How to Resurrect Nigeria's Dead Public Universities

[Moses Ebe Ochonu]

How to Resurrect Nigeria’s Dead Public Universities

By Moses E. Ochonu

 

In a recent essay published in Premium Times and on this forum, I discussed the ills of the Nigerian public university sector. At least two respondents, while agreeing with my assessment, have demanded that I proffer remedies.

That response is a copout that I've now come to expect whenever I critique the failings of any public institution or personality in Nigeria.

What those who make such demands do not realize is that the solution or remedy to what is being criticized is already often embedded in the criticism. For instance, when I criticize the use of nepotistic and ethno-religious preference in recruiting university academic staff, the implied solution is to do away with such practices and establish professional metrics and criteria for all academic staff hiring.

But I understand that sometimes it is not enough to highlight the problem and its implied solutions. In some cases, the most powerful remedy is the power of example. It is in showing that an alternative path is possible and that that path is already being taken by someone somewhere.

Whenever possible, I prefer to use examples of such possibilities to flesh out my critique. Examples work best when they are from the Nigerian context, not from America, whose higher education system differs in several respects from the Nigerian one.

In that spirit of highlighting and celebrating exemplary conducts that are aberrations but that nonetheless demonstrate alternative possibilities for other universities to emulate, I will start this reflection by narrating stories from two Nigerian universities that are trying to deal with the two intertwined issues of poor ethics and primordial preferences in recruitment.

It has been brought to my attention that in the last five years, under the Vice Chancellorship of Professor Victor Peretomode, Delta State University has vigorously and decisively dealt with ethical infractions and misconduct. I'm told that the university thoroughly investigates all cases of alleged misconduct, sexual and non-sexual, and dismisses many academic staff who are found to have committed the acts they are accused of. 

I was in fact told that the university's website site has a section that publishes the names of dismissed academic staff, a name-and-shame strategy that, if implemented across Nigeria, will prevent the recurring situation in which professors dismissed from one institution go to another and get jobs, sometimes at higher ranks, because there is no national database for convicted or dismissed academic offenders.

I do not know this man and have never been to DELSU, so I cannot independently confirm these claims, but I hope they are true. What I can confirm, which leads me to want to believe the claims is that indeed there is a section of the DELSU website (the "info" dropdown menu) that contains names of recently dismissed academic staff. This list appears to be a dynamic one and contains the most recent dismissals. Although I saw only five names there and none of them was dismissed for sexual misconduct (the dismissals are for exam malpractices and absconding /absenteeism), I commend the VC for the bold move of not only investigating and dismissing these academics but also publishing their names. That's the way to go.

The second example pertains to the scourge of ethno-religious preference to the detriment of diversity and excellence. I do not know Professor Sulyman Age Abdulkareem, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin. What I’m about to relay was told to me by a friend who, in his capacity as an HOD in the institution, has interacted with the VC a bit and has read his directives.

In sum, the VC, upon assuming office two years ago, sent out a memo on recruitment whose main thrust was the radical thinking that, after years of Ilorin emirate (Kwara Central) people monopolizing or dominating academic jobs in the institution and producing a scandalously ethnic (and religious) lopsidedness in the academic ranks of the institution, the university would consciously diversify its academic workforce to shed its provincial identity for a cosmopolitan one.

The VC told Deans, HODs, and heads of academic units that when a vacancy opens up or when they are authorized to recruit academic staff, they should be guided by the need to attract women, people from other parts of the country, people with disability, and people from other parts of Kwara state — in other words, historically neglected minorities in the context of the university. The memo further makes clear that only when no suitable candidates are found among these demographics should candidates from Ilorin emirate be considered.

This is exactly how to reverse the ethno-religious takeover of Nigerian universities by ethnic host communities and constituencies. What is even peculiar about Professor Abdulkareem’s radical move is that he is from Kwara State. It takes boldness and a deliberate commitment to diversity (intellectual and demographic) to return these institutions to the original idea of the university.

These are just two universities, and these reforms may not be sustained beyond the tenures of the two VCs, hence the need for solutions that are structural and institutional rather than rooted in individual administrative initiatives. Nonetheless, these two stories demonstrate that the academic incest that has killed the intellectual life of Nigerian public universities and turned them into politically charged arenas of mediocrity can be reversed. 

What is required is a critical mass of successive committed administrators who will lay down the marker of ethics, integrity, and academic excellence, as well as a robust regulatory intervention. 

The stories raise the question of how such administrators, in the context of widespread unemployment and executive intrusion into universities, can enforce best standards and commit career self-immolation by standing on principle and resisting attempts to compromise recruitment and ethics. One interlocutor broached this angle to me recently and I admit that it is a perspective that ought to be considered. In fact, I do reflect on these matters on a personal level, and I try to extend considerable latitude to university administrators who are under much pressure and sometimes have to make snap and difficult decisions. 

In these personal reflections, I've often concluded, however, that an administrator who sheepishly succumbs to external and internal pressure to betray his conscience and undermine the ethical and academic foundations of his university bears some moral responsibility for whatever results from the ensuing degeneration.

Deepening unemployment is no valid excuse for university administrators and their external benefactors to turn universities into captured spaces in response to Nigeria’s unemployment crisis. I see this matter from a rather simple, some might say simplistic, lens. An unqualified teacher can do real damage to prospects, potential careers, and futures. Much like an unqualified doctor can literally kill and one would be complicit in such a murder if one knowingly employed such an unqualified doctor. Cumulatively, a cohort of unqualified academics can destroy a nation's future. 

I always say, at the risk of sounding elitist, that academia is not for everyone, and that even some people who are brilliant in their own rights do not belong in the academic business. Academia is about brilliance, to be sure, but it also requires a certain passion, a certain temperament, a certain level of commitment to others, to mentorship, to self-sacrifice, to a life of the mind. Not everyone has these, and it is not an indictment on them or their aptitudes. They possess other qualities that we academics do not possess and that are required to succeed in other endeavors and professions. Some of those who cannot make the cut in academia or cope with its rigors are excellent, brilliant, superstars who will succeed elsewhere. Nigeria has many sectors besides academia where people who do not possess the qualities and passions needed for academic work can go and thrive. 

In the past, universities retained their best graduates or tried to. There is a reason for that. But even the best graduate may not have a passion for academia, which would be quite evident in a rigorous, merit-based recruitment process. Such a recruitment system does not currently exist or is routinely ignored because of the reasons I analyzed in my last essay, and because the National Universities Commission (NUC), the regulator, is asleep and mandating bean counting and other counterproductive measures, instead of doing the important work of quality control.

Unfortunately, despite its obvious failings, several of the problems plaguing the Nigerian university system require the robust intervention of the NUC. I use the word “unfortunately” because, ideally, universities should be self-governing entities with minimal regulatory intrusion from outside. However, in Nigeria we have to deal with the reality of an overbearing regulatory framework in the form of the NUC bureaucracy, whose stifling effect on university education is a topic for another day. At any rate, if we’re trying to implement national solutions to the many problems of university education in Nigeria, the NUC will have to be consulted and brought on board. Here, in broad outlines are my proposed solutions to the problems.

 

 

Sexual Harassment 

 

The NUC should outline a broad policy on faculty-student sexual harassment. All universities should then be required to formulate their own policies, making sure that these policies conform to or meet the broad requirements contained in the NUC framework. The appropriate department(s) of the NUC should then review and approve the individual sexual harassment policies of each public university. Four important components that the NUC should insist on are, 1) protection against victimization and retaliation for student victims who report faculty sexual abuse and harassment; 2) expedited and transparent investigation of allegations; 3) harsh punishment for offending lecturers; 4) the involvement of the police in cases of rape or predatory behavior involving physical contact. Finally, the NUC should build a database of dismissed and convicted predatory academics, which universities could consult when making hiring decisions so that lecturers who are disgraced from one institution on account of sexual abuse do not find employment in another. This is important as Nigeria does not yet have robust criminal and professional background check systems.

 

Once the policies are in place and have been circulated in print to every academic staff, a series of town hall meetings should be mandated in every university, so that the provisions of the policies can be thoroughly explained to faculty members and those seeking clarifications can have their questions answered. 

 

 

Teaching

 

1.     The NUC should make student teaching evaluations mandatory for all universities and should, after consultation with ASUU and other stakeholders, establish a weighted role for such evaluation in faculty promotion and retention decisions.

2.     One of the biggest problems of Nigerian higher education, especially from the perspective of students’ interests being paramount, is the failure of lecturers to show up and teach, something so basic to the calling of an academic that one would not think that it would be a problem. But many Nigerian lecturers simply do not show up in class as scheduled or show up infrequently. Some only show up to administer tests and exams after giving students study materials. To solve this problem, the NUC, working with university governing bodies and ASUU, should formulate a clear policy making class attendance mandatory for lecturers except for legitimate reasons such as ill health, family event or emergency, pre-scheduled conference attendance, research trips, and other external academic obligations. This policy should also set a limit on the number of times that lecturers can be absent from class for the aforementioned legitimate reasons.

 

 

Research

 

The problem of poor research output in our universities begins from poor teaching and mentorship early on. A student who was never properly taught how to conduct research, how to cite, acknowledge, and signal sources, and how to analyze research findings and construct original arguments on the strength of such findings will be incapable of conduct compelling research or produce strong research outcomes when s/he becomes an academic. 

 

However, that is not the immediate issue with our poor research culture. The main problem, as I see it, is an emphasis on quantity of research output, rather than quality, in the NUC’s research guidelines for promotions from one rank to another. It is what is derisively called bean counting and it is a terrible way to cultivate a research culture. The result today is that trash is being published by Nigeria-based academics in predatory online journals hosted in India, Pakistan, and elsewhere and they are being elevated from one rank to the other on the basis of these junk publications. Some of these “articles” would be poor undergraduate papers in any decent academic culture. Most are not even grounded in original research and are derived solely from published works and peppered with pedestrian conjectures. Some are even shamelessly plagiarized. 

 

The NUC needs to shift from bean counting and emphasize quality of research output over quantity. Such a shift would cause academics to thoroughly research their papers, develop their analyses and arguments, and go through the rigorous, sometimes lengthy, peer review process of reputable publications. It is better for an academic to have one or two quality publications in reputable venues than to have fifty poorly researched and hurriedly written articles in predatory publications with no impact or reputational capital. The current system makes mockery of the academic publishing enterprise. The NUC’s new guideline on research output should also explicitly discourage publishing in predatory journals. A complementary measure is to maintain a frequently updated database of predatory journals that academics can consult. 

 

Plagiarism

 

Plagiarism, the most egregious ethical breach in the academy, is an epidemic in Nigerian academia. In its Nigerian iteration, plagiarism breaks down into two broad categories of violations: deliberate theft of other people’s academic work, and inadvertent plagiarism resulting from ignorance of standard citation ethos and procedures. The NUC, working with universities, should produce a plagiarism handbook to be distributed to all academics. The handbook should clearly define plagiarism in its multiple manifestations and clearly prescribe procedures for investigating and punishing violations. In addition, individual universities should hold annual or bi-annual anti-plagiarism workshops for lecturers and students.

 

 

Mentorship and Supervision

 

Our current postgraduate supervision culture is one of oppression, hazing, and mean-spirited tyranny. Perpetrated by supervisors, this mentorship practice is a generational cycle in which today’s victims become tomorrow’s oppressive mentors. Supervisors behave as though they are doing their supervisees a favor, the result being a slavish master-servant relationship between mentor and mentee in which the latter has no voice and has his or her intellectual initiatives stifled or subordinated to the whims and predilections of the powerful supervisor. It is a system largely devoid of the mentoring and guidance that one expects from such a relationship. What we need is a postgraduate student bill of rights, which would empower and restore specific, enforceable rights to the student. The NUC’s student bill of rights should articulate a set of guidelines to govern this important relationship in the academy. Such guidelines should make it possible for students to:

 

1.     Demand to be reassigned to a new supervisor when the existing one is not giving them time, attention, and guidance, or is delaying the completion of the dissertation and its associated processes. If this right already exists, it should be strengthened and enforced.

2.     The bill of rights should include the right of the student to refuse arbitrary, tyrannical orders to simply replicate the scholarly or analytical trajectory of the supervisor, a phenomenon of academic inbreeding that impedes the production of new knowledges and the expansion of existing ones. The bill of rights should allow students to creatively pursue their own analytical direction without their supervisors forcing them into a straight-jacket and refusing to consider the merit or otherwise of the analytical choices the student is making.

3.     The NUC bill of student rights should set a limit on how long supervisors can sit on chapters submitted by students without offering them feedback/comments.

4.     The NUC should explicitly forbid supervisors from demanding money or material goods, services, errands, or sexual favors from students they are supervising, with penalties for violations clearly prescribed.

5.     The guidelines should empower students to explore interdisciplinary questions where appropriate without supervisors punishing them or insisting on the observance of narrow disciplinary conventions for the sake of conformity to academic traditions, paradigms, and idiosyncrasies.

 

These proposals are preliminary outlines and should be debated, fleshed out, and refined as appropriate by critical stakeholders, but the NUC, empowered statutorily to regulate university education in Nigeria, should take the lead in catalyzing the urgently needed reforms.

 

[OLAYINKA AGBETUYI]

This essay begins by stating that best solutions should not be foreign extraneous imports but ends up lining up solutions derived from the writers American experience e.g. students evaluations.

This is just a provisional 'guerilla" response.  A fuller response in due course.

OAA

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

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[OLAYINKA AGBETUYI]

RESTITUTION, ATERE AND THE VENGEANCE OF HIS HOLINESS MOSES OCHONU.

                                      By

                             Olayinka   Agbetuyi

Let me say in the past few days I have been planning a rejoinder to Moses Ochonu's first essay on public university standards beyond my initial reaction to it when he published this sequel to which I also gave a provisional response.  Now is the time to take the two together in the context of their  motivating event as reflected in my title.  To be sure I share the same ideals with Ochonu to the effect that Nigeria deserves a better university system; our disagreement is in the methodology of getting to the promised land.  This current essay is Ochonu's most proactive response to the issue of how the Nigerian public university system can be redeemed.  It appears to be  failing on juridical, jurisprudential and religious implications.  I took the effort to look up related  words such as restitution, retaliation and retribution before coming out with  the topic that encapsulates my focus as well as the focus of the state and  its  agencies in delivering justice to its  citizems

Sent from Samsung tablet..

  To the extent that it was the Professor Atere's case that led to Ochonu's immediate response I have wanted to share two stories that demonstrate that Ochonu's recommendations do not measure up on religious and juridical grounds.

Fifteen to twenty years ago I met a young Igbo man from .eastern Nigeria who went through a similar  affair as Professor Atere in the US.  The authorities in he higher institution where he taught  reacted in an identical manner to the way the VC in Atere's former university reacted; that is made the offending faculty leave his position in the university as penalty for his infraction.  They or the parents of the student victim did not take out a legal suit in pursuance..  . e of the expelled academic to either inflict more punishment or to ensure that he no longer taught in the American academic system again or enter his name in any book or directory of sacked academics  because they recognised that would be a violation of his rights no matter what offence he might have committed.  Even certified criminals (including murderers) under the law according to the western cannon are not obliged to disclose their past deed once the sentence is considered legally 'spent'.  At his time the past record should not be a hindrance to their getting an employment.  The only exception is where they are convicted paedophiles and the reason is that children are minors and are not deemed able to protect themselves against repetition which might blight the rest of their lives; generally university students are not considered minors.  That is why the educational system is structured in a way that ensure that students entering higher institutions have passed  the stage where they can be regarded as minors.  I read in satisfaction as pseudo- American feminists plotted to lowe,r the age of Atere's 'victim' so he can be nailed with the offence cohabiting with a minor who has not reached the age of consent to the multiple sexual encounters can be established as non- consensual.  With the 6-3-3-4 educational system in Nigeria the least likely age for the girl would be 18 but that was not good enough for the scandal the psedo-feminists intended to provoke (I know there are gifted children who are always a year or two ahead of their peers, but it is usually not among such that you find students staging multiple adventures with their tutors;  it just does not fit.)  They are always too tied up with their studies)  The reasonOchonu's recommendations on compulsory register of sacked register  will be a hard sell for the NUC  is that it would be a violation of the constitutional rights of the offenders to witch hunt them for the rest of their lives  for their 'original sin' and this would require a constitutional amendment to make scape goats of them over and above their compatriots.  I do not know of which legislative House in Nigeria will be prepared to go that far.In the case of my friend in the US  (I had no reason  to disown him on account of what I heard of his past before I met him.  I may not commit sexual infraction like he did but that does not mean that I am perfect either) I visited him in his new institution similar to Ateres situation, played with his lovely kids ( some of who may be university graduates now)  Supped on sumptuous Egusi and  Ogbono soup, prepared by his lovely Igbo wife who chose to stand by her  man ( as  Atere anClinton's wife did)  visited him as he moved on to teach in another state, stayed for a whole weekend at his stately mansion where his lovely bride played exemplary host to yours truly again,  where I was left in no doubt that infraction or no infraction she cherished her husband more than her closest extended family relatives.  Now contemplate the alternative Ochonun scenario:  the man was being sleuthed and Nazi-hunted over America. He has been turned into a tramp, his marriage is broken, those lovely kids lost a role model, the wife could no longer copd single handedly with their education,the drop out early another  set of black angry young men for the yawning shutters of the American penitentiary- yes they deserve their fate!  By now the Ogunstate University lawyers may be briefing their lawyers to serve an injunction on one Moses Ochonu preventing him from Nazi-sleuthing any of its employees for whatever reason.

The  other case is that of the Clintons.  Both lawyers Hilary also chose to standmbynher man till the end.  The parents of Monica (Lewinsky or herself and her lawyers could have chosen if they preferred  Ochonu's method to resume their case against Bill but they know that under the law that would not get them anywhere.  Like Atere  had to face the Law in the high stakes of impeachment proceedings  on the most powerful president on the plane tunder the  constant watch of global prime time television viewers of billions.  Like Atere he took advantage of a student (intern) -at the White House.  I would urge Moses to first try and reopen Clinton'"s case, get him convicted where the Congress failed send him to jail and come back to Nigeria for Atere's  Nazi-sleuthing..

Now to come back on the recommendations Ochonun gave to raise public university standards.  We have examined why the mandatoryvregistrr would not work.  Universities do not generally deal with minors and the most vulnerable in the society.  Professors too, even when they are fired for infractions have constitutional rights hence the juridical an j urisprudecial shortcomings of Ochonu's recommendations.  The final point on the jurisprudencial lapses is that Ochonu assumes that the western cannon of jurisprudence is geared towards retaliation; no it is NOT.  It  is aimed at reform so that the penitent can resume their rightful role in society.  

Now to the religious aspect of Ochonu's recommendations.  I knew Moses Ochonu as a Christian; in fact we met for the first time in the church.  Until and unless Ochonu declares a public abnegation (despite what he writes about religious lapses, I continue to regard him as a Christian and hold him accountable as a  Christian.  The hall mark of the Reformation which gave birth to the Pentecostal is that Man is saved solely by grace and NOT by their Works. Ochonu's recommendations on  infractions portray him as a fake and unforgiving Christian.  If he were God almighty the whole of humanity will be doomrd to the everlasting lake of fire!

There are now quite a few faith based universities in Nigeria.  They have every right to say if the state and federal univeritiescrefused to employ professors implicated in infractions their fate forbids them from turning them away because of the doctrine of salvation through grace alone which is the cornerstone of their fate and the NUC will be unable to overrule this unless freedom of religion is first expunged from the Nigerian Constitution.  So where does this leave us?

I subscribe to Moses Ochonu's idea that students should not be victimized for reporting sexual harassment.  Allegations should be properly investigated and appropriate penalties handed down.

On student evaluation of their professors this is a mainly American idea, it  isnot practised in the UK and I do not know which European country practises it.  Generally students may not be experienced enough to do justice to this demand.  Professors risk being victimized by lazy student who want cheap grades for  lazy work and therefore gang up against their professors.  Mentorship of new faculty by experienced and screened senior faculty in the first few years will achieve better result

To sum up I believe that I share the same passion for raising standards in Nigeria's public university system with Moses Ochonu but we differ on methodology.

OAA

[Emeagwali, Gloria (History)]

"On student evaluation of their professors this is a mainly American idea, it  isnot practised in the UK and I do not know which European country practises it.  Generally students may not be experienced enough to do justice to this demand.  Professors risk being victimized by lazy student who want cheap grades for  lazy work and therefore gang up against their professors."  OA

 Not too long ago a student of one of my classes retorted that she found student evaluation of

 professors rather insulting,  when reminded to fill out evaluation forms. Indeed the US must be the only country in the world with this  system.

Nigeria does not need this potentially divisive and counter-productive system that is often politicized. Students

should be encouraged to complain to the Dean and work  through other avenues. It is a flawed system.

Female professors are often rated differently from their male counterparts and a bunch of unspecified variables creep into the assessment. The American Sociological Association and the American Historical Association have both expressed   concerns,  and even if they did not, caution should be applied.

https://www.historians.org/news-and-advocacy/aha-advocacy/aha-signs-onto-asa-statement-on-teaching-evaluations

AHA Signs onto ASA Statement on Teaching Evaluations (September 2019) - historians.org The American Historical Association signed onto the American Sociological Association's Statement on Teaching Evaluations. While acknowledging the valuable feedback that student experiences in the classroom can provide, the statement discourages the use of such assessments as a primary factor in faculty promotion, salary increase, and appointment. www.historians.org

Professor Gloria Emeagwali
History Department, Central Connecticut State University

[Moses Ebe Ochonu]

But Gloria, the debate around student teaching evaluations is not and has never been about their overall usefulness but rather about if and how they should be used and weighted for promotion purposes. That is where the controversy resides. In particular, because of the issues of gender and race, among others, unearthed by several researches pointing to its imperfections, there is a perennial, recurring debate around how much weight should be given to it in career decisions.

No system is perfect. That is precisely why the current or emerging consensus around student evaluation is that they should be used with caution, bearing the familiar caveats and issues in mind. Even the statement you pointed to, which I read last week, does not call for jettisoning student evaluation but rather that institutions consider its problems, adjust for those problems, and make their own decisions in determining its weight in tenure and promotion cases. By the way, as you know, even the whole tenure process of evaluating research (and teaching) output is flawed and has its own issues but no one is saying we should abandon tenure review. So your saying student teaching evaluations should not be implemented in Nigeria (and I presume in the States) shows that you're out of step with where the debate is.

The key is to be aware of the limitations and problems of student teaching evaluations and factor them into how we use them. Already, many institutions, including mine, are using student evaluations with the appropriate caution, in conjunction with other factors, but also with the limitations and imperfections in mind. Most institutions now separate the tendentious, the personal, and the petty from the substantive, and weigh the sample size, participation rate, and preponderance of particular feedback, etc. And in my institution, administrators use the student evaluation early on as a tool for advising junior faculty on ways to improve their pedagogical craft. That seems to be the national the trend. 

The student teaching evaluation, like all other forms of evaluations, including grading and grade assignments, has its issues but it remains useful for several reasons. For one, it keeps professors honest. Second, it gives students a voice. And third, and for me most important, anonymous student evaluation is a good, honest feedback mechanism, warts and all.

I for one have found comments from my students quite useful and have used them over the years to make several positive changes to my teaching. I am not a big fan of the numbers and scorings but I have also noticed that as I have responded to constructive student critiques and comments, my numbers have also gone up. Of course, I, like many university admins, do not pay attention to the personal and petty comments of students.

Bringing all this to Nigeria, I think we can all agree that when you import a practice you have to modify and domesticate it to your own peculiar environment. Nigeria is not America. That is precisely why, in my proposal, I stated that all academic stakeholders, including ASUU, have to agree on how student evaluations should be weighted. As race is not an issue in Nigeria, such a discussion has to include how gender constraints on student evaluation results, especially in an intensely patriarchal society, would be considered and factored into how the results are interpreted and weighted.

Student evaluations remain a useful accountability metric and a way to democratize the pedagogical process despite its problems. If domesticated properly and adjusted for what we now know to be its limitations, it would be a great, revolutionary change in a Nigerian university system sorely lacking in professorial accountability and in student participatory agency.

By the way, a few Nigerian universities have in the last few years already implemented student evaluations. I know that my alma mata, Bayero University, did so during the VC-ship of Professor Jega. I'm not sure though if it is weighted for promotion decisions. There is a federal university in the Southeast (I forget which one) that uses student teaching evaluation and assigns it 25 percent in the teaching section of the promotion file. I know because I evaluated someone for promotion from that institution.

Even if the decision in Nigeria, if it becomes a national policy mandated by the NUC, is to implement anonymous student teaching evaluation without using it for promotion (which is really where the controversy and problems lie), it would be still be a critical, useful tool of accountability as well as a great feedback loop for lecturers who want to improve their teaching. They can skip the scores and petty comments and go to the substantive and thoughtful critiques and feedback.

Finally, saying that students should complain to the deans, with all due respect, demonstrates how out of touch you are with the death and dearth of teaching in Nigerian universities. What if I told you that the deans themselves are implicated in the pedagogical rot and that they too abdicate their teaching and mentoring responsibilities? And what if I told you that in fact some of the deans and HODs who take teaching seriously and realize the importance of accountability in that aspect of our work, are frustrated because they cannot correct or advise peers or enforce any ameliorative measures on them either in response to student complaint or in response to peer observations? It is HODs who are even the most frustrated because in Nigeria, once someone becomes a full professor no one (not their HOD or the dean) can compel them to show up in class, meet with advisees, undertake any academic duties, or even come to campus. 

When I was an undergraduate, a few of my lecturers would only show up twice or thrice in an entire semester! No one could do anything about it. Not the HOD, not the dean. On a few occasions I remember some students telling the HOD, who in some cases was even junior to the offending professor and so could not even convey the complaint to the latter, much less ask them to change their ways. In fact, some of the offending professors were ex-deans and ex-HODs. 

I wish we had consequential student evaluations that impacted promotion decisions back in my day in the university. Full professors may still have been immune from its accountability effect but at least non-full professors would have been compelled to at least show up in class as scheduled. 

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[Emeagwali, Gloria (History)]

Your points are noted but tell me, please, if Deans and other institutional and academic personnel could not be trusted, then who would implement the sanctions or demotions etc that poor evaluations encourage? Who will guard the guards and bell the lions?

Moses, I was encouraged to hear that you seek the collaboration of ASUU in the venture.




Professor Gloria Emeagwali
Prof. of History/African Studies, CCSU
africahistory.net;  vimeo.com/ gloriaemeagwali
Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Research
Excellence Award, Univ. of Texas at Austin;
2019 Distinguished  Africanist Award
New York African Studies Association

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From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Moses Ebe Ochonu <meoc...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, September 30, 2019 9:22:49 AM
To: USAAfricaDialogue <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - How to Resurrect Nigeria's Dead Public Universities

 

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[Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju]

Olayinka Agbetuyi why not present your rejoinder in a way that makes it easier to read - eg enlarged font, more paragraphing and slight editing of typos?

thanks

toyin

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[Afra Ismail]

The article sheds light on the various systematic failures that includes professors hardly teaching and failing to show up to class among many other shortcomings of the education system. I also was quite surprised that many students in Nigeria are not taught the basics of research which includes identifying reliable sources and learning how to properly cite them. I feel that being taught how to identify sources was an intrinsic skill that was instilled in me from a very young age and can understand how it would be very unmotivating to students to pursue higher level research when they aren’t properly taught about resources and sources to utilize. I think the addendums to reform various aspects of the Nigerian education system were well thought out and could be very effective if implemented. I think the reforms for mentorship and supervisors should be addressed quickly because the mistreatment of mentee by mentors solely because of the idea that they were mistreated when they were undergraduates is an unhealthy mindset which propagates a toxic and unfriendly learning environment. I also believe that creating policies against sexual harassment will be effective in preventing and reducing the number of sexual assaults especially from faculty members.

[Sadiat Agboola]

This article helps me understand the issues within the Nigerian tertiary public systems much better, as I was not previously aware of how the system currently worked at all. The thorough proposed solutions to the problems plaguing the universities are also helpful. The regulation that does not allow a professor or hiring administrators to discriminate against someone based on their ethnic group, disability, or sex is a great way for the nepotistic and sexually manipulative ways to obtain positions are kept at an extreme minimum. Sexual assault should be taken very seriously, especially at state and private universities, which is what the above solution seems very intent on doing, but the implementation must be followed no matter what because many universities may try to hide the results of an assault or let the accuser off with a light sentence because a report of assault itself might reflect badly on their school; this is a similar policy with many US universities, but sadly the lack of justice still occurs. Also, I agree the need to break the cycle of poor teaching leading to poor research needs to be eradicated as it prevents the proper utilization of funding and growth in a field as is well stated in the article.

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[Gbemi Tijani]

i can't believe this.i will read it sir no power here since 5 days here! gbemi

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[Jane Dyer]

Mr. Ochonu's ideas about the best ways to improve Nigeria's public universities are fascinating. In his post, he states his belief that in order to solve a crisis, one must lead by example. He discusses two examples in which change is being made in two different Nigerian universities. At one school, the names of recently dismissed professors are listed on the school website so that future employers may see who was let go. At another school, the Vice Chancellor released a memo describing the desire to hire more minorities. After discussing these real life examples, Mr. Ochonu describes his ideas on how to improve higher education in Nigeria. He believes that sexual harassment allegations should be thoroughly investigated. He also believes that there should be strict rules and expectations for professors to be in class every day and to give lectures. He also believes a plagiarism handbook should be created, listing the consequences for students who choose to plagiarize. I agree with Mr. Ochonu's ideas on how to improve Nigerian universities. In order for Nigeria's schools to be successful, there must be strict guidelines in place to help guide the staff and students towards success. I agree that sexual harassment cases should be taken very seriously and accused staff members should be fired. This will ensure a safe and positive learning environment for all students. I also agree that professors should be expected to show up to class and teach. They should not skip class frequently or only come to class on exam day. This will ensure that students are being taught and the teacher's are earning their salaries. I also agree that plagiarism should not be tolerated at any school and that the consequences for plagiarism should be explicitly stated at the beginning of the year. I really enjoyed reading Mr. Ochonu's post and his thoughts on how to better Nigerian higher education. He has many good and practical ideas on how to help Nigerian universities succeed. 

On Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 4:09:58 AM UTC-5, MEOc...@gmail.com wrote:

[OLAYINKA AGBETUYI]

Jane:

While there are laudable ideas in this essay can you show me any university in the world, particularly in the US where the list of dismissed professors are listed in the university website without infringing on their basic human rights?

OAA

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

-------- Original message --------

From: Jane Dyer <janep...@gmail.com>

Date: 07/10/2019 08:51 (GMT+00:00)

To: USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: How to Resurrect Nigeria's DeadPublic  Universities

Mr. Ochonu's ideas about the best ways to improve Nigeria's public universities are fascinating. In his post, he states his belief that in order to solve a crisis, one must lead by example. He discusses two examples in which change is being made in two different Nigerian universities. At one school, the names of recently dismissed professors are listed on the school website so that future employers may see who was let go. At another school, the Vice Chancellor released a memo describing the desire to hire more minorities. After discussing these real life examples, Mr. Ochonu describes his ideas on how to improve higher education in Nigeria. He believes that sexual harassment allegations should be thoroughly investigated. He also believes that there should be strict rules and expectations for professors to be in class every day and to give lectures. He also believes a plagiarism handbook should be created, listing the consequences for students who choose to plagiarize. I agree with Mr. Ochonu's ideas on how to improve Nigerian universities. In order for Nigeria's schools to be successful, there must be strict guidelines in place to help guide the staff and students towards success. I agree that sexual harassment cases should be taken very seriously and accused staff members should be fired. This will ensure a safe and positive learning environment for all students. I also agree that professors should be expected to show up to class and teach. They should not skip class frequently or only come to class on exam day. This will ensure that students are being taught and the teacher's are earning their salaries. I also agree that plagiarism should not be tolerated at any school and that the consequences for plagiarism should be explicitly stated at the beginning of the year. I really enjoyed reading Mr. Ochonu's post and his thoughts on how to better Nigerian higher education. He has many good and practical ideas on how to help Nigerian universities succeed. 

On Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 4:09:58 AM UTC-5, MEOc...@gmail.com wrote:

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[Dylan Herd]

I think that by resurrecting these "dead" universities, it will give a signal to the rest of the continent. It may even spark something like an educational revolution in the area. This could lead to better jobs, better infrastructure, and hopefully a decrease is xenophobia especially within the continent. I strongly agree with how Ochonu believes this must be done in order to stabilize the area.

On Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 4:09:58 AM UTC-5, MEOc...@gmail.com wrote:

[Madison Mowrey]

The author of this article has many good and practical ideas on how to help Nigerian universities succeed. For example, he calls for change in sexual harassment policy, teaching, research, plagiarism, and mentorship and supervision. He also criticized the National Universities Commission for its lack of quality control. 

Writing stricter guidelines for posting research, hiring university educators, sexual misconduct situations, punishment for plagiarism and student rights are very beneficial to highlight issues at the university level so they can be addressed and worked on. However, many of his points sound very Americanized and I wonder if that could become problematic for students and staff frequenting the University. For example, student evaluation of professors is not practiced in Africa, only America. I also felt like a few of the author’s responses did not include enough credible insight from University officials in Africa. Overall, these policies are very practical and I believe with contributions from African officials, these policies can become even more beneficial and appropriate for Universities in Africa.

On Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 4:09:58 AM UTC-5, MEOc...@gmail.com wrote: