Restructuring as a Panacea for the Sustainable Development of the Nigerian University System

Abstract

The Nigerian university system, in spite of its astronomical growth in size, has been beset by a barrage of problems, which are threatening its ability to perform the traditional roles of teaching, research and services. Such problems as highlighted in this paper include: unplanned expansion leading to proliferation of both private and public universities; deterioration of physical facilities; student unrest; inability to absorb all qualified candidates; under funding; industrial unrest, occasioned by incessant strikes by academic and non-academic staff and brain drain, to mention a few. Since the emergence of the Fourth Republic in 1999, various stakeholders in the education sector have been expressing concern on the need to reposition the university system in Nigeria. This paper therefore proposes restructuring in the areas of staffing vis-a-vis the population of academic and non-academic staff, pattern of funding and admission procedures, as it affects the relevance of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board; the quality of teaching and learning in the universities; checking the proliferation of public and private universities and finally the formal training of university administrators, as some of the panacea that are imperative for the sustainable development of university education in Nigeria.