ANALYSIS AND PROJECTIONS OF MANPOWER NEEDS IN UNIVERSITIES IN DELTA STATE 2021 – 2025

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

development of a nation. This implies that the manpower or human resource available in the university is therefore very crucial and important in its operations. According to Weerakoon(2016), the right mix of human resource in the university system is a basic requirements for accreditation. The Nigerian University Commission (NUC) gives as much as 32% for staffing alone during accreditation averages and 68% to other variables such as physical facilities, library, academic content etc. (Oluwafemi, 2020). The NUC scoring method in their accreditation lends credence to the significant role of human resource in the university system. However, in spite of the critical importance of human resources in the university system, various studies have identified staffing as one of the major problems facing the Nigerian university system (Onah&Anikwe, 2016; Ndubuisi& Jacob, 2021).  The staffing problem entails the required number and the right mix of staff for the effective delivery of teaching, learning and research for desired outputs among enrollees. The human resource having been adjudged the most valuable and key factor in the success of any enterprise, has to be effectively planned for to meet the objectives and goals of producing reliant human resource for the socio economic development of the country. According to Jacob, Jegede, and Musa(2019), the problems facing the academic staff of Nigerian universities include; poor motivation, teaching of large class, poor staff development programme, inadequate infrastructural facilities, strike actions, insecurity, poor computer literacy and poor research funding etc. and all these reflect ineffective manpower planning in the Nigerian educational sector. The current study was therefore necessitated to analyze the present manpower in the Nigerian universities using FUPRE and DELSU as a case study, noting that many Nigerian universities have been deficient in their operations and overall effectiveness due to improper manpower planning. Also, this study seeks to make projections of manpower needs in Nigerian universities using the case study of Delta state, based on the findings of the review.