INTRODUCTION By the mid-70s, the social demand for edu- cation at all levels in Nigeria has become so high that educational expansion at all levels of educa- tion became one of government’s priorities. The 1979 Nigerian Constitution included Educa-tion in the Concurrent legislative List thus making it possible for State Governments to establish their own universities. This led to the esta-blishment of at least one university in each State of the Federation such that by the new millennium, there were over eighty universities in Nigeria with over 15,000 postgraduate students on enrolment. The Federal Government controls all the uni- versities through the National Universities Commission (NUC), with a major function of co- ordinating university administrative and academic programmes and policies to ensure uniformity of standards. The NUC is also responsible for finan- cial allocation to all Federal-owned universities from Federal Government sources, while the State- owned universities are solely financed by their own State Governments. The growth trend of universities in Nigeria which is expansive rather than developmental in © Kamla-Raj 2010 J Soc Sci, 22(2): 129-137 (2010) An Analysis of Problems Encountered by Post-graduate Students in Nigerian Universities Chinelo O. Duze Department of Educational Administration & Policy Studies, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria E-mail: chineloduze@yahoo.com KEYWORDS Stumbling-blocks. Delay Graduation. Higher Education. Socio-politico Problems ABSTRACT This study analyzed the problems encountered by postgraduate students that hindered their studies in Nigerian universities. This was necessitated by the observation that most postgraduate students in Nigeria tend to graduate long after the stipulated time period for their programmes, indicating an apparent disparity between “what is” and “what ought to be” in running postgraduate programmes in Nigeria. It was hypothesized that the problems encountered delayed the timely completion of studies. Literature was reviewed on the Production Theory in Education which rests on the “Input-process-output” model as the theoretical framework for the study, as well as the needs assessment of higher education. The data collection instrument, designated Postgraduate Students Problems Questionnaire (PGSPQ) was developed by the investigator and validated by a jury of experts. The universities were stratified along ownership. The research design was ex-post-facto, no variable was manipulated. The subjects were 438 postgraduate students studying in sixteen Federal-owned and nine State-owned universities in Nigeria. One research question was answered and one null hypothesis tested in the study at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that the system is plagued with numerous complex and deep-rooted problems ranging from systems/ procedural problems to socio-politico problems and personal/psychological problems, and that these problems actually hindered their studies and contributed to late graduation. Recommendations were made with the intent to attract greater attention from the producers of education in Nigeria if the maximum potentials of scholars at this level must be effectively tapped for greater productivity, and thus, national development. nature, has resulted in many administrative and academic problems for both government and students. The issue is that apart from the cost of land, buildings and staffing, each university how- ever small, needs its own working materials. Each needs its own machinery and equipment for science laboratories, language studies and tech- nical workshops. Each needs well-equipped libraries, efficient communication and trans- portation facilities, and qualified and experienced manpower. Each needs its own academic environ- ment that facilitates teaching and learning which should include comfortable accommo-dation for students and staff, good water supply and regular electricity supply. Thus, the implica-tion of rapid proliferation of universities is the multiplicity in the provision of infrastructures, physical facili- ties, human resources and quantity of funds re- quired. These consume fat chunks of the nation’s meager and scarce financial resources. The truth is that Nigeria cannot provide these in the magni- tudes that they have arisen. Studies and observa- tions of researchers, educators and economists support this truth. (Aghenta 1990; Duze 2005; Ojaide 2005; Okoli 1996; Onilude 1989; Udofot 2002 and Ukoli 1995).