USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Prof Olukotun's column

Dear all:

 

Thanks to Professors Olukotun and Owoeye for generating remarkable ideas on our private universities. I want to advance the issues and arguments.

 

Issues for considerations:

 

1. If the government does not ask people to set up private universities, why should it contribute money to it?
2. If the government gives subvention, would it not interfere in internal governance? For instance, Babcock makes its rules, as in dress codes. Suppose Babcock takes money from Abuja, how does it stop Abuja from intervening in its affairs?
3. Would government have representatives on the councils of private universities?
4. Citizenship: is there a social contract that includes education? In this social contract, must there be a division between private and public schools in terms of overall allocation of state resources?
5. Public good: When you educate citizens, is it for the benefits of the citizens or for the public? If for the public, should resources not be diverted to the private universities as well?
6. Globalization: Should private schools not be part of an agenda of sub-regional power or of resource generation? I once argued at Sokoto that the Sokoto State University should be the hub to serve Niger, Mali, Gambia and other countries?
7. Market: Should we allow the market to control the worth of the certificates and thus allocate prestige and resources accordingly?
8. Fees: On fees, there are two problems: 1. Parents who complain about fees at the university level have paid far more, in some instances, in preparing children in private elementary and high schools. If you paid N1 million at Olasore high school at Iluku, and heavy dollar in Lagos, why complain about fees at Lead City? 2. Our people now go to Ukraine, Malaysia, Poland, Turkey, Cyprus where they pay high fees. Why can't this set of people pay at Covenant?
9. From the preceding, could this be that people are not complaining about the fees but about rejecting the Nigerian education system? In this rejection, are they responding to delay in completion due to the fact that services are substandard in the country. Private schools must provide electricity, better hostel conditions, security, access roads, etc., all of which consume resources and must be paid for. I happen to know that a number of private universities are heavily indebted to banks. In one instance that I was involved, the university was owing over a billion naira.

 

Toyin Falola

Department of History

The University of Texas at Austin

104 Inner Campus Drive

Austin, TX 78712-0220

USA

512 475 7224

512 475 7222 (fax)

http://sites.utexas.edu/yoruba-studies-review/

http://www.toyinfalola.com 

http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa  

http://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs 

http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue   

 

From: Jide Owoeye <babsowoeye@gmail.com>
Date: Friday, December 22, 2017 at 3:57 AM
To: Warisu Alli <alliwo@yahoo.co.uk>
Cc: "ayo_olukotun-yahoo.com" <ayo_olukotun@yahoo.com>, Toyin Falola <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu>, dialogue <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>, Tunji Olaopa <tolaopa2003@gmail.com>, Akinjide OUNTOKUN <josuntokun@yahoo.com>, Ebunoluwa Oduwole <ebunoduwole2k2@yahoo.com>, Orogun Olanike <dam_nik@yahoo.com>, Femi_Osofisan Osofisan <okinbalaunko@yahoo.com>, Bolaji Akinyemi <rotaben@gmail.com>, Lanre Idowu <lanreidowu@gmail.com>, Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso <jumoyin@gmail.com>, Wale Adebanwi <waleadebanwi@gmail.com>, Vickers Vickers <mvickers@mvickers.plus.com>, Paul Nwulu <p.nwulu@fordfoundation.org>, "adigunagbaje@yahoo.com" <adigunagbaje@yahoo.com>, "taleomole@yahoo.com" <taleomole@yahoo.com>, Odia Ofeimun <odia55@yahoo.com>, Tade Akin Aina <tadeakinaina@yahoo.com>, M Insa Nolte <M.I.Nolte@bham.ac.uk>, "r-joseph@northwestern.edu" <r-joseph@northwestern.edu>, Bolaji Ogunseye <erinje@yahoo.com>, Ayobami Salami <ayobasalami@yahoo.com>, adeboye Adeboye <funks29adeboye@yahoo.co.uk>, nimi <nimiwari@msn.com>, "chibuzonwoke@yahoo.com" <chibuzonwoke@yahoo.com>, Christian Ogbondah <chris.ogbondah@uni.edu>, "profbayo_adekanye@yahoo.com" <profbayo_adekanye@yahoo.com>, "hafsatabiola@hotmail.com" <hafsatabiola@hotmail.com>, "laioso@ymail.com" <laioso@ymail.com>, "boyeyinka@hotmail.com" <boyeyinka@hotmail.com>, "rotimisuberu@yahoo.com" <rotimisuberu@yahoo.com>, "fawolew@yahoo.com" <fawolew@yahoo.com>, Hassan Saliu <hassansaliu2003@gmail.com>, Jinmi Adisa <jinmiadisa@gmail.com>, "Chukwuma, Innocent" <innocent.chukwuma@fordfoundation.org>, mimikofemi <mimikofemi@yahoo.com>, "Prof. Lere Amusan" <lereamusan@gmail.com>, "paddykay2002@yahoo.com" <paddykay2002@yahoo.com>, "toksx@yahoo.com" <toksx@yahoo.com>, "tunde_babawale-yahoo.com" <tunde_babawale@yahoo.com>, Noel Ihebuzor <noel.ihebuzor@gmail.com>, david atte <david_atte@yahoo.com>, Prof Ogunmola Ogunmola <gbogunmola@gmail.com>, Attahiru Jega <attahirujega@yahoo.com>, "adebayow@hotmail.com" <adebayow@hotmail.com>, "jadesany@yahoo.co.uk" <jadesany@yahoo.co.uk>, "S.O. UWAIFO" <so_uwaifo@yahoo.co.uk>, Bunmi Makinwa <bunmimakinwa@hotmail.com>, Niyi Akinnaso <niyi.tlc@gmail.com>, Niyi Osundare <oosunda1@uno.edu>, "Prof Eghosa E. OSAGHAE" <osaghaeeghosa@yahoo.co.uk>, vaughan <ovaughan@bowdoin.edu>, Prof Osinbajo <yemiosinbajo@yahoo.com>, Ayo Banjo <profayobanjo@yahoo.com>, Prof Bolanle Awe <bolanleawe2003@yahoo.com>, "Prof. Adeola Adenikinju" <adeolaadenikinju@yahoo.com>, "Prof. Ademola Oyejide" <oyejide@isgpp.com.ng>, Michael Adeyeye <madeyeye2002@yahoo.com>, May <mayortk@yahoo.com>, Akinlawon Mabogunje <mabogunje1931@yahoo.com>, Toks Olaoluwa <olaoluwatokunboh@gmail.com>, Esther Oluwaseun Idowu <bethelidowu@gmail.com>, Adebayo Olukoshi <olukoshi@gmail.com>, Femi Babatunde UI PhD Candidate UI <ofemibabatunde@yahoo.com>, Chief Femi Fani Kayode <ffk2011@aol.com>, Felix Adenaike <felixadenaike@yahoo.com>, Francis Onaiyekan <fonaiyekan@yahoo.com>, friday Okonofua <feokonofua@yahoo.co.uk>, Femi Falana <falanafemi15@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Prof Olukotun's column

 

Ayo

This is not just being thoughtful but very accurate . it is ironic that we are creating more fee paying universities when the existing ones are barely meeting their admission quotas. some provate universities do not feel up to  20 percent of their admission  qouta. meanwhile overcrowding continues unabated in free tuition federal and low tuition state universities. The panacea seems to me the need to stop the discrimination against students approaching fee paying universities by including them in subvention enjoyed by their counterparts in govt universities to ease the pain of high tuition in an environment of generalised poverty and considering the social cost of leaving behind a large army of  qualified applicants

 

Again we must correct the spurious perceptions that private universities overcharge especially  given the great fee disparity among them thus giving people a choice.  in fact course fees generally range from 150k to 800k. In state universities it ranges from 70k to 350k. In federal universities tuition fee is zero. So logically you are going to be having all or more students heading for federal and then state universities but avoiding unsubsidised tution in private universities. 

Don't let us forget that free or low tuition simply means the tax payers that is you and me are bearing the burden. I remember that about ten years ago NUC gave a figure of 750k as what govt pays on every student in the Federal universities.  Heavy subvention to remove tuition or lower it is an opportunity cost . Thus in actual fact no university is free in the real sense . someone is footing the bill witingly or otherwise. 

In sum money should be made available to all willing and able Nigerians to attend universities of their choice irrespective of xter of proprietorship. It is only then that fee paying private and state universities can fulfill the policy expectation to open wider access for higher education. After all we all pay tax irrespective of weather our kids are in govt or private universities. It is in that way that the mere seven percent population can increase to stem the currently poor access in spite of large numbers of available universities.  The Nigerian university system as it is today has enough space for all those  craving  for acess not just from within but even from the entire west african sub region. The key is finding the funding to pay tuition where govt financial support is absent. We must think about this.

Jide Owoeye 

 

 

 

On 22 Dec 2017 3:09 AM, "Warisu Alli" <alliwo@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

Thank you Professor for a very thought provoking piece on the state of our university system.

It is true that many of our private cannot fill their classrooms with the required number of students. This I learnt is largely due to the high fees charged by the universities. In fact many of them loose the students they have attracted soon after registration because the students are unable to raise the money to pay the balance of the fees.

I found it troubling that universities in some countries (UK, Canada, Ghana and increasingly East African states of Kenya and Uganda and others) organise annual admission campaigns, targeting Nigeria as source of students and income‎. This would suggest that the higher education market in Nigeria is still far from being saturated and more private, faith-based, and public (federal, state and community-owned)  universities are still needed. We should also understand that education is an industry, with all the implications that come with that fact.

 The challenges however, are in strengthening the policy framework for their establishment and governance to ensure higher standard and lower fee schedule to attract the millions of our youth who are desirous of university education. If we can invest in these measures, we will be investing in our own economy instead of funding the education industry in other countries.

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

From: ayo_olukotun@yahoo.com Sent: Thursday, 21 December 2017 16:48 To: Ayo Olukotun Cc: toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu; dialogue; Tunji Olaopa; Akinjide OUNTOKUN; Ebunoluwa Oduwole; Orogun Olanike; ofemibabatunde@yahoo.com; Femi_Osofisan Osofisan; Bolaji Akinyemi; Lanre Idowu; Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso; Wale Adebanwi; mvickers@mvickers.plus.com; Paul Nwulu; adigunagbaje@yahoo.com; taleomole@yahoo.com; Odia Ofeimun; Tade Akin Aina; babsowoeye@gmail.com; M Insa Nolte; r-joseph@northwestern.edu; Bolaji Ogunseye; Ayobami Salami; Olufunke Adeboye; nimi; chibuzonwoke@yahoo.com; Christian Ogbondah; profbayo_adekanye@yahoo.com; hafsatabiola@hotmail.com; laioso@ymail.com; boyeyinka@hotmail.com; rotimisuberu@yahoo.com; fawolew@yahoo.com; Hassan Saliu; Jinmi Adisa; Chukwuma, Innocent; mimikofemi; Prof. Lere Amusan; paddykay2002@yahoo.com; toksx@yahoo.com; tunde_babawale@yahoo.com; Noel Ihebuzor; david atte; Prof Ogunmola Ogunmola; Attahiru Jega; adebayow@hotmail.com; jadesany@yahoo.co.uk; S.O. UWAIFO; Bunmi Makinwa; Niyi Akinnaso; Niyi Osundare; toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu; Prof. Lere Amusan; Prof Eghosa E. OSAGHAE; Prof Olufemi VAUGHAN; Prof Osinbajo; Prof. W.O. Alli; Ayo Banjo; Prof Bolanle Awe; Prof. Adeola Adenikinju; Prof. Ademola Oyejide; mimikofemi; Michael Adeyeye; Bunmi Makinwa; May; Akinlawon Mabogunje; Toks Olaoluwa; Esther Oluwaseun Idowu; Toks Olaoluwa; Wale Adebanwi; Adebayo Olukoshi; adebayow@hotmail.com; Femi Babatunde UI PhD Candidate UI; Femi_Osofisan Osofisan; Chief Femi Fani Kayode; Felix Adenaike; Francis Onaiyekan; friday Okonofua; Femi Falana Subject: Fw: Prof Olukotun's column

 

 

 

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

From: ayo_olukotun@yahoo.com Sent: Thursday, 21 December 2017 12:56 To: Ayo Olukotun Cc: betapikin30@yahoo.com Subject: Fw: Prof Olukotun's column

 

 

 

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

From: grace omoshaba <gmso2002@yahoo.com> Sent: Thursday, 21 December 2017 12:47 To: Ayo_olukotun-yahoo. Com; ayo_olukotun@yahoo.com Reply To: grace omoshaba Cc: joelugon@yahoo.com Subject: Prof Olukotun's column

 

Private University Licences And Policy Vacuum

By Ayo Olukotun

On Wednesday, the Federal Executive Council approved, on the recommendation of the National Universities Commission (NUC), the provisional licensing of 6 new private universities bringing the number of private universities in the country to 74. Each time a new private university is licensed, the decision is justified on the ground that there is a need to widen access to higher education for Nigerian youths, many of whom, the argument runs, are cheated out of university admission by restrictions of space.

To put the issue in context, it should be noted that there are now 40 universities owned by the Federal Government, 46 belonging to state governments and 74 privately owned universities. According to the Executive Secretary of the NUC                , Prof Abubakar Rasheed, the commission is currently contemplating 200 new applications for more private universities, which suggest that the educational landscape will soon be revolutionized for good or for ill, by the predominance of privately owned universities. Although there is scant evidence that policymaking in Nigeria is influenced by focused policy debate, it is important to bring to public awareness some of the underlying issues in the mushrooming of private universities. Please note that 90% of the existing private universities do not fill their student quota, while the number of private universities put together only have 7% of the student population in our universities. So, If the existing ones are undersubscribed, what is the rationale for establishing new ones?

It is easy to see why the private universities are undersubscribed. They are priced way out of the reach of the average Nigerian, and no form of scholarship or subsidy exists for students who may choose for reasons of better teaching effectiveness for example, to attend them. In other words, not only is the wider access objective based on questionable statistics, it is not backed up by resource allocation. That is not all. All the private universities offer a similar menu of courses, maintain elite fees structure, which are always going up, and do not develop niches in particular areas that will distinguish them.

In Kenya, for example, three private universities, namely, Daystar University, United States international University and Strathmore University, possess quality that is superior to many public universities, and have established niches in such areas as Mass Communication and Development studies. Interestingly too, in South Africa where private universities are few and constitute a recent phenomenon, a business group, which runs a chain of secondary schools announced that it would make private tertiary education cheaper than public universities in the wake of students protest on fees hike in public universities, two years ago. We have no such luck in Nigeria, where private tertiary education is very much a high rise affair. Talking about South Africa, have you considered that it boasts of only 26 public universities, and a handful of private ones, yet 9 of its universities are world-class in the sense of advantageous listing on global league tables. One of its universities, located in Cape Town, made the first 20 in 2017 Times Higher Education Survey. So, what is the logic in replicating undercapitalized, high fee paying, under populated private universities, that merely reproduce the mediocrity of the underfunded and strike-ridden public ones?

The market for these institutions appears to be driven by the syndrome of making fast and easy bucks, status definition in which anyone who has made a few millions announce themselves by building a private university; weak regulatory mechanism, and the lure of license fees. This is a far cry from having a policy on private universities, but reflects a policy jungle, an all comers game, in which anything goes. This is not to say that there are no decent private universities, but to warn about the ongoing proliferation, in a context where almost anyone who has enough money can obtain a license for one.

It is even more disheartening when you measure this new craze against the recent lament of President Mohammadu Buhari on the rapidly falling  standard of education. You cannot build quality by multiplying poorly conceived institutions several of them, at the borders of decency. The NUC helms man, himself a former Vice-Chancellor should be conversant with the astonishing gaps in human resources and infrastructure, revealed by the federal government-conducted Needs Assessment of public universities, a few years ago. For instance, in a situation, as revealed by that document, where close to 50% of public university teachers do not have doctorate degrees, where on earth are the bourgeoning private tertiary institutions going to get competent lecturers? If, as they already do, they poach from the deficient public universities, what will be the overall effect of a lecturer spreading himself thin across several teaching jobs? We can extend the argument by alluding to the character of quality assurance mechanisms, in a situation where the regulator does not make unscheduled visits to universities, public or private. Needless to say, that the arranged nature and predictable outcomes of so called accreditation exercises, conducted by the NUC do not need elaboration.

The point is that if our goal is to insert our universities in the global knowledge economy, then we are going about it the wrong way. As known, Nigeria has become a huge market for universities around the world, which regularly entice our youths with the promise of quality education. Indeed, a country like Britain already projected that Nigerian Youths in search of quality education, would constitute a steady source of income for, many years to come. It is difficult to see how the current emphasis on licensing private universities, and even state owned ones, embarked upon by some financially distressed states can remedy the situation. An emphasis on quality education, will only license new universities, on the condition that they bring something new to a rickety table, congregated by ill-clad institutions which, as Prof Toyin Falola recently argued, are neither topical or technology compliant. For example, an argument can be made for a prospective proprietor seeking to commence a private tertiary institution that will focus on neglected areas such as mathematics, the sciences or engineering. Alternatively, universities, that seek to remedy the desolation of the existing ones, could be given pride of place within a policy framework of rejuvenation. In the absence of any such concern, hinging the multiplication of private universities on wider access to education, when the existing ones, are far from meeting their student quota is nonsensical.

What is required is an alternative approach that builds policy around articulated goals and objectives, and makes decisions in the light of them. From now on, prospective university proprietors, who have nothing fresh, apart from their names to add to the tertiary education landscape, should be discountenanced. That apart, considering that the upward drive in quality and the engineering of a few world class institutions should be the paramount goal, there should be a conscious attempt, often talked about but not implemented, of building centres of excellence out of those institutions that already have the potential.

Finally, given that you do not build a house from the roof, more attention should be devoted to reordering the character and quality of education, at the basic levels of primary and secondary schools.