforts. There is low impact of community agents on making plans to impose levies on students, planning for the overhead allocation to the department and surcharging erring staff. (4) there is a very high impact of community agents on planning for departments' equal access to supplies in the faculty; planning for providing and ensuring that teaching materials sent to the faculty are used for instructional purposes; but their impacts are low in planning for students access to learning facilities and planning for lecturers' involvement in textbook selection for faculty library. The recommendations include that (1) university administrators should adopt a participatory planning approach. Adequate consultations with community members in planning academic programmes are capable of averting conflicts that would have resulted if no consultations are made, (2) community agents should not pressurize academic institutions so that the latter do not loose focus. (3) There should be cordial and supportive relationships between universities and their host communities. (4) Communities should assist schools not only in planning human, infrastructure, financial and learning resources but should also help in providing them in the schools for effective teaching and learning to take place. (5) University administrators should identify and encourage positive values of the host communities so as to attract community projects in their schools.