STAKEHOLDERS’ PERCEPTION OF FINANCIAL OPERATIONS OF STUDENTS’ COOPERATIVE THRIFT AS AN ALTERNATIVE FUNDING STRATEGY FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF UNDERGRADUATES STUDENTS’ WELFARE IN BAYELSA STATE

The study ascertained stakeholders’ perception of financial operations of students’ cooperative thrift as an alternative funding strategy for the improvement of undergraduates’ students’ welfare in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population comprised of up of 32,652 students and staff from four public Universities in Bayelsa State during the 2020/2021 academic session. A sample size of 1,136 was selected through purposive and proportionate random sampling technique. A 12 item questionnaire instrument was utilized for data collection. The instrument was self-designed and tagged “Stakeholders Perception of cooperative thrift and alternative funding strategy for the improvement of undergraduate students’ welfare questionnaire (SPCTAFSIUSW). Data collected were analyzed using simple percentages, mean, standard deviation. The results obtained showed a significant difference on staff and students’ stakeholders’ mean rating of students’ cooperative thrift as an alternative funding strategy for the improvement of undergraduate students’ welfare in Universities in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Hence, the study proposed the establishment of students’ cooperative thrift in Universities in Bayelsa State.