NIGERIA: Education Brief

1. NIGERIA: Education Brief Amir Ramzan March 2011

2. Nigerian Demographic • Population of over 154 million and 2.3% growth rate (World Bank, 2011) • 0–14 years: 41.5% • 15–64 years: 55.5% • 65 years and over: 3.1% • Population predicted to be 225 million by 2030 “Nigeria stands on the threshold of what could be the greatest transformation in its history. By 2030, it will be one of the few countries in the that has young workers in plentiful supply.”(source: Next Generation Report, British Council/Harvard School of Public Health, p 8)

3. TertiaryEducation in Nigeria • The Nigerian university system (NUS) is one of the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa with an enrolment of some 1,131,312 as of 2007 (Okebukola, 2008) • The Nigerian University System, as of 2010, consists of 104 universities (36 State, 36 Federal and 45 Private) • Creation of 13 new universities has just been approved (9 Federal and 4 Private) • 115 Polytechnics/Monotechnics, 86 Colleges of Education and 62 Innovative Enterprise institutions

4. Challenges in the Nigerian HE sector • Lack of access • Lack of adequate funding and infrastructure • Quality • Graduate Employability

5. Pipeline and Access • Nigeria was meant to have 16 million students in secondary schools by the year 2008, the number enrolled was 5.8 million, which suggests that only 36% of the age cohort was accommodated. • Out of the 1.3 million candidates that sat for the University Matriculation Examination in 2010 (renamed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination), less than 10 percent secured university admission • Polytechnics and Colleges viewed as a poor substitute and demand for FE is dwarfed by demand for HE • The system is, therefore, too small to guarantee the production of the kind of manpower that can be used as vehicle for rapid development

6. Funding • There is no extant data for government expenditure on education. • From 2005 to 2008 there were shortfalls in government’s allocation to the federal universities and a similar trend observed in state universities • Percentage shortfall in funding Federal Universities was 24.6 in 2003 and 43.5 in 2004, indicating an unacceptably high financing gap which has serious implications for quality. • NUC calculates the average minimum levels of spending per student per discipline to guarantee the attainment of the prescribed minimum academic standards in 2010 as $3364 but the actual is less than $1300

7. Funding • Federal government restrict and regulate tuition fees. Tuition free in all Federal Universities, Private Universities charge between 400USD – 10,667 USD per annum. • Business and industry contribute very little to funding of research in Nigeria. • From 2000 – 2010 consumer expenditure on education in Nigeria has grown by 427% - private sector growth in education.

8. Quality • According to FME Education Roadmap there is a 44% shortfall in number of teaching staff in universities • NUC has increased teacher/student ratio • Research limited due to poor funding and poor management of funds and inadequate research infrastructure • Physical infrastructure is weak and outdated • ICT weak • 80:20 enrolment mix in favour of sciences not being met • Curricula not relevant to world of work

9. Graduate Employability “..Three out ten graduates of higher education are not working. A highly educated Nigerian is not significantly more likely to find work than one with no education at all. Many are also forced to accept jobs that do not use their qualifications to the full. Many educated men and women can only find marginal employment in sales, agriculture or manual labour…” Source: Next Generation Report, British Council/Harvard School of Public Health, pp29-30

10. Nigeria’s Education Roadmap FME 2009 The Federal Ministry of Education has produced a one-year plan to cover the duration of the current Government’s mandate, out of the ten-year vision blueprint and the Ministry’s Roadmap for the Nigerian Education Sector. This plan (FME 2010) contains several initiatives to cover the six prioritised areas of • Access and equity • Standards and quality assurance • Teacher education and development • Funding • Technical and vocational education and training • Strengthening the institutional management of education

11. British Council Activities • Policy • Support for developing guidelines for ODL • Support for developing guidelines for CBHE. The guidelines recognise three different models of cross border provision: - Twinning/Articulation Model - Branch Campus Model - Open and Distance Learning Model

12. British Council Activities • Partnership • 11 DelPHE partnerships (funded by DFID) • 12 EPA partnerships (funded by DBIS) • 8 PMI partnerships • 6 CBHE partnerships been approved with British Universities as part of pilot • ODL partnership to build capacity between NUC/OU and BC • 7 AKTP partnerships

13. Opportunities • Access and Equity ( CBHE) • Capacity building for new universities • Curriculum development and QA • ICT Deployment • Entrepreneurial studies and graduate employability • Faculty and student exchange • Research and Development Collaboration

14. UK Market: showing Nigeria’s growth from 2002 HE Source: HESA, 2011

15. Funding opportunities limited • Nigerian Universities/NUC • PDTF/ETF – infrastructure/staff/student capacity building focussed • Donors • UNESCO – TVET revitalisation project in partnership with NBTE • World bank 180 million USD STEP- B project aims to improve teaching and learning of science and technology in Federal institutions at senior secondary and tertiary level • DFID - DelPHE

16. CBHE Partnerships/Articulation • Offer capacity building for Nigerian Universities in area of staff and curriculum • Improve quality in Nigerian HE • Increased student flows to the UK • Understanding and trust needs to be built around CBHE • Partnership in Nigeria is not a quick win – will require significant up front investment but should also bring long term returns

17. Thank you