The National Universities Commission (NUC) has identified poor administration and inadequate funding as part of the challenges confronting tertiary education in the country.
The acting Executive Secretary of NUC, Chris Maiyaki, who disclosed this at the Babcock University’s 2024 registry lecture, said there had been a decline in the country’s university system over the past three decades, compared with the remarkable achievements of the early days.
Mayaki, in his lecture titled: ‘Role of the administrator in changing university environment: Issues and prospects,’ said Nigerian graduates were once celebrated both nationally and globally, but the current terrain has been marred by social vices, manpower shortages, economic pressure and incessant strike actions.
He urged university administrators to embrace technology and artificial intelligence to revolutionise their institutions, emphasising that effective administration is key to institutional success.
“We have had our glorious years, but then, we have also had our downturns. A lot of factors are responsible for that; economic pressure, and gradual decline in funding, just as the value of the naira has declined.
“Some of these factors are traceable to poor governing systems and also sometimes to the broken family system. We have fallen short in procuring state-of-the-art museums, current journals, books, and laboratory equipment in some cases.
“We need more PhD holders, but we need to stabilise; the system has suffered a lot of instability due to a combination of factors. We need to sustain constant funding, among other vital things,” he said.
Maiyaki urged administrators to broaden their horizon and cultivate strong relationships with external stakeholders to enhance the development of an effective system that supports long-term growth and excellence in tertiary education.
He also called for a collaboration to create the desired future assuring of the Federal Government’s support in creating policies that would direct institutions towards accomplishing their goals.
“All hope is not lost as we have some good and cheery news to report. Nigeria has shown improvement in the ranking of universities which showed that despite what we’re going through, we have shown a lot of resilience.
“We have recently re-engineered our curriculum with critical stakeholders to bring it to speed because it must be in tandem with global best practices.
“I appeal to Babcock University and other Nigerian universities to continue to work with the commission to forge ahead towards creating a future in which higher education values are defined by excellence, equity and global competence. We must continue to search for a way out as giving up is not an option,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof Ademola Tayo, said the lecture was a platform where key issues about the university system were raised and interrogated.
Tayo added that it was an opportunity for participants to exchange ideas in a friendly and non-threatening manner, while also broadening their horizons as practitioners, scholars, administrators and Nigerians.
According to him, the lecture will stimulate all stakeholders to do more for the country as it affects the educational sector.
