SPE 128338
Capacity Building Strategies for the Nigerian Educational System
Idachaba Francis Enejo, Covenant University Ota
Copyright 2009, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.
rd
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ABSTRACT
The consistent decrease in the quality of the
Nigeria educational system over the last decade
has continued to pose a serious challenge to the
employers, the industry and the Nigerian state.
This paper presents strategies aimed at
enhancing the quality of the Nigerian
educational system. It presents a review of the
history of higher education in Nigeria and
establishes the role of the industry as the driving
force behind the development of research in
Nigeria. It also emphasizes the Nigerian student
as being intellectually capable of performing at
international levels. A model is developed to
show the interrelationships between the different
parameters that impact on the Nigerian
Educational System and this model shows that
the quality of the teacher has the greatest
impact on the Nigeria Educational System.
Practical steps which will enhance the quality of
Nigerian graduates are presented for
implementation
Introduction
The development of research in Nigeria has its
roots in the efforts of the British scientists aimed
at finding solutions to the problems that British
settlers had to face in the African environment
thus emphasis was placed on tropical medicine
and agriculture[1]
In medicine the main objective was the control of
diseases inhibiting the activities of the colonial
settlers while in agriculture the research
activities was aimed at the improving land use
and cultivation and the development of better
cropping systems. A botanical station was
established in Lagos in 1883 and a model farm
in Ibadan in 1899.[1]
The local colonial government was the main
sponsor of these research activities and the
various departments were mostly staffed by
British expatriates as permanent research
officers and with no training program for the
African natives. The creation of coordinating and
funding mechanisms led to the development of
regional approaches to scientific research
activities [2].Nigerians had no input in the
scientific development of Nigeria until shortly
before independence. This was due to the non-
availability of facilities for such training. This
scenario however changed with the
establishment of the University College Ibadan
in 1948. The establishment of University of
Ibadan led to the birth of the scientific
community in Nigeria as the first Nigerian
scientists attended the University of Ibadan and
then proceeded abroad for higher levels of
specializations. The arrangement which enabled
the movement of these graduates abroad was
based on the view of the colonial administrations
which felt that the University College should be
limited to only general courses while the best
graduates were to be sent to the United
Kingdom for further training. This view held out
for a while but over time, the number of students
seeking higher education in Nigeria increased
and in the late 1960’s Nigerian students began
to opt for the United States of America for higher
education.
The early years of independence saw the
explosion of universities in Nigeria and this
explosion can be grouped into four periods with
the first being the between 1960 to early 1970’s
when the first generation of universities were
established. Table 1 summarizes the dates of
establishment, types and funding agencies of
Nigerian Universities.
Student enrolment rose from less than 1000 in
1960 to close to 150,000 in 1990. The
expansion in the university enrolments was
matched by an increase in the number of
2 F.E Idachaba SPE 128338

academic staff until the 1980’s when the third 22 University of Agriculture, 1988
generation universities were established. Abeokuta
The ratio of the expatriates staff compared to the 23 Nnamdi Azikwe University, 1992
total number of academic staff of the various Awka
universities at their inception was high but from 24 University of Uyo, Uyo 1991
the records, there has been a consistent 25 Michael Okpara University 1992
reduction in the number of expatriates and this of Agriculture, Umudike
has been attributed to the reduction in the 26 National Open University, 2002
foreign currency value of their salaries over time. Abuja
Table 2 shows the expatriate ratio reduction 27 Fed. Univ. Of Petroleum 2007
over time Resources, Effurun
S/N STATE YEAR
Table 1: Nigerian Universities showing Dates (STATE)UNIVERSITIES FOUNDED
of Establishment, Funding Agencies and 1 Rivers State University of 1979
Types. Science & Technology,
P/Harcourt
S/N FEDERAL(FEDERAL) YEAR 2 Ambrose Alli University, 1980
FOUNDED Ekpoma
1 University of Ibadan, 1948 3 Abia State University, Uturu 1981
Ibadan 4 Enugu State University of 1982
2 University of Nigeria, 1960 Science & Tech, Enugu
Nsukka 5 Olabisi Onabanjo 1982
3 Obafemi Awolowo 1962 University, Ago-Iwoye
University, Ile-Ife 6 Lagos State University, 1983
4 Ahmadu Bello University, 1962 Ojo, Lagos
Zaria 7 University of Ado-Ekiti, 1982
5 University of Lagos, Lagos 1962 Ado-Ekiti
6 University of Benin, Benin 1970 8 Ladoke Akintola University 1990
City of Technology, Ogbomoso
7 Bayero University, Kano 1975 9 Imo State University, 1992
8 University of Calabar, 1975 Owerri
Calabar 10 Benue State University, 1992
9 University of Ilorin, Ilorin 1975 Makurdi
10 University of Jos, Jos 1975 11 Delta State University, 1992
11 University of Maiduguri, 1975 Abraka
Maiduguri 12 Adekunle Ajasin University, 1999
12 University of Danfodiyo 1975 Akungba-Akoko
University, Sokoto 13 Kogi State University, 1999
13 University of Port-Harcourt, 1975 Anyigba
P/Harcourt 14 Niger-Delta University, 2000
14 Federal University of 1980 Yenagoa
Technology, Owerri 15 Anambra State University 2000
15 Federal University of 1981 of Science & Technology
Technology, Akure 16 Kano State University of 2000
16 Federal University of 1981 Technology, Wudil
Technology, Yola 17 Ebonyi State University, 2000
17 Federal University of 1981 Abakaliki
Technology, Minna 18 Nasarawa State University, 2002
18 Nigerian Defence 1985 Keffi
Academy, Kaduna 19 Adamawa State University, 2002
19 University of Abuja, Abuja 1988 Mubi
20 Abubakar Tafawa Balewa 1988 20 Gombe State University, 2004
University, Bauchi Gombe
21 University of Agriculture, 1988 21 Kaduna State University, 2004
Makurdi Kaduna
3 Capacity building strategies for the Nigerian Educational System SPE128338

22 Cross River University of 2004 15 Katsina University, Katsina 2005

Technology, Calabar 16 Renaissance University, 2005
23 Plateau State University, 2005 Enugu
Bokkos 17 Bells University of 2005
24 Akwa Ibom State University 2005 Technology, Badagry
of Technology 18 Lead City University of 2005
25 Ibrahim Babangida 2005 Ibadan, Oyo State
University, Lapai, Niger 19 Crawford University, 2005
State Igbesa, Ogun State
26 Tai Solarin University of 2005 20 Wukari Jubilee University 2005
Education, liagun 21 Crescent University, 2005
27 Katsina State University, 2006 Abeokuta
Katsina 22 Novena University, Ogume, 2005
28 Bukar Abba Ibrahim 2006 Delta State
University, Damaturu, Yobe 23 University of Mkar 2005
State 24 Joseph Ayo Babalola 2006
29 Kebbi State University of 2006 University, Ikeji-Arakeji,
Science & Technology, Osun State
Aliero 25 Caleb University, Lagos 2007
30 Osun State University, 2006 26 Fountain University, 2007
Osogbo Oshogbo
31 University of Education, 2008 27 Obong University, 2007
Ikere-Ekiti ObongNtak
32 Ondo State University of 2008 28 Salem University, Lokoja 2007
Science and Technology, 29 Tansian University, 2007
Okiti-Pupa Umunya
33 Taraba State University, 2008 30 Veritas University, Abuja 2007
Jalingo 31 Wesley University of 2007
34 Kwara State University, 2009 Science & Tech., Ondo
Ilorin 32 Western Delta Univ., 2007
S/N PRIVATE(PRIVATE) YEAR Oghara, Delta State
UNIVERSITIES FOUNDED 33 The Acheivers University, 2007
1 Babcock University, Ilishan 1999 Owo
Remo 34 African Univ. of Science & 2007
2 Madonna University, Okija 1999 Tech., Abuja
3 Igbinedion University, 1999 SOURCE: National Universities Commission [6]
Okada
4 Bowen University, Iwo 2001 Table 2 Expatriate teaching staff ratio from
5 Covenant University, Ota 2002 1965 to 1984
6 Pan-African University, 2002 1965 1968 1971 1974 1977 1981 1982 1983 1984
Lagos Total 1208 1288 2245 3560 5190 7980 8286 8829 8870
7 Benson Idahosa University, 2002 Facult
y
Benin City No of 640 540 606 890 1142 1576 1823 1767 1579
8 ABTI-American University, 2003 Expatr
iates
Yola % of 53 42 27 25 22 20 22 20 18
9 Redeemers University, 2003 expatri
Mowe, Lagos State ates

10 Ajayi Crowther University, 2005

Oyo Source [5]
11 Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin 2005 To date, Nigeria has a total of 27 federal
12 Caritas University, Amorji- 2005 universities, 34 state and 34 private universities
Nke, Enugu but a critical analysis of the quality of the
13 CETEP City University, 2005 Nigerian graduate as observed by the industry
Lagos still shows a clear deficiency in the industry
preparedness of these graduates whether from
14 Bingham University, Jos 2005

3
4 F.E Idachaba SPE 128338

the federal, state or private universities. It is

pertinent to note however that graduates of THE NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
some private universities fare better than their MODEL
counterparts from the public institutions. Student’s quality at
The setting up of private Universities in Nigeria matriculation
was aimed at providing more avenues for the
ever-increasing population of eligible Nigerians
seeking higher education. The private Teacher quality Nigerian
Universities provide more infrastructure at a very (Tq) Educational
System
high price to the students and their guardians
and also in some cases succeed in attracting Facilities (F)
quality academics most of whom are either Graduate
Accommodation Quality (Gq)
retired or about to retire. The establishment of (A)
these private Universities has still not been able
to fully cater for the educational needs of the Books (B)
citizens and this is evidenced by the increasing
number of Nigerian students seeking admission Environmental
abroad and the fact that foreign University now Factors (E)
came to Nigeria to offer admission to Nigerian Fig 1.The Nigerian Educational System
students. Model
Students
Challenges facing the Nigerian Educational
System
A list of the factors affecting the Educational University Products/
standard in Nigeria includes: system Industry services
1. Poor Funding
2. Antiquated infrastructure for
teaching
3. Absence of research Fig 2: Industry/ University link model
4. Lack of quality staff due to brain
drain. The relationship between the industry and the
5. Lack of a conducive atmosphere for universities is shown in Fig 2.The responsibility
teaching and learning. of the industry is to provide the feedback needed
for the university system to fine tune its output
The continuous increase in the number of which are graduates.
applicants for university education coupled with Model equation
the discrimination meted out to the graduates of The model equation for the model in Fig 1 is
other tertiary institutions led to the gross listed in equation 1
inadequacy of both the existing federal and state ……......….........1
universities and this necessitated the licensing
of private universities. Where

Nigerian Education, the way forward
The advent of civilian administration in 1999 saw
the increase in the salaries of the academic staff
of Universities and the government has tried
over the years to increase funding to the
Universities. Some private institutions have also
donated buildings, laboratories and books but
these donations have not altered the results or
the quality of the Nigerian graduate vis-à-vis the
Industry requirements. This is because these
contributions being made by the government
and private organizations are not directly
impacting the input required to produce the
desired output.
Student quality at matriculation: From literature,
student quality follows the normal distribution.
Thus the generality of students have the
capability to perform above average.[7]
A = Accommodation: This refers to the
contribution made by the quality of classes,
hostels and feeding the students are exposed to.
F = Facilities : This refers to the sum total of the
facilities available to the students. The include,
Laboratories, workshops etc
5 Capacity building strategies for the Nigerian Educational System
B = Books: These include the quality and
quantity of books available for access by the
students
E = Environmental factors: These include factors
like lecturer-student harassment etc.
Tq = Teacher quality: Quality of teachers in the
Nigerian educational system
The effect of the books and facilities are directly
related to the quality of the teacher because the
use of the books by the teacher in teaching the
students impacts more students than if the
books were only available to the students and
the availability of laboratory equipment can only
by an advantage if there are qualified teachers
to use them in teaching. Thus the expression for
the effect of books and Facilities are listed below
………………....……………….......……2
……...……………...……………….…….3
The teacher quality also plays a role on the
effect of environmental factors (harassment).
This is established by an inverse relationship
between the Teacher quality and Environmental
factors. The better the overall teacher quality,
the lower the effect of harassment on the
students.
…........…....…………………….......4
From equations 1 to 4,
Gq = K( ….......……...5
But ……...…………………….........6
…….........…………………….......…7
…...…….........…………………........8
Substituting equations 6, 7, 8 into equation 5
yields the equation 9 below
Gq = K( ....9
Where K,M,N,L = constants of proportionality.
Factorizing the equation 9 above,
Gq = KMNL(
Let K =Universal constant
Equation 10 becomes
Gq = P ( .......11
This is further simplified to
5
SPE128338
Gq= P ( ………...…..........12
Gq = P ( ………………...........…….13
From equation 13, it is evident that the quality of
the Nigerian graduate is determined primarily by
both the Teacher quality and the
accommodation, with the Teacher quality having
greatest impact.
From the submissions above, to improve the
quality of the Nigerian graduate, more emphasis
should be placed on improving the quality of the
teachers in The Nigerian educational system.
The following are suggestions which will improve
the Nigerian Educational system.
Affiliations of local institutions with
reputable foreign Universities: - Local
Universities should find reputable foreign
Universities where they can establish affiliations
for training and retraining of the staff or lecturers
of the local Universities. These will enable the
local staff keep abreast with the current
developments in his field. It will also provide
opportunities for the Nigerian graduates to
pursue further degrees abroad. Such linkages
will make it easy for foreign professors or
Nigerian professors in the Diaspora to return
and contribute to the input required in building a
quality graduate.
Industry/University Collaborations: The
Industries are to collaborate with the Universities
not just by providing Scholarships to students or
building labs or hostels. The collaborations can
be structured as shown below.
a) Industry/Teacher Relations: Under
this arrangement, the industry can perform the
following.
(i) Sponsorships of masters & PhD
students either locally or abroad such
that the beneficiaries can utilize some of
the equipment housed within the
Industry.
(ii) Sponsorships of University teachers on
short courses or International
..10 conferences where the teachers get to
interact with their peers on the
International arena.
(iii) Provision of slots in the organization for
internship or sabbatical for academic
staff to keep them abreast of the current
trend in the Industry so that they can
6 F.E Idachaba
teach the current technology. This also
enables the Universities to carry out
meaningful research as it keeps the
Universities aware of the challenges of
the Industry and helps them direct their
research efforts to the development of
home grown solutions to their
environment specific challenges.
(b) Industry/Student Relations
The collaboration between the Industry and
the students has largely been the provision
of Scholarships to bright students. This has
in no small way assisted quite a number of
students but other areas of collaboration
which can be explored include:
1. Provision of Vacation job
opportunities: - Most of the
activities in Industrial organizations
are based on repeated processes.
Those processes can be easily
learned and practiced. The
exposure of students at an early
stage to these Industrial processes
helps in getting the student in
appreciate the theoretical
knowledge acquired in the classes
and makes them better graduate
over time.
2. Provision of Industrial training
slots:- These are slots where the
students who has acquired a bit of
the theoretical knowledge is
exposed to the Industrial setting and
given some responsibility while
he/she is placed under an Industry
based Supervisor. This is currently
in practice in Nigeria but there are
companies who still do not accept
students for Industrial training.
3. Industrial Visits:- These are
provisions that can be made within
the Industry schedule to get the
students exposed to the internal
workings of these Industries and
build interest/passion in the student
so that they don’t look at the
Industry just as a means of survival
or source of income.
4. Industry plough back scheme:
Under this scheme, specialists from
the industry can liaise with specific
universities where they can come
and teach specialized courses
during periods of their leave. This
SPE 128338
will enable the transfer of knowledge
about the current state of the art in
the different fields to the students
and help to develop the passion of
the students for that field while
exposing them to the real life
application of the theories they have
been taught in the class rooms and
also enabling the students have
industry based mentors.
Conclusion
The need for the Industry to collaborate with the
Universities can never be over-emphasized.
This linkage provides the feedback which will
enable the Universities structure their curriculum
to enable student acquire industry relevant and
applicable training. The Industry should look at
the affecting input of the system more directly by
impacting on the training of teachers. The
resources expended in getting the teachers
exposed to current technology are much lower
than what will be required to employ expartriates
staff. The industry will also enjoy the long term
benefits of having local graduates trained to
International Standards. Such graduates are
cheaper than expatriates.
References
1. Yuon C., Jacques G. Sophie K.. The
Nigerian Scientific Community: A
colossus with feet of clay.
2. Forman C. Science for Empire: Britain’s
development of the empire through
scientific research. Unpublished PhD
dissertation University of Wisconsin
(1940)
3. World Bank report. World Bank (1988)
4. Nuhu Y., The Brain drain phenomenon
in Nigeria and struggles by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU) to redress it. Conference of
Rectors, Vice chancellors and
Presidents of African Universities
(COREVIP) Libya (2007).
5. Bako, S. 'Education and Adjustment in
Africa: The conditionality and resistance
against the World bank Load for
Nigerian Universities’ A paper presented
at the symposium on academic
freedom research and the Social
Responsibility of the intellectual in Africa
26-29 November , Kampala, Uganda
(1990)
6. National Universities Commission: ‘List
of approved Universities in Nigeria’ The
7 Capacity building strategies for the Nigerian Educational System SPE128338

Nation newspaper 16th February 2009

pages 26-27
7. Normal Distribution .Microsoft Encarta
Microsoft 2008