Still on Federal Govt and more universities
Editorial
WITH the appointment, the other day, of Vice Chancellors and registrars for nine out of the now slated 12 new universities by the Federal Government, the hope of revisiting the issue despite the barrage of contrary views to that effect appears sealed. That sets the stage for the take-off of the universities from the next academic session in September. But the inherent problem of under-funding of university education in the country remains. The fear is that the new universities would face the same predicament, except there is a change, thereby degrading further the quality of university education in the country. Barring any hitches, the country would have nine brand new universities from September 2011. Actually, the Minister of State for Education, Chief Kenneth Gbagi, had announced 12 new universities in a speech he delivered at the 4th Convocation ceremony of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Umuahia. That, indeed, is historic, for government to have a dozen universities established in one fell swoop. Nevertheless, our position remains unchanged. We wish to restate that the rush to establish nine or 12 universities at a go when the existing public universities are in an appalling state is ill-advised. Without exception, all the existing public universities run by the Federal and state governments are in dire financial straits resulting from gross under-funding. The universities are barely managing to meet their basic needs. This is evident in the acute shortage of lecture halls, laboratories, libraries, and hostel accommodation. In this age of internet technology, very few Nigerian students have access to the use of computers. There isn't enough academic and ancillary staff to man the departments and laboratories. The quality of teaching in the universities is below standard. Consequently, not one university in Nigeria, out of 109 in the country is among the top 50 universities in Africa or top 100 in the world. It is no longer news that graduates of Nigerian universities seeking postgraduate studies in foreign universities are either rejected or made to undergo remedial courses at the undergraduate level to qualify for their intended programmes. Does government want this to continue? Given such sobering situation, the way out is not to establish a dozen more universities at a time without making adequate plans to redeem the existing ones. On this ground, we are inclined to question the rationale and quality of advice being given to the president. The country has great problems that need to be addressed squarely from the point of view of sound reasoning. While the argument being advanced in support of the new universities is that government needs to boost the current low enrolment of candidates (put at 16 per cent), that objective could still be achieved if the existing universities were expanded. Rather than investing in a completely new set of universities, all that would be required, where reason and objectivity sway is to work towards expanding the existing universities to accommodate more students and increase admission space. That way, the disgusting low quality could be improved. ? Unfortunately, this is not the case. The universities are being established to satisfy political interests rather than educational imperatives. But it is dangerous for the Federal Government to politicise university education, as seems to be the case. When every state gets a federal university, what is our gain? Will that solve the problems at hand? Certainly, not. Running a university is a serious business. It is capital intensive. Without a well-articulated strategy to provide adequate and regular funding, the universities would end up being worse than the existing ones given the dearth of competent academic staff and parlous state of the economy. That way, the universities would constitute new problems in addition to the existing ones. It won't be surprising if tomorrow a new administration decides to merge or abolish some of the universities when it is found that they are not measuring up. When that is done, all the effort and resources that could have been used to improve the older universities would have been wasted. Elsewhere, universities are established, not in isolation as it is being done here, but in consideration of the demands of the economy. Universities are set up with specific targets and objectives, in the overall context of national development, and the promotion of academic excellence. The Federal Government shouldn't bite more than it can chew.
Expectedly, President Goodluck Jonathan had approved the appointment of the nine Vice Chancellors and registrars. Government has also approved the release of the sum of N13.5 billion it sourced from the Education Trust Fund (ETF) to be extended to the institutions. Each university is to be given the sum of N1.5 billion as initial take-off grant to raise the foundation structures it needs to start off. That meagre amount alone shows clearly that the Federal Government is not ready for the universities. As a matter of fact, the entire sum being shared to nine new universities is not enough to establish one standard university.
Still on Federal Govt and more universities 
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