Private Higher Education in Nigeria: The Bastion of Stability

Nigeria is a West African country structured into six geo-political zones with a population of about 140 million people as of 2006. The establishment of formal educational institutions in Nigeria was pioneered by the white Christian missionaries in 1842 with the aim of producing educated people to work in the churches and government colonial offices. In 1948, Nigeria witnessed the establishment of the first university named University College Ibadan which was affiliated with the University of London and became an autonomous university in 1960 as the University of Ibadan, Ibadan. Education was on the government exclusive list which gave power to the federal government to establish universities. This autonomy suffered a setback when regional governments and private individuals were permitted to establish universities to cater to the teeming demand for higher education by the Nigerian youths. The requirements for the establishment and operation guidelines of private institutions are embedded in the oversight purview of the National University Commission (NUC). The body seeks to ensure quality assurance in universities through regular accreditation exercises. Despite the proliferation of private universities, the quality of their outputs remains a subject of debate. Like their counterparts in public schools, private universities are not spared of recurring challenges which include but not limited to employability, regulatory, community services and others. The paper recommends that private universities should be enlisted as beneficiary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) and should be adequately funded in terms of human and material resources.