• Stakeholders allege proliferation, NUC says number insufficient
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC), recently presented provisional licences to 11 private universities in Abuja. The additions brought the number of private universities to 159.
They are; New City University, Ayetoro, Ogun State; University of Fortune, Igbotako, Ondo State; Eranova University, Abuja; Minaret University, Ikirun, Osun State; Abdulrasaq Abubakar Toyin University (AATU), Oke-Ogba, Ganmo, Ilorin, Kwara State; Southern Atlantic University, Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State. Others include Lens University, Ilemona, Kwara State; Monarch University, Iyesi-Ota, Ogun State; Tonnie Iredia University of Communication, Benin, Edo State; Isaac Balami University of Aeronautics and Management, Lagos; and Kevin Eze University, Mgbowo, Enugu state.
The decision generated mixed reactions from Nigerians, particularly those in the education sector who lamented the proliferation of private universities in Nigeria, wondering why government will continue to grant licences to new universities when only a few existing ones are making the expected impact.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), had complained about the rising number of public universities, advocating caution in granting licences for private universities, and strict monitoring processes.
It maintained that proliferation of universities was part of the grievances that led to industrial disputes in the university system: “Many of the institutions lack the capacity, academically and infrastructurally to drive the educational revolution agenda of government.”
How it started
NUC began to issue licences for private universities in 1999. Babcock, Madonna, Igbinedion and Bowen universities were among the first set to secure licence. Since then, the number of private universities has continued to grow, particularly in the South.
Data obtained from NUC indicated that the number of private universities located in South West comprising Lagos, Oyo, Ekiti, Osun, Ogun, Ondo and Kwara states has grown to 59 with Ogun (16), Kwara (10) and Oyo (8) leading the region.
North Central comprising Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Benue and Plateau states followed with 24 private universities; South South comprising Edo, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa-Ibom and Cross River states has 22 and South East comprising Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, Abia, and Anambra states has 19 private universities.
The North West est comprising Sokoto, Kaduna, Kebbi, Katsina, Kano, Zamfara and Jigawa states has 14 private universities and North East comprising Gombe, Taraba, Yobe, Adamawa, Borno and Bauchi states has three private universities.
THE CONCERNS
There are growing concerns regarding the activities and overall contributions of the private universities to education, with many questioning the operational standards and quality of their graduates. Some employers of labour also stated that graduates from some private universities often fail to prove themselves.
Findings revealed that many of the private universities are lacking in several ways, particularly in the academic manpower, hence the challenge to meet the quality education needs of the students. A lecturer from the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA), who pleaded anonymity, said: “The choice of parents for private university increased a few years ago following prolonged nationwide strike by ASUU. Many students in ASUU-affiliated schools had to stay at home for almost a year that the ASUU strike lasted while the students in private schools were busy with their academic works.
“ASUU strike and inadequate care and attention from the schools and workers are some of the reasons that parents choose to enroll their children in private universities. I can’t blame them because it’s frustrating for children to spend years in school for four or five-year programme due to periodic ASUU strike.”
Further submissions from some players in education indicated that only a few private universities are genuinely playing their expected roles. Minister for Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, recently lamented the poor capacity of some of the private universities: “They have failed to provide the expected quality and affordable education for thousands of students seeking university education.”
He challenged the new ones to champion the cause of education revolution with focus on Science, Technical, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM): “A few months ago, the President directed that the ministry carry out a review of the activities of private universities vis-a-vis the guidelines for the establishment for new private universities in Nigeria.
“The goal is to meet global demands, and part of the process was that we have placed temporary suspension of all activities in the applications for establishment of new private universities until further notice. The NUC is reviewing other aspects of the guidelines for the establishment of private universities to ensure that any proposed universities, when licenced, are positioned to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
“NUC has suspended all inactive applications, including those of private open universities (i.e., those that have not made progress on their applications or made submissions to the commission for upwards of two years), and applications at the stage of submission of Letters of Intent only.
“The fee for purchase of application forms for the establishment of a private university has also been reviewed from N1 million to N5 million. Similarly, the processing fee for application for the establishment of a private university has also been reviewed from N5 million to N25 million.
“The NUC will convey the reviewed processing fee of N25 million to applicants that have purchased application forms only. They would be expected to effect payments within a period of 30 working days or risk forfeiture of their pending applications.”
NUC’s POSITION
Executive Secretary, NUC, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed once said: “People who criticise the ‘proliferation’ of universities are just being unreasonable and unfair to the many young Nigerians some of whom are ‘desperately’ seeking university education, and some had to resort to foreign institutions. With the population size of Nigeria at over 200 million, the number of enrollment of students is obviously not enough.
“In Nigeria, 70 per cent of the populations are below the age of 30. If we compare the statistics with other nations of the world that have less or more population vis-a-vis number of universities and enrollment, we would realize we are not doing well enough.
“The United States, for instance, has over 6,000 universities. India has over 4,000 universities and Argentina, with 79 million people, has over 200 universities. In Nigeria, with a population of over 200 million, we have a little above 260 universities, out of which 159 are privately owned ones.
“It’s very important to note that many of these new private universities are ‘small’ universities that are focused on a few programmes to meet certain needs. They are, obviously, not going to be like the first generation universities; UI, UNILAG, UNN, OAU, ABU and others.
“Most of the new universities are established to run a small programme and focus in a few areas. We are encouraging more specialised universities in different fields like medicine, engineering and technology, art and sports among several others, and I am happy we are achieving that for the benefit of our people.
“Nigerians must know that the 159 private universities in Nigeria do not have the number of enrollment of five first old generation universities, some of which were earlier mentioned. What I mean is that the first five old generation universities have more students than all the private universities in Nigeria put together.
“University education should not be a privilege to be enjoyed by the few elites. Anyone with opportunity should acquire university education. After all, nobody complained that shops, businesses, Churches, Mosques are springing up across the country. But people are quick to complain about universities being established, which is meant to liberate and empower the people. Education is and remains the best means of fighting poverty.
“We believe that those who are angry with the establishment of more universities are simply displaying their ignorance or are doing so out of mischief. Besides, most of these institutions are from the private sector, meaning that no budgetary allocation will come from the government. It simply means that their services are for those who can afford it.
“Notwithstanding, I ask that NUC continued to encourage the universities to make space and provision, financial, scholarship, and other interventions for indigent students. Many of the private universities have schemes designed to enable indigent persons to acquire education within their system. We have to fight this negative attitude and the spirit of criticising ourselves wrongly.”
Former president, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Danielson Akpan, submitted: “It’s unfair to criticise NUC for opening its door to investors who desire to establish new universities, including state governments.”
He made reference to “the rising population of youths in Nigeria who are yearning for university education to enable them to acquire knowledge and skills that will give them a competitive advantage in the 21st century world that is driven by technology.
“Nigerians are in several universities across the world spending huge resources to acquire education. The painful part is the fact that thousands of them are in low standard universities in small African countries like Ghana, Gabon, Benin, Malawi and Egypt.
“Our population is on the significant increase. Hence, the existing universities are being overpopulated. Close to that is the fact that knowledge taste is changing across the world with technology redefining life and living. Things have changed, and the knowledge that drives the world economy is not the same compared to several decades ago.
“NUC’s decision, though widely criticised, is very much good. This is because it will, among other things, enable us to control what’s happening in the institutions, as against what our students learn and acquire from these foreign institutions many of which don’t consider our peculiarities and uniqueness.
“I have had the opportunity of visiting several countries in Africa, and what you see is Nigerian students in universities that are far lower in standard than what we have in Nigeria. And still, they are being treated poorly. This should stop, and the only way is to provide more opportunities for students to acquire university education.”
He challenged the Federal Government to increase budgetary allocations to the tertiary institutions “so they can expand their academic programmes and develop their infrastructure to ensure students study in good and friendly atmosphere.”