Our lawmakers in the 10th National Assembly want 32 more federal tertiary institutions! If you find me using universities instead of tertiary institutions in this piece, never mind. There is no difference. As they say, ‘arun to nse Aboyade, gbogbo oloya lo nse’ (Whatever afflicts the universities afflict also other tertiary institutions).
Whatever is true of federal universities is true of other tertiary schools — be they polytechnics, colleges of education, or what have you.
But the present lawmakers deserve a round of applause for being more considerate than the immediate past NASS members who wanted a whopping 200 more tertiary institutions!
Senate President Godswill Akpabio led the pack with his desire for the creation of Federal University of Technology, Kaduna, which received its first reading on July 6, 2023. Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, followed suit with his advocacy for the development of the Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Bende, in Abia State.
There are also bills proposing the
establishment of Federal University of Information and Communications Technology, Lagos Island; Federal University of Agriculture, Ute Okpa in Delta State; Federal University of Biomedical Sciences in Benue State; Federal College of Health Sciences, Gaya; Federal College of Dental Technology, Faggae; Federal College of Agriculture, Agila in Benue State; Federal College of Education, Dangi-Kanam, Plateau State; Federal College of Education, Bende, Abia State.
We also have requests for Benjamin Kalu Federal Polytechnic, Rano, Kano State; Federal Polytechnic, Shendam, Plateau State, among others.
There are at present 45 federal government-owned universities in the country, 53 state-owned universities as well as 99 private universities, according to the National Universities Commission (NUC). In like manner, there are 40 federal polytechnics, 49 state-owned polytechnics, and 76 private polytechnics, according to the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).
In addition, the National Commission for Colleges of Education estimates that Nigeria has 219 colleges of education. There are also 70 federal and state-owned colleges of health; while the number of private colleges of health is 17. Of course there are other tertiary institutions like the monotechnics, etc.
All of these institutions have capacity for about 510,957 students, as against about 1,157,977 applicants seeking admission into the tertiary institutions yearly. Although this is not to say that all the 1,157,977 admission seekers have the requisite qualifications going by the prescriptions of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and other criteria, the fact remains that the spaces in the existing tertiary institutions are inadequate for our population.
This is the issue. This inadequacy of spaces is what our NASS law makers are supposed to address. Unfortunately, they have chosen the wrong way out of the problem. As we sometimes say, the law makers are only trying to further problematise the problematic by asking that more federal universities be established.
It is an open secret that funding is one of the major problems in our tertiary institutions. That is why the two academic unions in the university promptly reacted to the law makers’ desire for 32 more tertiary institutions.
Both the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Congress of University Academics (CONUA)
and other experts have cautioned the government against establishing new institutions, especially as existing ones are ‘malnourished’. The underfunding has been manifesting in the dearth of lecturers and other personnel to adequately cater to the needs of existing universities.
CONUA’s National President, Dr Niyi Sunmonu, believes there is a problem of space for our youths yearning for university education. But while establishment of more universities is one way out of the problem, it is not going to take us anywhere because they are also going to have issues with funding. So, the way out is to expand the facilities in existing ones.
Hear Sunmonu: “There are two ways to approach the issue, we can set up new ones or expand the capacities of existing ones. But it will be a great disaster if we set up new ones and continue with the trend of poor funding of our universities. It will simply compound our woes.”
He is not done yet. “Even if we are going to expand the capacities of existing universities, we still need to fund the universities properly. If we are to expand the capacities of existing ones, what we need to do is conduct NEEDS assessment and go round the universities to know what they need and and how to expand their capacities.”
“Once the needs of the universities are met, they can expand and admit more students. Even the new ones they are proposing, who is going to man them?”
ASUU’s National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, is more scathing in his criticism. Indeed, he struck a right chord when he said that universities should not be turned to constituency projects by the lawmakers, which is what our law makers have turned the issue into. The average Nigerian politician wants to be seen to be working; even when what they are doing is working in the wrong direction. They politicise everything. The NASS law makers do not seem to be contented with making laws for good governance; they want to be known by the number of physical structures they bring home to their constituencies. That is the only reason that can explain, not just their dabbling into university education, but asking for more federal universities when the existing ones are gasping for breath.
“It is like they don’t know how universities are set up, run and what the universities are for. If we are grappling with universities that are poorly funded, with outdated facilities and where lecturers and other staff leave in droves, how are we going to cope with new additions,” Osodeke asked.
He added: “Now, every set of lawmakers in the National Assembly wants to have new universities established in their constituencies.” Then, the big question, as asked by Osomeke: “Nigerians should ask them if they have hope and faith in these universities, and whether they can send their children there?”
This, really, is the million dollar question.
After establishing glorified modern schools called universities for the children of the poor, the political elite (I am less concerned about the corporate elite, especially as they fund their own desires) now take their own children abroad to receive sound university education in well-funded universities.
These are the issues. Indeed, from the way some of our lawmakers talk, one wonders, like both Osomeke and Sunmonu, whether they know anything about university or university education.
This reminds me of the argument by the former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, when a similar issue of establishing more federal universities came up in their time in the immediate past NASS. Hear him: “Everyone knows the importance of school with the high rate of out-of-school children. We need to establish a number of high institutions, if the government can fund it, so be it.” The question that should readily come to mind was his proviso “IF THE GOVERNMENT CAN FUND IT”. Pray, was the deputy speaker just arriving from Jupiter or Mass to be talking of ‘if the government can fund it’. As a member of the NASS, he didn’t know that the Nigerian government that he was a top member of could not fund the universities and that that is indeed one of their main problems? So, who is fooling who?
As if to compound the ignorance, he went on to say in the course of the debate on the matter, still in support of more universities in Nigeria that, “We were together with you in Harvard, that district alone, they have over 200 universities, for God’s sake.” So, if a district in Harvard has more than 200 universities (let’s even assume he was right), is that district the same as Nigeria? Is this not analogous to comparing apple with oranges; or sleep with death?
How can anyone do that? Is there no longer a difference between wants and needs? Has Wase forgotten that there is a gulf between demand and effective demand? Nigeria is in trouble if this is the kind of mentality that drives debates in the National Assembly.
This kind of mentality is just like people going ahead to have children simply because they are sexually active and have functional reproductive organs. So, what happens after giving birth to the many children? How do they feed? Can the parents afford to send them to school? How are the children’s other needs to be met?
These are the issues. We are complaining about existing tertiary institutions suffering funding problem and some people, including those who should know are saying we should establish more. More universities would mean more vice-chancellors, more bursars, more registrars, etc, complete with all the paraphernalia of the offices, including, of course, exotic vehicles.
How can a top law maker in the NASS be comparing an American university with Nigeria’s?
None of our present universities makes the list of first 1,000 universities in the world. Our academic calendar has been disrupted for so long because of incessant strike by both academic and non-academic members of the staff in our universities. Many of our graduates are not employable because they are not well baked due to prolong strike in the universities. No one can tell when a four-year programme would end in our universities for the same reason of strike. So, how can establishing more universities be the answer to these chronic challenges? To churn out more half-baked graduates?
Our NASS members should please leave us to continue to rue our problems rather than make idiots of us through ridiculous and ill-digested solutions to our hydra-headed problems. Let them content themselves with doing ‘in and out’ and enjoy on our behalf rather than keep insulting us.
‘Awon lo kan’!
