Influence of Politics on the Management and Development of Public Tertiary Institutions in Ogun State, Nigeria:

Surajudeen Olawale Sadiq; Bilikisu Oluwakemi Olaolu; Oluwatoyin Afolake Edafiogho

doi:10.52968/15609558

Surajudeen Olawale Sadiq Department of Educational Foundations and Management, Federal College of Education, Abeokuta
Bilikisu Oluwakemi Olaolu Department of Educational Management, Adeyemi Federal University of Education, Ondo
Oluwatoyin Afolake Edafiogho Department of Educational Management, Adeyemi Federal University of Education, Ondo

Keywords: Politics, Management, Public tertiary institutions

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of politics on the management and development of public tertiary institutions in Ogun State, Nigeria. Four objectives and four research questions guided the study, and four hypotheses were tested. The study adopted a survey research design. The population of the study comprised 6,232 academic and non-teaching members of staff in the 14 public tertiary institutions in Ogun State, Nigeria. The sample size of 373 staff was selected using purposive, proportionate stratified, and convenience sampling techniques. A structured questionnaire titled “Influence of Politics on the Management and Development of Public Tertiary Institutions Questionnaire (IPMDPTIQ)” developed by the researcher was used to collect data for the study. The questionnaire was validated by experts. The reliability of the questionnaire was established using the Cronbach Alpha method, and a reliability coefficient of 0.85 was obtained. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions and Chi-square to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings of the study revealed that politics has a significant influence on funding, location, staff recruitment, and appointment of Principal Officers. The study concluded that the management and development of public tertiary institutions have suffered in one way or another from political stakeholders in managing public tertiary institutions of learning. It was recommended among others that appointment of Principal Officers should be based on qualifications, experience, and merit and not on political patronage and loyalty, to bring about productivity, harmony, efficiency, effectiveness, and attainment of educational goals.

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