The nation’s institutions of higher learning, especially the universities, have consistently been undermined by several government policies, a development which has stalled their developmental capacities in research, science and technology, entrepreneurial competence, management and the production of quality students.
One of the major fall-outs of this development is that the nation’s citadels of learning hardly get a mention when top-notch universities across the globe are ranked, and a good number of graduates stand little or no chance in the labour market
To this end, worried education-sector watchers have stressed that there is a need for the nation’s tertiary institutions to fashion out ways through which they can meaningfully impart intellectual skills to their products, if they must hold their own in today’s increasingly demanding world.
Adimeke Ejiofor, an education psychologist, observed that the quality, effectiveness and relevance of the university system are directly linked to the ability of people, society and institutions to develop.
Ejiofor further informed that with the technological and communication revolutions, universities catalyse scientific and technological change by training a labour force suited to new conditions of production and management.
Analysts opine that universities in Nigeria continue to struggle in their quest to attain top 100 rankling globally in the last three decades is because of their rigid approach to learning.
They added that the global knowledge economy and society is based on information processing, which is what universities are primarily all about, but sadly note that most universities in the country have not keyed into this global trend
Ejiofor therefore urged the various citadels of learning in Nigeria to develop systems through which they can function maximally in their core areas of competence.
To him, “In the current global knowledge economy, which are knowledge production and technological innovation are the most important productive forces,” noting that without some level of a national research system comprising universities, no country can participate in the global knowledge economy.
Ademola Ogunde, an education consultant, feels the same way. He explained that the in the march towards global relevance, Nigerian universities have to tackle human development first since the mind is the most important resource of all.
Ogunde further disclosed that universities have a major role to play in producing a quality labour force – which depends on quality education spurned by educators who have been trained by quality universities. He observed that government can build schools and provide laptops, but if there are no quality teachers, there can be no quality education. This situation, he advised, requires good working conditions and pay, including respect for lecturers “which starts with being well trained at the university level.”
In mapping how Nigerian universities can go about meeting global standards, Ogunde opined that there need not be differences between public and private universities in terms of efficiency and quality, noting that both types of institutions stand a good chance of being very qualitative.
“What matters is how flexible, efficient and competitive a university is, so its management is critical. Also essential is that the university serves the public interest; you can be in the public interest and be private. But if you are not in the public interest, then you become a business, ” he said.
KELECHI EWUZIE
