As the nationwide indefinite strike declared by the Academic Staff Union of Universities enters its fourth day, it is imperative that the Federal Government should review its commitment to university education in the country. The strike, according to the union, is to press home its agitation for the revamping of the education system, including the provision of funds for research and development, and enthronerment of university autonomy. ASUU insists the strike will not be called off until the government agrees to the full implementation of the 2009 agreement between both parties. Already, academic activities on most campuses have been grounded. The latest development demonstrates the Federal Governments sloppy handling of tertiary education. Speaking recently at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, President Goodluck Jonathan admitted that his administration was incapable of fully funding its universities. Ironically, a government that is obviously overwhelmed by the daunting challenges in the system and has not explored alternative sources of funding is insisting on establishing nine more universities with a paltry take-off grant of N1.5bn per university. The decision to establish them seems to have been driven more by political considerations. At the same time, the government did little to avert another indefinite strike by lecturers over the governments insincerity and nonimplementation of the 2009 agreement.While universities enjoy adequate subsidy and support in advanced nations, in Nigeria, budgetary allocations to tertiary education have been depleting. While world-class universities are adequately funded through endowments, Nigerias university system remains grossly underfunded. As at 1962, five universities had been established in the country which fairly met world standards. These are the University of Ibadan (established as a University College) in 1948; University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1960; Ahmadu Bello University; Obafemi Awolowo University and University of Lagos; all in 1962. Today, the nation has 104 universities, made up of 27 owned by the Federal Government, 36 state-owned and 41 private universities. Sadly, even by African standards, Nigerian universities are all in a state of decay. Jonathan recently lamented that the nations universities were not listed among the first 300 in the world. Scholars have defined world-class universities as those that possess highly qualified faculty, excellence in research, quality teaching; high levels of government and non-government sources of funding; international and highly talented students; academic freedom; well-defined autonomous governance structures and well-equipped facilities for teaching, research, administration, and (often) student life. It also includes the universitys international reputation and its contribution to society. However, the nations universities, at present, are not meeting these criteria. For instance, amid other problems, there is an unprecedented dearth of lecturers in the varsities. The National Universities Commission reports that the nations universities have a shortfall of 32,000 Ph.D holders. And while NUC records show that there are currently about 32,000 lecturers in the system, some experts claim that between 45,000 and 46,000 more hands are required for optimum performance. Many prospective Ph.D candidates today cannot get supervisors in the various universities due to the depleting ranks of experienced lecturers. But beyond issues of personnel, funding, lack of physical space and equipment, universities are also plagued by managerial ineptitude. It is high time the nations universities were more professionally managed. Universities now devote almost their entire resources to recurrent expenditure, at the expense of other vital items, thus depriving them of the means to contribute meaningfully to national development. Research and Development, through which universities in the West and Asia have contributed to the growth of their nations, is grossly underfunded. For instance, Nigerias federal university system spends only 1.3 per cent of its budget on research. In the World Banks 2002 report on scientists and engineers engaged in R&D per million persons, Nigeria had only 15 scientists and engineers engaged in R&D per one million persons, compared to 158 in India; 168 in Brazil; 459 in China; and 4,103 in the United States. Admittedly, having more than 104 universities in a country with a population of over 150 million is not too much, particularly as most of the existing universities can only admit a tiny percentage of the candidates applying. But what is the wisdom in establishing more if they are likely to be treated like the existing ones' The Federal Government and ASUU should immediately resolve the ongoing crisis. The immediate challenge is how to improve the existing universities qualitatively through adequate funding, better staffing, curriculum reform, improved physical and learning environment, enlarged carrying capacities and better administrative structures. According to the NUC, Nigerian universities lack commitment to the establishment of effective university-industry linkages and where these exist, they are rather weak. University administrators should be challenged to actively improve their current funding situation. The transformation of the university system cannot take place in isolation. It requires a long-term vision and its implementation.
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