A Discourse on Tertiary Education

I had started an article some days back on the structure of our tertiary education institutions in Nigeria. This is a spill off from that article. In the time between, I had read a series of articles concerning the on-going ASUU strike from two thinkers in particular. There was a three part blog series from Feyi Fawehinmi who blogs on the ASUU problem here, and a number of rejoinders. The last rejoinder which inspired the modification of my post was tagged “Let’s Talk about Higher Education”. It would be nice if you can read it.

“Tertiary education” is defined –in my words- as a level of education that caters to further professional or vocational learning. These could be quite specific or diverse. We have examples such as Culinary Institutes, Nursing Schools, Teacher Training Colleges (Colleges of Education), vocational centres (Colleges of Arts & Science, Craft Centres, and City & Guilds), Polytechnics, and the most sought after, Universities. The end of tertiary education usually has the award of degrees, certificates or diplomas.

Now, we begin. I believe that in order to master something, it is important to first understand its origins. Education is no exception. If you study the history of universities for instance, you would find that the first university was made to serve the intellectual needs of people. It is safe to say that without a student, a teacher is without purpose. The basic requirements for a tertiary institution are:

• Faculty: This is the mix of teaching staff and students.

• Curriculum: This is the approved guide for study.

• Campus: This is the infrastructure. Lecture halls, workshops, laboratories, offices and residences.

There is also a fourth:

• Programmes: These are the various academic programmes available to student. They include the pre-degree programmes (basic, certificate), under-graduate programmes (full-time, part-time, sandwich) and post-graduate programmes.

A lot of emphasis has been made on the faculty and campus requirements of the Tertiary Institutions and little has been said on the curriculum and academic programmes. That’s the angle I’d like to address in this post.

The Curriculum

The curriculum for the varying programmes of study in Nigerian Universities is lagging behind as regards providing the requirements for society. The purpose of our institutions is to train personnel for various areas of social responsibility (jobs, careers, occupations and professions). If our curriculum does not teach the required skills for societal application, it has failed in its purpose. I am still a student of the University of Port Harcourt, a student of Civil Engineering to be exact. In the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields of study, there is constant advancement yearly. How do we meet up with this worldwide growth? A frequently scheduled review of the Curriculum is required to stay with the times, but this isn’t the case. The different industries however do not wait for you to catch up, if you do not know what they require they will find those who do. This inadvertently reduces the chances of our graduates gaining employment in the industry.

A review takes the entire curriculum into stock. Yes, there have been additions to the curriculum in some years past, however, redundant courses have not been modified or expunged. This has resulted in bloated curriculums for students, and with more course work required there is less time for dedicated study. The number of credits required for a degree can be reviewed as well. I had nine (9) courses in my first semester of my Final Year with a total of 21 credits, this is without any carry-overs. A more concise curriculum would be more efficient as focus can be directed at what is necessary.

Furthermore, there is need for a domestication of the curriculum. By domestication, I mean adapting the curriculum to meet needs of our immediate society. It is indeed a shame that in the decades of tertiary education in Nigeria, there is no Design Code or Material sheet indigenous to us. Please pardon my addressing this from the angle of a STEM student. I have an interest in Coastal Engineering but I cannot learn about it in my university. Meanwhile, it is located in the Niger Delta and knowledge on the Nigerian Coastline and construction there is important. This is where Research & Development programmes come in. There have been outcries about falling academic standards, however, I do not think such standards ever existed.

The Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) is the body which regulates University Education in Nigeria. They check the various curriculums, university facilities and the academic staff. Of recent, the only curriculum reviews have been the addition of General Courses to cater to “National Needs”. Professional bodies like the Council of Regulation for Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) should play a more dominant role in the design and domestication of curriculums of study for the respective disciplines under their watch.

As university education is not the only form of tertiary education we have, similar advancement should be made in the different fields of study. I have interest in carpentry and I know new techniques have evolved over the years in that craft, new tools and materials too. Such should be taught as well so as to make our carpenters globally competitive. You name it: metalwork, plumbing, tiling. Every craft has advanced and without learning to move with the times, our technicians become redundant.

I believe the curriculum that caters to Nigerian needs and unique situations would go a long way to proffer immediate solutions for our development.

The Programmes

The Academic programmes of our tertiary education institutions are important. This is as the people who would go through these institutions have varying economic and intellectual capacities. The programmes include the preliminary, under-graduate and post-graduate programmes of study. One thing that makes tertiary education unique is the environment created for self-study. This can be used to our advantage in more ways than are imagined.

As stated earlier, our economic and intellectual capacities differ. It is my opinion then that our academic programmes should be flexible enough to cater to this varying capacity. How do I mean? We are aware of the full-time, part-time and sandwich programmes which are or had been in effect in time past, right? The question is how effective have these been in catering to the educational needs of our people?

Recently, there had been news of the suspension or cancellation of part-time programmes in Nigerian universities. Have alternatives been put in place? The truth is the cost of tertiary education especially in the STEM disciplines is expensive. What we need are programmes which can reduce the costs: financial and time. The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) was a commendable proposal, how effective has it been though?

I recently read of Academic programmes in the University of the West Indies (UWI) where tuition is on a per credit basis. This covers the costs of registration, class materials, examinations and certification. I also read of the Chinese state administered Examination for Self Taught Students (ESTS) which requires just examination and certification costs. The programmes accord students flexibility for their various economic conditions. Note that I do not ask for implanting these programmes directly in the Nigerian system, but that the student is considered in the design of our educational programmes.

In the United States of America and some other countries, a serving soldier or even a regular citizen can study and write examinations for courses which are required for a degree. This is while working and can be termed Do-It-Yourself Education because the only schedule he/she follows is his/her own. Examinations can be set more often in the year and would enable students to sit for exams when they know they are ready.

Why deprive our masons, carpenters, hawkers etc. of a similar opportunity? Such programmes can be nation-wide or tied to particular institutions. With technological advancements, study aids are more easily accessible and examinations can be conducted remotely. The use of e-learning facilities can be used to reach more.

These are my thoughts on the Tertiary Education institutions we have in Nigeria and some suggestions for how we can do better. Perhaps in a sequel I’d address the aspects of the faculty and campus. I’d appreciate your thoughts and comments. Thank you for reading.