This study investigated the causes, the effects, and the management patterns of students' unrest in tertiary institutions in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The study was framed in such a way that it deviated from the normal way of identifying the causes, the effects, and the methods of managing students' unrest, as presented in the past to determine the seriousness of the factors causing unrest, the manner in which the effects frequently occur, and the methods often used by school administrators in

more »

... management of the phenomenon. A survey research design was adopted and a questionnaire entitled "Students' Unrest Questionnaire"(SUQ), was used to collect the data needed for analysis. Percentage, frequency count, and weighted mean were used to analyze the data collected. The cutoff point for research questions (1, 2 and 3) that were analyzed through the use of weighted mean is 3.00. Therefore, any item that has a weighted mean score of 3.00 or above is considered very serious, frequently occur, or often used, while those items with weighted mean below the cutoff point are considered as less serious, least occur or least used. The study, therefore, discovered that: increase in tuition fees; inadequate facilities for teaching and learning; communication break down between school authorities and students' representatives; poor leadership style of school authority; rustication and expulsion of union leaders; accommodation problem; and security problem on campus are very serious factors causing students' unrest in tertiary institutions. Also, it was discovered that: destruction of properties; disruption of academic programmes; paralysis of economic activities on campus and its environ; and closing down schools are the main effects that frequently occur during a period of unrest. The management approaches often used by school authorities in managing the problem are: invitation of police to intervene; closing down schools by authorities; and suspension of students' leaders. The best practices that should be observed by school Chinyere N. Alimba 171 authorities for effective management of student's unrest in tertiary institutions were equally stated. Based on this, the study recommended, among others, that those aspiring to become school administrators should be given a six months training in the act of leadership strategies and conflict management, and that peace education should be introduced into school curriculum and school environment for students and staff to appreciate the beauty of resolving their differences peacefully without resulting into violence.