Nigeria's government recently approved four new private universities, demonstrating an apparent shift in support for private higher education. Only three others have been approved in the eight
National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved 89 universities in the last 13 years. Among those approved between 1999 and 2012 by the agency are 50 private universities, 27states universities and 12 federal universities. This puts the total number of universities in Nigeria at 125.
One doesn't know whether to rejoice or be aghast at the news that the National Universities Commission (NUC), is to license three more private universities before the end of this year, bringing the total number of private universities to 26.
The Federal Government last week announced the granting of licences to enable seven new private universities to operate. With that approval, the number of recognised universities in the country rose to ninety-six, thirty-four of them private.
FOR several years in Nigeria, public universities (both federal and state-owned) were the major sources of higher education. Especially, given the much talked-about disparity between products of the universities and polytechnics in the country over the years, the number of candidates gravitating towards universities kept increasing in geometrical terms.
Nigeria has 100 public and 30 private universities. A strike by lecturers has paralysed public institutions for the past three months, while teaching at private universities has continued. As a result, there has been a rush by parents with financial muscle to register their children in private universities, whose proprietors are smiling all the way to the bank.
Students of tertiary institutions under the aegis of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) yesterday staged a protest in Ado- Ekiti against the prolonged strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Education in Nigeria is nothing to write home about. The present standard is at its lowest level. Good enough, the Christian private universities have contributed, in no small measure, to the raising of the standard. However, we should ask ourselves if these private universities are meeting the needs of those who really want to acquire qualitative education but are limited financially?
The House of Representatives has called on the National Universities Commission to regulate the role of visiting lecturers in Nigerian universities. This followed a motion on Wednesday sponsored by Abbas Tajudeen (Kaduna APC). Arguing the motion, Mr. Tajudeen stated that many universities, especially state-owned and private ones, rely too much on the services of either visiting or sabbatical lecturers. “This reliance poses a great challenge to quality of services rendered by the lecturers with regards to mentoring, research, publication of journals and the general academic wellbeing in the universities,” he said. Mr. Tajudeen said he was concerned that the situation affects the quality of education being provided owing to the fact that lecturers usually abandon their duties in their places of primary employment and spread their services thinly across other universities that they visit. “The activities of those visiting lecturers are not regulated by any supervisory or academic body, either to ensure compliance with their terms of engagement or limit the number of commitments they engage in to ensure quality education in Nigeria,” the lawmaker added. Contributing to the debate, Nicholas Ossai (Delta-PDP) however expressed a contrary view, stating that visiting lectureship is a universal practice and that lecturers use the medium to develop themselves and the students. “It does not make sense for us to prohibit what is acceptable internationally,” Mr. Ossai said. But when the motion was put to vote, it was accepted by the majority of the house. The speaker thus mandated the committee on Tertiary Education and Services to interface with the National Universities Commission and other relevant agencies concerned with tertiary education with a view to formulating policies to aid the regulation and supervision of the practice of visiting lectureship in Nigeria and report back within eight weeks for further legislative action.