60 YEARS OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA:

THE PLACE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF TERTIARY EDUCATION

 It’s been 60 years of University education in Nigeria; so much has been achieved, but much more yet cry for attention. Simply put, we have come this far but we seem so far away from where we really ought to be. I see on the horizon, however, a university education system in Nigeria that would be able to absolve the ever-increasing number of students seeking placement in our Ivory Towers; tertiary institutions that would not just have access to technology, but also the much-needed fund for research; and our universities regaining their stance as breeding grounds for world class intellectual properties. How shall these things be, you may ask. My belief is that a focused and well structured Corporate Social Responsibility could trigger the change which would see Nigeria’s education system become stronger, more effective, and more productive.

 Many were taken aback by the news that only about 10% of the over one million candidates who sit for the University Matriculation Examination (UME) yearly ever get a chance to further their education in our Ivory Towers. Then came the bombshell; the declaration by the Federal Government that only 20% of our graduates are employable! As much as we detest these statistics however, it remains evident that the many demands that our tertiary institutions and educators face daily, vis-à-vis obsolete teaching aids, infrastructure, tight budgets, technology access, time constraint, standardized testing, and even explicit curriculum standards, cannot be single-handedly met by the Federal Government. This brings to the foreground the need for public-private partnership in taking tertiary education in Nigeria to the next level.

 Corporate philanthropy is not new. It is not unusual to hear about corporate sponsorship of musical events, theatrical performances, scholarships, and even research grants to Universities. Here at the University of Ibadan, for instance, it is not uncommon to hear of ‘The McArthur Foundation’; a NGO making funds available for research and development purposes. Neither will this institution forget in a hurry the generous donation of a hundred and thirty million Naira by the then Celtel Telecommunications Company. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Lecture Theatre and the First Bank Auditorium at the Faculties of Science and Agriculture respectively, are landmarks of what the Premier University has benefited in the name of Corporate Social Responsibility. It is clear then, that corporate organizations have the ability to make a tremendous impact on educational development in our tertiary institutions. That impact however, can only remain strong as long as they keep addressing the right needs.

 The conventional system is to have organisations make donations of cash or physical structures to our universities. And when they do want to reach students, they offer scholarships. But in the face of mounting challenges of global workforce competition, our higher institutions of learning are under pressure to produce world class; I mean first class, intellectual properties. And this shifts the focus of corporate interventions to the students themselves. How do we help our undergraduates learn better?

 Information they say is power. The performance of an average Nigerian student would quadruple if only he would have up-to-date information within his reach. But sadly enough, many cannot essentially afford access to Information Technology. Social Responsibility interventions should focus on bringing IT within the reach of an average Nigerian undergraduate.

 In that regard, I would like to commend the foresightedness of the mobile telecommunication giant, MTN, in putting up e-libraries at the Ahmadu Bello University, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the University of Lagos, all in an attempt to bring information closer to undergraduates. But like Oliver Twist, we ask for more!

 Stakeholders in the academic community can benefit immensely from the experience and expertise that corporate entities bring to the table. By providing platforms for seminars and professional training courses, the university community can attract corporate organisations that are willing to strengthen the potential pool of employees within the university’s enclave.

 Let me at this juncture, however, sound a note of warning: Corporate Social Responsibility could also be dangerous. There may be good reasons for restricting positive duties of corporations that are ambiguously beneficent. Since profit maximization is the ultimate goal of any business organization, our businessmen could come into education focusing only on their potential workforce. This would narrow down the curriculum and render their interventions opportunistic. We must never forget that educational integrity must be above the bottom line.

 With Corporate Social Responsibility fitting into its right place of partnership in the development of education in Nigeria, I believe that our dream of producing world class intellectual properties could be realised earlier than we think possible.

 Adeyemi Sanni

 University of Ibadan

Robot  # 1 | 26.04.2009 08:22

60 YEARS OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: THE PLACE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF TERTIARY EDUCATION It’s been 60 years of University education in Nigeria; so much has been achieved, but much more yet cry for attention. Simply put, we have come this far but we seem so far away from where we really ought to be. I see on the horizon, however, a university education system in Nigeria that would be able to absolve the ever-increasing number of students seeking placement in our Ivory Towers; tertiary institutions that would not just have access to technology, but also the much-needed fund for research; and our universities regaining their stance as breeding grounds for world class intellectual properties. How shall these things be, you may ask. My belief is that a focused and well structured Corporate Social Responsibility could trigger the change which would see Nigeria’s education system...Read the full article.

Lapalapa  # 2 | 27.04.2009 01:51

Thank you very much Dr Sanni for an interesting piece. However, before dwelling on corporate responsibility we need to talk about what the role of other stake holders should be. Being a graduate of UI, I religiously follow the news bulletin on the UI websites to keep abreast of happenings in my alma mater. One of the last issues of the bulletin stated that it is now normal not to have electricity on campus for 4 straight weeks. I just wonder what use an e-library would be to a community where electricity is as scarce as a virgin in a maternity ward! I also learned that goat demons, raised by campus dwellers, have taken over our campus as if the University of Ibadan was the same as Igbo Elerin(a village around Ibadan). These two pieces of news are simple examples of some of the issues requiring immediate attention in Nigeria and its universities: (1) no country will ever develop without first developing basic infrastructure e.g. constant electricity and potable water. (2) no country will ever develop when its peoples do not recognize the sanctity of its institutions, whether academic, economic, socio-cultural, religious or political (why in the world should goats play the vagabond on a university campus?).

draftman  # 3 | 27.04.2009 20:55

Nigerian so called University are just a glorify HS, Not fit for learning. The environment is shameful.