This is a case study of a government educational organization in Nigeria and its functioning. The organization is the National Universities Commission (NUC), through which the Nigerian Government funds, monitors, and maintains the activities of universities in Nigeria.
In 1962, the administrative NUC was established in the Cabinet Office, while the Statutory NUC was established by Decree No. 1 of 1974. This organization is made up of the Board representing members of the university community and the society at large, and the Secretariat, which has seven divisions dealing with different aspects of its functions.
Three instruments were used to measure the effectiveness of this organization. Primary and secondary documents on the NUC were studied to trace the genesis, development, and expansion of the organization from 1962 to 1990. The findings were divided into three phases--1962-1974 dealt with the expansion of the first generation university, 1974-1980 dealt with the development of second generation universities, and 1980-1990 dealt with the development of specialist and state universities.
The SOO-2000, developed by Rensis Likert Associates, Inc. was used to determine whether the divisions and the overall organization were working effectively and to determine the strengths and weaknesses of each of the divisions. Each division is influenced by Organizational Climate, Supervisory Leadership, and Peer Relationships. The End Result measured the outcomes of Climate, Leadership, and Peer Relationships, which are Group Functioning, Goal Integration, Satisfaction, and Performance.
The Open-Ended Interview Guide was developed based on the functions spelled out in the four NUC Decrees. These administrators, the clients of the NUC, were carefully selected and interviewed to seek their perceptions on the effectiveness of the organization. They were also asked to give recommendations on the survival of the organization into the 21st century.
The conclusion after the qualitative and quantitative analysis showed that the organization was relatively effective.
