A Qualitative Study on Contribution of Private Universities to the Development of Kwara State, Nigeria: An Empirical Evidence from Al-Hikmah University.

As captured in the National Policy of Education that private investors are needed to contribute to the growth of the country, the current study finds out the contribution of private universities to the advancement of Kwara State with evidence from Al-Hikmah University. The research design adopted was a qualitative type. Both purposive and convenience sampling techniques were employed to select four participants for the study. An interview protocol titled "Interview Protocol on Contribution of Private Universities (IPCPU)" was employed to elicit relevant information. Findings indicate that the university contributes immensely to the growth of Kwara State. The contribution includes enrolment of students into the university, employment generation, and manpower development. Similarly, results indicate that the challenges connected to the university include non-access to external funds and inconsistent government policy among others. It was suggested that government should provide enabling environment to remove the policy threat by giving constitutional recognition to the efforts of the private sector in the creation and operation of private universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]