Senate President advocates for legislation, funding to revamp tertiary education

President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has advocated for a comprehensive legislation and increased funding of tertiary education in Nigeria as key to overcoming the myriad of challenges facing the sector.

Akpabio made the call while delivering a lecture to mark the 19th Convocation Ceremony of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) on Thursday.

Sen. Akpabio, who was represented by the Senate Committee Chairman on Solid Minerals, Sen. Osita Ngwu, noted that lack of enrollment access, poor quality of outputs, poor funding and dilapidated infrastructure were some of the key issues militating against tertiary education in Nigeria.

Other issues include poor research and innovation, ineffective governance structures and interference from external bodies, unemployability of graduates and lack of adequate investment in e-learning infrastructure.

According to Akpabio, “establishing comprehensive legislation to regulate tertiary education in Nigeria is essential for the sector to overcome its challenges and realize its full potential. Such legislation will ensure quality standards, improve access and equity, promote research and innovation, protect student rights, and address funding issues.

“By investing in and regulating tertiary education, Nigeria can develop a skilled workforce, drive economic growth, and secure a better future for its citizens. Together, let us advocate for establishing comprehensive legislation to regulate tertiary education in Nigeria and pave the way for a prosperous and inclusive future. Increased budgetary allocations and alternative sources of funding are crucial for Nigerian higher education institutions for several reasons,” Akpabio said.

Also in an address, ESUT Vice Chancellor, Prof Alloysius Okolie, who bemoaned the poor funding of the institution, said that the school was moving towards making skills acquisition a major part of its activities.

“There is a direction we are going, such that in the next few years, we will emphasize 40 per cent academic content and 60 per cent skills acquisition and capacity building. We are going to sign MOUs with many international organizations. We are also bringing in people who are experts in shoe making and textiles from Aba. 

“These will be done under a public-private partnership arrangement. That is the way to go. The emphasis now is on employability. We want to make our students the first choice for employers of labour,” Okolie said.