PROMOTING THE DEMAND FOR PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA: A SURVEY OF REPRESENTATIVE PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

The problem focus of this study is two-fold: the rising need for university education and strategies for promoting demand for private universities in Nigeria. The study aimed at contributing to educational policies and manpower development in Nigeria, with special emphasis on strategies for promoting the administration and demand for private universities. The methodology is purely that of the survey design, requiring administration of research questionnaire and drawing inferences based on responses to the relevant research questions. The process involved a survey of selected representative private universities in the Western part of Nigeria as such universities appear more prevalent in this geographical area than other areas in Nigeria. A survey of literature on the promotion of private universities worldwide was also found necessary. With appropriate statistics and analytical tools, the study found as follows: first, the need for product, promotion, pricing and planning strategies for effective administration and promotion of private universities in Nigeria; second, the need to build public trust in the operation of private universities in Nigeria; third, the most important factor responsible for recent emphasis on the establishment of private universities in Nigeria is the efficacy of free market mechanism in the allocation of resources, as well as cultural change concerning pedagogy and the desire to apply modern teaching techniques; fourth is the existence of unique promotional problems requiring unique solutions in private universities in general; and, fifth, the fact that the problem of matching theory with practice in Nigeria arise from lip-service attention paid to programmes' needs assessment. Based on these findings, the study recommends as follows: a service/product strategy that stresses stakeholders' needs; a promotion strategy that involves persuasion and influence; and, a pricing strategy involving price limits and planned price variations.