This week, dear reader, I have donated my space to a reader who is reacting to one of my very many assertions in this column on the ever topical Nigerian educational system, particularly the university. The opinions are the writer’s.
The mechanisms for the search and use of knowledge have evolved over time and education has remained at the root of this evolutionary process. Human resource development remains one of the key drivers of growth for this process. Evidence abounds however, that countries that have paid particular attention to their educational system and have encouraged the active search for knowledge through research and innovation have succeeded in creating the environment for rapid growth. These were the words of Professor Michael Kwanashe, the Vice Chancellor of Veritas University, Abuja.
In the social structure of the middle ages, institutions of higher learning undoubtedly were centres of power and prestige, protected and courted and even deferred to, by emperors, kings and popes. This is hardly the case in modern times as the evolution of societies has produced more powerful social forces than that represented by “teachers and students”. Over the centuries, universities continued to struggle for autonomy and academic freedom. However, the freedom which the association of students and teachers sought in the medieval times to enable them operate effectively has remained under attack ever since. Kings, emperors and prelates have sought to subject universities to their strict control with little success.
The challenges confronting Nigerian universities are numerous, with funding being at the top of the list. The funding and organization of universities vary widely between different countries around the world. In some countries universities are predominantly funded by the state, while in others, funding may come from donors or from fees which students attending the university must pay. Like many developing countries, Nigeria has very good universities. However, funding remains one of the most pressing constraints to their development. This is because funding has progressively declined as states have become unable to fund public budgets in the face of economic crisis.
Universities generally expect support from the state and industry to undertake research and play expected roles in national development. In many developing countries, the level of support is very limited. States faced with serious challenges supporting national budgets are unlikely to invest in research in their universities. The private sector on the other hand, relies on offshore research facilities and provides embodied technology through investments in these countries.
The division of labour promoted by globalization entails a process whereby new ideas are generated in few countries and isolated companies, and are then transmitted around the world. Local universities and research institutes cannot compete with these offshore facilities, either in stronger and older universities in advanced countries or industrial facilities which are developed by multinational companies that can finance these facilities far better than the governments of poor countries. A number of developing countries such as India among others have had major inroads into this business of self-help. Today, India competes favourably in the area of communication and information technology. However, due to institutional decay and inability to constantly review curricular contents, Nigerian universities cannot meet this aspect of their mandate. Local consumers of knowledge in developing countries are forced to patronize institutions that dominate the global knowledge industry.
In our modern world, inclusive development has to be driven by knowledge. The country will not develop as rapidly as the population expects without the ability to generate, use and transfer knowledge across all facets of society. That is why the government appears to be waking up to the demands for university education by establishing at least a federal university in the thirty states and approving a state university in each state and granting licenses for the establishment of private universities all over Nigeria. In the month of October, 2016 nine new federal universities were approved by the Federal Government.
The universities therefore keep increasing in the face of limited capacities. Unfortunately, however, constant disruptions of academic calendar by students and staff for whatever reasons, cultism, sexual harassment and progressively poorer quality of graduates reflect the growing decay of the system. Universities in Nigeria as in other developing countries continue to lag behind in the ranking of world’s universities reflecting their inability to meet the standards set by institutions established centuries ago.
While states have the resources to fund their universities, they have all failed in doing so of recent in Nigeria as payment of salaries has become a nightmare while other over-head costs have not stopped flowing in the regular direction. TETFUND projects on some state university campuses have not suffered any hitch since that is where the booties come from for the executive.
Private universities are the future of the Nigerian system, some Nigerians aver. As shown by the experience in other parts of the world, they can provide flexibility in content and the location of universities. With effective oversight from NUC, private universities would provide the diversity and dynamism that is required in the system.
To ensure that the university system responds to the evolving situation in the country, there is an urgent need for internal reforms in the universities. The Nigerian university system is still dominated by Federal-Government-owned universities. They account for the largest number of students in the system. Lack of funds is certainly a major constraint, but universities must pay more attention to learning outcomes. The same amount of resources could produce two different outcomes based on the quality of management of the university system.
Furthermore, the ills of the Nigerian society have very steadily crept into the Nigerian university system. Universities that were set up as national universities are no longer national in outlook but state and more recently local government universities. The various divides that characterize the wider society are rife in these institutions – intolerance of differences of opinion, differences in culture, differences in religion and ethnic differences.
The universities around the country are losing not just what made great universities acquire the present status of world-best universities but what makes them universities – the openness to the search for knowledge and the truth. Nigerian universities are increasingly getting closed up and inward-looking tending towards increased mediocrity in the bid to claim ownership of or exercise right of control over them.
University management must be a source of inspiration for the university community. Management has the primary responsibility of protecting the integrity of the university, and ensuring that the university fulfils its mission and vision. There is a need for institution and management strengthening in the university system. The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organizations’ (UNESCO) report required universities to respond adequately to the challenges of African development.
Universities in developing countries face the challenge of being relevant to their societies. They need to develop the capacity to address the challenges of developing societies in a highly biased global economy. While universities have generally mirrored those in older countries, they have largely engaged in transferring knowledge created and advanced by the developed world which of course has focused on solving problems of their societies. Nigerian universities should retain their relevance to the masses, many of whom may never see the four walls of the university but whose resources are used to sustain the universities.
Lastly, a responsible university leadership will prioritize staff and students’ welfare and not focus on only contracts and building projects. Such leaderships have not keyed into the anti-corruption campaign of the Federal Government. Universities must be and remain the moral compass of society. If they are able to do this, the glory of the good old days and the rewards of righteousness enjoyed by the envied world-class universities would be Nigeria’s for the taking.