■ What Nigerian universities can do to become like Harvard, Caltech, Oxford, Cambridge, etc….as revealed at the world education conference, held in Cape Town, South Africa, by the British Council
By Chika Abanobi
It came as a big shock when only one Nigerian university, University of Ibadan, featured in the ranking conducted by Times Higher Education (of London) World University Rankings for 2015/2016.
It was ranked No. 601 on the list of world’s top 800 universities featured in the survey, an honour it shares with University of Ghana, University of South Africa, University of Marrakech Cadi, Ayyad (Morocco) and three Egyptian universities, Alexandria University, Cairo University, and Suez Canal University.
Of the 13 African universities featured in the survey, the University of Cape Town, South Africa, placed at 120th position, is the highest ranked university in Africa. That is to say, it was 481 steps higher than the University of Ibadan, which, in turn, is 200 steps lower than Makerere University, Uganda, which was ranked 401st. Five other South African universities made the list of top-notch universities in the world, making South Africa the country with the highest number of world-class universities on the African continent.
The universities are: University of Witwatersrand (placed at 201st position); Stellenbosch University (301st); University of KwaZulu-Natal (401st); University of Pretoria (501st); and University of South Africa (601st, the South African university on the same rank with University of Ibadan).
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings, according to posting on its website, assesses the best global universities based on teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook. These performance indices are grouped into five areas: Teaching (the learning environment), Research (volume, income and reputation), Citations (research influence), International outlook (staff, students and research) and industry income (knowledge transfer).
It was based on those indices that it ranked the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), United States, as number one in the world, the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, as No. 2, Stanford University, United States (No. 3), University of Cambridge, UK (No.4).
Others featured in the world’s top ten universities include Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States (5th); Harvard University, United States (6th); Princeton University, United States (7th); Imperial College London, United Kingdom (8th); ETH Zurich-Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland (9th); and University of Chicago, United States (10th).
So? What are our universities not doing right as to make them earn such low rating in world’s universities ranking? And what can they do to get it right as to be placed on the same academic pedestal with the likes of Harvard University (whose history, influence and wealth have made it one of the world’s most prestigious universities), California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, California, USA, said to be the university with the highest number of Nobel laureates in the world, among its alumni (34 so far, with one of them winning it twice in his lifetime). It is also ranked number one for the percentage of its graduates that earn PhD after graduation.
These were some of the issues addressed at this year’s world education conference organised by the British Council, for leaders in higher education around the world and held in Cape Town, South Africa, from May 3-5. Copies of communiqués/press releases and photos emanating from the conference, held in Africa for the first time, since its inception and which drew 800 delegates from around the world, were sent to Education Review by Mr. Desmond Omovie, Communication Manager, British Council, Nigeria. This year’s theme was “Going Global 2016.”
■ Nigerian universities will need to become producers of globally respected knowledge
Caltech voted No. 1 by Times Higher Education World University Ranking, is reputed for its strong emphasis on applied scientific, engineering and technical arts knowledge. Today, it is in business partnership with America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), through its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a federally funded research and development centre (FFRDC) owned by NASA but operated as a division of Caltech through a contract between NASA and Caltech to produce equipment for space travels. In 2008, JPL spent over $1.6 billion on research and development and employed over 5,000 project-related and support employees.
That collective university ability to become a producer of globally respected knowledge that impacts the world around it is what Dr Blade Nzimande, the South African Minister for Higher Education and Training described, at the conference, as knowledge that is able to serve “the needs and interests of the society,” and, Matt Hancock, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, United Kingdom, as pushing “the boundaries of education, enhancing its reach and quality across the globe, by looking for opportunities to collaborate and innovate in international education.” “By investing together we will deliver smarter young people to generate the very best future leaders, teachers, engineers and employers for all of our countries,” he counseled.
■ University rankings should not distract our universities and governments from national priorities
The value of university rankings in helping nations develop their higher education systems was debated in a passionate session at the conference. Phil Baty, Editor of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, noted that, “Africa has many pressing priorities that current global, research-focused university rankings do not address. But acting on these challenges while also nurturing a necessarily select group of world-class, globally focused universities need not be mutually exclusive. I’m a great believer in the importance of diversity in higher education systems: put simply, there is no one single correct model of excellence.”
Dr Gerald Ouma, Director, Centre for Higher Education Transformation (CHET), University of Pretoria, South Africa, agreed that rankings try to develop excellence. But he queried: “The big question is: what kind of excellence? Do we have a one-size-fits-all definition of excellence? Excellence cannot be understood in isolation, it has to be understood in the context of the countries where the university operates.”
Prof. Ellen Hazelkorn, Policy Advisor, Higher Education Authority and Director, Higher Education Policy Research Unit, Ireland, told delegates that there was no doubt that in a globalised world, rankings mattered. But she counseled that, “the focus needs to be on the overall system – what are you trying to achieve? Why would you use indicators set by someone else to determine your national priorities? The big concern with rankings is when they become a policy driver, from what is essentially a report card on disparities of wealth…As a benchmarking tool, rankings are fine. As a policy driver, [rankings are] a bad idea. We should be looking at building world-class systems of higher education, not world-class universities.”
■ To stop brain drain, Nigerian government need to invest in higher education institutions
In a wide-ranging discussion on ‘Brain Drain: Can We Stem the Flow?’ a panel of experts discussed the global impact of ‘brain drain’ for a special BBC World Service recording.
“We face a world where there is this absolutely ruthless competition for the brightest and best,” said Prof. Jo Beall, Director, Education and Society, British Council. “In a global, interconnected world, we can’t confine people, but there is a policy issue in terms of governments needing to invest in people.”
China has witnessed some of the worst brain drain in modern countries around the world, according to Xie Tao, Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean – School of English and International Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University, China.
“There are many problems and obstacles to China’s efforts to retain and attract talent. There are issues of food safety and environmental pollution and health issues, and all these things can discourage people from coming back to China to stay permanently. In order to make people stay in a country and like the country, you have to make them have a sense of belonging.”
Prof. Oyewole, Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, and also President, Association of African Vice-Chancellors, said efforts aimed at improving the funding of higher education institutions will help to stem brain drain. Jo Beall agreed, saying, “If you don’t have investment in your Higher Education system or in the workplace to attract people to come home, then your country is more likely to be affected.”
■ Nigerian universities need to get involved in social enterprises
A study conducted by Plymouth University for the British Council found that 75% of the institutions surveyed are actively involved with at least one social enterprise, and over half of these are also engaged in an international social enterprise partnership. Surprisingly, it discovered that only 2% of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) had not previously worked with a social enterprise.
The study also found that engaging with social enterprise gives HEIs an opportunity to interact closely with local businesses and communities to create inclusive and financially sustainable solutions to pressing local and international issues.
The study found that such engagement allows HEIs to provide students with experiential learning opportunities and entrepreneurship skills that enhance their employability. Furthermore, it can support academic staff to develop enterprise solutions arising from their academic research and translate the latter into tangible social impact. And it can generate reputational benefit and income for universities.
■ Nigerian university administrators need to engage student activists
The decision to ban student unionism in some Nigerian universities is totally uncalled for and will in no way help to promote harmonious relationship between the university authorities and students. Student discussants, at the conference, described universities as “safe spaces of critical thought and social conscience where students and academics can question and contest the norms, cultures and challenges of their societies.”
“It’s not enough to take down a painting and still exclude students,” Kealeboga Mase Ramaru, a South African graduate and equal education activist, noted. “The role of university administration is to listen to us and engage with us before we can move forward,” Sanjana Krishnan, a PhD Student from the University of Hyderabad, India, added.
Mr. Tunbosun Ogundare, Chairman, Education Writers Association of Nigeria (EWAN), who participated in the conference, reports that Nigerian delegates at the conference include Prof. Julius Okojie (Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, NUC), Prof. Olusola Oyewole, (introduced earlier in this story), Prof. Rahamon Bello, VC, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Benjamin Chukwuma Ozumba, VC, University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka, Prof. Biyi Daramola, VC, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State, Prof. Hayward Mafuyai, VC, University of Jos (UNIJOS), Prof. Abdulrahman Saminu Ibrahim, VC, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi and Prof. Muhammad Yahuza Bello, VC, Bayero University, Kano (BUK).
Others are: Prof. Michael Faborode, former VC Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, (2006-2011) and incumbent Secretary-General, Committee of Vice Chancellor (CVC) of Nigeria Universities, Binta Masi Garba (Senate Committee Chair on Higher Education and TETFUND, Prof. Iheanyichukwu Okoro, Deputy VC (Academic), Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Mr. Martins Cobham, the Acting Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Mrs. Connie Price, Country Director British Council (Nigeria) and a host of others. Prof. Anthony Anwuka, Minister of State for Education was billed for a talk in one of the sessions but he was absent and didn’t send a representative.
Nigerian delegates promised to make good use of the knowledge gained at the conference to improve on their responsibilities in such a way that will translate to appreciable development in our nation’s higher education. They believed that almost all the issues raised and solutions proffered by participants provide a good template with which we can take Nigeria’s higher education to the next level.
Okojie, said in a chat with Ogundare that it was high time Nigerian universities doubled their efforts to effectively meet the university’s tripartite mandates of teaching, research and community services. He promised to make them intensify their globalisation drive in the areas of collaborations and exchange programmes with other universities in both developed and developing economies, noting that such will encourage healthy competition.
On consistent low rating of Nigerian universities in global ranking, he said it was not as if they have done badly but that the parameters which form the basis of such rankings are just unfriendly not only to Nigeria but to all the universities in Africa, essentially because they are relatively younger. Even at that, he pointed out that our universities would continue to strive to get better so as to stem the brain drain that has continued to bedevil most of them. He also promised to see that our universities attract both foreign lecturers and students as well as produce graduates who would not only be economically relevant but also employable.