Nigerian universities must evolve to stay relevant by focusing on quality, sustainability, integrity, innovation, and inclusivity to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world.
The Chairman, Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU), Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, stated this on Thursday in Abuja at the 2025 Public Lecture of the Social Science Academy of Nigeria (SSAN).
Prof. Ezemonye, who doubles as the Vice-Chancellor, Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, advocated for a fundamental overhaul of university education to tackle the sector’s pressing issues.
Delivering a lecture on “A New Vision for University Education in Nigeria”, the University Don emphasized that a fresh approach would empower universities to churn out graduates capable of meeting 21st-century demands.
According to the Professor of Ecotoxicology and Environmental Forensics, “The world is changing rapidly, and universities must adapt to prepare future-ready graduates.
“We are not just here to diagnose problems. We must envision a radical transformation.”
The guest lecturer highlighted various challenges plaguing universities, including inadequate infrastructure, overcrowded lecture halls, outdated labs, and pending staff issues, among others.
He proposed a new vision for university education that addresses these challenges.
This vision, he said, includes project-based learning, competency-based education, entrepreneurial universities, socially responsible universities, and technology-augmented universities, among others.
“We must craft a new identity for Nigerian universities, no longer ‘degree mills’ or ‘political football fields,’ but national compounds, innovation hubs, and knowledge greenhouses,” he said.
“If we fail to change the metaphor, we will fail to change the model.”
Earlier, former Vice-Chancellor of Veritas University, Prof. Michael Kwanashie, called for a critical re-evaluation of how Nigerian universities are funded.
Prof. Kwanashie emphasized that new funding strategies for universities must be tailored to Nigeria’s specific socio-economic and political realities.
He suggested that the Nigerian university system, which was modeled after the Western university system, needed to be adapted to the local context.
“For those who manage the university system, they will have to look at these suggestions and see how to maneuver to activate some of those funding sources,” he said.
“Many of these funding sources are dependent on the nature of the economy they operate in, social structures, philosophy of the society. So, these brilliant ideas have to be contextualised.”
