… says 57% of teaching staff are without PhD
BY ADEYEMI MOSES, FOLUSO SOTOMI & QUDUS OSHIKOYA
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| Prof. John Obafunwa, Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University, presenting cash prize to the 2011/2012 academic session best graduating student, Wasiu Emmanuel Ogunkoya, during the 18th convocation of the university. Ogunkoya graduated with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.82. PHOTO: OLUWATOBI OLADIPO |
Deeply
concerned by the dwindling standards and poor ranking of Nigerian universities
globally, Professor Julius Okojie, the Executive Secretary of National
Universities Commission (NUC), has blamed stakeholders in the education sector,
noting that the future is bleak if they refuse to do the needful and ensure
that education is prosecuted in a globally compliant manner, whilst taking into
consideration the nation's history and need for rapid economic, industrial and
ethical development.
Speaking
on “Quality Assurance and the Challenges of Mandate Delivery in Nigerian
Universities,” at the 18th Convocation Lecture of the Lagos State University
(LASU), Ojo, Prof. Okojie, who was represented by Prof. Adebisi Balogun, former
Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, pointed
majorly at poor funding, dearth of modern physical infrastructure, non-robust
staff development policy, leadership and governance, the proliferation of
universities and sharp practices, security issues on campuses, research,
innovation and development, avid unionization, internationalization, challenge
of entrepreneurship and vocational training, use of ICT and other social media
platforms and promotion criteria as damning challenges to effective mandate
delivery in the nation's education sector.
The
humble beginning
Chronicling
the history of Nigerian Universities and their roles in personal and national
socio-economic development, Okojie said: “It is important to note that the
University System in Nigeria
has grown in leaps and bounds. The number of universities has increased from
five (5) in 1962 to one hundred and twenty-eight (128) in 2013, comprising of
40 federal, 38 state and fifty private universities. The newest additions are
the Technical University,
Ibadan, Oyo State,
and the three new federal universities at Kebbi, Yobe and Zamfara.”
Were
we got it all wrong
“There is
no doubt that the increase in the number of universities has thrown up some
regulatory challenges. There has been growing concern over the quality of
graduates as they are perceived to be lacking in skills sets required for the
work of life, and their relevance to overall national and regional
developments. The poor ranking of our universities and hence lack of global
competitiveness is another major concern.”
Decrying
the global poor ranking of the nation's universities, the NUC boss recalled
with nostalgia, “As the organization, administration and leadership of a
universities is hinged upon the actualization of its mandate of teaching,
research and community service, the period preceding independence and
post-independence gave rise to agitations for the establishment of universities
as instruments of regional development, agent of modernization, social
mobilization and economic growth.
“The
University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo
University), University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ahmadu
Bello University,
Zaria, University
of Ibadan and the University of Lagos
were established on this premise. These universities flourished on the
tradition of high standards and international core values and they identified
with local values and culture. Thus, between 1960 and 1980, cherished global
academic core values were entrenched and institutionalized in the Nigerian
University System.”
Adding
that after two decades the Nigerian university system gradually began to
crumble under the weights of social, political and economic challenges the
Professor of Forestry averred: “Some of these challenges affecting the delivery
of quality mandates in our university system are self inflicted (internally
created), some externally created, while a number of them are inflicted on the
system as a response to the universities external environment. Today, our
university system is struggling to regain its lost glory. For example, the
Universities of Ibadan, Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo
University, which are ranked amongst
the global best in the 1970's are now struggling to find places among the best
ten in Africa.”
On
poor funding and management
Okojie,
who was former Vice Chancellor of University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (UNAAB),
while opining that poor funding affects the facilities to be provided for
effective teaching, learning and research activities, which inturn predict
students' performances, also held that the management of the available funds
and resources must also be brought to fore.
His
words: “Funding affects the type of teaching staff that can be engaged to
undertake teaching and this definitely affects student performance. Funding has
effect on the recruitment level, the quality of staff, training and retention
of staff. For example, 66% of the federal budget to education in 2012 was allocated
to the universities and other academic centres to cover personnel cost overhead
and capital costs. The Federal Government has committed 8.4% of the total
budget to education. Although, the level of funding is commendable, it is a far
cry from what is needed to redress the dilapidation in the university system
and neglect of the past decades. Ghana for example, commits more
than 30% of its total budget to education. It is therefore instructive that all
stakeholders, including the state governments and the private sector, should
and must demonstrate sustained commitment to funding of education,” he said.
Speaking
on provision of modern physical infrastructure, Okojie argued that the future
is bleak for Nigerian education, “if Engineering workshops which are meant to
train 21st century engineers are still provided with equipment and
gadgets that were introduced in the 1960s; if hostel rooms meant for four
students in the 1970s are, in 2013 being occupied by 12 students each having a
'cooker corner' and using kerosene stove and with the abysmally low level of
research facilities in the universities.”
57% of
teaching staff not PhD holders
Citing
the 2007 NUC Programme Audit Report, Okojie revealed that in Nigerian
universities, “there are a total of 30, 452 members of academic staff,
comprising 5, 062 Professors/Readers; 7, 037 Senior Lecturers and 18, 353
Lecturers 1 and below. If we hypothetically divide this number among the 128
universities, each university will have on the average a total of 245 academic staff
made up of 44 Professors and Readers and 57 Senior Lecturers. But, we all know
that this is not the situation. When compared with other parts of Africa, there is chronic shortage of teaching staff. For
example, the Cairo University in Giza Egypt, alone
has 12, 158 academic staff.
“This
also brings to question the 'moonlighting' ability of some of our Professors
junketing from one university to the other during NUC accreditation exercises
and another quality issue that over 57% of teaching staff in Nigerian
universities are without PhD. Why won't our universities be poorly ranked
globally,” pondered Okojie.
The
way forward
While
noting that NUC has since its establishment in 1962 worked tirelessly towards
realizing the basic role university education was to play in the orderly
development and Benchmarking of the Nigerian University System in terms of
quality and standards, the NUC Secretary, however, suggested that for the
Nigerian university system to live up to the effective quality for mandate delivery,
thus attaining best global ranking, “it should continually develop a
process/system that seeks to improve the provision of service with an emphasis
on future results; to develop statistical tools to understand sub-systems and
uncover problems and identify a process or set of processes for further
improvement and in all to set goals for the measurement of results that will
prevent future failures, as may be revised regularly on the basis of results.”
