by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji
To be honest, despite how callous the average Nigerian might think, the government’s position is not atypical from what is obtainable in many countries whose education systems we admire,….
Heart broken as I am that so many young people are idling away at home because of the recent ASUU strike, I feel like this strike is a very important one which, if it is not compromised, will determine the destiny of the future Nigerian graduate.
According to several credible newspaper reports, ASUU has three key demands. With respect to the funding of Universities, ASUU is demanding fulfillment of a 2009 agreement with the Federal government to commit N1.2 trillion to Nigerian Universities over a couple years, the intention being to invest in badly needed infrastructure for Nigerian Universities. ASUU is also requesting payment of a variety of academic allowances that the government agreed to pay faculty of Nigerian Universities in the above-mentioned 2009 agreement. The final request, which I actually find to be most important and the most interesting of these three demands is that Universities be given autonomy to generate regulatory policies internally as opposed to being told to by the Nigerian Universities Commission.
The divergence between the government and ASUU’s position on this demand for autonomy is what I believe is at the fulcrum of the current crisis rocking Nigerian Education. According to several government officials, the government line seems to be that if ASUU is demanding governance autonomy for Universities, it should also include under those terms, financial autonomy, meaning each University will be required to generate funds internally for its own sustenance.
To be honest, despite how callous the average Nigerian might think, the government’s position is not atypical from what is obtainable in many countries whose education systems we admire, from the United States, to Canada. In much of the world, each University in tenant with the principles of academic freedom manages not only its own policies and governance but also its own finances.
I believe government granting Universities financial and academic autonomy will be the best way out of the repeated crisis of strike after strike. Here is why? The world over, the era of government funded education is over. The new players in the business of higher education all over the world are billion dollar companies you have never heard of. Companies like Ahanguera, Laureate, Apollo Group dominate higher education. So the idea that Nigerian Universities can, powered by meager government funding subsist and compete effectively with institutions funded by these billion dollar behemoths is preposterous. We have no chance.
But what is particularly disheartening about the situation is that education in Nigeria is big business that our own Universities are sadly losing out of. Despite the misinformed belief that Nigerians cannot afford high tuition, Nigerians are collectively spending $10 billion – 3-4% of the countries GDP in other countries getting a quality education. This robs our schools of much needed revenue and devalues the naira further.
Nigerian Universities might seem far behind now but given our demographic structure, the demand for higher education in Nigeria will hit record levels so there is still hope. Instead of arguing pennies on the dollar with a distracted government, why don’t our erudite scholars at ASUU take the government’s offer of financial autonomy as an opportunity to pioneer new models of higher education that are financially sustainable and can scale to meet the record demand that is coming. The sad thing is that if we don’t step up to the challenge soon enough, there are a smattering of world class institutions waiting right outside our border in neighboring Ghana, ready to welcome Nigerian students in search of the golden fleece. The successes of these institutions will be built on the backs of our large market for quality education. That is an unacceptable proposition.
ASUU should take the government’s challenge of financial autonomy as an opportunity to make our Universities proudly Nigeria as well so we can define success as when Nigerians will rather spend more of their money on education here in Nigeria than elsewhere.
Higher education all over the world is a big leagues business. We are a big leagues country. Dear Nigerian University, welcome to the big leagues.
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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.
You raised nice points, this was the idea I suggested to a friend when we were discussing this issue sometime back… but wait. I schooled in Nigeria, I’m on my M. Sc in the United States and there’s no way my salary while I was working could have paid for my current education, simply because Education in the United States and other countries you mentioned are very expensive and that is what private participation does.
My total (as in cumulative) school fees for my 5 years in undergrad studies is less than 1000 USD, yes you read that right, and I still know how tough it was for my dad to make the payment at some points. Take note, I’m not even from a poor home, it’s just that as at when I was schooling, my dad was retired, (and you know what happens to pension money in Nigeria). Now imagine how many people will not be able to afford education when the schools are “privatized”.
Many people in the United States are able to go to college because of availability of college loans, and a government can afford such risks (i) when its sure it’s a good investment, i.e. people will get jobs after their college degree (ii) the people won’t “disappear” when the time comes to pay these loans. These are issues, and everything goes around a terrible loop.
So much needs to be fixed for our education system to be given that kind of autonomy, companies have to be able to trust universities when they partner on projects, our philanthropists need to stop handling chicken change to the universities, and so many other stuffs.
As at now, the Government is about the only saving grace for Nigerian universities, and they need to come to a very important realization “that investments in infrastructures will depreciate but investments in man-power will only appreciate” — E. F. Ogbimi
nigerian universities cannot survive without govt funding, unless you are suggesting at least a 10 fold increase in current fees paid in govt universities. The private sector is not buoyant enough to fund. A suggestion is counterpart funding, with the schools free to solicit funds from businesses and wealthy individuals for projects in addition to govt funding. The govt shd also make a long term commitment to increasing funding for education.