Proliferation of Public Varsities: Quality, Not Quantity Should Matter, by Rahma Olamide Oladosu

There is no prize for stating the obvious that universities in Nigeria are proliferating at a rate that appears to be abnormal. In recent times, as if they are involved in some sort of competition whose stake is very high, different federal lawmakers have taken turns to sponsor bills for the establishment of various tertiary institutions.

Under normal circumstances, establishing universities, polytechnics or even Colleges of Education (CoEs) across the country is not a misnomer, considering the army of students graduating yearly from secondary schools in the country. However, the issues of obsolete teaching methods, lack of quality teachers, poor infrastructure, very low standards and the poor standard of graduates churned out by these universities, are supposed to bother the lawmakers and other stakeholders more than the need to establish more higher institutions, which appear to be self-glorifying projects.

At the moment, universities in Nigeria are over 170, and still counting. But it is a common knowledge that most of them lack the requisite facilities to support qualitative teaching, learning and research.

This, perhaps, is why even some third and fourth generation Ivory Towers, and polytechnics in the country, have been labelled ‘glorified secondary schools.’

It should worry us as a nation that despite the huge number of universities, both public and private, technological advancement has eluded us, hence stunting national development and socio-economic growth.

It is also safe to assume that there is something fundamentally wrong with us if our almost 200 universities are not competing with the best, in the ranking of academic institutions globally.

Although many experts have made the case for the restructuring of our university education system, they surely did not contemplate the idea hovering in the mind of renowned educational test specialist, Dr Yusuf Lawal.

Kicking against the setting up of additional universities, Dr Lawal recently called on the executive arm of government to reject a proposed bill by the National Assembly for the establishment of more universities.

For quick implementation, the don urged public examination bodies in Nigeria, including JAMB, National Examinations Council (NECO), West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) to create a common electronic results platform by the second quarter of 2022.

He rather advised that existing ones should be upgraded, to make them world class, standard and functional.

The proposed bill was sponsored by legislators, demanding the establishment of more than 80 universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in their respective constituencies.

In a 98-page paper, recently presented at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Headquarters, in Abuja, the don called for the upgrade and expansion of existing higher institutions.

It would be recalled that in September, the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education and Services considered bills for the establishment of nine universities across the country.

A recipient of multiple awards, including ‘Best Project’ at National Institute of Security Studies (NISS), Dr Lawal urged the government to expand the capacity of existing institutions and transform them to mega Institutions. He noted that, “Private Universities should also be encouraged to collaborate and cooperate with one another to form partnerships in order to also have mega private universities.”

“This is to ensure each body has access to one another’s results for the purpose of verification and confirmation. This is to be done by the second quarter of 2022.

“The proposed public examinations common electronic results platform (is) to be made available to candidates to upload their results from one examination body to another seamlessly,” the JAMB top management staff said.

In appreciation of the good work TETFund is doing, there is a need for the Federal Government to increase the intervention agency’s yearly budgetary allocation. This is pertinent to allow TETFund to extend its intervention programme beyond public institutions.

He added that: “The National Assembly should amend the Examination Malpractice Act to include any and all acts related to violations of the guidelines on admissions.”

Aside Dr Lawal’s recommendations, efforts of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), one agency that has contributed significantly to the standardisation of Nigerian varsities and other institutions of higher learning, must be acknowledged and recognised.

Thanks to the infrastructural and research grants released by TETFund, the fortunes of many Nigerian universities and polytechnics have been turned around.

Ever since it was established, TETFund has ensured that education tax is utilised to improve quality of learning through the provision of educational facilities and infrastructural development, promoting creative and innovative approaches to learning, supporting and enhancing improvement of research activities in tertiary institutions.

It is high time we salvaged the dwindling fortunes of our universities and higher education system. Establishing more universities is actually tantamount to expanding the problems, rather than solving them.

They should rather channel the nation’s ‘scarce’ resources towards upgrading the existing ones. It is the quality of our tertiary institutions that will fast-track and accelerate national development. The quantity, indeed, cannot!

Rahma Olamide Oladosu is a Staff Writer with the Economic Confidential