Experts in the education sector have attributed the increasing number of first-class graduates, especially from private universities, to quality learning outcomes from such well-equipped and managed institutions.
Jessica Osuere, founder/chief executive officer at RubiesHub Educational Services, said the concern recently raised by Emmanuel Osodeke, president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), over the numbers of first-class graduates from private universities, was uncalled for.
Osodeke argued that the quality of primary and secondary education in Nigeria was not good enough to produce students with the academic excellence required for a first-class degree.
But Osuere, a guest on BusinessDay Television’s ‘Big Story’ segment on Tuesday, differs. According to her, first-class graduates being produced by private universities are a true reflection of an average Nigerian child. She noted many of these Nigerian youths were only limited by the lack of functional infrastructure, inadequate funding, and poorly remunerated teachers in public primary, post-primary and tertiary institutions in Africa’s most populous nation.
According to Osuere, with private universities now providing the right learning atmosphere, it shouldn’t be surprising that they are churning out first-class graduates.
“If as a teacher you suspect your students for doing well, then, we should ask you, what are you teaching? Nigerian students are brilliant, and when given a conducive learning environment, they excel more.
“There’s a clear difference between private and public universities in Nigeria, in terms of funding, infrastructure, and teacher quality, among others. The private universities produce more first-class students because they are better equipped,” she said.
Buttressing her views, Osuere reiterated that most private universities do not face the challenges of overcrowded classrooms as obtained in public ones, which makes it easier for lecturers to pay personalised attention to the students.
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“One of the reasons many students in public universities do not make a first-class is the teaching methods and lecturers’ personalities. Teaching methods and teachers’ personality goes a long way in affecting students’ performances,” she noted.
Similarly, Ajibade Ayodeji, director of Babcock Entrepreneurship Development Centre (BEDC), said that gone are the days when people feel that grades are bought in private universities and that academic excellence is only a thing in public universities, while private universities are just glorified.
“Over the years, I realised that, in this part of the world, we mistake “unfortunate situations” for good academic rigour. Private universities where lecturers come to class to teach and don’t skip classes, you have free access to reach out to lecturers, and things go on well the way they should, is often termed as “spoon feeding” students.
“But in public universities where you hardly know your lecturers, you dare not call your lecturers on the phone, you have to be in class early to get a seat, while others hang around the classes to listen to lectures and different shades of other unfortunate situations are termed as “ideal”.
“It is naturally expected that the conducive learning environment in private universities should yield more good performances in students. Hence, private universities should naturally have more first-class graduates; if not for anything, at least for the fact that public universities are usually more populated than private universities,” he stressed.
Ayodeji shared an experience when he did his master’s degree in accounting with another student from a public university.
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“I finished from Babcock University, a private university with a second-class upper in my first degree in Accounting, but I was in the MSc class with a first-class graduate from OAU, a public university.
“At that time, we both sat for our professional accounting examination – ICAN, which is an independent examination, which can serve as a level playing ground for accounting graduates in Nigeria. Guess what, I passed the ICAN examinations and qualified as a chartered accountant, but this guy did not pass until we finished our MSc programme,” he noted.
Stanley Alaubi, a senior lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt wondered why ASUU would complain bearing in mind that the learning environment was critical to how well a student performs.
“Nigerian students go outside the country and perform better in academics. If the environment is conducive for learning the outcome can’t be hidden.
“Public schools are not better equipped than private schools, hence the result. Why would ASUU complain? Nigerians go abroad and perform better in academics. If the environment is conducive for learning, the outcome can’t be hidden.
“Public schools are not better equipped than private schools, hence the result,” he said.
However, Nubi Achebo, the director of academics at the Nigerian University of Technology and Management, said the recent complaint raises important questions about the quality of education and learning outcomes in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
Achebo said, “While the increase in first-class graduates might be seen as a positive trend, it is essential to examine the underlying factors driving this phenomenon.
“If the surge is primarily due to grade inflation, lack of standardisation, or an overemphasis on paper qualifications, then it may not accurately reflect the learning outcomes in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.”
He called on the National Universities Commission (NUC) and other regulatory bodies to establish and enforce standardised academic standards across all tertiary institutions.
“By addressing these concerns and implementing reforms, Nigeria’s tertiary institutions can ensure that the growing number of first-class graduates genuinely reflects improved learning outcomes and academic excellence,” he said.
Recently, Salem University, Lokoja, graduated 499 students, with 41 (8 percent) earning first-class honours across seven colleges.
Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, conferred degrees on 2,679 students, with 86 (3 percent) achieving first-class honours. Benson Idahosa University, Benin, celebrated its 20th convocation, awarding 77 (7 percent) first-class degrees out of 1,029 graduates.
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