There was a time when the establishment of universities held meaning, but that is no longer the case.
By ABIMBOLA ADELAKUN
Good judgment finally prevailed when the Federal Government announced it had imposed a seven-year moratorium on the establishment of new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. The reasons are all indisputably judicious: the proliferation has overstretched resources, many of the schools are under-utilised, and the quality of the education they provide would not pass muster. The only thing they missed was introspecting on their own role in the inordinate multiplication of these tertiary institutions. In just two years, the Bola Tinubu administration established at least 12 tertiary institutions—eight universities, two polytechnics, and two colleges of education. What is amusing about this tertiary institution establishment spree is that in October 2023, then Education Minister Mamman Tahir announced that, due to financial constraints and other considerations, they would need to stagger the take-off of the 37 new universities approved by Muhammadu Buhari mere days before his administration wound down. The same administration would go on to worsen an already debilitated situation.
Why exactly was it necessary to have so many universities in the first place? Many existing schools suffer from underfunding. Last year, the University of Ibadan announced that power supply on its campus would be reduced because the energy distribution company had dropped supply to 10-12 hours daily; the university could not augment as much with generators due to the prohibitive costs of fuel. This problem cuts across universities nationwide. Amidst all these recurring issues, the government continues to add more schools. Why?
There was a time when the establishment of universities held meaning, but that is no longer the case. The government that can no longer create new states to satisfy the endless yearning for recognition by disparate communities throughout the country now creates schools instead. Establishing a tertiary institution in every provincial corner of the country in lieu of state creation has become a form of compensatory politics—kick-forwarding a supposed favour that will be called in when election season comes around. The arrangement has produced more opportunities to award contracts (which, of course, come with their own inherent kickbacks) and a reward system for the social brokers who recruited Kith and kin into these schools.
The government that has serially failed to create a conducive environment necessary for businesses to thrive and for jobs to subsequently multiply has found a shortcut to glory in establishing tertiary institutions. In place of good education, these schools have developed an increasingly complex bureaucracy. Each of them recruits academic and non-academic staff to create an unsustainable payroll. The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, who announced the FG’s resolve, noted that “in one northern university, there are 1,200 staff (members) serving fewer than 800 students.” That is a scandal. Why does a government already groaning from the weight of its recurrent expenditure take on this needless burden to achieve dubious goals? If universities were a profit-generating enterprise, the story would be different. Universities are ventures that, even within the best environment, consume a lot of resources and yield results only in the long term. An investment in tertiary education is worthwhile, but Nigeria is too undercapitalised to afford frivolities. It is about time the government divested itself from the university business altogether and let the ones already established find their feet. Let the schools focus on building a culture of rigorous intellection, shaping moral character, and enhancing students’ civic preparation.
If possible, I would request a similar hold to be placed on establishing private tertiary institutions as well. Many of the individuals and organisations submitting applications for licences for private universities would better serve society with more fundamental forms of education, such as primary and secondary schools, rather than at the tertiary level. But of course, this is Nigeria. Having a university has become another status symbol and setting one up is a shortcut to accruing social prestige. Some of these schools are established without a clear mission or character defined for them.
Many of them cannot even articulate their mission on their websites. They are a little more than a degree mill,proliferated like pure water factories.