AFRICAN MENTORSHIP SYSTEM, STUDENT EMPOWERMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

Mentorship is increasingly recognised as an important mechanism for promoting student development, strengthening institutional capacity and advancing sustainable development in higher education. This study investigated the relationships between African mentorship practices, student empowerment, institutional capacity development, quality education and sustainable development in public universities in South-East Nigeria. The study adopted a correlational survey research design. The population comprised 52,684 undergraduate students, from which a sample of 420 respondents was selected through a multistage sampling procedure. Data were collected using the researcher-developed African Mentorship Practices, Student Empowerment and Sustainable Development Questionnaire (AMPS-ESDQ). The instrument was validated by three experts and yielded an overall Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of 0.91. Of the 420 copies of the questionnaire administered, 398 valid copies were analysed, representing a response rate of 94.8%. Data were analysed using mean, standard deviation, Pearson Product–Moment Correlation Coefficient and multiple regression analysis at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed significant positive relationships between African mentorship practices and student empowerment (r = 0.68, p < 0.001), institutional capacity development (r = 0.61, p < 0.001) and quality education (r = 0.72, p < 0.001). The dimensions of African mentorship practices jointly explained 60.8% of the variation in sustainable development (R = 0.780, R² = 0.608), with the regression model being statistically significant (F(6, 391) = 101.08, p < 0.001). Knowledge transfer emerged as the strongest independent predictor of sustainable development (β = 0.226, p < 0.001), followed by ethical development (β = 0.204, p < 0.001). The study concluded that African mentorship practices constitute an important mechanism for promoting student empowerment, strengthening institutional capacity, improving educational quality and advancing sustainable development. It recommended the institutionalisation of culturally responsive and structured mentorship programmes in African universities.