Cacophony of Bleats: Insider’s Response to Sustainability of Private Universities in Nigeria
Cacophony of Bleats: Insider’s Response to Sustainability of Private Universities in Nigeria

Author(s): Ayandiji Daniel Aina
Subject(s): Higher Education , State/Government and Education
Published by: Scientia Moralitas Research Institute
Keywords: Private universities; Quality assurance; Access; ProliferationPrivate universities; Quality assurance; Access; Proliferation;
Summary/Abstract: An unprecedented number of new private universities were chartered in 2021 (20) and 2022 (12), bringing the total number to 111 which have been issued operating licenses since 1999 when the first four were registered. This act of proliferation (massification) has brought to the fore the raging issue about the sustainability of private universities in Nigeria. This growing concern formed a larger part of the theme of the summit on the sustainability of private universities in Africa organized a little over a decade ago (2012) by the Association of African Universities (AAU) in collaboration with the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Using an insider perspective, this paper tries to explore how government excessive consideration of the need to create access to higher education for young applicants and subtle regional balancing created a cacophony of bleats as the universities grapple with insufficiency of critical infrastructure (finances, equipment and human resources) with which to deliver on quality assurance. This paper discusses how the universities adopt survivalist strategies and the impact on late entrants to the circle vis-à-vis knowledge production, societal relevance, and innovation. It recommends a moratorium on further charter of more private universities and a consolidation of the existing ones.

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