NIGERIA 1 | Page Introduction Higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries have gone through various reforms and witnessed considerable level of growth that has serious policy implications for the continent. The system, according to IAU (2000) 1 , comprises the universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and professional/specialized institutions. At the heart of the system are the universities, which represent the highest institutions of learning and research in the continent. Higher education offers the most crucial platform to accumulate human capital in the form of relevant manpower training, abilities, attitudes, skills and knowledge (Babalola, 2007). Higher education (HE) plays a prominent role in the economy of a nation. In this regard, HE is one of the decisive factors in life chances, equal opportunity and advancements. It is the most powerful instrument for developing and empowering the citizens to master their social and cultural environment and compete for survival. It increases individual’s chances for employment in the labour market, provides opportunity for higher wages and enhances individual’s prospect for job mobility. The World Bank in 2007 attested to this when it says that HE is central to economic and political development, and vital to competitiveness in an increasingly globalizing knowledge society. To this end, higher education in the SSA needs to be expanded so as to be able to accommodate the large population of qualified youth denied admission because of limited facilities. The economic relevance of expanding access to higher education relates to the role of higher education in solving societal problems. In almost every country, access to higher education has been recognized as an important societal goal. Higher education provides the training needed for most skilled occupations and professions in the society. For almost a century, higher education (particularly the universities) has become an instrument for social mobility – a way for individuals to obtain the skills they need to improve their income level and status. Consequently, there is growth in the number of HEIs, which have provided an increased access to a wider section of the population. For instance, since World War II, especially after the 1960s, enrolment in higher education increased dramatically worldwide, doubling from 40 million in 1975 to 80 million in 1995, and perhaps reaching 150 million in 2007 (Altbach, 2008). In Nigeria, the number of HEIs has increased over the past few years as a response to the rising demand for higher education in the country. Between 2001 and 2005, the total number of universities in the country increased from 51 to 80, and 128 by 2013 (Okonji, 2013). In addition, other non-university HEIs increased from about 163 to 178 (National Bureau of Statistics, 2006). Table 1 shows enrolment in HEIs as at 2013. 1 International Association of Universities (IAU) (2000). Nigeria-education system.
29
Embed
NIGERIA - British Council · development obviously demands for urgent intervention. Table 4 provides some socio-economic indicators for Ghana and Nigeria. These indicators reveal
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
NIGERIA
1 | P a g e
Introduction
Higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries have gone through
various reforms and witnessed considerable level of growth that has serious policy implications for the
continent. The system, according to IAU (2000)1, comprises the universities, polytechnics, colleges of
education and professional/specialized institutions. At the heart of the system are the universities, which
represent the highest institutions of learning and research in the continent. Higher education offers the
most crucial platform to accumulate human capital in the form of relevant manpower training, abilities,
attitudes, skills and knowledge (Babalola, 2007). Higher education (HE) plays a prominent role in the
economy of a nation. In this regard, HE is one of the decisive factors in life chances, equal opportunity
and advancements. It is the most powerful instrument for developing and empowering the citizens to
master their social and cultural environment and compete for survival. It increases individual’s chances
for employment in the labour market, provides opportunity for higher wages and enhances individual’s
prospect for job mobility. The World Bank in 2007 attested to this when it says that HE is central to
economic and political development, and vital to competitiveness in an increasingly globalizing
knowledge society.
To this end, higher education in the SSA needs to be expanded so as to be able to accommodate the large
population of qualified youth denied admission because of limited facilities. The economic relevance of
expanding access to higher education relates to the role of higher education in solving societal problems.
In almost every country, access to higher education has been recognized as an important societal goal.
Higher education provides the training needed for most skilled occupations and professions in the society.
For almost a century, higher education (particularly the universities) has become an instrument for social
mobility – a way for individuals to obtain the skills they need to improve their income level and status.
Consequently, there is growth in the number of HEIs, which have provided an increased access to a wider
section of the population. For instance, since World War II, especially after the 1960s, enrolment in
higher education increased dramatically worldwide, doubling from 40 million in 1975 to 80 million in
1995, and perhaps reaching 150 million in 2007 (Altbach, 2008). In Nigeria, the number of HEIs has
increased over the past few years as a response to the rising demand for higher education in the country.
Between 2001 and 2005, the total number of universities in the country increased from 51 to 80, and 128
by 2013 (Okonji, 2013). In addition, other non-university HEIs increased from about 163 to 178 (National
Bureau of Statistics, 2006). Table 1 shows enrolment in HEIs as at 2013.
1 International Association of Universities (IAU) (2000). Nigeria-education system.
NIGERIA
2 | P a g e
Table 1. Nigeria Higher Education System in 2013
Type of institution Federal State Private Total Enrol-
ment
%
Universities 40 38 50 128 1,131,312 58.4
Polytechnics 21 38 12 71
360, 535 18.6
Monotechnics 23 2 2 27
Colleges of Agriculture 17 19 0 36
91 259 4.7Colleges of Health
Technology
9 40 1 50
Vocational Institutes 0 0 69 69
Colleges of Education 21 41 17 79 354 387 18.3
Total 131 178 150 460 1 937 493 100
Compiled by Olayinka and Adedeji, 2013
However, in spite of the seeming rapid growth in tertiary education development, the enrolment gap
between demand and supply has not improved, rather the demand for access have continued to rise in the
face of limited supply. For instance, in 1995/96 academic session, only about 7.3 percent of the total
applicants to universities in Nigeria were admitted, while only about 11.3 percent were offered admission
in 2001/2002 academic year (Isuku, 2007). The access problems have made Nigeria a ready market for
the recruitment of potential students by foreign universities. For instance, in 2008/09 session alone, about
6,256 and 10,090 Nigerian students were registered in United States and United Kingdom universities
respectively, with tuition and living expenses averaging £19,000 per session for international students in
UK and $21,000 in US universities (Bamiro and Adedeji 2010). Thus, Nigerian students in the two
countries, aggregately, must have spent close to N70 billion on tuition and living expenses per session. It
is pertinent to note that the Federal Government budgeted N249 billion for the entire Nigerian education
sector in 2009. The implication of this to the fragile economy cannot be overemphasised. Besides, there
are serious challenges of overcrowding in many universities in Nigeria due to the limited carrying
capacity of these institutions. Table 2 shows the gap between enrolment and carrying capacity in Nigerian
universities.
NIGERIA
3 | P a g e
Table 2: Enrolment and carrying capacity in Nigerian universities
Institution/System Enrolment Carrying Capacity Over Enrolment
Universities 1,096,312 715,000 381,312
NOUN 35,000 100,000 -65,000
Polytechnics/Monotechnics 360,535 198,370 162,165
Colleges of Education 354,387 118,129 236,258
National Teachers
Institute
91,259 100,000 -8,741
Source: Okojie, 2010
It should be noted that these figures are exclusive of enrolments into open and distance learning (ODL)
and part time programmes, which use the same facilities. Also, about 1.2 million candidates apply
annually for admission into universities, while only about 200,000 are admitted. In contrast, only about
200,000 students apply for admission into the Polytechnics and Colleges of Education through JAMB.
The preference for university education has adverse implications on the quality of entrants and products
of Polytechnics and Colleges of Education and compounds the problem of access in this sub sector. In
2006, out of the over 140 million Nigerian population (2006 census figures), only 6.0% (7.5% males and
4.5% females) had tertiary education. The implication is that access to higher education is not keeping
pace with the growing population. Thus, one of the key challenges facing HEIs in Nigeria relates to
access at all levels. Table 3 shows the relatively low levels of access for females at all levels, and for both
males and females at the secondary level. At all levels of the system, males outnumber females by a large
margin.
Table 3: Gross Enrolment and Gender Parity Ratios by Level of Enrolment (2006)
Level of Education Gross Enrolment Ratio (%) Gender Parity Index
Primary 96
Female 87
0.83
SSA average: 0.90
Secondary 32
Female 29
0.82
Tertiary 10
Male 12
Female 8
0.67
Source: UNESCO, 2009
NIGERIA
4 | P a g e
In 1985, the percentage enrolment into higher institutions in Nigeria stood at 3.5%. In 1990, it rose to
4.1% and later dropped slightly to 4.0% in 1995; while Algeria had 7.9%, 11.4% and 12.0% respectively
during the same period. South Korea’s tertiary education enrolment reached 52.0% in 1995 from 34% and
28.5% during the period under review, while the United States of America had an enrolment of about
90% by 1995 (World Bank, 2002)2. The participation rate in tertiary education increased in 2009 to 10%,
which is high by sub-Saharan African standards (average 5%) but much lower than the average for
developing countries (17%) (UNESCO, 2009).
Access to education is an important indicator of human resource development, Nigeria’s status in human
resource development is unsatisfactory. For instance, in the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI, 2011), Nigeria was ranked 156th out of 187 countries and a
mean year of schooling of 5 years. Similarly, in the 2011/2012 Global Competiveness Index (GCI),
Nigeria ranked 114th in higher education and 106
th in technological readiness out of the 140 countries
surveyed (Garba, 2012). The low HDI explains the consequences of inadequate access to universities and
other higher educational institutions in Nigeria. Unfortunately however, despite this exasperating
development, the demand for university education continues to be on the increase with a growing number
of applicants becoming more disappointed as they are unable to gain access to university education. This
development obviously demands for urgent intervention. Table 4 provides some socio-economic
indicators for Ghana and Nigeria. These indicators reveal the low development status of both countries.
For example, Nigeria has a Human Development Index (a composite of income, life expectancy, and
adult literacy) ranking of 158 out of 171 countries that are ranked by the UNDP, with Ghana slightly
higher at 152.
Table 4: Some Socio-Economic Indicators – Ghana and Nigeria
Ghana Nigeria
Human Development Index (HDI)
ranking (out of 171 countries)
Ranked number 1 is Norway (HDI =
0.971) and 2 is Australia (0.970)
152
158
Life expectancy at birth (2007) 56.5 47.7
Adult literacy (aged 15+, 1999-2007)
65.0
72.0
Combined Gross Enrolment in
Education (2007)
56.5
53.0
GDP per capita (US$, PPP, 2007) 1334 1969
2 Cited in Teklu Abate Bekele (2013) Education systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: Trends and developments, Retrieved
September 28, 2014
NIGERIA
5 | P a g e
Poverty
Population living below $1.25/day (%)
Population living below $2 per day (%)
Population below national poverty line
(%)
30.0
57.7
40.2
64.4
83.9
34.1
Gini Index (a measure of inequality) 0.428 0.429
Source: UNDP Human Development Report, 2009. SSA averages: HDI – 0.514; Life expectancy – 51, 5;
Adult literacy – 62.9; Combined GER in education – 53.5; GDP per capita - $2031.
Poverty levels are extremely high in both countries. In Nigeria it is estimated that 84% of the population
is living below the $2 a day level and more than one-third below the national poverty level (Adedeji and
Pundi, 2010). In addition, both countries demonstrate moderately high levels of inequality as reflected in
their respective Gini indices. Furthermore, both countries have an income (GDP) per capita that is lower
than the SSA average ($2031). Considering the role of HE in capacity building and professional training
in support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the findings of Bloom, Canning, and Chan
(2006) indicate that expanding tertiary education may promote faster technological catch-up and improve
a country’s ability to maximize its economic output, unfortunately many African countries are yet to
leverage on these enormous potential. The rest of this paper will focus on the goals of higher education,
impacts, especially the possible policy areas for necessary impact and the challenges facing higher
education in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Higher Education Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa
Education has been adjudged as the bedrock of the development all over the world. The role of Higher
education is most essential among the levels of education. There are different institutions that constitute
higher education (HE). These are colleges of education, polytechnics, monotechnics, universities and
those institutions offering correspondence courses. It is necessary to describe these institutions with their
goals for clarity.
i. Colleges of Education: The colleges of education are responsible for the training of teachers to
feed the primary and secondary tiers of the educational system. The importance of colleges of
education is derived from the fact that quality of trained teachers largely determines the quality of
the secondary and primary school products. (Bamiro and Adedeji, 2010).
ii. The Polytechnic and Monotechnic Education: The word ‘polytechnic’ is used generically to cover
the polytechnics and the monotechnics/specialized institutions. The polytechnics offer a variety of
technical, technological/business programmes to the level of National Diploma and Higher
NIGERIA
6 | P a g e
National Diploma (HND). While monotechnics/specialized institutions are singled-discipline
technical institutions for National Diploma and Higher National Diploma. The general goals of
this category of higher education include provision of instruction and training in engineering,
technologies, applied science, business and management leading to production of trained
technical manpower
iii. University Education: This is the peak of higher education. The responsibilities of propounding,
preserving, promoting and propagating knowledge fall squarely on the university system (the
peak of higher education) by ways of teaching, carrying out research and provision of extension
and community services (Babalola, 2008). In other words, the university education is meant to
drive a knowledge-based economy. According to Brubacher (FME, 2003), the fundamental
mission of universities is to promote the life of the mind through intellectual inquiry and to
generate, store and transmit specialized knowledge and sophisticated expertise, higher forms of
culture and ethical basis of conduct. In support of Brubacher’s position, Ivowi (2006) submits that
universities exist to generate, disseminate and apply knowledge through teaching, research and
extension services.
Higher Education Potential Impacts on Sub-Saharan Africa’s Development
At the beginning of this millennium, poverty was estimated to afflict 1.5 billion people in the world.
Africa’s share of this global poverty is monumental as over 400 million Africans (about 50 percent of the
continent’s population) are living below $1 per day poverty line. Africa is the poorest of the regions
(World Bank, 2000; Jaiyeoba and Atanda, 2008). This is an indicator that Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy
is poor whereas the region is endowed with natural resources as well as large population. The manpower
to maximize the resources appears to be an issue. Meanwhile, it is apparent that the world at large is being
driven by knowledge economy. Thus, Bloom, Canning, and Chan (2006) stressed that in a knowledge
economy, tertiary education can help economies keep up or catch up with more technologically advanced
societies. Higher education graduates are likely to be more aware of and better able to use new
technologies. They are also more likely to develop new tools and skills themselves. Their knowledge can
also improve the skills and understanding of non-graduate coworkers, while the greater confidence and
know-how inculcated by advanced schooling may generate entrepreneurship, with positive effects on job
creation. Bamiro (2003) remarked that in the last two decades, higher education worldwide has moved
from the periphery to the centre of governmental agendas in most countries. That universities are now
seen as crucial national assets in addressing many policy priorities, particularly, as sources of new
knowledge and innovative thinking, providers of skilled personnel and credible credentials, contributors
NIGERIA
7 | P a g e
to innovation, attractors of international talent and business investment, agents of social justice and
mobility, contributors to social and cultural vitality and determinants of health and well-being of a nation.
As Figure 1 shows, higher education can lead to economic growth through both private and public
channels. The private benefits for individuals are well established and include better employment
prospects, higher salaries, and a greater ability to save and invest. These benefits may result in better
health and improved quality of life, thus setting off a virtuous spiral in which life expectancy
improvements enable individuals to work more productively over a longer time further boosting lifetime
earnings
Source: Bloom, D, Canning, D and Chan, K (2006) Higher Education and Economic Development in
Africa. Human Development Sector Africa Region
NIGERIA
8 | P a g e
Research has shown the correlation between higher education and economic development. Bloom,
Canning and Chan (2006) enumerated some of the studies that established the impact of higher education
on manpower development, improved productivity and income growth. These include:
Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1995) found that male educational attainment, particularly secondary
and tertiary education, had significant positive growth effects. They find an interaction between
initial GDP and human capital (broadly defined, including health and education), so that countries
that lag behind tend to grow faster if they have high levels of human capital.
In a time series analysis of the United Kingdom, Jenkins looked at an index of total factor
productivity and its relationship to different levels of educational attainment. When higher
education qualifications (including undergraduate, postgraduate, and other tertiary graduate
stock) increased by 1 per cent, annual output grew between 0.42 and 0.63 per cent (Jenkins,
1995).
A study in Taiwan showed that higher education played a strong role in the country’s economic
growth. It found that a 1 per cent rise in higher education stock (as defined by those who had
completed higher education, including junior college, college, university, or graduate school) led
to a 0.35 per cent rise in industrial output, and that a 1 per cent increase in the number of
graduates from engineering or natural sciences led to a 0.15 per cent increase in agricultural
output (T-C Lin, 2004).
Wolff and Gittleman showed that university enrollment rates are correlated with labour
productivity growth. The number of scientists and engineers per capita is also associated with
economic growth (Gittleman,1993).
In a study of six developed countries, De Meulemeester and Rochat showed that higher education
had a strong causal impact on economic growth in France, Japan, Sweden, and the United
Kingdom, but no impact in Australia and Italy. The authors conclude that higher education is
necessary but not sufficient condition for growth. It is argued that the social, political, and
economic structures as well as the technological level of the society, to which the educational
system belongs, are important paraphernalia for graduates to interact with during the process of
knowledge accumulation (Meulemeester and Rochat, 1995).
Bloom, Hartley, and Rosovsky (2006) showed that workers in the United States, where the
proportion of college graduates is high, earn significantly more than those in states with few
graduates, whether or not they have received a tertiary education themselves. The same study
showed a positive correlation between higher education and entrepreneurship. The authors used
NIGERIA
9 | P a g e
Babson College’s Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s Total Entrepreneurship Activity (TEA)
Index, which uses information from 17 countries to measure the share of adults involved in new
firms or start-up activities. Individuals with higher education levels were more likely to engage in
entrepreneurial activity, and more educated entrepreneurs created larger numbers of jobs than
less-educated entrepreneurs.
The general belief of the likely impacts higher education could make on skill acquisition, individual
income or earning and national economic growth informed continuous expansion of higher education in
Sub-Saharan Africa.
Higher Education Development in Sub-Sahara Africa
Development theorists offer three sets of explanations concerning the growth of higher education in the
Sub-Sahara Africa countries. These are discussed below:
Pre-Colonial Period
Education is as old as human being history on the planet. It is on record that education has been in place
before the commencement of colonization in Africa. There was indigenous education at all levels before
the colonization of Africa. There were two higher education institutions in Egypt in the last two or three
centuries BC. In 859 AD, there was a Moroccan Islamic HEI at Karawiyyinn. In 970 AD, Al-Azhar of
Cairo was established. In the 12th C, Sankore in Timbukutu was established while Ethiopian Orthodox
Church provided education since 304 AD (Saint, 2004). The Pre-colonial education was similar to
modern education at least in intent and was highly elitist.
Colonial Period
During colonial period, the colonizers established institutions at all levels. The reasons were to transmit
their own culture and to tap the human capital and, also to assist colonial administration with local skilled
workers. However, the education provided was highly elitist and irrelevant to African contexts. The
newly formed Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) were modeled after colonial institutions. Many
universities were established during the colonial period. The higher institutions established as first
generation by the colonial administration are in Table 5:
NIGERIA
10 | P a g e
Table 5: First Higher Institutions by Colonial Administration in Sub-Sahara Africa
Countries Universities Year of Establishment
Ethiopia University College of Addis Ababa 1950
Uganda Makerere technical college 1920s
Kenya Royal Technical College of East Africa 1956
Tanzania University College of Tanganyika 1961
Sudan Gordon Memorial College 1939
Nigeria Yaba higher college 1934
Source: Teklu, A. B (2008). Education systems in Sub-Saharan Africa
Post-colonial period:
The 1950s/60s reforms focused on making HEIs independent and relevant. Although, most of the
universities were created after 1960 but the number of public and private universities has grown
significantly over the year. For instance, Nigeria, that had two universities in 1960, now has 128
universities including private and public. After the independence, countries in the region made some
reforms including widening of access, inclusion of new fields and streams (Aina, 1994). Reform also
considered education relevance to African needs. Donors influenced and supported reform and
implementation. Structure of higher education systems became more and more elaborated as time passed.
Challenges of Higher Education in Sub-Sahara Africa
From a global perspective, economic and social development is increasingly driven by the application of
knowledge. Education in general and tertiary higher education in particular is fundamental to the
construction of knowledge economy and society in all nations (World Bank, 1999 in Jaiyeoba and
Atanda, 2008). Complimenting this, Hayward (2006) reiterated that, active participation in knowledge
societies is essential to economic growth and higher education institutions are the engines for that growth.
However, it appears that higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa has not been able to contribute its quota
to knowledge economy as expected. Research scholars have been able to discover some challenges facing
higher education which are hindrances to fulfillment of its goals in Sub-Saharan Africa sustainable
development. Some of these challenges include:
Enrolment Issues: The continuing enrolment into universities Sub-Saharan Africa should have been an
interesting story, however, the demand is at variance with the supply. This in turn creates a number of
administrative problems. From the reports of the scoping studies of eight Sub-Saharan countries –
Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana- the country reports showed that
NIGERIA
11 | P a g e
higher education in these countries is facing significant structural challenges. One of the challenges is
increased demand for higher education due to a growing young population and desire for social mobility
(Bamiro, 2013). For instance, the Premier University in Nigeria, the University of Ibadan, had a student
population of 16,500 in 2004, more than three times of the figure for 1972 without appreciable addition to
the institutions infrastructure (NUC, 2004). The continuous increase of enrolment in higher education
without commensurate expansion of facilities has resulted into overcrowded campuses in African public
universities (World Bank 2002; UNSECO, 2003)3
World Bank figures (2010) observed that the demand for higher education in African countries is on the
rise, as demonstrated, that between 1991 and 2006 the number of students pursuing secondary and tertiary
education in African countries tripled from 2.7 million to 9.3 million. Irfan & Margolese-Malin (2011)
predict that if current demographic trends continue, the number of students bound for higher education
could reach 20 million by 2015 for the continent as a whole.
Though enrolment has doubled and tripled in many higher Education Institutions ( HEIs), Africa has the
lowest enrollment rate in the world (World Bank, 2002; UNSCO 2003), According to the UNESCO
(2008), the national enrolment rate for Sub-Saharan Africa was 5% in 2006 for Ethiopia -2%, Kenya-
3% and Uganda-3%. This implies that a lot of youths are denied access to higher education. Thus, some
seek admission outside the continent. Bamiro and Adedeji (2010) confirmed that acute problem of access
has led to a situation where Nigeria has become ready market for the recruitment of students by
universities abroad. That the Public Affairs Section of the US Consulate and the Visa Section of the
British High Commission, about 6,222 and 10,000 Nigerian students were registered in the United States
and the United Kingdom universities respectively in 2007/2008 session. The figure increased slightly in
2008/2009 session to 6,256 and 10,090 in the US and UK universities respectively.
Africa scores the lowest higher education participation rate in the world. The average gross rate of tertiary
education enrolment (GER) was 8% in 2011 (5% if considering only the female rate and 8% considering
only the male). This range differs from country to country, For instance, in 2009 the tertiary GER exceeds
the regional average in the following countries: Cameroon (9.0%), Cape Verde (14.9%), Côte d'Ivoire
(8.4%), Guinea (9.2%), Mauritius (25.9%), Namibia (8.9%) and Senegal (8.0%). However, the ratio
remains quite low in countries such as: Burkina Faso (3.4%), Burundi (2.7%), Central African Republic