"Research Outputs from Nigerian Tertiary Institution" : An article from the journal "Library Philosophy and Practice"

Library Philosophy and Practice 2009, ISSN 1522-0222 has an article entitled "Research Outputs from Nigerian Tertiary Institutions: An Empirical Appraisal" by S. Chiemeke,Department of Computer Science, University of Benin, Nigeria; O. B. Longe,Department of Computer Science,University of Ibadan,Ibadan, Nigeria; F.A. Longe,Department of Computer & Information Science,Lead City University,Ibadan, Nigeria and I.O. Shaib,Department of Statistics, Auchi Polytechnic.You can access this article FREELY at: http://libr.unl.edu:2000/LPP/chiemeke-longe-shaif.htm

Library Philosophy and Practice is a peer reviewed journal which is available at no charge and without a subscription.


EXCERPT:

"The adequacy of Nigerian university and polytechnic graduates remains hotly debated. It is a question of particular concern to graduates who are seeking employment and to employers who consider hiring them. The situation is of such concern that hundreds of unemployed university graduates mounted a demonstration in front of the presidential offices in Abuja in 2000, demanding that government provide them with jobs. Employers complain that graduates are poorly prepared for work. They believe that academic standards have fallen considerably over the past decade and that a university degree or a polytechnic diploma is no longer a guarantee of communication skills or technical competence.

According to Andrew, Bankole, and Olatunde (2000), a large mismatch appears to exist between university output and labor market demand. At the same time, their findings show that the employment prospects of recent graduates have clearly deteriorated, the primarily because of the weak Nigerian economy, the policy environment, and inadequate level of skilled human resources, especially the quality of the university- trained portion of the work force.

Deteriorating quality perception is supported by results from empirical research. Anyawu and Iloeje (1996) reported a lower rating on the “reputation” of first generation Nigerian university graduates. They expressed a belief that the quality of university education has fallen. A similar study conducted by Ugwuonah and Omeje (1998) on another Nigerian university reported that those who graduated in the 1980s gave more favorable ratings to questions regarding availability of study resources than those who graduated in the 1990s.

A This Day Newspaper report (This Day Newspaper, 2005) shows that older cohorts awarded higher scores to questions on opportunities to undertake research, participate in supervised work experience, and have access to technical and laboratory resources. In another tracer study, Omoifo, Badmus, and Awanbor (1997) found that graduates of Nigerian universities rated supervised practical work and quality of academic advice received as very poor. Among graduates of medicine and sciences, only 29 percent rated equipment, laboratories, and workshops as very good. On the whole, graduates felt that teaching facilities and infrastructure were the worst aspects of the university environment, followed by staff qualifications and living conditions.

Conclusion

The discussions of declining research output from Nigerian universities lack empirical evidence and construct validity. Many authors have spoken out of subjective perception rather than objective appraisal. Research and publication remains a yardstick for promotion in academia in Nigeria. The major area of concern remains the polytechnics, where results from this research have revealed poor research output. Sabo (2005) reports on the NUC list of the top twenty universities among the then 65 universities in the country. While the Commission is to be commended for its evaluation of the nation's universities, the publication does not show how they compared with Europe, North America, Asia, and South America. More will have to be done to compare the quality of our research output with those from other parts of the world.

Recommendations

It is not enough to publish. Research output and findings from the nation's tertiary institutions must have an impact on industrial, commercial, and administrative processes on all fronts. By implication, graduates from our institutions must be able to use modern techniques to get jobs done. It remains the responsibility of the NUC and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to encourage researchers with grants and collaboration with other researchers across the world. The NBTE will have to review the promotion criteria in Nigerian polytechnics. Research output is an essential aspect of assessment for academic positions. These recommendations will ameliorate the dwindling research output from Nigerian polytechnics and further encourage active research practices among Nigerian universities."

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