CURRICULUM DELIVERY AND SECURITY CHALLENGES IN TERTIARY EDUCATION: COUNSELLING PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

This study investigated curriculum delivery and security challenges in tertiary education in Nigeria: Counselling perspectives. It employed descriptive survey design with three research questions to guide the study. The population of the study consists of teacher educators from two Colleges of Education; Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education and Abia State College of Education Technical Arochukwu, Abia State in the South East Zone of Nigeria, totaling 2530 teacher educators. A sample of 354 teacher educators representing 14% of the population was chosen through simple random sampling technique with non replacement balloting technique. Structured and validated researcher – made questionnaire of four-point likert scale of  Strongly agree(4points), Agree(3points), Disagree (2points) and Strongly disagree(1point), was used as instrument for data collection while data collected was analyzed with mean. The result revealed that a lot of security challenges militate against effective and efficient curriculum delivery in tertiary education in the South East Zone of Nigeria; the security challenges have drastic effects on curriculum delivery in tertiary education in the South East Zone of Nigeria and that the listed ways forward will help surmount the identified challenges.  Based on the findings, recommendations were made  that  there is a clarion call for good security network in the South East Zone of  Nigeria to minimize if not put a stop to all these forms of security challenges that militate against effective and efficient curriculum delivery in the tertiary education; there is need for value re-orientation in the South-East Zone of  Nigeria, for this will help reduce the struggle for certain minute issues and thereby lead to building of confidence among brothers cum friends which will equally safe lives ; parents and teachers should encourage learners to acquire skills in the South East  Zone to help tertiary education students stand on their own even when security challenges do not give room for theoretical knowledge acquisition in schools, thereby making them young entrepreneurs; government, society, institutions and all stakeholders in education should play their roles adequately including safeguarding of lives/properties and funding of tertiary education appropriately; and that counselling becomes a pre-requisite in helping to surmount some of the identified challenges in both educational, vocational and personal-social aspects involving both government, individuals and schools.