Universities’ autonomy: Whose agenda?
by
Through history, we can safely infer that Nigeria’s romance with the West has in the most part been disadvantageous in the long run to this country. The West leads the rest of the world in fads, but a Nigerian government ethos of coveting with passion and adopting whatever is of the West, without taking the slightest trouble to find out if it will blend with our own socio-economic and political ideals, is an ill wind that does no one any good.
This particular Nigeria ethos replays itself in the present romance between the Federal Ministry of Education and the World Bank vis-à-vis the Nigerian university system innovation project. There is no gain arguing that the World Bank is a pet construction of the powers that be in the West; just like the IMF.
In an aide memoire dated August 8, 2000 and addressed to the Honourable Minister for Education, Professor Tunde Adeniran the World Bank reminded the honourable minister of its interest in the possible funding of the new higher education initiatives by the government. It needs scarcely be said that it was from such unholy romance between the World Bank and the Federal Ministry of Education that the inauspicious and deceptive government policy on autonomy for universities was conceived. To my mind, this university autonomy thing is a western-engineered idea. Surely, this is another dazzling, yet spurious machination through which Mr. World Bank—would feather its nest at the expense of rendering Nigeria a hapless debtor. Worse still, our educational system would have been bastardised!
Come to think of it, if these western magicians really have our interest at heart, as they make out to be, why can’t they render whatever assistance without committing us to some form of servile indebtedness and allegiance? We talk about debt relief and they say Nigeria is too rich to be poor. Can you see the ruse?
You see, these Western magicians indeed are only interested in a country only when that country is a good investment. They watch with brazen disinterestedness, the undoing of your system. They even help in disrupting your system so that they will now come in as a saviour.
The problem has been that for too long we have so much believed in these Western magicians. Why can’t we believe in ourselves for once? Must we continue to borrow whatever comes from abroad to recolonise ourselves. There is nothing wrong in learning. But it certainly is not a good thing to always be under the tutelage and sponsorship of someone else, because an offer confers powers on the offeree.
A time there was when South Africa closed its mind to foreign influence, banned importation of goods, formulated and nurtured its own policies. Today, that country is better for it.
The point been made here is that the proposal of universities’ autonomy at this time of our socio-economic and political life, is no less vacuous than the policy is quixotic. It does not only amount to commercialisation of education, but to mortgage educational excellence at the altar of mediocrity.
Although, the honourable Minister for Education has vehemently denied that the granting of autonomy to universities means the same as privatisation of universities, a cursory look at one of the major policy changes, points to the contrary. "Universities will cease to be part of the public service and will not have to apply government establishment circular to their staff unless they so choose". When something ceases to be public, what does it become? Is there any difference between six and half a dozen?
Whichever way one looks at it, once universities cease to be public service, it implies that the government would stop funding them. Despite government’s funding, university education is still very expensive to the average Nigerian student. One begins to wonder what will happen when universities begin to be run privately.
"Autonomy for universities is defined in terms of their freedom to govern themselves, appoint their key officers, determine the conditions of service of their staff, control their student admissions and academic curricula, control their finances and generally regulate themselves as independent legal entities without undue interference from the federal government and its agencies .
Having noticed the blur in the policy, the honourable Minister for Education attempted to put a touch of finesse by adding that "until parents and students are economically empowered, no tuition fee or upward review of existing charges would be introduced in Nigerian universities. That the government or more precisely the Minister for Education is aware that majority of Nigerians are not economically empowered, is comforting but the question to be asked is what is the rational behind the policy itself. The people are not economically empowered, why introduce a policy that will further enmesh them in the putrid waters of poverty.
Again, check this: "... one of the dividends of autonomy is that the hands of universities will be untied to seek to explore alternative sources of augmenting their financial base." What other alternative source there is except increasing tuition fees? Then many Nigerian students including myself would be threatened to get out of the university system. God forbid!
The policy paper also states that JAMB will be restructured to conduct National Matriculation Examination and produce the score for individual universities to select from. As encouraging as that statement sounds, it is only meant to express the intention of the policy makers in a mild form. Now, see this: "universities will be responsible for determining admissions criteria and for selecting their students." It becomes abundantly glaring from the last sentence that JAMB will be there, more or less as a formality. Actual admission shall be the exclusive preserve of the universities. The end result would be that a student’s chances of getting admitted into a private university —taking the Nigerian system for what it is —would be basically founded on his financial capability and not so much on his intellectual ability.
To this end, therefore, all efforts need to be welded together to stop this troublesome policy christened "autonomy for universities" in order to protect the future of our educational system. It is time for reflection. Let’s look inwards and develop policies that will suit our own priorities as dictated by our socio-economic and political environment. We must not be hoodwinked into reckless daring, mistaken for loyal courage. The espousal of such opportunistic and insincere Western oriented policies, portrays Nigeria no more than a puppet state. For now, Mr. World Bank can look elsewhere for better projects to fund.
Mr. Franklin wrote in from Ekpoma, Edo State