Establishment Of More Public Universities In Nigeria Without NUC Input

By Afe Babalola, SAN

IN my recently published three-part series tagged “Creation of new tertiary institutions despite confessed inability to fund revival of educational system”, I extensively discussed the proliferation of tertiary institutions in Nigeria vis-à-vis the government’s inability to adequately fund the educational sector, as well as the deplorable state of infrastructure, particularly in our government-owned universities.

While still receiving comments from readers on this subject, I recently came across the interview of the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, whose opinions on the creation of more universities, in view of the poor funding of universities and non-payment of lecturers’ salaries, tallly with mine. I hereby reproduce his comments for ease of reference:

“Our position on that had been that the Federal Government is toying with the future of the society. They are turning universities into constituency projects, where every village must have a higher institution; the purpose is not to have good universities and a good environment for academic excellence. Every politician wants to have a university in his village. This is not how a system is run. They are establishing a university of Medical Sciences and other specialised institutions, why not go and fund those old universities so that you can upgrade the Faculty of Medical Sciences to professional standards, so that the Nigerian politician, including the President, who usually go outside the country for medical attention, will have their medical issues solved here.

But we will not do that; rather, the federal and state governments are busy establishing mushroom universities. It is very unfortunate. But as a union, we are also thinking of what we can do in the future to compel them to stop this. One of the things we did in the earlier agreement was that we agreed that the National Universities Commission (NUC) law should be reviewed to make it almost impossible for any governor or Federal Government to start a university without adequate preparation for funding for over 10 years. But till now, that resolution has not been implemented. What we are saying is that the law should be reviewed to give NUC power to ensure that before you can start a university, you have to show good evidence that you can fund the system. The other plank of the argument is that creating additional universities will enlarge student’s intake and provide employment opportunities. You are looking for an immediate job, aren’t you? But I ask you, is that what a nation should be looking for at this time when countries of the world are thinking about technology and science? We are talking about sound knowledge, a good university, and a sound educational system that can create competitive jobs all over the globe, not going below standard. We are thinking about a situation where you can see somebody from China is coming to work in Nigeria and Nigerians can go anywhere and work and not do all the menial jobs in any country they are fortunate enough to find themselves. That is what we are after.”

I could not agree more with the foregoing. The development of a sound educational system requires the allocation of adequate budgetary funding towards research, infrastructural development, and the implementation of sound educational development system. Rather, it seems that our politicians are pre-occupied with the creation of tertiary institutions with little or no capability to impart knowledge, and with no long-term plans for sustainability. At the current unchecked rate of establishment, one cannot but concede that universities are relegated to mere constituency projects of politicians, and perhaps as a tool to immortalize them.

Revisiting the Powers of the NUC

As I had noted in the series, “Creation of New Tertiary Institutions Despite Confessed Inability to Fund Revival of Educational System”, the establishment of the National Universities Commission in 1974 was to advise the federal and state governments on all aspects of university education and the general development of universities in Nigeria. One of the functions of the Commission, pursuant to Section 4(1)(e) of the Act, is to “inquire into and advise the Federal Government on the financial needs of, both recurrent and capital, of university education in Nigeria and, in particular, to investigate and study the financial needs of university research and ensure that adequate provision is made for this in the universities.”

Clearly, the actualisation of the afore-referenced function of the Commission remains much to be seen today, particularly in light of the deplorable state of our universities in terms of infrastructure, research and educational standard. Another important function of the Commission, as provided under Section 4(1)(a) is to advise the president and the governors on the creation of new universities and other degree-granting institutions in Nigeria. Having due consideration to these functions, i.e., of advising the president and governors on the creation of new institutions, and of ensuring that adequate financial provisions are made for the tertiary institutions, can it then be said that the Commission effectively performed its statutory duty to advise the Federal Government on the creation of new universities, particularly in view of the revelation by the Minister of State for Education that the government lacks the resources to fund the revival of the country’s education system? I do not think so.

Certainly, more needs to be done concerning the powers of the (NUC) to checkmate the creation of universities and to effectively oversee the prompt withdrawal of the licenses of universities falling below the minimum standard of infrastructure development and financing. Most state governments establish Universities with little or no regard for the provision of adequate infrastructure and facilities. Universities are established by the states and sited based on political rather than educational and logistical considerations in often obscure and undeveloped locations with little or no facility to accommodate the take-off of the Universities. Either by way of amending the extant laws, or by executive fiat, the NUC should be empowered to participate more effectively in the establishment of universities either by the state or federal government. I advocate increased direct involvement of the NUC before any State Government or even the Federal Government takes a decision as to whether a new University should be allowed to come into existence or not. A constitutional amendment may be necessary, by curtailing the powers of a State to establish universities without the approval of the NUC.

I also advocate a system in which all Universities from inception are mandated to operate from their permanent site. In this regard, the facilities put in place by the promoters of the University at the point of seeking the grant of the license should determine the number of programs for which the University would be accredited and the number of students it would be permitted to admit into those programs. Finally, the powers of the NUC should not be limited to refusing or withdrawing accreditation from universities (private or public) that overshoot their approved enrolment capacities; those in charge of the administration and control of such universities that end up pilling backlogs of “graduates” who cannot graduate or find slots for National Service several years after “graduation” should be made to face criminal sanctions. For example, the owner(s) and the Vice Chancellor should be sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. This will reduce the number of profiteers who use universities as commercial ventures as against its pure charitable or humanitarian thrust.

AARE AFE BABALOLA, OFR, CON, SAN, FCIArb., FNIALS, LLD. D.Litt.