Professor Victor Samson Dunga, who chairs the committee that oversees graduate schools and colleges at Nigerian universities, has demanded more resources for graduate research and more institutional backing for graduate programs.
Dunga expressed concern that Nigeria may become reliant on international knowledge and research solutions due to a lack of funding for higher education.
He made the warning during his keynote address at the 68th regular meeting of the Committee of Provosts and Deans of Postgraduate Colleges and Schools in Nigerian Universities, which was held at Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State on Monday. “A country that underinvests in postgraduate education will sooner or later import solutions, ideas and experts,” he said.
Not only that, but he demanded that university administrations provide postgraduate colleges more administrative freedom and cash from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) so that postgraduate students might get direct support for research.
The integrity of postgraduate qualifications provided by Nigerian universities is being threatened by practices such as contract writing, faked research findings, questionable journal articles, and the exploitation of artificial intelligence, according to Ogundipe.
He went on to say that professors who take on too many PhD students have a hard time giving each one the individual attention they need to navigate their research. “If you have a PhD student that stays with you for more than five years, there’s a problem majorly with the scholar,” he said, critiquing the supervision practices that many professors use.
He stressed the need of supervisors being in touch with their students on a frequent basis and setting clear goals for their study.
Universities should implement procedures to safeguard academic standards, according to Ogundipe. These include mandatory research ethics training, formal supervision agreements, clear instructions on generative artificial intelligence, confidential reporting channels, regular similarity checks, and more.
Rebuilding the Foundation: Repositioning Postgraduate Education for Quality, Integrity and Global Competitiveness in Nigerian Universities’ was the theme of the meeting, which gathered provosts, deans, and other education stakeholders. Their goal was to discuss reforms that would improve research standards, supervision, and international competitiveness in Nigerian universities.