National Universities Commission Research Articles

Performance Efficiency Measurement In The Nigerian Public Sector: The Federal Universities Dilemma

Concerned by an apparent lack of positive correlationship between investments in federal universities in Nigeria and return on such investments, this study was undertaken. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used as an instrument for measuring the performance efficiency of selected broad-based federal universities. Having identified gaps in earlier studies, this study used data from the National Universities Commission (NUC), the main regulatory body of universities in Nigeria. Results reveal that only four (4) (23.5%) of the 17 federal universities studied can be adjudged as performing efficiently in term of input and output phenomenon. These universities include universities of Maiduguri and Abuja as well as Bayero university, Kano and Nnamdi Azikiwe university Awka. These universities are therefore proposed as benchmarks for other universities in terms of performance efficiency. At the same time, the DEA has again proved to be a useful instrument in the measurement of performance efficiency of institutions. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p838

Effect of Brain Drain (Human Capital Flight) of Librarians on Service Delivery in Some Selected Nigerian Universities

This study seeks to describe and analyze the challenges occasioned by brain drain or human capital flight of librarians on service delivery in Nigerian Universities. The research adopted a descriptive survey design. A purposive sampling technique was used to select two geopolitical zones (South-South and South-West) from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Total enumeration was used because the population under study was considered appropriate for the research. The instrument used for data collection was questionnaire. Sixty copies of the instrument were distributed to 60 librarians in the two selected geopolitical zones. Copies of all the questionnaires were completed, retrieved, and found usable, thus giving a response rate of 100%. Survey results indicated that 315 librarians emigrated to foreign lands for various reasons, including unstable academic calendar and prospects for further training among others. This loss of personnel in the university libraries has a negative impact on service delivery as qualified information professionals and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experts are limited to mentor the younger professionals. Shift duties in academic libraries are also scaled down for lack of manpower. Based on the findings, the researchers recommend that the Federal Government of Nigeria should, as a matter of urgency, robustly fund tertiary education to enhance productivity. As they do this, the National Universities Commission (NUC) is to empower academic libraries by ensuring that the staff development policy is strictly adhered to. This will translate into self-enhancement for staff, positive job attitude, and retention of professionals in the system.

Skill Acquisition and the Entrepreneurial Factor: Ceramics as an Instrument of Social Development

The sudden adoption of Entrepreneurial Studies into the National Universities Commission’s Benchmark for Minimum Academic Programmes in tertiary institutions in Nigeria is a welcome move. This endorses the indispensability of skill training in the national struggle for poverty alleviation through job-creation and wealth-generation. The theoretical pedagogy in the classroom environment is a basic entry point for such courses, but in effect, it is only one hemisphere of a two-point approach for proper grounding in entrepreneurship. Perhaps no other discipline or area of study lends itself wholeheartedly to entrepreneurial project than Art— Visual and Creative Arts. To properly situate any skill, the question of raw material endowment, technical mastery and sustainability remain mainline factors to consider. This paper aspires to engage the above in the bid to locate their relevance in skill acquisition . DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n6p327

Accreditation and the Role of the Academic Library in Undergraduate Programs: A Case Study of Fountain University, Osogbo

s: This paper examines the process of accreditation exercise at Fountain University, indicating the role of library in the exercise, in compliance with the National Universities Commission's definition of accreditation. Emphasis was on the library holdings, quantity and quality of materials and their currency. The accreditation exercise indicates that the institution maintains clearly specified educational objectives that are consistent with its mission and appropriate to the degrees it offers. Based upon reasoned judgment, the process stimulates evaluation and improvement, while providing a means of continuing accountability to the public. This study seeks to provide an insight into the accreditation exercise at fountain university, Osogbo, with a view to sharing experiences of the library as the integral part of the institution. The paper thus concluded that the statement of Fountain University accreditation status with the NUC is also an affirmation that the institution is persistently committed to the Commission’s principles and philosophy of accreditation.

Quality of Accounting Graduates: A Survey of Employers in Nigeria

This study examined the quality of accounting graduates based on a survey of employers in Nigeria. The study was prompted by a perceived gap between the skills possessed by accounting graduates and the skills needed by employers. Specifically, the study investigated the private and public sectors perception of the quality of accounting graduates for skills required by employers, whether educational institutions provided the skills most vital to the graduates and as needed by employers and employers' perception of the differences among the accounting graduates. The study adopted a survey research design method. The population of the study consisted of all private and public business enterprises in the area. Sample for the study consisted of 350 respondents made up of 225 and 125 private and public business enterprises, respectively. Data were collected through the use of copies of well structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics of frequency, rated mean and mean rankings were used in analyzing the data. The hypotheses were tested using student t-distribution statistics with the aid of a MINTAB Student computer software. The findings of the study showed that today's accounting graduates were computer literate and possessed insufficiency of skills in accounting procedures and principles, as well as initiatives. More so the study found out that there were significant differences between the private and public employers' perception of the quality of accounting graduates, in the quality of accounting graduates as needed by the private and public employers and in the skills most vital to accounting graduates as perceived by the private and public employers. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that the National Universities commission and other agencies should work in synergy with the business world to get the latest input on business developments and requirements, which can be achieved by organizing trainings and workshops.

Effect of Accessibility and Utilization of Electronic Information Resources on Productivity of Academic Staff in Selected Nigerian Universities

The aim of the paper was to investigate the effect of accessibility and utilization of electronic resources on productivity of academic staff in Nigerian universities. A survey method was used in the study, with a questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. Responses from 324 academic staff out of 586 that were surveyed were used for data analysis. Correlation analysis showed that, there was a positive correlation between accessibility and utilization of electronic resources on productivity of respondents in the survey (r=0.135; p=0.015). This implies that increase in access and use of e-resources will lead to increase in productivity among respondents at the surveyed universities. Similar result was obtained when the hypothesis was tested at international level with r=0.158 and p=0.004. In other words, respondents that access and use e-resources in research frequently publish more articles in international journals than those who do not. It was recommended that, in view of the observed positive impact of e-resources on productivity in the survey; university managements, university librarians, National Universities Commission (NUC) and other stakeholders in Nigerian universities should intensify the process of effective information and communication technology (ICT) diffusion and provision of relevant e-resources in Nigerian universities towards qualitative research. This will also make academic staff in Nigerian universities to be globally competitive for journal space in international journals, and thus bridge the productivity gap between Nigeria and developed countries.

Attitude of Youths and Young Graduates towards Entrepreneurial Skill Acquisition in Abeokuta, Ogun State: Issues and Prospects

This research was conducted in order to assess and evaluate the attitude of Youth and Young graduates towards entrepreneurial skill acquisition in Abeokuta town, Ogun state, South West, Nigeria. The study identified the specific needs of youths in entrepreneurship; attitude of the young graduates towards entrepreneurship skills and also identified the factors affecting entrepreneurial characteristics among the Youth/Young graduates. A structured questionnaire was used for the study. The questionnaire was distributed to participants at Muda Lawal Stadium, Abeokuta, Ogun state when they converged for immigration interview in March, 2014. Thus, the sample size used for the study comprised valid 400 respondents which represents 20% of the unemployed youths in attendance. The statistical tool for analyzing the data and interpretation was the chi-square (non-parametric) statistical technique and percentage counts. The study revealed that most of the Youths/Young graduates had little or no knowledge about entrepreneurship education and training from their respective tertiary institutions. Therefore, entrepreneurship training should be part of programmes of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Nigeria to make the fresh graduate self-employed after a year mandatory programme to serve their father land. The National Universities Commission (NUC) should mandate all Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria to create Entrepreneurship development centre and put in place two compulsory courses on entrepreneurship for all undergraduate students’ irrespective of their discipline. Governments at all levels can also support with funding schemes, tax policies through micro enterprises and the supply of needed infrastructures, business information and advices.

Global Trend In The Qualifications Of Medical Educators

Fellowship degree of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN) or its equivalents is the highest educational and professional qualification of clinical Medical Educators in Nigeria while PhD is the acceptable highest qualification for their basic medical sciences counterparts. This had been the status ante until year 2012 when the National Universities Commission of Nigeria (NUC) issued a letter directing all university teachers, including clinicians to acquire a PhD or MD degree as non-possession would deny them promotion to a professor status and would debar them from aspiring to the position of Vice-Chancellor of their Universities. This paper highlights the history, current status and the way forward in solving the Fellowship versus PhD/MD conundrum by studying the laws that set up the NPMC, as the highest academic and professional training institution for clinical teachers, as well as the guidelines (Benchmark Minimum Academic Standard, BMAS) set by the NUC. Solutions are offered towards solving this conundrum for better medical education in an environment devoid of academic superiority wrangling in Nigeria. Key words : Medical Educator, Qualifications, Nigeria, Global

The Challenge of Academic Freedom in the Nigerian University System

This paper takes a cursory look at the extent to which the Nigerian university system has enjoyed academic freedom. It observes that within the framework of the National Policy on Education (2004), universities in Nigeria are expected to enjoy the traditional areas of freedom in the areas of selection of students; appointment of staff; teaching and research and determination of content of courses. The paper however observes that in spite of this commitment, universities in Nigeria have been facing many challenges, which make the achievement of academic freedom very difficult. It notes that universities have been hampered by the activities of some agencies, such as the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which controls and monitors admission process into the universities and the National Universities Commission (NUC). The paper therefore concludes that for a university to meet the needs of the world around it, its research and teaching must be morally and intellectually independent of all political authority and economic power. Keywords : Academic freedom; Nigeria; Universities.

Entrepreneurship Training Programme in Universities and Graduates’ Productivity in South-South Nigeria

Entrepreneurial training programme has to do with acquiring relevant skills in which an individual has to be sensitized, motivated and guided to achieve self-reliance and self employment. The paper examined the relevance of entrepreneurial training programme in the universities to graduates’ productivity. Three null hypotheses were formulated. A sample size of 1200 graduates was randomly selected from the South-South Geo-Political Zone in Nigeria. The instrument used for the study was Entrepreneurial Training Programme in the Universities and Graduates Productivity Questionnaire (ETPUGPQ). The instrument was validated with the help of three experts in vocational education. The corrected version was subjected to the test of reliability using Cronbach Alpha, and the reliability co-efficient stood at 0.85 justifying the use of the instrument. The data obtained were analyzed using Multiple Linear Regression at 0.05 alpha levels. It was found that entrepreneurial training programme in the universities is significantly relevant to graduates’ productivity. Therefore, it was concluded and recommended that the government and National University Commission (NUC) should make it compulsory for faculties offering professional courses to encourage students participation in practical works. Also it was recommended that Entrepreneurship Education curriculum should be developed to cater for the vast changing needs of the labour market.

Accreditation of Engineering and Architectural Education in Nigeria: The Way forward

In this study, Engineering and Architectural education and how they were accredited was assessed as carried out by the National Universities Commission (NUC), the only body that approves courses and programmes, determines and maintains minimum academic standards, monitors universities and accredits academic programmes in Nigeria. The current trends in education enrolment and engineering and architectural programs in Nigeria were also analyzed. This paper also provides recommendations for policy makers in government and the educational sector on how to redesign, upgrade and modify the existing initiatives to be able to produce graduates that will be able to compete favourably in the global engineering world.

Popular Misconceptions of Entrepreneurship Education in a Higher Education Institution in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

Entrepreneurship is now a very important course in higher education institutions in Nigeria. This has become necessary in view of the high level of unemployment of graduates which has and is still causing youth restiveness. Being enterprising is vital for job and wealth creation as prerequisites for economic and political stability. Universities are power-houses of knowledge, and as such should take a lead in producing graduates with entrepreneurial skills and mindset to tackle unemployment crisis. Using a survey design, the study investigated the level of misconceptions of entrepreneurship education among students; ascertained the extent to which students who offered entrepreneurship education have entrepreneurial mindset; identified the teaching strategies mostly used for teaching entrepreneurship education; and analyzed the contents of entrepreneurship curriculum. Questionnaire items were the instrument used for data collection from 150 randomly sampled students in two faculties at the University of Port Harcourt. Frequencies, percentages, mean scores and z-test were the statistical tools used for analyzing the data. The findings identified six major misconceptions about entrepreneurship education among students. It established that the strategies used for teaching/learning entrepreneurship were not experiential and activity–oriented to enhance active construction of knowledge; and that the focus of the curriculum contents were basically on entrepreneurial learning skills only, although the students have entrepreneurial mindset. The following recommendations were made: (1) The National University Commission (NUC) should liaise with university authorities to collaborate with entrepreneurial experts, curriculum experts, educational technologists, policy-makers and politicians, to form a forum and re-design entrepreneurship education curriculum, paying attention to activities, delivering strategies, and generic skills; (2) Workshops and seminars to be conducted in all faculties where local entrepreneurs from different related fields peculiar to each faculty are invited to share success stories, and business-starting fundamentals to an audience of students and teachers, among others.

Assessment of Farm Year Programme of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike

In Nigeria, it is mandatory and indeed a policy of the National Universities Commission (NUC) that, agricultural undergraduates in the fourth year of the five-year degree be exposed to farm practical year. This study was undertaken to assess the farm year programme of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU). Data were collected from the students of the two universities, using structured questionnaire. A total of 152 sampled students were selected through stratified sampling procedure from core agricultural departments. Data were analyzed using percentage and mean and t-test statistics. The results show that the students of both universities were satisfied in major areas of their involvement. The major constraints to FYP as indicated by the students were lack of proper orientation of students before the commencement of the FYP, lack of proper monitoring and evaluation by the field staff and lecturers, poor programme planning that resulted in programme clashes and inadequate funding of FYP. The students of both universities were of the view that there should be a monitoring and evaluation unit in their faculties to assess the progress of the programme. The findings further revealed that there were significant differences between the perception of UNN and MOUAU students on constraints to FYP (t=10.370) and ways of improving the FYP (t=7.62). It is recommended that there is the need to put in place adequate resources for field-based practical in order to achieve the desire objective of FYP.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Conflict and Peace Building in Nigeria

Despite some efforts by the government, corporate bodies, civil society, national universities commission etc to reduce situations of conflict in Nigeria, peace is still elusive to her and consequently to sustainable development. This paper thus aims at an in-dept description of NGOs, conflict and peace building and proffering a way forward to reduce conflict situations through NGOs. Content analysis, was adopted, using the secondary sources of collecting data from books, journals and articles. NGOs are an aspect of civil society, without government representation, embarking in conflict reduction, welfare scheme, empowerment and employment. Among the recommendations are: government recognition and support of NGOs; NGOs increased and effective performance and government/NGOs partnership in peace and conflict issues.

Knowledge and Attitude towards the Introduction of Informatics to Nursing Training among Selected Nurse Educators/Leaders in Nigeria

Background:- Technology in health care is increasingly becoming an integral part of the Nigeria health care delivery system and National Universities Commission has made it as part of bench-mark in the training of Nursing Students on Nursing informatics. Nursing and Midwifery Council is equally making efforts to see to the teaching and utilization of Nursing informatics by nursing students and practicing nurses. Therefore, this study was aimed at assessing the knowledge and attitude of nurse-educators and leaders on concept of nursing informatics. Methods:- this was a descriptive study. The study was carried out among nurse, educators and leaders at the yearly Conference organized by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria that place in Osogbo in April 2012. 175 respondents were randomly selected for the study out of 250 that registered for the conference. Only 150 returned their questionnaire and were used for the study. Three research questions were answered and three hypothesis were tested using Chi-square(x2) and correlation coefficient at 0.05 level of significance. Results- One hundred and fifty (150) out of two hundred and fifty (250) respondents were used for the study 82.0% were females while 18.0% were males. 49.3% had Bsc/ BNSc, 36.0% had masters while 0.7% had Ph.D. 90.0% of respondents are knowledgeable. They all had positive attitude towards the introduction of informatics to the training of Nurses. There was no significant adherence in the attitude towards the introduction of informatics to nursing along gender attributes, there was no association between the qualifications and attitude of respondents towards the introduction of informatics to nursing and these was association between the respondents from different geo-political zones and their attitudes towards the introduction of informatics to nursing.

Assessment of Nigerian University Library Web Sites/Web Pages

Academic libraries, the world over, have designed and developed Web sites to advertise their resources and services to the outside world. In line with this, many universities in Nigeria have provided their library with a Web site while more are developing Web sites for their library to meet the new information superhighway's challenges. However, in-depth studies on the assessment of these Web sites have not been undertaken and the studies have been especially neglected or ignored by the Nigeria researcher. The available existing study only focused on the rating of the Web sites on the basis of the number of hits. In view of this, there is a necessity to research the aspects of in-depth assessment of selected academic library Web sites in Nigeria, especially in view of the accelerating rate of university establishment in the country. This study is an attempt to fill this currently identified gap. Hence, the study assessed the university library Web sites in selected university libraries in Nigeria. The study uses content analysis as the research design. A total of 30 Nigerian university library Web sites were selected from the three categories to represent 110 universities in Nigeria using a purposely stratified sampling technique with a checklist as the research instrument. The criteria for the checklist were drawn on an assessment of library Web sites for Web 2.0 tools, access to electronic materials, and links to the National University Commission (NUC) virtual library. Four research questions were developed and answered and the result revealed low level of the integration of Web 2.0 in most of the universities' Web sites. The study concluded that the use of the current web development technologies for deploying mainstream web information services is not widespread as web information services are yet to take off widely in academic libraries as regards to web 2.0, electronic resources and links to NUC virtual library. The majority of university libraries are found to be working in the conventional library settings and the diffusion rate of web information services is relatively low. Based on the conclusions, the study recommends that Web 2.0 tools should be used as part of the accreditation criterion for university libraries and that the NUC should embark on a national university virtual campaign. Additionally, librarians need to adapt to the revolutionary changes in technology that lead to changes in scholarly communication. Further studies can be conducted as to the choice of libraries in integrating Web 2.0 tools.

Availability and Adequacy of Human and Material Resources for the Teaching and Learning of Skill-based Courses in Nigeria Public Universities

This study was carried out to access the availability and adequacy of human and material resources for the teaching and learning of skill-based courses in Nigerian Public Universities. In doing this, three (3) research questions and two (2) hypotheses were formulated. The population of this study consisted of academic staf f and final year students of 2009/2010 academic session in Nigerian Public Universities. The instruments used to collect data were the questionnaire and checklist. The researcher personally visited the ten (10) institutions that were earlier selected through stratified random sampling, and administered questionnaires to the respondents who numbered 1750 but only 1500 were returned. Data was analyzed using the mean statistics, percentage and t-test, the finding amongst other findings was that: the human and material resources on ground for the teaching and learning of skill-based courses in Nigerian Public Universities did not match the minimum standard requirement recommended by the National Universities Commission. Based on these findings, recommendations such as government, non-government organization and good citizens should ensure to provide the needed human and material resources to help in the production of skilled graduates for national development were made amongst others, hopefully when adhered to, would yield positive results.

Availability and Adequacy of Human and Material Resources for the Teaching and Learning of Skill-based Courses in Nigeria Public Universities

This study was carried out to access the availability and adequacy of human and material resources for the teaching and learning of skill-based courses in Nigerian Public Universities. In doing this, three (3) research questions and two (2) hypotheses were formulated. The population of this study consisted of academic staf f and final year students of 2009/2010 academic session in Nigerian Public Universities. The instruments used to collect data were the questionnaire and checklist. The researcher personally visited the ten (10) institutions that were earlier selected through stratified random sampling, and administered questionnaires to the respondents who numbered 1750 but only 1500 were returned. Data was analyzed using the mean statistics, percentage and t-test, the finding amongst other findings was that: the human and material resources on ground for the teaching and learning of skill-based courses in Nigerian Public Universities did not match the minimum standard requirement recommended by the National Universities Commission. Based on these findings, recommendations such as government, non-government organization and good citizens should ensure to provide the needed human and material resources to help in the production of skilled graduates for national development were made amongst others, hopefully when adhered to, would yield positive results.

A Comparative Study of the Publication Output of Librarians and Academics in Universities in the South-South Zone of Nigeria

This study is aimed at examining the publication output differences between librarians and academics at Niger Delta University and Delta State University in Nigeria. The study employed a comparative method. The study comprises focus groups made up of thirty librarians and forty academics (teaching staff) from Niger Delta University (NDU), Amassoma, Bayelsa State; and Delta State University (Delsu), Abraka, Delta State. Questionnaires and interviews were used for data collection. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analysed using simple percentage to answer the research questions and a chi-squared statistical tool of significance to test the formulated hypotheses. The study revealed the following: that librarians and academics in the two universities published equally; that high qualifications influence the publication output of librarians and academics; and that long daily working hours, heavy workload, a limited number of local journals, and high publication charges are some of the major problems militating against the publication output of librarians and academics in Nigeria. The study will stimulate librarians, despite the obstacles militating against their publication efforts, to see the need to publish like their lecturing counterparts in order to meet promotion requirements. The findings of this study should move university authorities in Nigeria to set aside time (hours or days) for research activities for all academic staff as directed by the National University Commission (NUC) in Nigeria.

A Comparative Study of the Publication Output of Librarians and Academics in Universities in the South-South Zone of Nigeria

This study is aimed at examining the publication output differences between librarians and academics at Niger Delta University and Delta State University in Nigeria. The study employed a comparative method. The study comprises focus groups made up of thirty librarians and forty academics (teaching staff) from Niger Delta University (NDU), Amassoma, Bayelsa State; and Delta State University (Delsu), Abraka, Delta State. Questionnaires and interviews were used for data collection. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analysed using simple percentage to answer the research questions and a chi-squared statistical tool of significance to test the formulated hypotheses. The study revealed the following: that librarians and academics in the two universities published equally; that high qualifications influence the publication output of librarians and academics; and that long daily working hours, heavy workload, a limited number of local journals, and high publication charges are some of the major problems militating against the publication output of librarians and academics in Nigeria. The study will stimulate librarians, despite the obstacles militating against their publication efforts, to see the need to publish like their lecturing counterparts in order to meet promotion requirements. The findings of this study should move university authorities in Nigeria to set aside time (hours or days) for research activities for all academic staff as directed by the National University Commission (NUC) in Nigeria.