Radical Reforms in the Nigerian Higher Education Sector – Dr Dipo Awojide

The entire education sector in Nigeria needs an overhaul in terms of policy and direction. In this piece, I shall focus on the higher education sector. The piece captures some of the radical initiatives that the Minster of Education and the Ministry of Education might consider in overhauling the higher education sector in Nigeria. These initiatives are discussed in no particular order.

 Improve the Welfare of Academics

The welfare of Nigerian academics needs to be taken more seriously. This point cannot be overemphasised. I expect that this administration will prioritise education and significantly improve the welfare of Lecturers. Teaching is a noble profession. However, it seems in Nigeria it is not. This is because we do not treat our Lecturers like they matter. We do not treat them like we value them. Some of our Lecturers do a fantastic job and we need to reward them. If we do not remunerate our academics adequately, morale will be at low levels and we will not be getting the best out of those who decide to remain in the industry. This is not good for students nor for Nigeria.

 Employ Career Consultants and Academic Mentors

As part of the personalisation and experiential learning team at Nottingham Business School, I teach on the Personal and Professional Development module. I motivate, coach, mentor and inspire over 330 Business Management and Entrepreneurship undergraduate students. I help them be the best they can be thus inspiring academic, personal and professional development. I believe this can be replicated in Nigeria.

Personal and Professional Development modules should be taught across Nigerian Universities and Polytechnics. We might engage 3-5 Academic Mentors for each Faculty and also engage the same numbers as Career Consultants. These Academic Mentors and Career Consultants are needed to help individual students think about their personal aspirations, help them reflect on their skills, future career prospects, and help them think about how to adequately market themselves to organisations upon graduation.

It pays to invest in the personal and professional development of young people and we need to train Nigerian youths for the jobs of the future.

 Invest in Employability and Enterprise Skills Development

Improving graduate employability is a must.

We have complained enough about how most of our graduates are unemployable. Now, we need to take bold steps and change this ugly situation. Tertiary education should not be about cramming, and copy and pasting from textbooks. Nigerian Universities and Polytechnics should be assisting undergraduate and postgraduate students gain valuable skills which might be useful in solving complex problems in the real world of works.

Employers want to be sure that graduates can do the job and that they can fit into their organisation. Having the ability and capacity to do a job might not necessarily be as a result of having a first class degree or being a very clever student. There are loads of first class graduates who do not have the necessary employability and transferable skills. To this end, we should be paying attention to, and improving the employability of young Nigerians, using world class standards.

Skilled graduates will go on to contribute to economic development. Therefore, to create a more prosperous nation, increasing productivity and improving skills are essential and the Federal Government needs to note this and make it a priority.

Invest in Curriculum Refresh and Research Development

Putting it mildly, the curriculum used across our Federal and State Universities and Polytechnics can be described as dated and retrogressive. Although, there was a recent review of the minimum academic standards – basically the curriculum for Universities by the National Universities Commission late last year. What we didn’t see much of is the involvement of professional bodies and possibly employers in the process. A major criticism is that it was just a refresher of the same old stuffs and discussion around grading system with little improvement on the content of the curriculum itself. No news as regard if the review has been adopted and now being used.

We need to refresh our curriculum and embrace the current realities of an evolving global village. For example, Nigerian Students studying Computer Science without opening up and coupling a computer in 4/5 years of study is unfortunate, we must improve on this. Nigerian Lecturers who also teach with notes for 15 years should be trained and retrained and reminded of the importance of research and continuous scholarly activity. Teaching must be research-informed. Academics must engage in continuous research and personal and professional development. Students will be better off for this.

Our Universities and Polytechnics should also be open to involving employers and the learned societies in curriculum design and development. We should be able to develop our faculties and turn them into world-class faculties, and develop our research to international standards in 15-20 years. Visionary leadership is vital in achieving all of these. And to be honest, it is not rocket science, it can be done.

 Invest in Mental Health Support Services for Students

It doesn’t appear as though we care about the wellbeing of Nigerian students. Across our State and Federal Universities and Polytechnics, the story of neglect is the same.

We need to take mental health seriously in Nigeria. And this is not just in our Universities and Polytechnics. Across Primary and Secondary Schools, we need to pay much more attention to the wellbeing and mental health of students. Depression, dyslexia and other learning difficulties are overlooked in Nigeria. Once a child cannot catch up, some Nigerians label such a child a fool. Some Nigerians taunt people for being suicidal and depressed. Our Schools have nothing in place to deal with both. Most Teachers don't care and Most Lecturers don’t give a damn.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder and mental illness are also laughed at and ignored in Schools across Nigeria. Anxiety and depression and some of these other issues can be managed by just talking to a trusted person or a medical practitioner. Most Nigerian Universities and Polytechnics also have no time to deal with students with special needs. No extra time in examinations, no extended course work deadlines, nothing is done. This culture of ‘I don’t care or it is none of my business’ needs to change.

Depression is real, and it is not a laughing matter. We need to invest in supporting our students and help them be the best they can be.

Encourage Faculties to Forge Links with Industry (Knowledge Transfer Partnerships)

Few weeks ago, I asked on Twitter - how many top companies in Nigeria offer full year internships to our undergraduate students? The answer - just a handful.

Our Business Schools should have links with companies within Nigeria, Africa and even the rest of the world. Nigerian students should have the opportunity to undertake in-company placements/internships for six months - one year as part of their course. This should enhance the development of practical skills which will be useful upon graduation.

Our Engineering Faculties should also have industry connections. Students should be allowed to experience first-hand manufacturing and innovative processes. Not just read and cram these processes from textbooks and journals. The Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) needs to be revamped and reenergised.

Also, through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) between our Universities/Polytechnics and local businesses, we should be able to improve the competitiveness and productivity of Nigerian companies.

 Invest in and Revamp Vocational Schools

University and Polytechnic education is important. However, it is not everyone who would like to go through this traditional education route. Some young people are very creative and University/Polytechnic education might not be the best for them. Consequently, we need to cater for the diverse learning needs of young people and diverse education routes. We need to invest more in vocational schools and centres across Nigeria. Our Governors need to stop spending billions abroad on vocational skills training. There is no vocational skills anyone is going to learn in Israel, Dubai or South Africa that they cannot learn in Nigeria.

Some Plumbers earn more than Lecturers in the UK while some Mechanics earn more than those who do white collar jobs. All those mechanic boys that people look down on in Nigeria, we can build large training factories in different states, send them there for 4-5 years and give them certificates upon graduation. We can give them a loan of 3-5 million Naira upon graduation and make them take 5-10 interns in their own shops. That way, we grow the economy. This can be replicated and implemented across a variety of semi-skilled careers like barbing, welding and fabrication, computer and electronic equipment repairs, painting and other semi-skilled jobs.

A country that wants to diversify its economy will need millions of semi-skilled citizens. Hence, we need to commit to revamping our vocational schools and invest in standardising them.

 Internationalise the Higher Education Sector

Lastly, we need to think about internationalising the higher education sector in Nigeria. Thousands of Nigerian Students will be resuming across UK Universities in September 2016, taking billions of Naira out of Nigeria. The average tuition for international students is roughly ￡14,000. Some even pay as much as ￡17,000 - ￡25,000 in top rated Universities across the UK. Average living expenses is roughly ￡12,000 - ￡18, 000 per student. This comes up to roughly ￡28,000 per student, on the average. (￡28,000 * N450 = N12, 600, 000). That’s a lot of money.

I dream of Universities and faculties in Nigeria which can attract international students from all over the world. British students travel to the U.S., Canada, Singapore, Australia, Germany, Finland etc. for further education or exchange programmes. When shall Nigerian Universities start attracting foreign students in significant numbers as well? This is something that policy makers must reflect on.

We might be able to internationalise the Nigerian higher education sector in the next 10-15 years if we are able to implement some of the initiatives suggested above. We should be able to build Universities which will attract students from other African countries and the rest of the world. If the UK, U.S. and Canada earn billions in revenue from their education sector, Nigeria can earn significantly as well. However, we must improve teaching and the learning experience.

Internationalising the higher education sector in Nigeria will be good for the Naira and very good for our economy. If we don't fix our own higher education sector and add quality value to students, Nigerians will continue spending billions on education outside the country. Please note, I am not suggesting that foreign education is bad in itself.

 To conclude, we urgently require a shift in what is obtainable in our higher education sector. I hope we consider and implement some of these progressive concepts in our higher education sector. Make no mistake, education is important and should never be relegated to the background. Also, every young Nigerian deserves a shot at a world class education.

With visionary leadership, the ideas suggested in this piece can transform our education sector in 10-20 years. Development takes time, however, we must begin the implementation of some of these radical initiatives as soon as possible. The decay is getting worse.

 God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

 Dr Dipo Awojide is a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Strategy at Nottingham Business School. He takes a genuine interest in the development of individuals, teams, organisations and nations.

I would like to thank Wale Micaiah (a Dataist and lead SDG advocate based in Lagos Nigeria) for his helpful comments on a previous draft.