Nigeria: Education and science

The question of the academic quality of these institutions is repeatedly raised. 58 institutions (26 federal, 22 state and 15 private) are also authorised to award postgraduate diplomas. Like other African countries, there is also a large number (currently around 60) of so-called ‘diploma mills’, institutions. That does not fulfil the national quality criteria. And are thus not accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC). They have great universities sports teams on which you can bet on https://22bet.co.zm/casino.

All major cities (Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt) are home to prominent and renowned universities. Including the University of Ibadan (UI), founded in 1948 and the oldest HE institution in Nigeria. The current Vice-Chancellor is Prof Idowu Olayinka, a DAAD and AvH alumnus. The UI has repeatedly taken first place in the National University Commission (NUC) ranking. In addition, there are a few prestigious institutions in smaller cities. Such as the University of Nigeria in Nsukka or Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, with almost 50,000 students. Although the figures vary significantly due to the confusing and highly complex situation. It is estimated that between 1.2 and 1.7 million students were registered in the Nigerian higher education sector in 2011. By far the most significant number in the sub-continent.

The higher education sector is currently facing the following structural problems:

Access:

The massive increase in student numbers is increasingly exceeding the capacity of Nigerian universities. On the one hand, supply has improved considerably. The number of recognised universities in Nigeria grew from 51 to 153 between 2005 and 2017. And almost all established institutions have multiplied their internal offerings. On the other hand, demand has skyrocketed exponentially. Due to massive population growth, political focussing and the (albeit slow) successes in the school sector.

Last year, for example, over 1.7 million school leavers applied for fewer than 500,000 university places. This leads to enormous pressure to perform, high frustration and harbours massive socio-economic risks.

Quality of teaching:

The quality of higher education has also suffered under these conditions. Overcrowded lecture theatres, a lack of individual supervision and catastrophic student-per-teacher ratios dominate the picture. It is estimated that around 40% of university and even 60% of polytechnic lecturer positions are currently vacant. This is due to tight faculty budgets and the need for qualified staff. Due to these conditions, many universities have also started to employ ‘less qualified’ teaching staff (usually young staff with Bachelor’s degrees).

However, this approach does not meet national quality standards. So the government has repeatedly threatened to dismiss the lecturers concerned. This situation resembles a ‘dilemma’ in which either quality or quantity of teaching falls victim. There has been an apparent movement towards increasing the amount in Nigeria in recent years.

In some institutions, virtually all candidates get their degrees, whether qualified or not. As a result, several key positions are now occupied by people who do not have the necessary qualifications.

Financial deficits and their consequences:

Underlying many of these problems is the precarious financial situation of the higher education sector. Although Nigeria spends an above-average amount of money on education in regional comparison. The enormous growth in university and student numbers and high inflation have resulted in a collapse in relative ‘per capita’ expenditure. For the growing number of private institutions, it is also impossible to access funds from Nigeria’s Tertiary Education Trust Fund. Which is financed by private sector tax payments.

As much as this TETF serves to finance state universities, it is also a massive lever for the government to put universities under financial pressure in the event of insufficient quality or corruption. Another enormous problem is the low salary level of university employees. This has demonstrably undermined their morale and repeatedly led to massive university strikes.

International mobility and human capital flight / ‘brain drain’:

• Nigeria is widely ranked as one of the African countries with the highest ‘outbound mobility’. Due to the prolonged periods of tyranny in the 1980s and 1990s and repeated internal conflicts, large sections of the educated elite have little inhibition about leaving the country. The deterioration in teaching conditions has increasingly spread to the younger generation. The UK, the USA, Europe, Asia (especially Malaysia, followed by China and South Korea), or neighbouring countries such as Ghana offer attractive alternatives, especially for wealthy students. As many graduates do not return afterwards, Nigeria is already struggling with massive human capital flight (‘brain drain’) and the fatal economic consequences.
• In addition to these fundamental difficulties, female academics are confronted with gender-specific challenges in the course of their careers: Discriminatory legislation, pervasive sexism, and exclusion from informal networks lead to structural discrimination. A high percentage of men dominates the management level of universities.

Despite these problems, there are also positive developments in Nigeria’s higher education sector. Nigeria is one of the regional pioneers in quality management in the higher education sector. It has established an excellent and transparent catalogue of criteria for accreditation at universities over the years. The ‘Life and Earth Science Institute’ of the University of Ibadan (UI), one of the five ‘Centres of Excellence’ of the Pan-African University (PAU), is well-known throughout Africa. At the end of 2013, Nigerian universities also won a remarkable ten of the 15 grants awarded. As part of the World Bank’s Africa (Higher Education) Centres of Excellence (ACE) project for West Africa. This result was greeted with favour by the Nigerian public and propagated. As a success of education policy. However, it also sparked great expectations and hoped for a renewed flourishing of the national higher education tradition.