Improving the quality of tertiary education in Nigeria

Tertiary education is a critical element of human development, and it is essential to the growth
and development of any country. A country's ability to experience changes, surmount challenges,
and keep up with the latest global developments across all sectors is derived mainly from its
educated populace. However, for tertiary education to contribute meaningfully to the making of
balanced and analytic citizens capable of leading governments as well as driving economies and
industries, its quality has to be excellent and tertiary education in Nigeria is far from this.

In most countries of the world, enough premium is given to tertiary education in a bid to prepare
students for global relevance and competitiveness. In Nigeria, although the tertiary education
system has come a long way, there is still much to be done in terms of achieving the level of
excellence required to produce trained individuals capable of driving national growth and
development. This essay aims to examine the status quo of tertiary education systems in Nigeria,
highlight core lessons from global standard practices, and recommend ways in which the quality
of tertiary education in the country can be further improved.

The quality of tertiary education in Nigeria is disgracefully low. Nigerian graduates owing to
this, are no match for their counterparts in other parts of the world. The sorry state of tertiary
education in Nigeria is also responsible for the increase in its none-literate or school dropout
population. The yearly drop out rate from across all universities in Nigeria is over 18%. All these
costs the country dearly; first, it inspires a tremendous brain drain. The UNESCO institute of
statistics states that the number of Nigerian students abroad has increased by 164% between
2005 – 2015. This educational mobility, as well as the lack of employment, takes a destructive
toll on the country's economy.

CURRENT STATE OF THE NIGERIAN TERTIARY EDUCATION SYSTEM

The quality of tertiary education in Nigeria is disgracefully low. Nigerian graduates owing to
this, are no match for their counterparts in other parts of the world. The sorry state of tertiary
education in Nigeria is also responsible for the increase in its none-literate or school dropout
population. The yearly drop out rate from across all universities in Nigeria is over 18%. All these
costs the country dearly; first, it inspires a tremendous brain drain. The UNESCO institute of
statistics states that the number of Nigerian students abroad has increased by 164% between
2005 – 2015. This educational mobility, as well as the lack of employments, takes a destructive
toll on the country's economy.
In Nigeria, the tertiary education system consists of four branches, namely: universities,
polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education. There are 170 universities, 132
polytechnics, 26 monotechnics, and 89 colleges of education. This brings the total number of
tertiary institutions in Nigeria to about 417. This number of higher education institutions is not
enough to cater for the population. Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that from
2010-2015, out of the ten million applicants that sought admission into tertiary institutions, only
26% were successful.

According to the JAMB, two-thirds of about two million applicants who sought access in 2019
were unsuccessful. Public tertiary institutions are finding it increasingly hard to cope with the
admission pressure that seems to become more compelling each year. And while there is
significant private sector participation in the Nigerian tertiary educational system, private schools
are available to only a minority of the population as these private institutions are not quite
affordable. Thus, average Nigerians are left to jostle for the limited number of slots available in
the public universities. In comparison, the United States has over 3 000 tertiary institutions,
France has over 3 500, and India has over 4 000.

Another problem facing the tertiary education system is the lack of proper funding. Statistically,
Nigeria ranks amongst the lowest countries in terms of the budget allocated towards tertiary
education. While most states give less than 15 percent of its yearly budget to education, only
6.7% of the Nation's budget for the year 2020 was allocated to the ministry of education, a
meager portion of which will be further distributed to tertiary institutions. This is very low when
compared to the United Nations’ suggestion of 27 percent.

The struggle between the government and the tertiary institution staff nationwide over funding
has become a national reality. The system is built such that the public universities rely majorly
on the government to fund the operation of the university and pay staff salaries. However, the
poor state of national finances has left the government unable to fulfill its financial obligations
towards tertiary institutions appropriately. Strikes and protests are an annual occurrence, and
these mass actions often lead to a disruption in the school calendar. This lack of funding, in turn,
leads to a lack of infrastructure. Laboratories in public universities are typically under equipped,
lecture theaters in states of despair, hostels are unconducive and sometimes, a threat to the health
of students, libraries are neither updated nor upgraded, there is no proper utilization of ICT and
the internet, etc.

Furthermore, there is no concrete framework for the training and retraining of tertiary institution
staff. A lack of exposure to modern methods of teaching and training will ensure that the tertiary
education process remains stuck in antiquity. This is bad for development because globally,
countries make sure that their education systems evolve with the times. Such an evolution can
only be done by members of staff who recognize the need to develop and appreciate it. In
Nigeria, to a great extent, such a mentality is lacking among university staff. It is important to
note that anyone who does not evolve via training and re-training to stay relevant in their field
stands the risk of becoming obsolete and irrelevant in our fast-paced, ever-changing world.

Improving the quality of tertiary education in Nigeria

As the Nobel laureate, Betty Williams, rightly stated, “there is no use talking about the problem
unless you talk about the solution.” Though the Nigerian tertiary education system may be faced
with challenges, these challenges are not insurmountable. Foremost, it is pertinent to identify the
stakeholders in the Nigerian Tertiary Education system. These stakeholders have the holistic
responsibility to drive the desired change in the quality of tertiary education in Nigeria. Some
steps can be taken to boost the quality of tertiary education in Nigeria, and they include:

Lawmakers and frameworks: The lawmakers in Nigeria are important stakeholders in improving
the quality of its tertiary education. As a recommendation, a policy should be made that
stipulates the compulsory increase of funds channeled towards tertiary education in Nigeria. This
policy may also perform the advisory role of stating how the funds should be spent and enforcing
it. Lawmakers in Nigeria can also mirror efficient foreign systems and adapt them for use; for
instance, Exchange programs, which are a ”foreign investment” in the quality of local education,
can be encouraged via a revisit of the National University Council framework.

Establishment of more tertiary institutions in the country: With one of the largest youth
populations in the world, Nigeria requires more well-equipped tertiary institutions as the number
of applicants seeking admission will only continue to increase annually. The establishment of
more fully equipped tertiary institutions across all four types will reduce the number of out-of-
school youths and help to improve the quality of tertiary education in Nigeria.

This might also mean that private participants are encouraged in the sector as capitalism might
be the much needed saving grace. So far, privately-owned higher institutions have been faring
well with Covenant University ranking highly internationally. The only caveat is for the NUC to
raise and enforce a bar of requirements for establishing a new university by both private owners
and the government. This is necessary because quantity is useless unless combined with quality.

Extensively more specialized and industry-focused tertiary institutions such as the Federal
University of Agriculture Abeokuta needs to be created; this will go a long way in increasing the
quality of the things taught in these fields.

Steps the government can take to improve the education system (tertiary):

1.Change of Curricula: if we must make any progress and proffer substantial solution to The generic
problem of our poor tertiary education, then great attention should be paid To our undergraduate
curricula or course work. If there is anything that demands an Urgent change/review in the educational
sector of this country, it is our curricula, the Content of our course. It is appalling and regrettable that in
spite of the changes in Times, and technological revolution that has brought about advancement in
knowledge, Change in virtually the way everything is done over the past two decades, some of us Are
still learning from curricula that were prepared in the 80’s. It is good we learn the fundamental Things,
however, why can’t we just be to true to ourselves and realized that time has Changed. There has been
a lot of advancement in knowledge across all area of studies, Unprecedented advancement in science
and technology, that what used to hold true Then, what was the standard of approach then, have been
obsolete. It is when we make This changes that we would have found the solution to our educational
challenges. Our Curricula need to be matched with current day reality if our tertiary education is ever
Going to witness any improvement.

2. Practical learning as opposed to theoretical knowledge: Welcome to a country where Engineering is

learned and practice in the pages of the text books! A nation where Greenhouse experiments are carried
out in buckets under tree shed! How can graduate From this type of system ever compete favorably
with his/her counterpart abroad? It is High time our government stepped up modality to encourage
practical learning. What Do we expect of our graduates of engineering, pure and applied sciences,
agriculture And social science who never had any opportunity of doing any meaningful practical all
Through undergraduate level, sometimes not until final year undergraduate projects (some of which the
result were cooked)? I’m sure you will expect unproductivity which Gives birth unemployment. Lack of
practical learning is the reason some of our Graduates are said to be “not employable” and if they
should be employed they need to Go through some training which the employer would not want to
carry out at his own Expense. Therefore, if any remarkable achievement is to be attained in our tertiary
Education system, the government and other stakeholder need to be proactive and Ensure students do
realistic practices of what they learn in class room, only then will Our tertiary education attain
remarkable success, as a matter of fact, this is what Makes tertiary institutions abroad apparently better
than ours.

3. Dissemination of relevant Knowledge: the knowledge shared in our tertiary institutions Is not relevant
enough to yield the much expected result. How do I know this? | know This from the number of
graduates our tertiary institutions inject into the society every Year and the challenges we are still going
through in this country. What is wrong? What Is the missing link that a first class graduate of
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Cannot detect dictate and correct a common electrical fault in the
house? That a Graduate of mechanical engineering can’t at first glance suggest what is wrong with a
Machine or automobile that has fault? It is because the knowledge they acquire in School, its content,
was not tailored enough to address real life problems or challenges.

How do we remedy this then? The onus lies on academic institutions to review their Course work and
ensure quality knowledge delivery such that will engage the students To find real life application to
every subject and topic they learn. Let each lecture, Assignment, project, etc. Address local and national
needs and challenges.

4. Foster Institution-Industry Relationship: Another step in the right direction will be for The government
to initiate and nurture a good relationship between her tertiary Institutions and the industry. How do I
mean? Outside this country, Europe and the USA Most especially, their tertiary institutions have good
rapport with the industries such That, they will have industry-based professionals coming to deliver
lectures on some Courses, and you know what that means for the student, learning from professional
Who have direct contact with reality of what they are teaching. Also, a relationship with Industries such
that students can visit the companies or organizations frequently for Excursions, lectures or training is
something that should be encouraged, thanks to Student Industrial Work Experience (SIWE) Scheme, it
has been helpful to a large extent In this aspect but more can be done. Another aspect of the institution-
industry that will Be of immense benefit to our tertiary education is one in which industries relate their
Challenges to institutions where the academic institution will then in turn give it to herStudents as
projects in which the solution will eventually be given to the industry for Testing and implementation.
What do you think of this kind of relationship? It definitely Will boost the performance of our tertiary
institution immensely.

5. Academic Infrastructure: It is regrettable that a lot of tertiary institutions in this Country does not
have basic infrastructure for teaching and learning. It might surprise You to know that schools with over
5,000 students does not even have a library that Can conveniently cater for just 300 students. How
about the gory site of dilapidated And insufficient halls of residence we see all around? How are we
going to move Forward with this kind of situation? Some schools are teaching Engineering and Sciences
without commensurate workshops and laboratories, even those that have, There are no useful
machines or equipment in them; no wonder our engineering and Sciences revolve around the pages of
the text book and never yield any realistic result In terms of good inventions, innovations or discovery,
we have left the inventions, Discoveries and innovation for those abroad. Even with the current
development in ICT With its impact across every sector especially the academic sector, some schools are
Still far from reality, some schools still don’t have e-library, a website and student online Portals.
However, I believe that if the government and the academic institutions rise up To their feet, equip our
schools, build infrastructures, our story will certainly change for A better.

The solution to the poor tertiary education of this country lies with all of us both the Government,
private school owners, international sponsors, parents, alumni bodies and Students, if they can follow
the recommendations above, that is, Change/Review of Curricula, disseminate relevant knowledge,
ensure practical learning, foster institution Industry relationship and improve the quality and quantity of
infrastructures for school, our

Tertiary education will rank among one the best in the world. Even you as an individual also Have a role
to play; you can come up with ideas/concept that can address these challenges. These are the things the
schools abroad are doing right that is making attractive for tertiary Education.