Students-Management Conflicts in Tertiary Institutions in Ghana: A Review of Their Nature in University for Development Studies from 1999 to 2009

Abstract

This paper is on students-management conflicts in tertiary institutions in Ghana with particular focus on their nature in University for Development Studies from 1999 to 2009. Questionnaires and interview guides were the data collection tools employed and administered to 40 respondents. Data were analyzed qualitatively in narratives and with graphs, tables and matrices. The study found that: there was a (big class) structural gap between students and management; re-enforced by the autocratic/authoritarian leadership style of Management. Conflicts were high and worrying in the University. Conflicts between students and university management most frequently occurred and often took the nature of revolts, violent demonstrations, boycotts/attempted boycotts of classes/examinations, verbal assaults and physical attacks. The paper concluded that the nature of conflicts witnessed was often that of violence. We recommended that early conflict warning signs, often noticeable in their very nature should not be treated laggingly and reactively but proactively to lessen the nature they take in the end and that students’ power in conflicts should not be down played.