The National Liaison Officer of the Congress of Nigerian University Academics, CONUA, Aminu Isyaku, has questioned the Federal Government’s decision to make participation in the national tertiary education ranking exercise compulsory saying that the exercise will not address the persistent funding, staffing, infrastructure and research challenges confronting Nigerian universities.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE News on Wednesday, Isyaku said the government’s decision to expand the ranking framework was a welcome development in principle, but questioned its ability to improve the quality of tertiary education.
“So, I don’t think this new additional layer of benchmarking and ranking of universities simply giving them numbers in terms of hierarchy will produce any positive outcomes.”
He stated that the fundamental challenges facing Nigerian universities go beyond competition and rankings, stressing the need for improved funding, adequate staffing, international exposure and laboratory facilities.
“But we also have a number of concerns, because if you’re trying to achieve quality assurance and also international benchmarking, the fundamental challenge for Nigerian universities is not that they do not know how to rank themselves, but the persistent issue is the funding issues, staffing matters, you know, international exposure, laboratory facilities, you know, and the rest of them.”
According to him, the focus should instead be on strengthening research output and ensuring universities contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s economy and the global community.
“So, the issue is not really about forcing competition among themselves, but what do you do to also force them to produce viable research outputs, you know, and then meaningful impact on the economy and even on the global stage?”
Isyaku also dismissed suggestions that the ranking exercise would directly improve student performance or staff motivation, noting that Nigeria already has regulatory mechanisms for quality assurance.
“I don’t think it has any direct bearing on student performance, nor will it have a positive bearing also on staff motivation.”
He said the National Universities Commission, NUC, already has the responsibility of ensuring quality assurance in Nigerian universities.
“Nigeria has established regulatory frameworks for quality assurance, and the NUC is the designated institution that has been doing that.”
The CONUA official further warned that compulsory ranking could worsen the challenges facing poorly funded institutions, particularly if lower-ranked universities struggle to attract students and academic staff.
“If you now do that ranking, what is going to be the outcome? Those poorly ranked institutions will not attract students, will not attract staff.”
He maintained that the government should first address the issue of institutional funding and autonomy, arguing that universities cannot be expected to compete effectively while government controls key aspects of their operations.
“Globally ranked universities are very autonomous institutions.”
Isyaku pointed to the performance of private universities as an indication of what institutions could achieve when given adequate funding and greater freedom to operate.
“It shows how universities, when given free hand to operate, when given funding, can perform a lot of good in the country.”
He therefore urged the government to clearly establish the objectives and expected outcomes of the ranking exercise rather than simply assigning institutions positions on a hierarchy.
“So, I think we need to actually identify what the objectives are, what is the outcome, not simply ranking institutions high or low.”
Ojo Triumph
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