Perceptions of School Administrators and Students on Security and Safety at Selected Tertiary Institutions in Ghana

Abstract

The goal of the study is to review the perceptions of school administrators and students on security and safety at selected tertiary institutions in Bono Region, Ghana. The study was conducted at two public tertiary in Ghana's Bono Region. The study used a concurrent mixed-methods approach to collect both quantitative data through Likert scales and qualitative data through open questions within a single questionnaire and some interviews with school administrators. A sample size of seven hundred and fifty-eight (758), including students and administrators was used for this study. The survey revealed that students believe there is good security and safety on the two campuses. Additionally, students say they feel comfortable on campus during the day and night. They also say they feel safe overall. In addition, students do not carry something on them for protection when walking on campus and students are ready to report crime/s against them to the university security. It, however, came out from the study that students avoid certain places on campus because of fear of their security and safety. The study revealed proactive security and safety management practices in the two universities. It came out that the universities provide annual security and safety reports detailing any security and safety-related events with crime prevention details. The study further recommends that University management should prioritize efforts to enhance campus security and safety by employing more strong security personnel and deploying modern security gadgets/items, particularly in locations that students perceive as unsafe.