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From: Hussaini Jibrin
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From: Hussaini Jibrin
THE GUARDIAN - EDITORIAL
Crisis of the Nigerian academy
THURSDAY, 06 DECEMBER 2012 00:00 EDITOR OPINION - EDITORIAL
THE revelations contained in the recent Needs Assessment Report to the effect that the Nigerian academy has been grossly engulfed in a deepening crisis of immense proportion are saddening; but it is no exaggeration. Nigerian universities have ignominiously transited from prominence to obscurity in the global ranking of universities.
Produced by a 10-man committee set up by the Federal Ministry of Education, the report shows that academic degrees from local universities have, for some years now, ceased to command international respect. Indeed, the situation is so bad that many reputable universities no longer accept Nigerian universities' certificates for post-graduate studies. As an immediate remedy, government must first curtail the penchant to proliferate universities; and in the long run, put up a scholarship scheme to ease the production of postgraduate academics.
The quality of postgraduate training and research has plummeted and can hardly drive the process of national development. Research output and outlets for dissemination of results are no longer in first-rated journals. Nigerian universities hardly attract international students, as was the case in the good old days. Even at home, reputable employers now raise critical eyebrows when dealing with Nigerian graduates. The roots of these problems may not be as obvious as the report reveals, but they show irresistibly that all is not well with the system, by bringing to the front burner, the deepening crisis of public universities, like other public institutions in Nigeria.
From the report, the main problem is linked to corruption in all phases of university governance, including a dearth of qualified teachers, over-bloated bureaucratisation where non-teaching staff almost doubled teaching staff; and the heavy reliance on adjunct lecturers, among others. These negative factors are the sad realities of the country's public universities. Private universities should not have been exempted from the exercise as they could provide a scientific basis of comparison between the public and the private.
However, the lateness of official reaction only shows that the government, though not solely responsible, is part of the problems. After all, there are several institutional mechanisms for standard control and quality assurance in the Nigerian university system. Where were the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) when this deterioration took roots and grew to the current excruciating level? The same government that issued the damning verdict is the one licensing the establishment of private universities through the NUC, and even 'decreeing' some federal universities into existence. Official complicity can further be gleaned from the fact that these universities still manage to 'satisfy' NUC's rigorous requirements for accreditation. Who is deceiving who? Worse still, with only about 6-8 per cent of the annual budget allocated to education, government has consistently failed to invest adequately in the education sector. The import is the poor state of infrastructure and general underdevelopment of public universities in the country. This contrasts sharply with Ghana's, where about 31 per cent of annual budget goes to education. Not surprisingly, Ghana's education sector is today a viable source of foreign exchange, as well as developmental assets to the country, in sharp contrast to Nigeria's. As the Exam Ethics International, a non-governmental organisation, recently revealed, 'annually, Ghana gets N160 billion of Nigerian students' funds, while Nigerians spend over N80 billion on education in the United Kingdom'.
These represent failure of political leaders in the country generally; and policy makers in the education sector, especially the Federal Ministry of Education and the NUC. Urgent action is required to arrest this. It is no use heaping all the blames on government, as some vice chancellors have dictatorial tendencies, and are corrupt and biased in the handling of recruitment, promotion and tenure of staffers. There is evidence that wherever such practices prevail, the foundations of academic excellence and culture are gradually eroded and may result in brain-drains, especially where victims are internationally competitive. Corrupt enrichment in the system may not be unconnected with the existence of structures that allow such tendencies to thrive, most notably the demonstration of gross incapacity, incompetence and lack of political will in dealing with the situation by prescribed regulatory institutions.
Urgent, short-term measures are desirable for ending the malaise. First, is the need for a moratorium on the NUC to stop further licensing of private universities. The Federal Government too should desist from establishing new ones. Education is the foundation of any country desirous of sustainable development and, therefore, not something to be politicised. Second, there is need for an upward review of university funding. If the government cannot surpass the UNESCO benchmark of 27 per cent of annual budget, it should not go below it for whatever reasons. In the long run, efforts to promote scholarship and funding for PhD candidates both at home and abroad should be stepped up. This may require designating and upgrading some Nigerian universities to international standards for postgraduate studies. Ultimately, universities should be granted complete autonomy, within effective regulatory, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, to be the best they can in the very competitive education world.
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