Federal universities: Abolishing a colonial carryover (II)

When the British were leaving, they did try to put a lot of institutions and structures in place for their territories and Nigeria was not an exception. This meant the creation of University College, Ibadan, as an affiliate of the University of London, in 1948. Naturally, University of Ibadan as it was later called, including […]

When the British were leaving, they did try to put a lot of institutions and structures in place for their territories and Nigeria was not an exception. This meant the creation of University College, Ibadan, as an affiliate of the University of London, in 1948. Naturally, University of Ibadan as it was later called, including others that were established after it – largely for regional balance – must have to be catered for by the central government. But this cannot and should not continue into perpetuity. Maybe if we hadn’t had the military incursions, we may have thought things through properly. But we are where we are today, with the federal government proudly creating dozens more universities. It is sheer madness. 

I looked at Makerere University, Uganda, formed as a technical college in 1922. In 1970, Makerere became an independent national university. Now, the concept of independence does not mean that governments should altogether ignore these universities. Even in the USA, Washington gives money to universities and Harvard – a private university – usually gets the highest. However, the universities must not become a burden to the government. We need to study how other countries do this. And change urgently.  

I close by referencing howbeit at length, the work of Professor Leonard Shilgba, who recently researched how things work in some African countries, especially as regards pay structure.   

SOUTH AFRICA 

South Africa has 26 public universities, among which is University of Pretoria, which hosts about one-third of South African students in universities in the country. The average undergraduate  tuition fee (excluding other charges, which push up the cost for its students) for citizens at the university is 36, 000 South African Rand (ZAR) a year or 880, 480 naira (at the exchange rate of N24.68 to one rand). It should be noted that tuition fees at South African public universities vary according to degree programs. The salaries of professors at the university range between 550,000 ZAR and 1,000,000 ZAR a year, while the median estimate is about 880,214 ZAR or 21, 723, 681.52 naira… At Stellenbosch University, another public university in South Africa, undergraduate tuition fees for South Africans range between 34,272 ZAR and 70,038 ZAR (N845,832.96 to N1,728,537.84). The highest paid professor at the university is paid about 1, 459,008 ZAR or N36,000, 317.44 per annum, which could be easily defrayed from tuition fees (excluding other charges). Tuition fees by only 40 or fewer students could defray this salary. 

UGANDA  

Lowest semester tuition fee (Bachelor of Arts) is 958, 151 Shs ($253.11), while the highest is 2,645,000 Shs ($698.81), which is for Dentistry.  Besides, uniform fees called “Functional fees” are paid across programs as follows: First semester: 860,954 Shs ($227.43).  Second semester: 132,250 Shs ($34.93).  Thus, excluding other charges such as Council for Higher Education (equivalent of Nigeria’s National Universities Commission) fees  and others, Ugandan and East African undergraduates studying at Makerere University pay approximately between $768.60 and $1,660 per session. The monthly salaries of lecturers of the University are  between 1,790,000 Shs ($472.86) and 6,190,000 Shs ($1,635.20). 

GHANA 

Public universities in Ghana charge annual undergraduate tuition fees in the range of 20,000 to 70,000 Ghana Cedis (GHC) or $2,006.02 to $7,021.06. However, the salaries of professors at those universities are below those of their Nigerian counterparts: Professors at public Ghanaian universities are paid between 94, 000 GHC ($9,428) and 98,000 GHC ($9,829.49) per annum (at the exchange rate of 9.97 GHC to $1)! 

 

CONCLUSION 

I think that in analysing all these different pay structures, we must also consider the concept of Purchasing Power Parity. The other day, a Nigerian professor narrated how he earned $17,000 monthly on a sabbatical in the USA and barely $1,000 in Nigeria. Bad as that is, it must be noted that based on PPP, $1,000 in Nigeria gives you almost $7,000 equivalent in the USA. I mean that for you to enjoy the standard of living that $1,000 gives you here, you need $7,000 in the USA.

A bottle of coke may sell for N150 here, but same bottle is $1.50 (or N1,150) in the US. That’s how it works. So, I believe professors should earn at least N1,500,000 per month in Nigeria, but the burden cannot be borne solely by governments. A lot will have to change. Students will now have to pay. I think that the decision before us is to see how moderate fees can be introduced, and then how a plethora of NGOs, foundations and private entities can pour in their support in order to solidify the new structure. 

Indigent students could then have a more structured means of winning scholarships that see them through. This will also encourage such students to work harder as private scholarship is usually based on performance. 

Also, Alumni who have enjoyed the good /better times should kick in. In this country, we had university students who had their beds laid for them. Some were forced – yes forced – to eat one egg a day… as the British worked on nutritional deficiencies. And the rest of us went to university when fees were indeed small. Now, that is all over. We have too many issues to deal with as a people – infrastructural and otherwise. The alumni of all these universities/polytechnics must chip in bigly.   

Lastly, our academics must reform their thinking. The academia must connect with society, and their impact must be felt visibly. That we have not developed at all, and are still overly dependent on other countries, is a failure of our academia too, not only politicians. The academia must reform from within, and saboteurs of our national dream must ship out i.e as The Yoruba will say ‘awon to ti gba’bode’. It is not enough to cocoon yourselves in ivory towers and wrinkle your noses as society decays around you. We must have something – a lot – to show for the millions of degrees we have issued, beyond bragging rights. 

When I visited Uganda in 2013, I watched on their local TV how students of Makerere University devised a fruit processor, mounted behind a van and went into the villages to help them rescue post-harvest losses. I was encouraged that students could be useful. When I ran for president of Nigeria in 2019, one of my ideas was that engineering students – and others – be encouraged and incentivized to transform this country’s infrastructure by getting involved with small road and other projects as part of their practicals starting with the very rural areas. Even our electricity challenge could be so tackled from the ground up.  

These are the issues that have come to a head in Nigeria today. The struggle for more pay is just a symptom. Are we ready to cancel the idea of ‘federal universities’ and unleash mental productivity in the proper sense?