Reflections on the Growth and Development of University Education in Nigeria

The year 1948 marked the start of university education in the University College, Ibadan, Nigeria. High demand for university education and the need to produce the much-needed high-level manpower for the newly independent nation, made the federal and regional governments to found additional four new universities in the 1960’s bringing the number to five. The federal and state governments established more universities in the 1970’s and subsequent decades in answer to further request for university education. Private universities started to appear since late 1990’s. As of now, there are 117 universities owned by the federal government, state governments and private individuals and corporate bodies. In the first four decades (1948 – 1988), the quality of the nation’s university education was quite very good. Afterwards, the university education system derailed, so to speak, as a result of myriads of problems prominent ones being inadequate financing and erosion of university autonomy. To get the system back on track once again, the government must display genuine interest towards it by funding it appropriately and allowing it to enjoy considerable autonomy.