Why Nigerian varsities are not among best 100 in global ranking, by ex-VC

A former vice chancellor of the University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Olufemi Bamiro, has stated why Nigerian tertiary institutions are not among the best 100 in the world.

Bamiro, who spoke during a symposium organised by Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) Ibadan branch, in honour of Emmanuel Olaniyi Oladeji, blamed the development on the wide staff-to-student ratio in existing universities.

The former vice chancellor lamented that the universities are populated by students with few academic staff. In his paper titled: “Engineering capacity building towards national development,” Bamiro noted that lecturers in Nigerian universities are too overburdened, while highlighting factors such as ratio of students to academic staff, number of facilities, accredited courses, students performance, employability and contribution to economy as some of the yardsticks used in rating the institutions.

Represented by Prof Ayodeji Oluleye, the former VC said: “Academic staff in Nigerian universities are overburdened. The ratio of staff to students is over 30 students to a lecturer. That is why we are not among the best 100.

“What is the ratio of academic staff and students in those institutions rated among the best 100? The ratio in universities like Harvard and Oxford is one to five. The class that has the highest number of students will be 20, so, why will they not know their students?

“What we need to do in Nigeria is to follow the pattern, stakeholders, including National Universities Commission (NUC), National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) and Industrial Training Fund (ITF) must work to achieve this.”