The Vice-Chancellor of Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU),
Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State, Prof. Sola Fajana in this interview
discussed the issue of proliferation of private universities and other
issues affecting tertiary education in Nigeria with his experience since
he assumed office.
Excerpt:
What achievements could you ascribe to your administration since you came on board as the vice chancellor of this university?
I came on board in 2011 as the second
vice chancellor of a young university. JABU was only five years old
then. My first observation was on the quality of foundation that was
laid within the short period of five years. The university already had
in 2011 adequate and very strong infrastructure and a staffing profile
that was beyond expectation. Some of the recent achievements of my
administration include the commencement of the Postgraduate College and
the College of Law.
It is very exciting that within our
eight years of existence, JABU already has a postgraduate school,
approved by the National Universities Commission (2012). The approval
was given in recognition of the quality infrastructure, and especially
the number of high calibre academics that this young institution
parades. The latest addition is the College of Law (2014), which seeks
to provide the best legal education in a disciplined faith-based
environment.
All the programmes of JABU are duly
accredited by the accrediting body, the NUC, as well as the relevant and
appropriate professional bodies: in fields such as architecture,
quantity surveying, urban and regional planning, building, accountancy,
insurance, agriculture, law, etc.
During the past four years, 12 new
programmes have been added to increase the total to 36 undergraduate
programmes; aside from the newly established 18 postgraduate programmes.
What would you say about the view that says we have what is termed proliferation of private universities?
Is Nigeria over-universitized? The
number of private universities currently is put at 52 and we are still
counting. I would not agree that the number of too much, when you
consider the demand for university education in Nigeria. Nevertheless,
the emergence of these universities poses some interesting challenges.
Obviously, a number of issues plague Nigerian private institutions:
including legal status, quality assurance and the cost of service.
The status of some private universities
in Nigeria is shady. Many operate without licenses, commensurate
resources or appropriate infrastructure. The quality of service by many
is also shoddy, even though a few of the institutions possess better
equipment, newer buildings and better facilities than many of the public
universities.
At any rate, the NUC seems to be on top
of most of these challenges coming from ‘illegal degree mills’, but
certainly not from the licensed ones The need for private universities
in Nigeria has been enhanced by a number of factors: an increasing
demand from students for access and the inability of the public
universities to satisfy the growing social demand for university
education has necessitated the entry of private universities in order to
expand the access conditions, the declining capacity of public
universities, and incessant strikes by academic staff union and other
public university staff.
The demand for courses and subjects of
study had increased and public universities were thus unable to respond
to this phenomenon.
Coupled with these are pressure by
external agencies to cut public services, a growing emphasis on and need
for a highly skilled labour force that target the local market, and the
beginning of interest by foreign providers.
Another reason for the establishment of
private universities is to assist the government in funding education.
Funding has been a major problem facing university education in Nigeria;
this is because of the increase in the demand for it. In Nigeria now in
terms of numbers, there are more private universities than the federal
government-owned universities. But the increasing trend is likely to
persist in the immediate future.
There is a school of thought
that says Nigerian education lacks sufficient technological component
and that is why we are producing unskilled graduates. What is your view
on this?
What is technology? Simply put: the way
or method of doing things. Technology has two components: the hardware
and the software. So in perspective, we need to reflect, which aspect is
insufficient in our education: software, hardware? Software technology
is ideational and informational, and is driven by theory. This aspect
has never been lacking in our curricula.
The hardware is driven by equipment or
machines. This seems to be the area that is both insufficient and
inappropriate in our system. Students are no longer made to work with
their own hands to acquire marketable skills. Hardware technology may be
crude but if it is functional, it is equally productive. The cutlass
and how technology is agric is said to be crude, but it remains
functional for small holdings till this day.
To this extent, we should be talking
about appropriate technology. The adopted curricula in the Nigerian
education system have always been pragmatic, responding to our changing
development needs. The problem came over time with the inconsistency in
succeeding government’s policies and approaches. In my primary school
days, we were taught how to work with our own hands under the aegis of
‘dignity of labour’.
Mandatory handworks to be submitted in
those days included baskets, mats, brooms, ornamented brooms, hats,
horse tails, needle work for ladies, hand-woven cardigans, and the like.
For convenience, over time that aspect of our school curricula was
monetised and pupils no longer needed to use their hands. Over time
still, the approach was abandoned altogether. Today, the need for
appropriate technology as a development strategy has been rediscovered.
Consequently, we now embrace
entrepreneurship to resolve our unemployment challenges. But our
students who have never really imbibed handcrafts skills at primary and
secondary schools are resistant to or least attracted to learning skills
except barbing, beads and digital prints. Skills such as fisheries,
shoes and bags, leather works, and the like have not been favoured by
the current generation of students. To reverse this trend,
entrepreneurship must start at the primary and secondary school levels.
Gratefully, JABU has a very appropriate strategy towards
entrepreneurship education for all academic disciplines guaranteed to
teach marketable skills.
How would you describe the funding level of JABU?
Our sources of funds include
proprietor’s grants, school fees and other internally generated
revenues. No form of financial assistance is extended to private
universities. Yet, the funds are never enough to take care of capital
and recurrent expenditures, on account of low enrolment for most of the
offered programmes.
To resolve this quagmire, Nigeria needs
to ensure a more level playing ground between public, state and private
universities by introducing a regime of graduated school fees in all
institutions. If fees continue to be charged only in the private
universities, the very good candidates would make their choices from
non-fee paying institutions, and the private universities may end up
with candidates rejected by the public institutions, with some adverse
(deficient) consequences which require more time and financial resources
to correct.
Introduction of fees is expected to
generate some resistance which can also be managed through calculated
and appropriate use and management of relevant information by the
government. At any rate, fees introduction will ensure that
institutional choice by parents and candidates will be guided by factors
such as regularity of calendar, state of infrastructure and equipment,
teacher-student ratio, quality of curricula, level of and desirability
for discipline and rehabilitation prospects; all of which are available
in JABU as a private university. Education is never completely free
anywhere in the world.
Culled from National Mirror
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