A few years ago, I posited that by 2031, Nigeria could begin to privatize its federal universities, in the same way it privatized its energy infrastructures. I hope that does not happen since the only thing the ordinary citizens get from Nigeria is subsidized university education. If you remove that, inequality will scale and inter-generational poverty will become a constant. I was a three-time University Scholar while in FUTO, and the generosity of Nigeria on my education remains appreciated
Good People, the global university education has many structural challenges. In the UK, it is assuming a new dimension: “The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent, Karen Cox who has occupied the position since 2017, will step down from her role next month, following a significant restructuring effort amidst a potential £30 million deficit. The deficits are as a result of dwindling student recruitment compared to expanding Russell Group institutions and elevated dropout rates due to rising living costs.”
In the UK, besides the immigration changes, the BREXIT was an own-goal. But do not take out the impact of inflation. In other words, if the citizens are fighting for food, going to school may not be an immediate priority. As a great comment on this piece noted, “there is also a 40% drop in the number of part-time entrants, which make up a big part of the total student population of 2.8M.” In other words, in the UK, continuous education is stalled and people cannot easily pay for part-time education. That is scary for a top-10 global economy!
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In the Igbo Nation, it is always a great honour when you call your kinsmen and they gather to listen to you. The UK was a center of gravity in Europe, but it did not see it as an honour. It went to dismantle what made UK amazing, via BREXIT, etc. Today, even its universities are paying the prices as inflation rises and poverty scales in the land. After BREXIT, I wrote that it was a huge irony that the “Great Britain which used to annihilate kingdoms and colonized them” would like to be left alone, peacefully! Unfortunately, that would weaken the UK because it did not know the power of its strength.
Back to Nigeria, the nucleus of my postulation is the evidence that Nigeria is largely fading across most developmental indicators. Yes, people who graduated in the 2000s had better job opportunities than those who finished in the decade of 2010s. And those in the 2010s are better than those in the 2020s. And the current 2020s will be better than those coming in the 2030s.
Indeed, there is nothing happening in Nigeria today that will show that those graduating in the 2030s will have better opportunities. If that trajectory continues, the university system will be under massive stress. Simply, if 40% of UK part-time students can drop out of the UK educational system, because of high inflation and challenging living standards, you can extrapolate what will happen for all the many federal universities in Nigeria.
Dangote Refinery Delivers Products and UK Universities Are in Enrollment Crisis
A few years ago, I posited that by 2031, Nigeria could begin to privatize its federal universities, in the same way it privatized its energy infrastructures. I hope that does not happen since the only thing the ordinary citizens get from Nigeria is subsidized university… pic.twitter.com/LSH5Raelsc
— Ndubuisi Ekekwe (@ndekekwe) April 5, 2024
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If we want plenty things to be happening here, we can make it happen. We just need to be responsible as a people. We are too irresponsible in this country, and that is why we keep deluding ourselves that politicians are the problem. No, the politicians are not the problem, they are just part of the problem. If you see the list of top ten most visited countries in Africa, Nigeria is not there. Why don’t millions of people visit this country, you really think it’s just because of bad leadership? No, it’s not. People wouldn’t find visiting a place where almost all the citizens want to escape, if given a chance.
We have a dynamic population we have not scratched its potential yet, but almost everyone is engaged in a blame game, which never solves problem anyway. As schools in the UK struggle with students recruitment, where will students go to study? We haven’t seen ourselves as being capable of turning the traffic inward, because we still believe that ‘government’ needs to make universities great, something entrepreneurs can comfortably do, without even remembering there’s government.
We must develop a builder’s mindset, irrespective of market conditions, we have to keep building, so that as economies struggle, we can have a shout.
Totally agree ?