Building a Skilled and Inclusive Society Through Educational Management for Effective Administration of Tertiary Institutions in Rivers State

Abstract

The study investigated building a skilled and inclusive society through educational management for effective administration of tertiary institutions in Rivers State. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study, with the hypotheses tested at a 0.05 alpha level of significance. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population is 1586 academic and non-academic staff of Rivers State University, from which a sample size of 370 respondents was determined using the Taro Yamane formula. The determine sample size of simple random sampling technique was employed to select the participants. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled Building a Skilled and Inclusive Society through Educational Management for Effective Administration of Tertiary Institutions Questionnaire (BASIS-EMEATIQ). The reliability of the instrument was established using the Cronbach Alpha method, yielding a coefficient of 0.81, indicating high internal consistency. Out of the 370 copies distributed, 294 valid responses were retrieved and used for analysis, representing an 80.2% response rate. The research questions were analyzed using mean and standard deviation, while the hypotheses were tested using the z-test at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that effective educational management plays a vital role in fostering a skilled and inclusive society through the integration of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the strategic governance of tertiary institutions. It further showed that establishing equitable pathways for access, participation, and success enhances administrative effectiveness and promotes fairness among all learners. Moreover, the development and implementation of globally competitive yet socially responsive curricula were found essential in equipping graduates with relevant skills for societal and economic advancement. Based on these findings, the study concluded that building a skilled and inclusive society requires an equity-driven, holistic approach to educational management supported by policy reforms, stakeholder collaboration, and sustained institutional commitment. The study recommended among others that tertiary education administrators integrate EDI principles into their strategic plans, promote equitable access and participation, develop inclusive curricula, strengthen partnerships between academia and industry, and establish continuous monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure sustainable educational growth in Rivers State.