INFLUENCE OF TEACHERS PERCEPTION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF FEDERAL CHARACTER PRINCIPLE IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES: A STUDY OF NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY, ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study probes the influence teachers’ perception and implementation of federal character principle in Nigerian Universities: a study of Nnamdi Azikiwe University. The research design adopted for this study is the descriptive survey research deign. The sample size for this study is 200 academic staff (educators’) of Nnamdi Azikiwe University. The findings of research question one indicated that academic staff of Nnamdi Azikiwe University agreed that the challenges of implementation of federal character principles associated with securing admission into federal university revealed that admission are not mostly done on merit and the quota system used in admission does not favour all applicants. The findings of this research question two found that most institutions do not comply with recruitment guidelines in the federal character principle document during recruitment, meritocracy or competencies are compromised in staff recruitment in Universities, vacancies are not advertised as stipulated in the federal character principle during staff recruitment, lobbying takes precedence in staff recruitment in universities, job description are not known during recruitment which is against the federal character principle statement etc. With reference to research question three, the findings indicated that most universities are being marginalized in fund allocation due to most Universities in disadvantaged states attract more funds than their counterparts in advantaged states, etc. According to research question four, the findings revealed that the challenges of implementation of federal character principles associated with appointment of staff to managerial posts include; appointments into managerial positions does not reflect the country’s diversity, the composition of positions are predominantly occupied by persons from few states, ethnicity and tribalism affects the appointment of persons into managerial posts, meritocracy is not considered during appointments and there is no equity in terms of access to be appointed in managerial positions. Finally, the findings of research question five, revealed that academic staff of Nnamdi Azikiwe University did agree to the strategies for mitigating the challenges to the implementation of the federal character principle in federal universities in Nigeria. Based on the findings and educational implications of this study, the following recommendations are made. The quota system principle should be equitably considered to benefit all citizens as the case may be. The federal character principle should be applied the way the framers of the policy envisaged. Finally, the duties and responsibilities of every nation are to ensure equal educational opportunities to all the citizens of the country with no form of sentiment attached to such responsibilities.

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