Professor Olunifesi Adekunle Suraj, a lecturer at the University of Lagos and Global Co-Lead of the UNESCO University Network for Media and Information Literacy, has called for improved infrastructure and funding to help Nigerian universities rise in global rankings.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Saturday, Suraj said Nigeria’s increase in the number of universities ranked globally was positive but should be viewed alongside persistent structural deficiencies in the university system.
“You see that in terms of teaching, Nigeria is very high up there. In terms of research and even type of research outputs, where we must go very high, you see, compared to other top universities.
“Then you look at the research environment. That’s where the feeling is. We fell admissionally in that area.
“Then you look also at industrial collaboration. Okay. We also fell in that area.
“So those are the two areas that if we have gotten very well, Nigeria would have moved on.”
Suraj said inadequate funding remains a major constraint on research, noting that academics require resources to conduct research and travel for academic work.
“When it comes to funding, Nigeria is not there. I’m telling you the truth.”
“You cannot do a thorough research without having a kind of money that will help you to do all those research. They’re not there.”
He also called for improvements to university infrastructure and greater investment in digital repositories to increase the visibility of Nigerian research.
“So the issue now is, let’s fix the broken glass. Let’s fix the infrastructure base. You see, let’s have more of funding and let’s have more digital repositories so that all our data can be seen.
“Let’s add up visibility.”
Suraj said the condition of university facilities remains an important issue, particularly as institutions seek to compete internationally.
He also linked the expansion of universities to the need for increased funding, warning that creating more institutions without adequately supporting existing ones could further stretch available resources.
“I’ve said it before that there’s no way of getting to marry more wives, when you cannot even get that for one wife in the first instance.”
He said the government must also improve transparency in the management of funds intended for university development.
“I think the money, if TETFund is well managed, Nigeria would have been far better than what we are today when it comes to funding.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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