Perspectives on School Security Management for Conducive Learning Environment in Universities in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Perspectives on School Security Management for Conducive Learning Environment in Universities in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Udang Joseph Akor, Odey, Ogar Ogar, Akor, Bliss Unimashi

Department of Educational Management, Faculty of Educational Foundation Studies, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51584/IJRIAS.2024.904025

Received: 07 April 2024; Accepted: 18 April 2024; Published: 20 May 2024

ABSTRACT

Security tasks in the school system is a plague which tends to affect all the critical stakeholders and sundry. This study therefore explored the perspectives on school security management for conducive learning environment in Universities in Ebonyi State, Nigeria.  The participants in the study were 1,800 samples(50%) of 2,650 security personnel, working at the two institutions (Alex Ekwueme Federal University and Ebonyi State University). Descriptive survey, three research questions and one hypothesis were used in the study. A validated instrument titled: Perspectives on Managing School Security for Conducive Learning Environments in Public Universities Scale (PMSSCLEPUS) with 30 items was used to collect data for the study. Kuder–Richardson formula was used to ascertain the reliability index of the instrument at .90. The collected data were analysed using mean, standard deviation and independent t-test. Findings indicated that the manifestation of insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State were cult-related activities, abductions, sexual molestations and incursion of herdsmen into campus among others. Findings also showed that lack of modern security gadgets, poor funding of surveillance unit, poor security awareness and porous campus environment among others were the barriers to effective management of insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State. The results equally indicated that Ebonyi State University is less significantly managing the perspectives of school security threat than Alex Ekwueme Federal University of Ndufu-Alike Ikwo. Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that the security threats in Ebonyi State universities constitute a serious threat to conducive learning environment and hinders school activities. It was recommended among others that the surveillance unit of EBSU should be well funded and equipped with modern gadgets by the University management in collaboration with the State government in order to encourage conducive learning environments in public Universities in Ebonyi State of Nigeria.

Keywords: Perspectives, School Security, Management, Learning, Environments,

INTRODUCTION         

The rates of insecurity in the school system across the globe has recently become an issue of major concern to the public. In African countries, insecurities have eaten deeper into the fibers of educational management with enormous consequences. This makes the school premises very unconducive for teaching and learning by creating fear, anxiety, depression, loss of manpower, poor quality of education, destructions of infrastructural facilities and brain-drain. It equally leads to closure of educational institutions, discouragement of educational pursuit by children, internal displacement of learners, reduction  of  private  investment  in education  and inadequate  funding  of education  amongst others  in  Nigeria (Youdeowei & Iruoma, 2015). All efforts to curtail these hydra-headed nature of school security challenges tends to prove abortive especially when members of the school are complicit. But to properly address  the  challenges  of insecurity  in  school  administration  in  Nigeria,  this paper set to examine the perspectives on school security management indices for promoting conducive learning environments in Universities in Ebonyi State of Nigeria.

University education is that level of education given to interested candidates after post basic education in higher institution. It is heterogeneously occupied by individuals from various backgrounds, ethnic groups, races, gender, religious and socio-economic orientations. In the words of Adefarakan (2018) alluded that with these levels of integration of different varieties of individuals, there is bound to be security challenges in terms of cult-related activities, kidnapping, drug usage and crimes, illegal student gun possession, unrest among students and rallies, student union election problem, room break-ins, theft, pilfering and sexual assaults. However, security of human life and educational properties becomes very essential for the attainment of school goals. To this end, Oladikpo, Awoyinfa and Adefarakan (2018) define security as the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss and criminal activity. In the same vein, Oni (2016), considers security management in the university as the protection of tangible and intangible assets of the institution from all forms of danger. The tangible assets as indicated by the author to include: the physical structures, books in the libraries, electronic gadgets, all stakeholders, the players involving the regular and occasional visitors to universities. On the other hand, the intangible assets include, intellectual property, research data, classified information, integrity, peace of mind, the image of the university and so on.The main aim of managing school security according to Tari (2014) is to ensure safety and security of staff, students and visitors, protecting the property and assets of the university, investigating and detecting crime, reducing incidence of reported crimes and the apprehension and prosecution of offenders.

Generally, there is a rising wave of insecurity and the universities are not spared from this problem. The rising trend of insecurity in universities has been a source of great concern recently. In the 60s, 70s and up to 80s, educational environments were relatively peaceful for teaching-learning process to go on without hindrance. However, the situation has changed sincein the 90s. Recent happenings have shown that university environments are not so safe for the students and for the school personnel any more due to some threatening security challenges. In line with this Mensah, Baafi, Arthur, Somuah, and Mprah (2019) observed that university campuses are no longer safe havens. Similarly, Enang (2019) noted that university communities in recent times have been infested with all manner of criminalities which is quite sadly, paint an opaque and rather disheartening picture. Abdullahi and Orukpe (2016) and Enang (2019) observed that theft, cultism, kidnapping, rape, room break-in, office break-in, cell-phone snatching, stealing, violent demonstration by students, vandalism and other forms of assaults are major security challenges on campuses. Caleb(2013), also noted that cultism has proved to be a major concern for even existing security agencies on campuses.

In the same vein, Oladipo, Awoyinfa and Adefarakan (2018) observed that the existence of cultist groups on campus have made life unsafe and scary to both staff and students. It is asserted that the cultist possess, in many cases, more deadly and functioning weapons than campus security agencies and often use supernatural and mystical powers in their activities. Besides, many cult members are users of hard drugs, and can act in unthinkable ways when they are under its influence.  Cultists are implicated in robbery, killing of innocent students, as well as academic and non-academic staff, arson, rape, extortion, kidnapping, blackmail and all kinds of inhumane practices. Oladipo et al. (2018) further enumerated the activities of cultists to include, harassing any non-member who snatches a member’s girlfriend or sugar daddy (as in the case of a female cultist), harassing female students who refused their advances, as well as, harassing any lecturer who insists on merit for passing examination. They also engage in factional struggles for supremacy that often results in bloody clashes among cult groups, during this period lives are sometimes lost. This has made Ibrahim (2013) to posit that, higher institutions of learning which ought to be ideal places for training of the minds have become war zones where cult groups unleash their terror in the community.

According to Badiora (2017), “the spectra of crimes on the campuses of tertiary institutions in Nigeria have grown to an alarming rate and level, that it has remained a permanent issue in national discourse” (p. 180). Unfortunately, this has adversely affected the academic and social life of both staff and students on campus. These waves of crises have brought additional responsibilities for the school authorities to provide adequate security. In the past, security officers were expected to be reactive – checking on potential risks and responding when something happened. However, as observed by Rosenbery (2014), “a security officer is an integral, proactive part for creating a safe environment, preparing for all hazards, as well as, actively promoting a safer place to study, work and visit. Perhaps the most dramatic paradigm shift in security operations, is the change from security officers being behind-the-scene enforcers and responders, to serving as collaborative promoters of the college’s culture (P.1)”. In corroboration, Beard (2010) noted that an open and proactive approach to identifying and mitigating risk is crucial in building a safety culture in which members’ perceptions are positive. In the same vein, Lawrence (2017) posited that school security has changed, requiring well-developed security and safety plans, as well as, proper risk management, together with well-articulated strategies and procedures to protect schools from crimes and threats.

As a way of finding solution to curb security challenges in universities, the Federal Government of Nigeria in a one day workshop organized for Deans and Deputy Deans of Students Affairs of Federal Institutions in Nigeria in 2016, on the theme “Towards the effective security/safety on campuses”, tasked the participants to take the issue of security seriously by fashioning out solutions to the seeming intractable security challenges facing the nation/university. The workshop was part of the series of security/safety seminars to sensitize management officers in tertiary institutions about security management with a view to reducing insecurity to the barest minimum in the campuses (Idoko, 2017).

Every university has a responsibility to protect itself, the students, staff and other customers who visit the university for one form of transaction or the other, from all forms of danger. The National School Board Association (2013) identified the responsibility of all schools to include, giving adequate safety and security against disasters, accidents, injuries, as well as, prepare proactive plans that investigate perceived threats and disasters. It is in this regard that every university has a well-established security unit, whereby security personnel are employed to handle the school security and ensure that lives and properties are protected and secured. The duties of these security officers include protection of lives/property, surveillance, gathering and dissemination of security intelligence, among others. University campuses as observed by Schneider Electric in Abdullahi and Orukpe, (2016) are dynamic environments with constant activity, which require an effective security unit that would address the protection and safe guarding of students, staff, visitors, faculties properties and facilities on campus. Good security services can not only help to prevent crimes, but also contribute to a positive image of the institution by creating a safe and welcoming environment for students, staff, and visitors.

The quality of security services depends on a variety of factors, including the calibre of staff, and maintaining security in any organisation is a complex issue. Casual observation reveals that some security unit employees had little formal training in security-related topics. As a result, when there are security concerns, it exposes not only their customer but also the security employees themselves to considerable security danger. The chief security officer of a university is required by policy to have fundamental training in any military or paramilitary organisation, but many other security personnel are completely untrained in crime prevention, e-security, security intelligence, stopping crimes, or determining the motivations of potential intruders.Because few campus security officers are armed, university campuses are particularly vulnerable to the threat posed by armed criminals who may carry out their activities unhindered. This is another significant barrier to maintaining campus security. In addition, most security teams lack the equipment and cutting-edge technology required to combat campus crime. Without sufficient facilities, security personnel cannot do their duties effectively. Additionally, it has been noted that most educational institutions are open to intruders and lack perimeter fencing, which is essential for securing property, preventing theft, and defending staff or facilities.

Safe-guarding the academic environment for educational activities is very important. It is for this reason that Okebukolain Youdeowei and Iruoma(2015) posits that “no safe school, no future for the world”. The author gave three reasons to justify this assertion as follows; (i) The dream of harnessing the power of education for achieving goals in health, food, employment, enrolment, energy, security will come to naught.(ii) Without safe schools, education for all  will remain a pipe dream (iii) Quality education yearned by all countries of the world will be hindered. Xaba (2014) describes safe school environment as one that is not dangerous and possess no threats to physical, emotional, psychosocial and psychological well-being of the occupants. In other words, it is an environment that is secured and free from threat and danger.

This is needful because as cautioned by Gomme and Micucci (2017), the perception of campus as a dangerous place may erode the quality of academic and social life for students, faculty, as well as, undermining a school’s ability to attract and retain both clientele and personnel. It is against this background that this study is conducted to explore the perspectives on school security management for conducive learning environment in Universities in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The objectives of the current study are in four-fold: Firstly, to find out the manifestation of insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State. Secondly, to examine the barriers to effective management of insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State. Thirdly, to examine strategies could be employed in managing insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State and finally, to discuss the implications for a conducivelearning environment. There are some cases of security threats in Nigerian educational institutions. In recent past, Nigeria has recorded incidents of security threats in educational institutions as follows:

1. On 16^th January 2017, two suicide bombers attacked University of Maiduguri, killing three people including a professor.
2. On 19^th February, 2018, 111 secondary school girls from Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe were abducted.
3. In May 2019, a final year male student in Cross River State University of Technology was butchered in the classroom by persons suspected to be rival cultist group.

The security issues in educational institutions are numerous, and all of these occurrences are merely the tip of the iceberg.It is a sign that security threats are a constant threat to educational settings. The school security staff is rarely well prepared to stop or address the security threats in the majority of these attacks. The real severity of the matter may never be understood because there are numerous such incidents and some of them were never recorded.

LITERATURE REVIEW

A number of researches have been conducted within and outside Nigeria to examine issues of security threats in Universities and other institutions of learning.  Emmanuel (2019) explored the roles of security personnel, school administrators, staff, parents and students in curbing security challenges of attacks on schools in Nigeria. The sample was 900 respondents who were purposively selected for the study. The data were analyzed using population t-test and the result revealed that training and re-training of security personnel significantly affect their level of service delivery. It was also found that the pre-dispositional factors contributing to the attacks directed on schools are linked to the emergence of domestic terrorism and concluded that the security personnel and stakeholders have critical roles to play in supporting safe school initiative. Similarly, Odidison (2022) found out in his study on factors responsible for insecurity in Nigerian tertiary institutions using 500 security personnel that lack of training of security personnel was one of the factors that significantly accounted for the insecurity in Nigerian institutions.

Amoatemaa, Kyeremah and Arthur (2017) found that students felt safer during the day time than night time. Also, it showed that isolated places and poorly lit areas of campus posed security threats. The findings further indicated that bushy areas, lack of close circuit television (CCTV), absence of police patrols and emergency phones to call the security officers, were the major factors contributing to students feeling of insecurity on campus. In another study by Chekwa, Thomas and Jones (2020) found that burglary was the number one crime committed on campus. Also, the security features that the respondents considered most important as a deterrent to criminal activities in the order of importance were; security officer, cameras, emergency call boxes and lighting. Audible emergency alert system was not considered as a factor in preventing crimes in the study.

Another study by Ozmen, Dur and Akgul (2020) found that there were various problems threatening school security, which included lack of family interest, inadequate physical condition, and disruptive school environment, among others. Oladipo et al (2018) found that there existed a strong positive relationship between school location, school culture, school facilities and personnel security, while a weak, positive correlation existed between school climate and personnel security. Badiora (2017) found the five most frequently occurring crimes on campus to be; stealing and pilfering, room break-in, sexual harassment, cultism, and drug offences. In another study by Paul and Igwebuike (2018) on security challenges and management strategies in secondary schools, it was found that kidnapping, armed robbery, militancy, drug abuse, vandalism, theft and cultism were some of the security challenges experienced in the schools studied in Aba Education Zone, Abia State.

From the review of empirical literatures, it is observed that there is no empirically tested research on the perspectives on school security management for conducive learning environment in Universities in Ebonyi State of Nigeria, hence the relevance of the present study.  The current study focuses on the perspective of security personnel on the security challenges in Universities.

Statement of the Problem

University campuses in Ebonyi State are witnessing an increase in crime and security issues recently. On the campuses, there have been reports of theft, vandalism, rape, homicide, kidnapping, and many other crimes. There are instances of cultist conflicts on campuses that resulted in fatalities. Numerous times, burglars and armed robbers have broken into staff offices and student hostels and carted away possessions. One may wonder if security officers, who are especially hired to protect lives and property, are no longer effective in carrying out their duties in the light of these events.

Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike and Ebonyi State University management shadin a mutual collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, Abakaliki Division,tend to ameliorate the spate of insecurity of lives and property in the Universities. Sadly, all efforts proved abortive. The seeming inability of joint security personnel in the Universities to managethe current difficulties may be due to lack of the necessary and consistent combatant training to deal with the high level of criminality on university campuses, making them unable to effectively use contemporary security gadgets, and as a result, they are helplessly overpowered by the criminals. To this end, this study is situated to ask thus: what are the perspectives on school security management for conducive learning environment in Universities in Ebonyi State, Nigeria?

Research questions

The following research questions were answered in the study:

1. What are the manifestation of insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State?
2. What are the barriers to effective management ofinsecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State?
3. What strategies could be employed in managing insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State?

The study hypothesis

There is no significant difference between school security management perspectives in Alex Ekwueme Federal University and Ebonyi State University.

METHODOLOGY

Descriptive survey design was used in this study. Going by the name, a survey is a research method used for collecting data from a predefined group of respondents by systematically describing the phenomenon to gain insights into various topics of interest. The design was considered appropriate to examine and describe the various perspectives on school security management for conducive learning environment in Universities in Ebonyi State. Quantitative approach was utilized in conducting the study with the intention to attain greater knowledge and understanding of the insecurity situation while producing objective data which could be clearly communicated through statistics and numbers. Data was collected between 23^rdand 30^th August 2022 from two public universities in Ebonyi State: Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Abakaliki (AE-FUNAI) and Ebonyi State University (EBSU). The former is a Federal government owned university while the latter is a state owned university. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques was applied to draw a sample of 1800 respondents (68%) from a population of 2,650 security personnel in the two Universities. This strategy was utilized because security personnel rotates their schedule, thus it was difficult to physically meet them for questionnaire administration. However, there were 1000 respondents drawn from AE-FUNAI while 800 were drawn from EBSUS. A developed and validated instrument titled: Perspectives on Managing School Security for Safe Learning Environments in Public Universities Scale (PMSCSLEPUS) with 30 items, was tested for reliability using Kuder–Richardson formula with a reliability index of.90 and used for data collection. The reliability index was adjudged good for the utilization of the instrument. The questionnaire had two parts (Section A and Section B) based on the objectives of the study. Section A was on demographic data (6 items), while section B was sub-divided into three sections as follows: manifestations of insecurities (10 items), barriers to effective management of insecurities (10 items) and strategies which could be employed in managing insecurities(10 items). The items in section B were rated on a 4-point Likert scale of Strongly Agree (SA) -4 points, Agree (A) -3 points, Disagree (D) -2 points and Strongly Disagree (SD) -1 point. The researcher sought the permission of the Chief Security Officers of each institution before proceeding. With the help of two trained assistants, the 1800 copies of the instrument were directly administered and collected on the spot. The retrieved copies of the questionnaire were coded and the data analyzed using means and standard deviation. The means of the response options were scored accordingly: Strongly Agreed=3.1-4.0; Agreed=2.1-3.0; Disagreed 1.1-2-0 and Strongly Disagreed=0.1-1.0 in that mean and standard deviation was used as the strategy of analysis with total adherence to confidentiality in observing the ethical consideration in research.

RESULT

Research question 1: What are the manifestation of insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State?

To answer this research question, means and standard deviation were used. The result is presented in Table 1.

Table 1: Mean and Standard deviation scores of the responses to manifestation of insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State

Table 1 shows the Means and Standard deviations scores of the responses to the manifestations of insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State. The items were measured on a 4-point scale, making the highest response score on each item to be 4 and the least response score to be 1. However, the cut-off mean, 2.50 was obtained as the average score of the highest and least score on each of the items. It could be observed that the ten items in Table 1 occur within the range of3.1-4.0 (Strongly Agreed), hence the respondents’ sincere assessment were that they strongly agreed that all these items are manifestingas the elements of insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State

Research question 2: What are the barriers to effective management of insecurities in Universitiesin Ebonyi State?

To answer this research question, means and standard deviation were used. The results are presented in Table 2.

Table 2: Mean and Standard deviation on the responses to the barriers to effective management of insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State

Table 2 shows the Means and Standard deviations scores onto the barriers to effective management of insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State. The items were measured on a 4-point scale, making the highest response score on each item to be 4 and the least response score to be 1. However, the cut-off mean, 2.50 was obtained as the average score of the highest and least score on each of the items. It could be observed that the ten items in Table 1 occur within the range of2.1-3.0 (Agreed), hence the respondents’ sincere assessment were that they agreed that all these items are the barriers to effective management of insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State.

Research question 3: What strategies could be employed in managing insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State?

To answer this research question, means and standard deviation were used and the result are presented in Table 3.

Table 3: Mean and Standard deviation on the responses onthe strategies which could be employed in managing insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State

Table 3 shows the Means and Standard deviations scores onthe strategies which could be employed in managing insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State. The items were measured on a 4-point scale, making the highest response score on each item to be 4 and the least response score to be 1. However, the cut-off mean, 2.50 was obtained as the average score of the highest and least score on each of the items. It could be observed that the ten items in Table 1 occur within the range of2.1-3.0 (Agreed), hence the respondents’ sincere assessment were that they agreed that all these items are the barriers to effective management of insecurities in Universities in Ebonyi State.

The Study Hypothesis: There is no significant difference between school security managementperspectives in Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo and Ebonyi State University.

To test the hypothesis, independent t-test was used and theresultsare presented in Table 4.

Table 4: Independent t-test analysis of the difference between school security management perspectives in Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo and Ebonyi State University.

*P<.05; df = 1,798; critical t = 1.960

Table 4 shows the independent t-test analysis of the difference between school security management in Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo and Ebonyi State University. A critical observation at the 10 perspectives compared between the two Universities showed that all significantly differed, since their p-values were less than .05 and their t-values were greater than critical t-value of 1.960 and degree of freedom 1,798.They are as follows: managing cult-related activities, t = -4.21 (p= .000<.05); managing abductions, t = -2.11 (p= .000<.05); managing sexual molestations on campus, t = -7.22 (p= .001<.05); managing campus herdsmenism, t = -1.27 (p= .000<.05); managing robbery/stealing, t = -6.00 (p= .001<.05); managing student election crisis, t = -3.12 (p= .000<.05); managing rape, t = -9.00 (p= .004<.05); managing substance abuse, t = -5.13 (p= .003<.05); managing ill-possession of arms t = -1.00 (p= .002<.05); managing interpersonal conflict, t = -9.01 (p= .001<.05); overall perspectives of security management, t = -.09 (p= .000<.05). This leads to the acceptance that there is significant differences between school security management perspectives in Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo and Ebonyi State University in the dimensions assessed. The negative t-values shows that the second comparison group, which is EBSU has lesser mean value, indicating lesser level of school security management perspectives. This implies that EBSU which is state-owned university has less significantly managed those security threats than AE-FUNAI which is a Federal University. However, the overall for managing school security perspectives show a significant t-value of -9.09 (p= .000<.05). This means that at overall, AE-FUNAI manages more perspectives of school security than EBSU regarding the 10 items.

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS

The result of this study shows that there are many security challenges facing Universities in Ebonyi State. The challenges as indicated by security personnel including cult-related activities, abductions and sexual molestations to mention a few. There are some predisposing factors for this result. A casual visit to the institutions studied reveals that there is a gross paucity of control and access. This implies that individuals and spirits could freely walk or drive through the gates into the institutions without stop-and-checks. In the process, assassins, kidnappers, armed robbers would confidently enter and unleash mayhem on unsuspected members of the university community and escape without apprehension. This result is in consonance with the observation of Enang (2019), that university communities in recent times have been infested with criminalities due to unrestricted access. The findings of the study also corroborate the assertion by Ibrahim (2013) that no educational institution in the modern day Nigeria is free from security issues.

Also, the study outcome supports the observation of Oni (2016) that a huge gap still exists in the areas of crime deterrent and detection. This is seen in the extent of exposure to security challenges in universities. The result of data analysis for the second research question shows a wide array of factors militating against the maintenance of effective security in the two universities studied. The factors as found in this study in the order of importance are lack of modern security gadgets, poor funding of surveillance unit and poor security awareness among others. The findings of this study is expected because public universities in Nigeria are under-funded, whereas security business is capital intensive. This corroborates the findings of Enang (2019) who found that most of the surveillance personnel on campus are not armed and do not have the required intelligence of getting ahead of the criminals. In other words, reactive approach is always taken rather than proactive techniques to prevent crimes.

With regards to research question three, among the identified strategies for school security management perspectives for conducive learning environment are purchasing advanced security gadgets, using CCTV cameras, subjecting personnel to retraining programmes and provision of emergency alert system among others. According to the respondents, all these and more strategies are required to enhance effective security in the sampled Universities without which, campus security will be seriously compromised and the university environment will be increasingly unconducive and vulnerable to security threats. Finally, the findings of the hypothesis tested in this study shows that there are significant differences in school security management perspectives in Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo and Ebonyi State University. In other words, EBSU, which is a state-owned University faces more difficulty in handling the perspectives of school security management for conducive learning environment that AE-FUNAI. A possible explanation for this finding is that AE-FUNAI being a young vibrant Federal University of 7 years old is better funded and as such have better facilities with more security personnel than EBSU, which is almost 23 years old.Therefore, EBSU is replete with lack of appropriate security resources to fight crime. It also has porosity of security network with many access points into the institution that are not well checked, as well as, providing route to neighboring environs.

CONCLUSION

Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that the security threats in universities constitute a serious threat to conducive learning environment and hinders school activities. The elimination of these threats from the universities should be paramount for meaningful academic works in adherence and the application of the findings in the study area.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The university management must be proactive in creating and sustaining a peaceful, threat-free environment through the following:

1. The surveillance unit of EBSU should be well funded and equipped with modern gadgets by the University management in collaboration with the State government
2. There should be provision of sufficient surveillance vehicles because this will be very useful in timely fighting and containment of criminal activities on campus.
3. Access into the university environment should be checked against people who have no legal business in the school. Access should be restricted for conducive learning environment.

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ABOUT AUTHOR

Udang Joseph Akorhails from Kutiang II community in Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State Nigeria. He is currently a Graduate Assistant in the Department of Educational Management, Faculty of Educational Foundation Studies in the University of Calabar-Calabar, Nigeria. He is pursuing his Master’s degree in the same Department with option in Economics of Education. Udang Joseph Akor is an aspiring academic with interest in research and publication. Therefore, he is creative, innovative, teachable and ready to accept corrections. He has the ability to work with little or no supervision.