Common offences and sanctions in the management of discipline in higher education in Nigeria

The study examined the sociological nature of common offences and sanctions in the management of staff and students discipline prevalent in tertiary institutions in Rivers State, Nigeria. The study is a survey research with a population of 9671, and a sample of 250 respondents made up of students were drawn using multi stage sampling approach. The theoretical framework used for the study are functionalist perspective of law and bureaucratic theory. Mean, percentages and t-test and ANOVA were used for the analysis of the research questions and hypotheses of the study. These common offences such as stealing, raping, examination malpractice, academic dishonesty, insubordination, arson, bullying, drug abuse, hazing, cultism, plagiarism and sexual harassment were discovered to be rampant and constitute a bane to the development and attainment of the objectives of higher education in Nigeria as the findings indicated. The common sanctions frequently used at the hands of the management includes detention, suspension, rustication, expulsion and withdrawal which are the commonly set standards within the law to regulate the discipline of students. The major recommendations made were that the principles of rule of law and due process should be implemented in order to develop good organizational culture in the higher educational institutions in Rivers State, Nigeria.