1. The document discusses the status of tertiary education institutions in Nigeria and their role in national transformation. It argues that tertiary education should equip students with skills and values to drive national development, but that Nigerian institutions currently fail to do so due to issues like underfunding, poor facilities, and unemployable graduates.
2. Tertiary education in Nigeria is in a poor state with decaying infrastructure, overcrowding, lack of resources and outdated teaching methods. As a result, Nigerian graduates lack skills and Nigerians spend billions studying abroad each year.
3. For Nigeria to successfully transform, it needs functional tertiary institutions that can provide high quality education and training to develop the workforce. However
Education remains the greatest tool for the development of any nation, no matters how well-outlined goals of education were, there would be no impact without the necessary support from the government. The past and present governments came as a result of the efforts of education, but it had not given education the necessary support to enhance democratic stability. The education policy of Nigeria was a great effort on the part of the formulators but the reality on ground did not match the policy on paper. No nation can hope to develop without sound education. This paper therefore examined the problems of education, so as to ensure quality education for sustainable democracy in Nigeria.
Education remains the greatest tool for the development of any nation, no matters how well-outlined goals of education were, there would be no impact without the necessary support from the government. The past and present governments came as a result of the efforts of education, but it had not given education the necessary support to enhance democratic stability. The education policy of Nigeria was a great effort on the part of the formulators but the reality on ground did not match the policy on paper. No nation can hope to develop without sound education. This paper therefore examined the problems of education, so as to ensure quality education for sustainable democracy in Nigeria.
Education is necessity for both human and societal development, the more sophisticated it is the more
quality products it provides. One of the major problems facing higher education in Nigeria is under-funding.
Recently, the government investment in higher education was little bit increased as result of the total shutdown
of higher education institutions by the joint higher education academic union (ASUU,ASUP AND COASU)
strike action. In response to the report of the needs assessment of Nigerian Universities conducted in 2012, the
federal government earmarked N1.3trtillion for special intervention in the Nigerian public universities over the
next Six(6)years, of which N200billion out of the amount has been released. This paper attempts to examine the
trend in funding of higher education in Nigeria and the attendant effect between 2009 and 2013. The paper
observed some gaps in the funding and in the expenditure of available funds. The paper was concluded by
making appropriate recommendations to addressing the identified challenges.
The development of science education should be accorded a primal place in the overall framework of stabilizing the Nigerian economy. The paper examines the contributions of science education in the development of Nigerian economy, the paper observes that effective science education help control menaces bedeviling our education system. and practical policies are crucial in advancing Nigeria economically, given the huge challenges facing the giant of Africa. An alternate use of technical or innovative science education from oil which is about to go extinct. Corruption and examination malpractice are identified to be rubbishing every efforts made towards attainment of improved science education that could guarantee sustained national development in Nigeria. This paper attempts to assess the contributions of science education in order to make significant progress in terms of national development and job creation.
PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING INTENDED FOR HEALTHY LONGEVITYIAEME Publication
Human body has multidimensional ability to perceive consciousness and has infinite
capacity to change, heal and renew by itself which is called rejuvenation. The estimation
of Life Expectancy based on data from World Health Organization (WHO) and World
Development Indicators (WDI) 2015, ranked 145/187 for India reflects poor life
expectancy
THE INVOLVEMENT OF YOUTH CORP MEMBERS IN TEACHING IN NIGERIA: MATTERS ARISING...paperpublications3
Abstract:The need to address the challenge of inadequate teachers in schools, in an attempt to improve the standard of education in the country, has made it imperative for Government to consider the option of involving many National Youth Corp members to teaching in Nigeria. This paper however examines the matters arising from their involvement in teaching, such as the use of untrained Corp members in teaching, low quality Corp members, arising from inappropriate training in tertiary institution, low commitment of Corp members to teaching, limited time being spent by Corp members in teaching, negative attitudes of Corp members in schools, lack of continuity in teaching, growing insecurity across the country. Recruitment of Corp members with teaching qualification, adequate supervision and monitoring of Corp members posted to schools, effecting discipline of Corp members that showed dereliction of duties, among others are recommended to improve the quality of teaching in schools and for effective service delivery by the Corp members involved in teaching in schools.
Keywords:Involvement, Youth, Corp members, teaching, matters arising, way forward, Nigeria
Effects of Alternative Sources of Financing Education on Provision of Teachin...paperpublications3
Abstract: This paper sought to examine the effects of alternative sources of financing education provision of teaching and learning resourcesin public secondary schools, guided by four objectives. To find out the contributions of alternative sources of income in financing education on provision of teaching and learning resources in public secondary schools in Trans-Nzoia East Sub County, to assess the extent to which the various alternative income sources of financing education are reliable and adequate to purchase quality teaching and learning resources in public secondary school, to find out to what extent alternatives sources of financing education are utilized to acquire quality teaching and learning resource in public secondary schools , to find out which strategies can be devised to improve alterative income sources of funding to enhance the financing of public secondary schools. Purposive sampling was used to select a target population of 62 respondents. Questionnaires were used as the main data collection instruments. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis aided by SPSS software. The major finding was that the alternative sources of financing education in public secondary schools are grossly inadequate and irregular and fraught with myriad of challenges.
Tvet as a method of facilitating poverty alleviation in third world nations w...Sagir Iliyasu
TVET is a key solution to poverty eradication,job creation,economic expansion, reducing unemployment and improve social and economic well-being of a nation.
Education is necessity for both human and societal development, the more sophisticated it is the more
quality products it provides. One of the major problems facing higher education in Nigeria is under-funding.
Recently, the government investment in higher education was little bit increased as result of the total shutdown
of higher education institutions by the joint higher education academic union (ASUU,ASUP AND COASU)
strike action. In response to the report of the needs assessment of Nigerian Universities conducted in 2012, the
federal government earmarked N1.3trtillion for special intervention in the Nigerian public universities over the
next Six(6)years, of which N200billion out of the amount has been released. This paper attempts to examine the
trend in funding of higher education in Nigeria and the attendant effect between 2009 and 2013. The paper
observed some gaps in the funding and in the expenditure of available funds. The paper was concluded by
making appropriate recommendations to addressing the identified challenges.
The development of science education should be accorded a primal place in the overall framework of stabilizing the Nigerian economy. The paper examines the contributions of science education in the development of Nigerian economy, the paper observes that effective science education help control menaces bedeviling our education system. and practical policies are crucial in advancing Nigeria economically, given the huge challenges facing the giant of Africa. An alternate use of technical or innovative science education from oil which is about to go extinct. Corruption and examination malpractice are identified to be rubbishing every efforts made towards attainment of improved science education that could guarantee sustained national development in Nigeria. This paper attempts to assess the contributions of science education in order to make significant progress in terms of national development and job creation.
PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING INTENDED FOR HEALTHY LONGEVITYIAEME Publication
Human body has multidimensional ability to perceive consciousness and has infinite
capacity to change, heal and renew by itself which is called rejuvenation. The estimation
of Life Expectancy based on data from World Health Organization (WHO) and World
Development Indicators (WDI) 2015, ranked 145/187 for India reflects poor life
expectancy
THE INVOLVEMENT OF YOUTH CORP MEMBERS IN TEACHING IN NIGERIA: MATTERS ARISING...paperpublications3
Abstract:The need to address the challenge of inadequate teachers in schools, in an attempt to improve the standard of education in the country, has made it imperative for Government to consider the option of involving many National Youth Corp members to teaching in Nigeria. This paper however examines the matters arising from their involvement in teaching, such as the use of untrained Corp members in teaching, low quality Corp members, arising from inappropriate training in tertiary institution, low commitment of Corp members to teaching, limited time being spent by Corp members in teaching, negative attitudes of Corp members in schools, lack of continuity in teaching, growing insecurity across the country. Recruitment of Corp members with teaching qualification, adequate supervision and monitoring of Corp members posted to schools, effecting discipline of Corp members that showed dereliction of duties, among others are recommended to improve the quality of teaching in schools and for effective service delivery by the Corp members involved in teaching in schools.
Keywords:Involvement, Youth, Corp members, teaching, matters arising, way forward, Nigeria
Effects of Alternative Sources of Financing Education on Provision of Teachin...paperpublications3
Abstract: This paper sought to examine the effects of alternative sources of financing education provision of teaching and learning resourcesin public secondary schools, guided by four objectives. To find out the contributions of alternative sources of income in financing education on provision of teaching and learning resources in public secondary schools in Trans-Nzoia East Sub County, to assess the extent to which the various alternative income sources of financing education are reliable and adequate to purchase quality teaching and learning resources in public secondary school, to find out to what extent alternatives sources of financing education are utilized to acquire quality teaching and learning resource in public secondary schools , to find out which strategies can be devised to improve alterative income sources of funding to enhance the financing of public secondary schools. Purposive sampling was used to select a target population of 62 respondents. Questionnaires were used as the main data collection instruments. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis aided by SPSS software. The major finding was that the alternative sources of financing education in public secondary schools are grossly inadequate and irregular and fraught with myriad of challenges.
Tvet as a method of facilitating poverty alleviation in third world nations w...Sagir Iliyasu
TVET is a key solution to poverty eradication,job creation,economic expansion, reducing unemployment and improve social and economic well-being of a nation.
Offers you the security and speed of cloud with an easy to use manner. Simple and efficient shared storage solution for home and personal use. Available in storage capacity ranging from 2 TB to 8 TB.
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Effect of Government Spending on the Nigerian Educationijtsrd
Over the years, the quality of education offered in Nigeria has been affected by poor attendance and inadequate preparation by teachers at all levels. The morale of teachers has been low due to poor condition of service, low salaries and poor physical facilities such as libraries, laboratories, modern communication and Information technology equipments. The research work investigates the effect of government expenditure on the growth of the education sector in Nigeria. The research work employs both descriptive and inferential statistical analysis particularly the multiple regression estimating technique. Two models are formulated to examine this. The first model used average school enrollment as proxy for education growth while the share of the education sector in the GDP is used to proxy education sector growth in the second model. The independent variables are recurrent the total government recurrent expenditure, the total capital education and the GDP. The study made use of secondary data from 1987 2019. The result shows that recurrent expenditure does not have significant impact on the share of education sector in the GDP while it has significant and negative relationship with average school enrollment. On the other hand capital expenditure does not have significant impact on the average school enrolment but it does on share of education sector in the GDP. The implication of the result is that enrollment growth in the education sector in Nigeria does not correspond with the recurrent expenditure in Nigeria. Also the capital expenditure in terms of provision of educational and infrastructural facilities has not been having significant impact on the volume of school enrollment in Nigeria. This study has added to the literature calling for the increase in funding of the education sector in Nigeria. Oguntuase, Adeniyi "Effect of Government Spending on the Nigerian Education" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-6 | Issue-3 , April 2022, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd49484.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/education/49484/effect-of-government-spending-on-the-nigerian-education/oguntuase-adeniyi
Labour Market Core Skills Requirements And University Graduate Soft Skills Co...ResearchWap
Education is a means of empowerment to an individual and the society. Also, it is a solid tool for developing human capacity needed for a sustainable national development. Tertiary education, which comprises universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and mono technics, has been recognised as a means of developing human capacity required for sustainable national growth and development. Categorically, universities are saddled with the responsibility of developing high-level manpower within the setting of the requirements of the nation. As a result of the globalisation, data innovation and revolution in the present-day learning-based economy, so much prospect has been placed on universities in creating, outfitting and transmitting information for sustainable development and improved standard of living. Consequently, the university plays a critical part in engendering the human capacities with respect to authority, administration and technical expertise.
Education Hub Magazine is a Bi- monthly publication of IKOG Consulting. The Magazine discusses salient issues, perspectives on issues relating to education in Nigeria and beyond.
The role of academic institutions and Professional Bodies as strategies for ...NSEAkure
#Sunshine2015 The role of academic institutions and Professional Bodies as strategies for National Integrated Infrastructure masterplan NIMP 2014 Implimentation by O.s.v oduwole #Akure #NSE #Nigeria
THE INVOLVEMENT OF YOUTH CORP MEMBERS IN TEACHING IN NIGERIA: MATTERS ARISING...paperpublications3
Abstract:The need to address the challenge of inadequate teachers in schools, in an attempt to improve the standard of education in the country, has made it imperative for Government to consider the option of involving many National Youth Corp members to teaching in Nigeria. This paper however examines the matters arising from their involvement in teaching, such as the use of untrained Corp members in teaching, low quality Corp members, arising from inappropriate training in tertiary institution, low commitment of Corp members to teaching, limited time being spent by Corp members in teaching, negative attitudes of Corp members in schools, lack of continuity in teaching, growing insecurity across the country. Recruitment of Corp members with teaching qualification, adequate supervision and monitoring of Corp members posted to schools, effecting discipline of Corp members that showed dereliction of duties, among others are recommended to improve the quality of teaching in schools and for effective service delivery by the Corp members involved in teaching in schools.
Development Administration and the Challenges of Neo-liberal Reforms in the E...RSIS International
The quest of every nation state is to attract, sustain and fast-track growth and development in all ramifications. The Nigerian state between 1960 and 2020 has experienced an unabated expansion of universities. Ironically, the war against illiteracy is yet to be won, despite the experimentation of different western developmental ideologies in the Nigerian educational system. The study examined the contributions of development administration in the Nigerian educational sector as well as ascertained if the current neo-liberal reform has aided the expansion or retrogression of the educational sector most especially, the university sub-sector in Nigeria. The theoretical framework of the study was anchored on the post-colonial Nigerian state theory. Methodologically, the study strictly utilized the documentary method and data were sourced through the secondary sources and analyzed in content. The study found that the experimentation of western development ideologies in Nigeria actually aided the expansion of the universities but undermined the realization of free, quality and accessible university education for all and sundry. The study recommended among others: the applications of the action plan of Professor Okonjo as regards creating a universal tertiary education for all Nigerians and sustainably financing it.
American Research Journal of Humanities & Social Science (ARJHSS) is a double blind peer reviewed, open access journal published by (ARJHSS).
The main objective of ARJHSS is to provide an intellectual platform for the international scholars. ARJHSS aims to promote interdisciplinary studies in Humanities & Social Science and become the leading journal in Humanities & Social Science in the world.
EDUCATION AS A PATHWAY TO SUSTAINABLE GROWTH IN NIGERIApaperpublications3
Abstract: The crucial role of education in the overall development of a nation cannot be overemphasized. It is not only seen as a key to poverty reduction and vehicle for promoting equity, fairness and social justice but also helps to supply the essential human capital which is a paramount condition for sustained economic development. The basic objective of this paper investigates the authenticity of education being the pathway to sustainable economic development in Nigeria, using annual time series data from 1981 to 2014. The paper employs OLS methodology using Cobb Douglas production with white heteroskedasticity testing, wald test analysis and breusch pagan godfrey autocorrelation test. The results shows that considering the magnitude 1% increase in RGDP (proxy Economic growth) is brought about by 118% increase in (GFCF) gross fixed capital formation, 114% increase in (TEXPEDU) total expenditure on education, 22% increase in total recurrent expenditure on education (TREXPEDU) and 0.00095% increase in (TLBF), total labour force. R2 shows that 98% systematic variation in Real GDP is caused by variation in the explanatory variables. This indicates that there is, indeed a short and long-run relationship between education, and economic development. The findings have a strong implication on educational policy in Nigeria. The study seems to suggest that a concerted effort should be made by policymakers to enhance educational investment with a focus on human capital development in order to ensure and accelerate inclusive growth that would engender economic development.
The study adopted the descriptive survey research design to assess Tertiary Education Trust Fund intervention on academic staff capacity building in Lagos State University, Nigeria. The population for this study was all academic staff of Lagos State University. Two purposes of the study were raised and two research questions were also formulated. One hundred and ninety-six questionnaires were randomly administered to one hundred and ninety-six (196) academic staff in the university. The questionnaire titled “Tetfund Intervention on Academic Staff Capacity Building Questionnaire” was used for data collection. The findings of the study revealed that provision of infrastructure for effective teaching and learning is the major the fund intervention towards qualitative transformation of academic staff in Lagos State University. The finding of the study also showed that the fund intervention in Lagos State University for academic staff capacity building was major priority. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that the fund should eliminate the level of bureaucratic bottlenecks often associated with accessing approved funds. Having noted that University education is costeffective, donor agencies and philanthropic individuals and groups, should assist governments in funding tertiary education in the country.
Curbing Candidates Desperate Desires for University Education against Other T...inventionjournals
This paper discussed curbing candidate’s desperate desire for university education against other tertiary educational institutions. The paper began with a presentation of the general requirements for various types of tertiary education institution – Polytechnics, Colleges of education, Monotechnics and University. It delved into factors responsible for candidates desperate desire which include status disparity, high social rating of university degrees, excessive emphasis on university education, disparity in organizational ranking of graduates from universities and other tertiary institutions, poor funding of other tertiary institutions compared to universities and ineffective implementation of policies and programmes. In order to curb candidates desperate desire for university education, the paper recommended amongst others that: organizations (employers) should eliminate disparity in ranking and undue emphasis placed on university graduates against those from other tertiary educational institutions, other tertiary institutions should be adequately funded, government should provide and maintain equipment and facilities that encourage hands-on activities at college level in order to develop students interest in vocational and technical education offered in polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education (Technical), the government should institute a policy that will enable students in polytechnics and colleges of education get scholarship and also give automatic employment to graduates with technical background especially from polytechnics and monotechnics, priority should be given to vocational and technical subjects and be made compulsory at the secondary school level, campaign to sensitize and enlighten parents to desist from discouraging their children and wards from choosing higher education institutions other than universities should be on-going
Influence of Accreditation on Physical Facilities and Quality Assurance in Ni...YogeshIJTSRD
The general work of the university among other things includes teaching, good physical properties and quality assurance. Universities are recognized as a place to study, collect and impart knowledge and skills of all kinds to students to enable them to be productive upon graduation, to make a living and to make positive contributions to the development of the country. Quality has become a very important issue in university education in Nigeria. Authorization is a systematic review of education systems to ensure that appropriate levels of education, bursaries and physical resources are maintained. Accreditation ensures that the institution maintains quality. The process is designed to determine whether the institution has met or exceeded published standards of accreditation and whether it is fulfilling its stated purpose and purpose. Quality assurance in ensuring the accreditation process falls into the hands of university administrators in general which has created a need for this research. This study examined institutional accreditation and quality assurance its management perspective. It was found among others that the quality of the guaranteed program depends on the level of funding for Nigerian universities. It was also shown that the quality of program accreditation and the resources of Nigerian universities are highly correlated. However, it was also revealed that the accreditation of the program was closely related to staff at Nigerian universities. The study was based on theory but took up large areas of practice during exercise. Obi, Yves-Mary V | Muo, M. C "Influence of Accreditation on Physical Facilities and Quality Assurance in Nigerian Universities: Management Perspective" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-4 , June 2021, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.compapers/ijtsrd41245.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.commanagement/other/41245/influence-of-accreditation-on-physical-facilities-and-quality-assurance-in-nigerian-universities-management-perspective/obi-yvesmary-v
A review of nigerian tertiary institutions of learning and national transformation
1. Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org
ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
Vol.5, No.16, 2014
1
A Review of Nigerian Tertiary Institutions of Learning and
National Transformation
Christina T. Audu1*
Ajibola A. Lukman2*
Mohammed Nyah N3*
Department of Integrated Science, Department of Educational Foundations and Department of Early Care
Childhood Education, C.O.E, Zing, P.M.B. 1021, Taraba State, Nigeria
Email:lajibola8@gmail.com
Abstract
The paper examines the status quo of Nigerian tertiary institutions of learning in the light of the ongoing national
transformation. It could be said that national development remained main target of many administrations in the
history of Nigeria. The paper contends that education is a weapon with which national development could be
attained through inculcation of right attitudes and social interaction towards addressing the intricacy of national
disintegration. To this end, tertiary institutions of learning hold a sensitive key to formation and transformation
of our nationhood. When education is generally considered as a mechanism for development, the paper argues
that tertiary education teaches learners to be transformative agents in order to sustain the development. In lieu of
this, the paper concludes that tertiary education is a functional tool in achieving national transformation in
Nigeria supposedly is properly funded and monitored towards blending and interfacing local wisdom with global
knowledge, values and skills, which will equip the student to become a citizen of this country as well as a citizen
of the global village.
Keywords: tertiary education, national transformation, national development
1. Introduction
Nigeria’s President won the 2011 Federal Government elections on the groundswell of popular support, and the
promise of a transformation agenda. Transformation is a strong word that portends a radical, structural and
fundamental reappraisal of the basic assumptions that underlie our reforms and developmental efforts. The
challenge before government is how to move the nation away from an oil-dominated economy, institute the
basics for a private-sector driven economy, build the local economy on international best practices, transform a
passive oil industry to a more pro-active one, and restructure the country along the lines of a more decentralized
federalism.
But beyond this, there is a scourge of corruption that has stunted the growth and development of young people;
especially the students, which has contributed to the management and leadership challenges such as building an
efficient and effective polity, inspiring a shared vision, remodelling a corrupt polity, building character and
integrity in our leaders, redefining the imperatives of transformational leadership, and creating the Nigerian
dream that will inspire patriotism and commitment in the citizenry.
However, the recent findings on the state of higher education in Nigeria as conducted by the World Bank and
UNESCO in 2006 had confirmed the degradation of the Nigerian educational system. In the 80s Nigeria was a
country that produced world-class university graduates that could compete with their counterparts around the
world and hard work was their watchword. Today, we only produce the worst set of uneducated tertiary
graduates that cannot structure a simple sentence. For instance, the minister of finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
while delivering an address at the second Prof. Bart Nnaji biannual lecture series at the Enugu State University
of Science and Technology said that graduates from the country’s higher institution of learning were not
employable. This is because Nigerian higher institutions were plagued by inadequate science and technological
facilities and materials for practical skills development and the country was shunning out thousands of
unemployable science and technology graduates each year. `
Odekunle (2012) blamed the political class for the corruption in Nigeria which stunted the development of the
youth. He also identified incessant disputes, brain-drain in the academia, under-funding or poor financing of
education, cultism, corruption and abuse of trust as some of the major challenges facing the educational sector.
He therefore, advocated a return to sound moral and family values as a means of renewing commitment and
patriotism among Nigerians.
In lieu of the above, national transformation needs functional institutions of learning that will equip Nigerian
youths required skills for transformational agenda. This is because tertiary institution of learning occupies a
central and primary place serving the functions of teaching, learning and research in the creation of new
knowledge, promotion of current information in professional practice and transmission to posterity of the
learning and culture of the present and past age (LawaI, 2004).
2. An Overview of Tertiary Institutions of Learning in Nigeria
The current state of education in Nigeria even in this 21st
century leaves much to be desired. There is a general
2. Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org
ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
Vol.5, No.16, 2014
2
neglect and decay of educational facilities at all levels of education in Nigeria occasioned by the long standing
culture of poor funding of education by successive governments in Nigeria. This situation prompted the
comment in the editorial of the Guardian (2007, May, 25) that there must be something anti-intellectual about the
policies and allocation of resources in our country especially under past military governments, sadly, the
civilian administrations have not fared any better. Still commenting on the same issue especially in the face of
the proposal of the Federal Government to establish six more Federal Universities in Nigeria, the Punch (2010,
November, 18) observed that:
“From the 1990s to date funding of tertiary education has been problematic
as successive governments showed marked preference for other priorities and
corruption became endemic. Budgetary allocation has declined to the extent
that universities and other tertiary institutions are barely able to pay the
salaries and allowances of personnel, libraries, laboratories and engineering
workshops have long been in decay with the result that most products of the
nation’s tertiary institutions lack the intellectual preparation and critical skills
required to drive the development process in any sphere of national life”.
The Nigerian tertiary institutions of learning are far too ill-equipped to train and develop new graduates suitable
for the 21st century, their products are mediocre. Analysis of the situation point to the extreme level of
infrastructural as well as pedagogical deficiency in Nigerian Universities, this being the result of underfunding of
public universities (Nwakanma, 2010). Sanni (2010) while commenting on the Nigerian content Act passed in
2010 to regulate the activities of the Nigerian content Division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC), lamented that so far the effect of the law is not yet felt in Nigeria. This is because the International Oil
Companies (IOCs) are reluctant to comply with it. They complain that Nigerian graduate engineers required in
the industry do not have the basic engineering knowledge and skills largely due to inadequate training in the
Universities. It is perhaps in the light of such deficiencies that Okecha (2008) and Peretemode (2010) decried the
very poor level of funding of Nigerian education and universities and referred to the world universities
ranking in which Nigeria Universities did not feature at all. African Universities were also ranked at
the continental level in 2007 and this revealed that the first Top 8 African universities are located in South Africa.
Among Africa's Top 100 universities, twenty are based in South Africa, 16 from Egypt and 10 from Morocco.
Only four of Nigerian Universities, featured among the 100 universities in the 44th
- Obafemi Awolowo
University, 65th
, University of Ibadan, 79th
University of Benin and University of Lagos in the 96th
position
trailing far and miserably behind universities in some African countries such as Egypt, Tanzania, Zimbabwe,
Senegal, Namibia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Morocco. (Okecha, 2008).
While decrying the poor state of education in Nigeria and the resultant effect on Nigeria, Ibrahim (2009)
lamented that Nigeria was losing quite a huge sum of foreign exchange because of applicants seeking foreign
university education. He hereby gave a comparison of universities in Nigeria and Britain, noting that in an
average British university, all facilities are available for research with libraries having the latest books on
different subjects unlike in Nigeria. The Nation (2010, November, 23) its editorial observed as follows:
“A recent report claimed that Nigerians are among the largest foreign students in the
United States and Britain. Nigerians are also moving in large numbers to study in
Ghana, other European and Asian universities ... but this is at a cost. For instance, a
recent report suggests that Nigerian students spend N 137 billion to acquire
education in Britain and the United States alone in the last two years”.
To say that the state of education at all levels in Nigeria is miserably poor is an understatement. Infrastructure is
at abysmally low level, students are crowded in hostels and lecture rooms like animals, necessary equipment
machinery and current journals are absent (The Nation, 2010, November, 23). Furthermore, while expressing
anger over plans by the Federal government to scrap colleges of education and polytechnics in Nigeria, the union
of colleges argued strongly that government's poor attitude towards the teaching profession has affected the
quality of teaching and teaching practice in the country. It is clear from the policy summersaults and ad hoc
measures" that government is largely responsible for the failing in the education subsector, (The Guardian, 2010,
November, 30). While delivering his inaugural lecture titled, "What is Higher in Higher Education", Peretomode,
(2010), was emphatic in his submission that the library should be given priority in funding in tertiary institutions
of learning. This is because, for the educational institution to be strong academically, the library which is the
heart of the college or university must be strong. He noted that the top universities in the world have strong
libraries. For example, Harvard university library consists of 80 individual libraries and has over 15 million
volumes of books thereby priding itself as the largest academic library in the world. This is the case with all the
topmost universities in the world. Also, the University of California, Berkeley's library has 10 million volumes
of books and 70,000 serial titles, Stanford university library has 8 million volumes of books and 19 libraries.
However, in Africa, the University of Cape Town (South Africa) has one main library and 9 branch libraries
containing 1.5 million volumes and over 27,000 journals titles. All these when compared with the situation in
3. Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org
ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
Vol.5, No.16, 2014
3
Nigeria where the premier university of Ibadan which was ranked 65th
among universities in Africa has one
million volumes of books, 60,000 journals and subscription to 20 databases, gives a rather gloomy and
discouraging picture of the state of the other tertiary institutions in Nigeria as regards their libraries. Thus, if the
present state of the tertiary institutions of learning in Nigeria is left unturned, Nigeria and Nigerians may not
compete with other countries of world economically, technologically, politically and otherwise.
3. Nigerian Institutions of Learning and National Transformation
Arising from the goals of tertiary education, the National Policy on Education (2004) specifies that university
education will make optimum contribution to national development by: Intensifying and diversifying its
programmes for the development of high level manpower within the context of the needs of the nation, thereby;
1) Making professional courses contents to reflect our national requirements;
2) Making all students as part of a general programme of all-round improvement in university education to offer
general study course such as history of ideas, philosophy of knowledge and nationalism.
4) University research shall be relevant to the nation's developmental goals.
In this regard, tertiary institutions of learning shall be encouraged to disseminate their research results to
both government and industries, in the opinion of Okebukola (2009), in a developed society characterized by
developed economics to which Nigeria aspires; higher education plays a key role. It provides high level human
resources for driving the economy and ensures rapid societal transformation. The greater the opportunity given
to the citizenry for higher education, the more expansive the horizon for rapid socio-economic development. The
tertiary institutions of learning are at the forefront of this mandate of production of the necessary manpower for
national transformation since they provide the higher level manpower required for national development. Aguolu
(2002) noted that the tertiary institutions of learning are the heart of the societal development. It is equally true
that the academic health, intellectual vitality and effectiveness of any university depend largely upon the
excellence of its funding which is its lifeblood.
It is obvious from the foregoing that Nigerian tertiary institutions of learning have always had the mandate to
produce higher level manpower for national development. Harbison and Myers (1964) opined that national
development is the transformation of all aspects of life of a society - cultural, social, political and economic.
Thus a well-developed nation is usually associated with high income per capital, many employment
opportunities, availability of cheap food and other necessary human requirements, better roads, housing, water,
advancement, among others. This goes to buttress the opinion of Todaro (2009) and Onokerhoraye and Okafor
(2004) that development is a multi-dimensional process involving changes in structures, attitudes and institutions
as well as the acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality and the eradication of
absolute poverty and a high birth rate.
Being the central focus of this paper, tertiary institution of learning is a key factor in the national transformation
agenda of this administration. It could be affirmed that Nigeria is no longer stranger to economic reforms. For
instance, before the 1980s, the reforms were purely in the form of extended national perspective plans that
attempted to mobilize human, material and natural resources of the nation to achieve goals of national life. There
was the 1962-68 Plan, then the 1970-1974 Plan, the 1975-1980 Plan, and the 1981-1985 Plan. Often, these Plans
went beyond mere economic prescriptions to address social, human and political goals. Thus, the 1970-74 Plan
defined the national objectives to be the building of:
a) A united, strong and self-reliant nation;
b) A great and dynamic economy;
c) A just and egalitarian society;
d) A land of bright and full opportunities for all citizens; and,
e) A free and democratic society.
In implementation, these Plans hardly involved any fundamental restructuring of the national economy. They
were in the main monetarist prescriptions that did little or nothing to address the structural and fundamental
distortions in the economic, social and political life of the nation. By the 1980s the need for reforms paved the
way for the Stabilization/Austerity Measures of the Shagari Administration. The sharp drop in the international
spot market price for oil resulted in plummeting national revenues, putting in dire peril all the budgetary
projections and planning for the period. The hurried and fire-brigade approach to the emerging problem, failed to
address the root causes of a national economy in great distress and fundamental disequilibrium.
In 1986, the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) was introduced by the Babangida Administration to
address the fundamental and structural imbalance in the economy, diversify the economy, strengthen the
currency, and build a viable, sustainable industrial infrastructure upon which real economic growth and
development can be founded. The reform exercise rested on a tripod of measures: Liberalization of foreign
exchange transactions, Rationalization of public sector agencies and parastatals, and Optimization of the capacity
for domestic production and stimulation of non-oil exports.
Next in the line was the Vision 2010 introduced by Abacha Administration in 1998. The aim was to “develop a
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blueprint that will transform the country and place it firmly on the route to becoming a developed nation by the
year 2010" (Vision 2010 Report, 1998). The general objective was to transform the country into “a united,
industrious, caring and God-fearing democratic society, committed to making the basic needs of life affordable
for everyone, and creating Africa’s leading economy”. The Policy projected that by 2010, the Nigerian people
would re-discover themselves and revert to being God-conscious and God-fearing, caring, sincere, honest,
accountable in their dealing with public trust, and proud of their country and heritage.
In 2004, the Obasanjo Administration introduced NEEDS - National Economic Empowerment and Development
Strategy. The NEEDS reform programme rested on four key strategies (NEEDS, 2004):
▪ Reforming Government and Institutions;
▪ Growing the Private Sector;
▪ Implementing a Social Charter;
▪ Value Re-Orientation.
The complimentary tools for the realization of the above goals included Pension Reforms, Energy and Power
Reforms that led to the desegregation of NEPA into 18 successor companies, the GSM Telecommunications
Reform, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the Corrupt and Allied Offences Commission (ICPC),
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the Reforms in the Financial Sector.
With the advent of the Yar’Adua Administration in 2007, the Federal Government articulated the 7-point
Agenda for national development. The policy thrust revolved around the seven-point contract of that
Administration with the Nigerian people: Energy, Education, Agriculture, Infrastructure, Wealth Creation and
Poverty Alleviation, Land Reforms, and Security. The point was further made, that these reforms would catapult
Nigeria to the rank of one of the 20 most developed countries of the world by the year 2020.
On April 16, 2011, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan won a pan-Nigerian mandate that swept through the
North and South of the nation. He ran on a promise to radically transform the nation and overhaul every aspect
of the national life. The Transformation Agenda Final Report defines the goal of the reform exercise in these
words:
During 2011-2015, the policies and programmes directed at addressing governance will focus
on the public service, security, law and order, the legislature, anti-corruption measures and
institutions, the judiciary, economic coordination, and support for private investment... These
will be addressed through the implementation of the recommendations ... in the areas of public
service reforms, judicial reform, anti-corruption initiative, electoral reform, land use reform,
fiscal management reforms, power sector reform, police reform, financial sector reform, infra-
structural development reform, and information and communication technology (p. 51; Cited
by Asobia, 2012).
On the close examination, it seems that the NEEDS provided the common denominator upon which the 7-point
Agenda, the Vision 20 2020, and the Transformation Agenda rest. The expectation was that all the above reform
measures would culminate in the fulfilling of the 2001 Kuru Declaration:
To build a truly great African, democratic country, politically united, integrated and stable,
economically prosperous, socially organized, with equal opportunity for all, and responsibility
from all, to become the catalyst of [African] Renaissance, and making adequate all-embracing
contributions, sub-regionally, regionally and globally (NEEDS: viii, 2004).
Sadly, after more than fifty years of policy reforms, Nigeria has painfully remained:
i) A public-sector led economy with a bloated government presence in every facet of national life;
ii) A nation with very weak private sector which has grown a “rent-seeking and unproductive culture of over-
dependence on government patronage and contracts, with little or no value added” (Harneit-Sievers, 2004);
iii) A mono-crop economy with preponderant influence of one commodity in determining the nation’s revenue-
expenditure profile and the balance of payment position;
iv) An extractive and primary economy that produced unrefined raw materials for export, either in the form of
agricultural products or crude oil. Manufacturing was at a very rudimentary stage, and industrialization remained
an inconsequential factor in the nation’s economic equation;
v) A nation without an effective industrial infrastructure for economic take-off - no petro-chemical industry to
fuel the industrialization process, no effective iron and steel complex to produce flat steel, a deficient power and
energy sector, insecure and inhospitable environment, and poor communications;
vi) An economy with a weak and tottering national currency that was the whipping boy of the international
financial community.
The mandate to reform and transform Nigeria has been most emphatically communicated in the majesty of the
democratic process. The dream is for bold and audacious transformation programme that will radically,
fundamentally, structurally and massively transform the national economy, reinvent the politics of our nation,
secure the polity, care for the underprivileged, and provide responsible, responsive and credible leadership to
Africa’s largest and most promising economy.
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The above discussion points to the fact that education must inculcate core values of the land into the learners
because it could be affirmed that men without values constitute a blot on the nation’s psyche, in the case of
tertiary institutions of learning: A Teacher without proper values will sell grades for sex and money; an Engineer
without sound values will build roads and utilities that will neither endure nor give real service; an Architect
without values will design buildings that will collapse and kill their occupants; a Judge without values would be
a stranger to justice, selling and buying ex-parte motions, and standing fair conduct on its head; a Politician
without values will be an opportunist in the corridors of power - greedy, malevolent, deceitful, master of double
speak, dishonest and above all, dangerous to the nation’s well-being; and, an Accountant without values will
substitute “expediency for priority, imitation for innovation, cosmetics for character, style for substance, and
pretence for competence” (Covey, 2003).
5. Recommendations
From the foregoing, the following recommendations are offered:
1) The Nigerian government must urgently mainstream tertiary institutions of learning in the education sector of
the NV 2020 project in order to demonstrate seriousness in developing the necessary quality manpower to
achieve its goals. This is the only way by which the NV 2020 project can be a driving force for the national
transformation;
2) Government at all levels in Nigeria should change its poor attitude towards the funding of education
especially at tertiary level. There should be massive injection of funds into the education sector;
3) That the display of ignorance by the government and people of Nigeria about the importance of education to
national transformation should be changed radically. In this regard, mass media in Nigeria should mount
aggressive enlightenment campaigns to enlighten the general public at all levels on the importance of education
to the national transformation.
4) There is the need for a special National Policy on Information to be put in place by the government of Nigeria,
so as to awaken the consciousness of all Nigerians to the importance of tertiary institutions of learning and
research institutes to national transformation. This could be done through massive publicity in both the print and
electronic media.
5) For the purpose of achieving the NV 2020 project, the government of Nigeria at all levels must rise to the
occasion and do all it takes to bring tertiary education and the academic libraries in Nigeria up to the standards of
the topmost economies of the world by providing the necessary funding and infrastructure. All that the
government has been doing wrongly or failing to do in this regard should be corrected after a necessary study of
the inputs being made in this regard by advanced countries.
6) The Education Tax Fund (ETF), has been giving financial support to tertiary institutions and other relevant
institutions and their libraries to enable them develop better. These funds should be strictly utilized for the
purpose. A situation where such funds are being diverted to other uses in some of the institutions will not augur
well for the accelerated development of academic libraries. The utilization of funds should be closely monitored
by ETF so that they can support the massive funding required for the national transformation.
7) For national transformation agenda to be realistic there is need for a genuinely interested leader in serving
rather than being served.
8) Nigerians deserve a leader with the ability to create the vision, inspire and motivate followers, and through
consistent, persistent and focussed guidance, empower individuals to achieve results greater than they ever
imagined.
9) At this point of lives, Nigerians need a leader who will unite us rather than divide us, ennobles rather than
demean us, truly transforms rather than deform us - who will diligently search out and celebrate
subordinates better than himself.
10) Nigeria politicians are expected to model what they preach, and claim to leadership on the force of their
convictions, the elegance and style of their performance on the job, and the integrity of life and practice.
The mandate Nigerians gave to this Administration for transformation of the polity is one that seeks for
the style of governance that will:
▶ Recreate our value system as a people - replacing patronage appointment with an insistence on merit, and
restoring the moral tone of our public officers;
▶ Inculcate a healthy work ethic in the citizenry - developing the individual worker intellectually and
equipping him to do a good job, providing efficient supervisory and management skills at the workplace,
selection and placement of staff on merit rather than on nepotic and ethnic considerations, and a fair
reward-incentive scheme that motivates;
▶ Resolve our national identity crisis by forging one united people out of the diverse ethnic nationalities that
comprise our nation. One of the enduring wonders of our age remains how the United States has
become a melting pot of different nationalities living together just as Americans, notwithstanding the
fierce nationalistic struggle and rivalry that described their past. Today, whether they are Italian-
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Americans, German-Americans, Anglo-Americans, or Afro-Americans, they all have one proud
heritage as Americans. Perhaps, the best gift any Nigerian leader can bequeath to his countrymen today
is to forge one united nation and people out of the disparate peoples of Nigeria.
▶ Lead the nation in a deliberate and determined battle against corruption. Corruption has penetrated the
warp and woof of the Nigerian society. The boss and his messenger, the police officer and the recruit,
the classroom teacher and his student, the politician and the voter, the judge and the lawyer, the pastor
and his parishioner - none can remain untainted by this stigma. The greed of the ruling class, plays upon
the poverty of the larger majority of the people to perpetuate this scourge. Unfortunately, the battle
against corruption is being prosecuted by men who are not morally qualified to lead in the crusade.
Success in this battle demands on the part of the leader, commitment, sincerity, and consistency, and
must be pursued relentlessly, no matter whose ox is gored.
▶ Redefine our national priority in favour of hard-work, diligence, honesty and patriotism. So long as
people make it because of their connections, so long as tribe and old school ties are the basis for
progress in public service, so long will all the talk about National Rebirth and Reorientation, be mere
talk. We must build a system that respects excellence. No country ever went to the moon, or
transformed into a developed economy by federal character. Excellence must become our national
motto, if we are to remain relevant in the new millennium.
▶ Unleash the creative potential of our people. This will mean encouraging challenges to current ways of
thinking and doing, establishment of goals that explicitly contain creative components, cultivating an
attitude of focussed freedom to apply natural and acquired skills in a defined area of activity, and
associating creative efforts with specific evaluative domains.
6. Conclusion
The task of transforming the Nigerian nation from socio-political and economic perspective requires more than
the hard factors of growth and development. Also needed, are the soft factors of management and leadership
skills to be imbedded in our students especially at tertiary levels. Rightly has it been said that there are no under-
developed countries; only under-managed ones. The need of the hour is for transformational leaders able to
articulate their vision, possessing assessment skills, communication abilities, and at the same time very sensitive
to the skill deficiencies of the graduates turning out from our tertiary institutions of learning. Therefore, tertiary
education is crucial to national development and national transformation of current administration.
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