PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF THE FACTORS THAT BRING ABOUT AN INCREASE OF DROP OUT RATE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA
Hassan Oluwole Philip and Uchenna Okonkwo Phd
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Faculty of Social Sciences
University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Email: P.oluwolehassan@gmail.com, uchenna.okonkwo@unn.edu.ng
ABSTRACT
The phenomenon of university dropout is met in all universities in the world, but overtime has been recorded higher amongst countries that make up the global south, with much reference to the African continent of which Nigeria is located. This social crisis has gradually progressed especially in this 21st century in Nigeria, alongside the already existing social problems such as unemployment and most recently crime. To this end, this study is aimed at those factors that have excallated the rate of undergraduate drop out in University of Nigeria, Nsukka, taking into cognizance variables such as unemployment, sex, age, level of study, crime as an alternative option to education and possible measures that could be adopted both at the micro and macro level in order to mitigate the rapid increase of students withdrawal from schooling, especially at the University level. The study comprised 150 respondents who were undergraduates students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka from 5 faculties within the main campus of the University; namely: the faculty of Social Sciences, Arts, Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences and Education. The quantitative method was adopted in this study, making use of questionnaires as instrument for data collection, and a cross-sectional survey design. The study also utilized the simple probability sampling technique to select qualified respondents for the study from the chosen faculties of the University. The study found that the major contributory factor to the increasing rate of undergraduate dropout within the University was financial constraints, that gainful employment was a major motivator for investing in education, that male undergraduate students made up more of the population of undergraduate dropouts compared to their female counterparts, the alternative option to investment in education mostly considered by these dropouts was enrollment in apprenticeship, in terms of crime; undergraduate dropouts engaged more in cybercrime(yahoo-yahoo) and finally the appropriate measures to be adopted to mitigate the phenomenon of undergraduate drop out include; creation of comfortable job opportunities, reduction of fees and cost of living within the University and awarding of scholarships. The researcher recommends that both measures at the macro and micro level be adopted i.e measures at the societal level being adopted such as the availability of gainful employment, awarding of scholarships and rewards to individuals who achieve academic success by both government and non-governmental organization or private well known individuals, especially in form of public showcasing, and a shift from sponsorship and promotion of the entertainment industry to education so as to re-ignite the quest for scholarship among youths and those yet unborn who are the future of tomorrow. The conclusions of this study can enable the necessary personalities, as well as authorities in the educational sector both at the micro and the macro level to identify those factors that have served as the contributing factor to the increase in the rate of undergraduate drop out in the Nigerian society and the best measures to implement them in order to reduce the increasing rate by promoting and generating more of those identifiable motivations that retain students in school.