Doctoral training in Nigeria

Abstract

Improving the quality, capacity and productivity of doctoral students in Nigerian universities requires a well-structured and enhanced training methodology, proper funding, high-powered collaboration with national and international higher education institutions and a critical re-engineering of the existing structures and/or programmes. These are some of the best practices in most industrialised countries of the world which have not only transformed higher education institutions but significantly boosted other sectors. Although most doctoral training in Africa is fashioned in the tradition of European/American universities, this trend, especially in recent times, has not sufficiently demonstrated some of the nuances expected in the African setting. This chapter discusses the importance of restructuring the current system of higher education institutions in Nigeria and how it will translate into sustainable educational development and also impact upon other sectors of the economy. It examines new methods of teaching, mentoring, funding, intersectionality and mobility. Both primary and secondary sources such as reports by international organisations, newspapers, journal articles and book chapters are used for data collection. This chapter seeks to assess the existing system of collaboration between Nigerian universities and their international counterparts, with a view to strengthening the practice. It reveals how doctoral programmes in Nigeria are responding to the continental discourse of decolonisation of higher education by being responsive to industry needs and trending issues via research-based but culturally contextualised solutions. In its findings, the study indicates that among other challenges, poor funding, inadequate infrastructure and insufficient and/or lopsided collaborative initiatives affect the quality of higher education institutions in Nigeria.