Ombudsman Mechanism and Conflict Resolution in Southwestern Nigerian University

Abstract

Disputes are inevitable in educational institutions because it comprised of people of diverse characteristics and background.  Therefore, this study examined the implementation mechanism of ombudsman and conflict resolution in the southwestern Nigerian university. The population for the study comprised all the staff and students from the six federal universities in southwestern Nigeria. A sample of 300 staff and 300 students were selected from the three selected universities using simple random and disproportional sampling techniques.  Three instruments were adopted for the study: Academic Staff Complaints Satisfactory Questionnaire (ASCSQ), Non Academic Staff Complaints Satisfactory Questionnaire (NASCSQ) and Students Complaints Satisfaction Questionnaire (STCSQ).  Descriptive statistics was used to answer the two research questions raised for the study.  The results reveals that the way the sampled universities handle complaints could be said to be in orderly manner and that students have good perception about how the complaints is being handled. The study recommends that Nigerian universities should put in place an Ombudsman office that will handle disputes among students and staff independently and provide a preventive mechanism that will not allow the emergence of complaints from staff.