THE POTENTIALS FOR A CO-OPERATIVE THRIFT CREDIT SOCIETY IN A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION (A CASE STUDY OF I.M.T, ENUGU)

THE POTENTIALS FOR A CO-OPERATIVE THRIFT CREDIT SOCIETY IN A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION (A CASE STUDY OF I.M.T, ENUGU)

CHAPTER ONE

1.1         BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY/INTRODUCTION

The Co-operative thrift and Credit Society is now in existence in many institutions of higher learning.  Based on this, one might start to wonder what this research topic is all about, since such a programme is not a new one.

All the same, the truth remains that the existence of Co-operative, Thrift and Credit Society in our higher institutions, one side is lower than the other, badly balanced.  This is to say that its present existence concern itself with only a particular section of the institution.

Institute of higher learning presently doing this programme only operate for the benefits of academic an non-academic staff (who are interested in the movement) in these institutions.  Thrift and Credit programme for educational institutions with particular references to the students populace.  To this time, student in institutions of higher learning have been deprived of enjoying the benefits of being members of co-operative movement as much as there is the urgency of the needs to inform students with the objective of the co-operative movement.

It is important for the cause of this research project to have a knowledge of the cooperative movement, the world over and in particular, Nigeria.  This is because such knowledge and understanding gained, provides an invaluable background of the history and patterns of co-operative in different parts of the word.

In the modern form, however, the origin of co-operative, thrift and credit societies can be traced to the 19^thcentury and to Germany.

In Germany, many of the farmers have very small area of land but by hand work and skillful farming, there was just enough to keep the farming going.  The farmers got their credit from local merchants who charged high rate from them and paid low prices for the farm produce.  The result was that the farmers were most heavily indebted and sank into poverty.

Fredrick Willhelm Raiffeison (1818 –1888) seeing all the poverty and hardship of farmers, he tried to help in the light of these he thought out a plan for co-operative thrift and credit society in which the good men of the village could join together to make fund available as loans to co-operative members.  For each loan made there was the security of the property of the borrowed and two guarantors, who had to be members of the society.

History of Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Enugu.  The institute came into existence under the East central state edict NO.10 of 1973, promulgated by the Administrator of East Central State Ajie Ukpabi Asika.

THE POTENTIALS FOR A CO-OPERATIVE THRIFT CREDIT SOCIETY IN A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION (A CASE STUDY OF I.M.T, ENUGU)