The National Universities Commission (NUC), once a mainstay of quality control in Nigeria’s tertiary education, is struggling to maintain its regulatory grip.

Amidst a surge in university expansion, allegations of corruption, and political interference, the NUC’s ability to ensure academic excellence and enforce standards seems to have been compromised.

As a result, the Nigerian university system is plagued by declining quality, proliferating substandard institutions, and a loss of public trust.

Some observers have however, said that the factors contributing to NUC’s waning regulatory authority and the far-reaching consequences for Nigeria’s higher education sector could be placed at the door-step of the government.

The NUC Is the regulatory body responsible for overseeing and accrediting universities in Nigeria. However, in recent years, the Commission has faced criticism for losing its grip on varsity regulation.

One of the main challenges facing the Commission is the rapid expansion of universities in Nigeria. In the past two decades, the number of universities has grown exponentially, with many state and private universities springing up.

This growth has put a strain on the NUC’s resources, making it difficult for the commission to effectively monitor and regulate these institutions. On the back of this growth are many universities considered unviable in their current state and are struggling to stay relevant.

However, the NUC continues to approve many universities both private and state universities. Many Nigerians have accused the NUC of not regulating the institutions well, claiming that it appears that anything goes, which makes it look like the Commission is more about just approving new universities for the sake of it.

Currently, many of the approved universities do not attract enough students, which makes it extremely difficult for the universities to pay their lecturers or meet other obligations to its internal and external stakeholders. Similarly, many have questioned the motive behind NUC’s drive/motivation for registration and approval of more universities when existing universities are struggling to meet regulatory benchmarks.

For many observers, the problem of Nigeria’s university education is not that the country has a limited number of universities; rather, it is the inability of the existing universities to meet the academic needs of the country, in terms of the quality of teaching and learning.

Accordingly, some stakeholders are of the view that another challenge facing the NUC is the lack of autonomy. This is because the commission is often subject to political interference, which often compromises its ability to make independent decisions. This has led to accusations that the NUC is not doing enough to address the decline in academic standards and the proliferation of substandard universities.

The NUC has been criticised for its slow response to emerging trends in higher education. The Commission has been slow to adapt to changes in technology and innovation, which has made it difficult for Nigerian universities to compete globally.

Additionally, the NUC’s accreditation process has been criticised for being too slow and cumbersome. Universities often have to wait years for accreditation, which can hinder their ability to attract new students and funding.

The consequences of the NUC’s loss of grip on varsity regulation are far-reaching. Many Nigerian universities are struggling with poor funding, inadequate infrastructure, and a lack of qualified staff. This has led to a decline in academic standards, making Nigerian graduates less competitive in the global market.

With 274 universities in Nigeria, experts express concerns that the NUC is losing grip of regulation, because according to them, the problem of Nigeria’s education is not that there are few number of universities; rather the inability of the ones on ground to meet the academic needs of the country, in terms of the quality of teaching and learning output.

University education in Nigeria dates back to 1948 when the University College Ibadan was established with a student enrolment of 210.

The number of universities increase to six between 1948 and 1971. Rapid expansion in the number of universities and student enrolment was witnessed from 1976 when seven more universities were established by the Federal Government and at the end of 1992, 11 additional universities were opened in various parts of the country, including Abuja.

Today, the country hosts a total of 274 universities, and this phenomenal growth in the number of universities is accompanied with a rapid increase in students’ enrolment.

Stakeholders react

Speaking on university quality assurance and tertiary education learning output, Victor Usifor, a legal practitioner, said that the NUC’s duty is primarily to regulate, coordinate and ensure quality academic standards in the tertiary institutions, and ensure strict compliance with established rules to achieve its standard.

“What we see more is approving and issuing certificates to new institutions when the one on ground are ill maintained and in poor shape, in infrastructure and academic.

“I think NUC has misplaced its priorities from quality to quantity; it’s now interested in numbers than standards. What do you expect when minister of education rather than address the poor infrastructure in our tertiary institutions, his concern is the age of students?” he queried.

David Imhonopi, a professor of Industrial Sociology and Human Capital Development at Covenant University, Ota said there was no better way to describe the NUC as it is almost becoming a toothless bulldog.

“The effort towards proliferation of universities in Nigeria without proper plans for the regulation and monitoring of their operations and standards is an effort in futility. This is the reason some substandard graduates find it difficult to compete favourably globally.

“It is not how far but how well. The NUC must wake up from slumber and do the needful to avoid total collapse of our university education in Nigeria,” he said.

Christian Ibekwe, a medical practitioner blames leadership for the state of Nigeria’s education.

“Things are done not for good reasons but merely political reasons even when they are not sustainable. Universities are supposed to be autonomous but bureaucratic control from government renders them ineffective.

“It is not NUC problem but direct result of leadership problem; the commission cannot operate in a vacuum to clean up the system,” he said.

Peter Bahago, a UK-based Nigerian media expert, said ensuring effectiveness of the regulatory bodies in maintaining educational standards cannot be overemphasised.

“Overseeing the advancement of universities and guaranteeing quality education is the responsibility of the NUC. Nevertheless, the continued accreditation of numerous universities that lack essential infrastructure suggests that the commission may not be able to fully enforce regulatory standards.

“This scenario strongly suggests that the university system may be failing to offer quality learning outcome, which reflects regulatory shortfalls,” he said.

Besides, he said that political interference, funding constraints, or an emphasis on expanding educational access without sufficient quality assurances could all significantly contribute to this perception.

Victor Brown, an educationist, said universities’ status raises serious questions about the supervision, but thinks NUC might be under pressure.

“I think NUC is having difficulty enforcing sufficient supervision, because the approval of new universities is a breach of the standards of education when they lack the facilities required.

“It’s critical to be holistic about Nigeria’s expanding population which is a key driver of the country’s enormous need for higher education.

“The NUC might be under pressure to authorise new institutions in order to handle the growing number of students,” he said.

Stanley Boroh, a lecturer at the Federal University, Otuoke, said the rate at which universities are being established is disturbing, but pointed out that the underlying cause for this, is the lack of quality learning in the existing ones.

“The rate at which new universities are being established is quite alarming and this is because the ones we have are not properly equipped. You see politicians also wanting to have their own universities that are not even up to standard; some just have few lecturers on ground.

“I think NUC isn’t doing their job well otherwise, we won’t have mushroom universities everywhere,” he said.

A Lagos-based academic, Charles Adewale, told BusinessDay (BD Sunday) that the concept of “rub my back today, I will rub yours tomorrow,” is one of the major challenges affecting the quality of university accreditation exercise in Nigeria.

According to him, the Commission’s approach to accreditation is sometimes affected by personal interests of the persons involved. “Not in all cases. This can happen if the chairman and members of the NUC visitation panel promote personal interest at the expense of the quality output expected by the regulatory body,” Adewale said.

Adewale further said that the NUC needs to undergo significant reforms to address the current challenges. According to him, the Commission needs to be granted greater autonomy to make independent decisions and regulate universities effectively. He added that the NUC needs to invest in technology and innovation to stay ahead of emerging trends in higher education.

“It is axiomatic that the preponderance of private universities nationwide has been helping many candidates to access university education quite easily compared to when there was the monopoly of university education by the government owned public universities,” Samson Olasunkanmi Oluga, dean, school of general and administrative studies, Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun States, told BDSunday.

According to him, many admission seekers from relatively privileged families are now opting for the private universities, which were not available some 25 or 30 years ago. He said that some of the private universities appear affordable compared to those owned by the high and mighty charging exorbitant tuition fees.

“Therefore, those who are unable to secure admission into the prestigious government owned universities can now study in the private universities of their choice as opposed to staying at home and doing next to nothing,” Oluga said.

According to him, some of the challenges associated with private universities are not peculiar, but rather fundamental challenges faced by tertiary institutions in Nigeria. “For example, some of them are not getting enough students for the approved programmes of their various departments. This may not be unconnected to the fact that the fees/tuition charged by these private universities are beyond the reach of average citizens or common people.

“Furthermore, the staff members of these private universities, especially the academics, are not handsomely remunerated compared to those working in public universities making many of them to be demotivated, apathetic or disenchanted,” Oluga said.

According to him, this can have far-reaching consequences especially when lecturers’ take-home pay cannot take them home any longer. He said that this situation of poor remuneration may result in sharp practices that may ultimately affect the quality of their output.

Sunday Ayodabo, a Nigerian researcher, from Michigan State University, United States, told BD Sunday that NUC tends to face other challenges such as limited resources, political pressure, and the increasing number of universities to oversee. According to him, these challenges further exacerbate the problem, making it difficult for the NUC to maintain rigorous academic standards, which in itself further compromised the integrity of the accreditation process.

“I partly agree that the NUC may sacrifice quality, particularly in terms of corruption and compromise in standards. They do their best in ensuring universities meet standards of practice. However, there have been cases where universities are accredited based on financial transactions rather than meeting rigorous academic standards,” Ayodabo said.

According to him, the NUC’s loss of grip on varsity regulation is a pressing concern that needs to be addressed urgently. He said that by reforming the Commission and granting it greater autonomy, Nigeria can restore the quality of its universities and produce graduates who can compete globally.

Solomon Oyeleye, HOD, Mass Communication, Caleb University, Lagos, disagrees with the generalised public position that private universities in Nigeria are not living up to standard. According to him, many people are still judging private universities from the initial perspective when public schools used to describe private universities as glorified secondary schools.

“As someone who has been privileged to coordinate an accreditation for my department; my experience is that perhaps the NUC is even stricter with its demands when it comes to private universities. You are made to have all the equipment you need to run your program, at least the very basic of them. And that is right, because what the Commission demands to see at accreditation is the minimum standard, below which you are not allowed to go,” Oyeleye said.

He said further that those judging the process must take into consideration that the Commission ensures that equipment belonging to the institution must have the name of such school inscribed on them. He said further that accreditation is not meant to be utterly punitive but to ensure that each program seeking such validation from NUC has the minimum of what is required to run it both in terms of human and material resources.

“I have spoken from my personal experience, but that does not mean that there are no possible exploitations of the process in some places. That story has changed significantly and I can tell you that many private schools today have better facilities than public ones.

“For instance, there is no one who has come to my department who does not wonder how we could have the kind of equipment we have. As a mass communication programme you are meant to have a radio studio different from a broadcasting station to get accredited. How many public universities have that? But we do, like many other of our private colleagues,” Oyeleye said.

Is NUC losing the grip on varsity regulation?

According to Sunday Ayodabo (Michigan), the consequences of the NUC’s actions and inactions are far-reaching on the entire university education system. He said that many employers have lost confidence in the quality of Nigerian university graduates, leading to a situation where many graduates are said to be unemployable.

“To address this challenge, the NUC needs to reform its accreditation process to ensure that only universities that meet the minimum standards required for quality education are accredited. The NUC also needs to do more to ensure that universities employ qualified staff to teach students.”

In defence of NUC

Familoni Olajumoke, chairman/founder at ICLED, said Nigeria needed more higher institutions to take in the growing student population.

“NUC is doing their job of regulating, and they are creative and want to ensure as many that want to enroll in university education have the opportunity. That’s their role, it may be that the universities need to review their operations to cater to the demands of 21st century education,” she said. (BusinessDay)

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