By Dayo Adesulu & Boluwaji Obahopo
VICE Chancellors and lecturers have continued to query the rationale behind the low ranking of Nigerian universities over the years, arguing that if things are done as it ought to be many Nigerian universities will be among the top ranking universities in the world.
The former VC of University of Lagos and current VC, Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Professor Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe said that carelessness was the major cause of the low ranking.
Speaking at the second annual seminar theme: Alternative Energy Potentials and Carbon Footprint in Nigeria held in Lagos, Ibidapo-Obe said: “The low ranking of Nigerian universities is not because we don’t have the ability to really be up in that ranking but because we are careless about everything we do in theb country.
“If all the teachers and lecturers upload their findings, their Curriculum Vitae, their innovations into the web, of course we will be highly ranked.”
Ibidapo-Obe who is a professor of Systems Engineering and President of the Nigerian Academy of Science disclosed that having gone to several universities in Africa, Europe and China, Nigerian universities are not as bad as portrayed in many quarters.
He explained that the edge universities in developed countries have over those in developing countries is infrastructure. “The type of equipment available for use to do academic work overseas is not here. Also, the type of encouragement you get in academic work overseas is not in Nigeria.
“The type of facilities that are provided in those universities are not just facilities. When you are a full-time Ph.D. student, the university itself, through various government grants ensure that you live well.”
Explaining further on the reason our students who studied overseas refuse to come home, he pointed out that when you are a good Ph.D. student who has a good work, the system itself ensures that you get a job.
Ibidapo-Obe who agreed that it pays, in those days to return to ones country after schooling abroad, stated that we are getting to a stage that even people with Ph.D. are not offered jobs even in this country.
His words: ‘’It paid me to come down to Nigeria in 1972. I have served as an assistant professor. The system provided this. Nigeria valued education, it valued our contribution. Now, we are getting to a stage that even people who do PhDs are not offered jobs even in this country.
“Initially, I thought it was Nigeria’s population, but now, I know better. I considered the population of China, which despite their dense population are waxing stronger in economic development.”
The Vice Chancellor who lamented the brain drain in the university, however urged teachers to be proud of their profession and endeavour to upload their works and curriculum vitae for the world to see reiterating that this will boost our university ratings.
He said, “When you go to China, people teaching in universities are proud to be part of that prospect.”
Meanwhile, the management of Kogi State University, KSU, has disregarded the Webometric ranking of the institution which placed it on 111th position out of 112 universities assessed in the country.
Speaking during a press conference organized by the institution at Anyigba, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Hassan Isah said the coalition of universities in Nigeria has out-rightly rejected the ranking, saying that the ranking was based only on website analyst and not what the universities have on ground.
According to him: “The university in 2012 scored 71.5 percent of full accreditation conducted by the National University Commission in all the programmes of the institution which has validity for seven years. I now wondered why KSU that has over 70 PHD lecturers can be regarded as a nose diving institution while a young university that is not up to four years in existence with less that ten PHD lecturers and less than 2000 students was ranked above the first generation universities in the country.
“It is worrisome that some universities that are still battling with NUC accreditation were rated far above institutions that have trained several scholars in many fields of endeavour”
He added that Association of African Universities (AAU) has already established African Quality Assurance mechanism through which universities in Africa will be assessed periodically based on infrastructure, quality of programmes, sophistication of the facilities and equipment.
“I believed that these are the requisite qualities that must accompany university service in the 21th century. Web ranking alone is not enough prerequisite for measuring the academic strength of any university”
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