Nigeria’s tertiary institutions rank low on global index, says Jega

Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega yesterday disclosed that Nigeria’s tertiary institutions now rank low on the internationalisation index.

He stated this when the Committee on Internationalization of Admissions into Tertiary Educational Institutions in Nigeria submitted its report to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

The Jega-led committee was recently inaugurated to develop strategies for the internalisation of admissions into the nation’s tertiary institutions through JAMB.

He explained that internalisation was one of the instruments needed to ensure that Nigeria’s tertiary education benefits from globalisation.

Jega also noted that the percentage of all foreign students in the country’s tertiary education system as at 2018 and 2019 session was 0.16 per cent.

“In a survey of Augusta 2019 by the committee on tertiary institutions in Nigeria, of the 194 institutions that responded, there were about 1,856 foreign students out of 1,132,795 students.

He said as the largest country in Africa, Nigeria should be an active player in the internationalisation of education on the continent and the world through its admission process and others.

“JAMB is encouraged to support the internationalisation of the Nigeria’s tertiary institutions by promoting the admission of foreign students.

“Nigerian institutions willing to promote internationalisation need to commit themselves to work towards entrenching a stable academic calendar and develop a zero tolerance for disruption of academic and research programmes,” he added.

He stressed the need for the Federal Government to do more in ensuring the safety and security of locals and foreigners in the country, just as he urged government to allow the country’s tertiary institutions to open offshore campuses to export Nigerian education abroad under a regulatory framework.

Speaking, JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, stressed that setting up the committee was necessary in view of the prevailing localisation of tertiary institutions in the country, hence the need to urgently put in place the machinery to actualise the internationalisation of admissions in Nigeria starting from the 2019/2020 academic session.

He assured that the recommendations of the committee would be implemented.