Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), asked the Federal Government to appropriately support tertiary education in Nigeria on Saturday.
Rasheed made the request during the Obafemi Awolowo Universty Muslim Graduates Association’s (UNIFEMGA) 2023 National Reunion Conference, which was hosted on the Ile Ife campus of the institution.
The NUC chief, who was represented by Prof. Shehu Ado, a consultant to the regulatory organization, said that the country’s tertiary education was being severely underfunded, which had a negative impact on teaching, learning, and research.
He emphasized that one of the things impeding the growth of education in the nation was the inadequate funding of tertiary education.
Rasheed said: “The universities are producing graduates who lack skills for employment and creative ability. There is a need for universities to generate income to complement government efforts. The sector cannot be funded alone by the government.
“There is an urgent need to invest in university education, urging that state and private sectors should invest in the sector for national development. The university management also needs to be more prudent in their spending.“Brain drain in our university system is caused by non-conductive learning and teaching environment and some other issues and these need to be corrected.”
He recalled that university teachers did well in the past because of the value of the Naira.
The NUC chief identified inadequate funding, obsolete equipment, and constant disruption of the academic calendar as part of the challenges facing tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
.“I was surprised when a youth corps member was asked to give the full meaning of NYSC and he couldn’t. This exemplified the deteriorating state and quality of graduates produced by our universities.
“Amongst other issues affecting our tertiary education is an archaic curriculum which ought to be redesigned by injecting realities of time as the world is moving on a rapid note, lack of skilled workers, graduates with no skill and self-confidence,” he stated.