Widening access to university education in nigeria: The open university option

Abstract

The first university in Nigeria was established in 1948; by the end of 2002, the number of universities in Nigeria had risen to 51. In spite of the tremendous increase in the number of universities, there appears to be limited access for the teeming population hungry for university education. In this chapter we therefore trace the efforts that have been made by governments, private institutions, and individuals in increasing access to university education and show that these efforts have been unable to satisfy the demand for high quality university education. We favor the establishment of the National Open University in Nigeria because we believe the program will create greater access to university education for all categories of people in different locations at a lower emotional and economic price. We recommend that the National Open University be adequately provided for in terms of funds, infrastructural and instructional facilities, and workforce for it to succeed. We also recommend networking with both local and international agencies relevant to its activities, as well as effective mobilization so as to develop positive attitudes towards the program and its products by potential employers in the marketplace and Nigerian society in general. It is the desire of every nation to develop the needed workforce for the social, economic, political, and technological transformation of the nation. This is why each nation, whether developing or developed, allocates a large proportion of its resources to the development of its people through education and training at all levels of education, particularly through higher education. University education is intended to develop the highly skilled workforce needed to propel the nation's continued growth and development. The objectives of university education in Nigeria can be achieved when universities are able to: (a) intensify and diversify their programs for the development of a highly skilled workforce within the context of the needs of the nation; (b) design professional course contents to reflect the nation's requirements; and (c) offer, as part of a general program for all around improvement in university education, general study courses, such as history of ideas, philosophy of knowledge and nationalism (FME, 1998). When these are achieved, social and economic development will follow. The desire to develop an appropriate workforce for its activities prompted the colonial government in Nigeria to establish the first university in Nigeria in 1948-the University of Ibadan. Since then, the number of universities has continued to rise such that by 1970 there were six universities. By 1998, the number was 37 and by the end of 2002, it had increased to 51 universities. In the same vein, enrollment has been rising steadily. According to Okebukola (2002), enrollment in Nigerian universities has been growing steadily over past 54 years from an initial enrollment of 210 in 1948 at the University College, Ibadan, to 23,000 students in 1962 enrolled at six universities. By 1996, the total number of universities stood at 37 with a student population of 234,581. As of 2001-2002 academic year, total enrollment was 500,370. © 2006 Springer. Printed in the Netherlands.