PROPHE Summary (by Hirosuke
Honda):
Recent government authorizations mean that Nigeria will shortly have
26 private universities. Even if Nigerian higher education needs to
expand in order to accommodate the country's rapid population growth,
the matter of how is debatable. Increasing the number of private universities
is tricky in part because only a minority of the population can afford
such high tuition. Moreover, perceptions toward private universities
are not positive as far as quality facilities and staff while just pursuing
their own profits. Although establishing a university is politically
and symbolically positive for the state, it cannot afford the funding.
This is then a major explanation for allowing the private sector to
expand.
For the full story, see Africa News, February 12, 2006, "More
Universities? How Useful?," by Vanguard.
PROPHE Observation (by Daniel
C. Levy):
Debate over access versus quality in private higher education is
seen worldwide. The issue naturally arises of how much governmental
intervention is appropriate to try to gain the access with acceptable
quality and transparency. Likewise, how much private higher education
could help ameliorate the government's financial problem vis-à-vis
how much it could give for public good involves common tradeoffs. More
often than not, private higher education outside the U.S. is perceived
as a demand-absorbing, emphasizing quantity over quality. The Nigerian
case is a typical example of conflicting beliefs and arguments over
private higher education expansion.
