EDUCATIONAL standards in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions finally may be getting the top-level attention it deserves, following
the decision of the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday to adopt the tertiary education report requested by President Goodluck Jonathan after the last industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
The revelation was made after the weekly meeting of the Council, where the minister of information, Mr. Labaran Maku, highlighted the challenges faced in the management of Nigerian universities and some of what the government hopes to achieve.
Among other things, Mr. Maku pointed at systemic issues plaguing higher educational institutions in Nigeria, from poor funding to poor utilization of available resources.
According to the information minister, the president commissioned the report following the strike action by university teachers, with an eye on bringing a long-term solution to the problem of declined standards in the nation’s higher institutions.
Stake holders were drawn from across the board, he said, to ensure all bases are covered in terms of identifying the problems and proffering lasting solution. A detailed study of the submitted report will now follow, with plans to launch solutions afterward.
In other to make Nigerian tertiary institution competitive among that of other nations in the world, certain minimum standards must be targeted, Mr. Maku said. This will include, but are not limited to, good infrastructure and a reasonable student to staff ratio, which the president is fully committed to implementing for the future.
“In order that we would be able to come up with a very, very comprehensive intervention policy, Mr. President felt there was a need to draw in other stakeholders, particularly state governments,” he said, adding that “After the presentation to the National Economic Council, Mr. President will then proceed to agree on an intervention formula following a thorough analysis of the report that has been presented to us today.”