Why private universities produce more first-class graduates
Recently, reactions have trailed the number of first class graduates produced at the convocation ceremony of one of the prominent private universities in Nigeria. This is not the first time. A number of stakeholders who are not conversant with the workings of private universities have tagged the 12.28 per cent first class recorded by that […]
“I suspect that various universities are now in the habit of giving first class to many graduates just to increase their employability. I am not too sure it reflects their academic abilities,” he said
Speaking on the implication of this, Dr Ugwoke said, “If you want to destroy a country, all you need do is to lower the standard of education; and that is what we are seeing now. If you give a first class to someone not deserving it, the public, the employer will view them as first class students.”
He explained that because to whom much is given much is also expected, such students “will be placed in some serious positions to make decisions on behalf of the system, and if truly they are not first class graduates, their decisions can never be first class; their decision will be faulty, and that will be calamitous for the entire country.”
Professor Salihu Ingawa of the University of Abuja pointed out that the certificate had been commercialised, saying, “They pay for the first class, as everything has a prize. The lecturers now collect all manner of bribes because their salaries are never enough. So this gives room for those that can afford to pay for marks or grade to penetrate the system.
“Our university system has collapsed and being abused, so there is no way to move forward. The institutions are the weakest link and not powerful to implement policies; and that portends trouble.”
He also noted that just as the process of issuing first class degrees has been abused, it is the same for professorships.
“The biggest problem is that private universities are harvesting lecturers from public universities, so they get the tradition of what they are doing so that they can spread it out.
“Public universities are now granting undeserved qualifications to students in order to prove that they are up there with lecturers of private universities. Our institutions have cracks, and an inevitable collapse is looming if it is not corrected,” he said.
Prof Ingawa, however, said that to address this, “We have to strengthen the institution and establish due process, rule of law and establish policy implementation 100 per cent.”
Chigozie Aganigbo, a lecture in the Enugu State University of Technology believes that a lot has been compromised and the system needs to be revamped.
He, however, noted that these days, students are better informed because with their phones and other gadgets, they have access to the internet easily, which helps them better than what obtained in those days. He added that the learning condition has changed and made better.
For Professor Nasiru Idris of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, the reason some universities are producing first class graduates these days might not be unconnected with the fact that some private and new generation institutions in the country have 21st century facilities, especially with the introduction of information technology equipment.
He said most of the courses were laboratory-based, coupled with communication skills due to internet access, as well as cheaper technologies at the disposal of most students today, which make it easier to produce first class materials.
For universities awarding degrees to undeserved graduates, he said, “Let me refer you to the NUC BMAS, where you have lower courses at science and arts faculties and other borrowed courses across the university. How would all these lecturers compromise?”
While noting that there are quality assurance committees at the departmental, faculty level and others, he said universities were doing their best to checkmate all lapses, but added that sometimes, as human beings they can’t be perfect.
He said there was the need to review monitoring and evaluation of all activities regarding examinations from time to time. He added that the appointment of competent persons at various levels in the university system is required at all times.
Recently, reactions have trailed the number of first class graduates produced at the convocation ceremony of one of the prominent private universities in Nigeria. This is not the first time. A number of stakeholders who are not conversant with the workings of private universities have tagged the 12.28 per cent first class recorded by that private university as “cheap grades”.
However, this presumption is not correct given the following verifiable facts about private higher learning institutions.
Private universities are not cheap. They come with their price tags and value for what parents pay for. Parents and guardians are paying for quality education in private universities which in fact is fading out in public universities as some of our reputable professors and other academics are now enrolling their wards in private universities, having done their comparative analysis.
The lecturer-student ratio in most private universities is less than 1:30 for Law, Arts, Administration, Management and Social Science courses. For Sciences, the lecturer-student ratio ranges between 1:10 and 1:15 compared to public universities where the ratios are much higher. Imagine a situation where a lecturer in public university has to contend with about 850 students or more compared to their contemporary in a private university that lectures a class of 50 or less students. The latter will be more effective in teaching, mentoring, assessing, marking and grading. The former has been burdened with too many students. Oftentimes, such a lecturer gives students’ examination scripts out to less experienced hands for marking and grading.
In private universities, students have access to 24-hour internet services for their research, assignments and other academic activities. During COVID-19, private universities were online teaching their students because they had adequate facilities to take care of their students. Some of them also went further to conduct their matriculation and convocation ceremony online as required internationally. Conversely, public universities were incapacitated and stagnant, giving their students excuses for lack of performance.
Private universities do not go on strike. Never! That is why their academic calendar is accurate and uninterrupted. Hence, a seriously dedicated student who applied for a 5-year course would spend exactly five sessions and graduate in record time. This is not the case in our public universities where a student who enrolled for a 4-year programme would end up spending seven to eight years due to protracted ASUU strikes. How do we expect many first class where students’ educational psyche has been damaged by years of unresolved strikes?
It is good to stress here that private universities invest heavily on current books for their students. 2019/2020/2021/2022/2023 books are available in their departmental and main university libraries.
Majority of students in private universities live on campus. So, they have conducive halls of residence to cool off their brains after lectures. They also enjoy water supply in abundance as well as uninterrupted WiFi in their apartments which make life easy for them. It is evident that these are not available in public universities in Nigeria.
In private universities, lecturers are encouraged to revise all they have taught for the semester before examination. Most lecturers in public universities will not revise because of their arrogance and presumption that students must not be pampered.
In private universities, there is quality control. All lecturers are monitored by Academic Planning Department on the method, duration and quality of lectures. So, there is no room for absenteeism in class. Lecturers who skip their classes are sanctioned by the registry or the vice chancellor himself. In public universities, lecturers that skip classes are not sanctioned because some of the professors are “bigger” than the VC. Some will even go to classes a few times throughout the semester.
Several members of the National Universities Commission’s accreditation teams have confessed that facilities met on ground in some private universities are either not available in public universities or are moribund.
Thus the number of first class graduates in private universities is a product of huge investments, quality control and adequate supervision of human and material resources by managers of private universities.
Idris Katib is a Senior Assistant Registrar Public Relations, Crescent University, Abeokuta.