Students’ Perception of the Roles and Challenges of Student Union Activities in the Management of Tertiary Institutions in Lagos State

Abstract

This study explored students' perspectives on the roles and challenges of union activities in managing tertiary institutions in Lagos State. It aimed at expanding the domain of knowledge on student union activities and management in tertiary institutions in Lagos State. With the aid of descriptive research design, data were collected from 200 students randomly selected from three tertiary institutions owned by the Lagos State Government. The instrument was constructed and validated by three seasoned administrators in tertiary institutions, while Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient value of 0.79 was obtained, meaning that the items were suitable for the study. The hypotheses were tested using ANOVA at a 0.05 significant level. The findings revealed no significant difference in the roles of Students' Union Government activities in the overall management of tertiary institutions[F (2, 197) =1.61; p>0.05]; there is significant difference in the roles of school management towards the activities of SUG in tertiary institutions in Lagos State based on
institutions[F (2, 197) =10.88; p<0.05] and there is no significant difference in challenges faced by SUGs across institutions in Lagos State [F(2, 197)=0.73; p>0.05]. It also showed that SUGs play an important role in teaching and learning on campus and as the mouthpiece for students’ welfare. It recommended that the management of tertiary institutions should promote student involvement in institutional governance for organizational effectiveness; while administrators should organize talks, seminars, and workshops on leadership for student leaders to encourage effective student leadership and organizational performance.