THE DEARTH OF RESEARCH IN NIGERIA
A case study on Institution in Oyo State
By Akande Iyiola Adeniyi
By Akande Iyiola Adeniyi
INTRODUCTION
Research
and development remained the bedrock of any self reliant national
economy. Agrarian, Industrial, communication technology, educational
revolutions have all been made possible as a result of research and
development. This clearly shows the extent in which research and
development contributes to an effective transition from one level of
development to another. Little wonder then, when President Goodluck
Jonathan laments during the 23rd convocation ceremony of
Federal university of Technology, Akure in a message read by Professor
Julius Okojie, the executive secretary of Nigeria University Commission
that the Nigerian universities record poor scores in international
ratings because their authorities pay little attention to research. He
went further to say that The President noted that the nation needed
high quality manpower and impactful research to achieve necessary
economic growth and development. He went further to say that, “Our
education administrators need to urgently address the importance of
research, which is one reason our universities perform poorly in
international ratings”. “We must upgrade our curricula to ensure the
provision of quality education. Learning at tertiary levels should
produce graduates that are self-reliant.
The
story of research and development is rather pathetic. Despite the
Government pledge to improve research and development, it is still at it
lowest ebb when compared to other developed and developing countries of
India, Japan.
A former Minister
of Science and Technology Grace Ekpiwhre in one of her ministerial
briefing while in office decried the low level of patronage and
non-commercialization of Research and Development (R&D). Her words,
"Our major challenge is still the low level of patronage of R& D
results. Compendium of these commercializable results has been published
to acquaint the public of the potentials in the sector. Exhibition has
equally been mounted continually to attract investors, yet our
industrialists and other users still prefer foreign goods to the
detriment of our indigenous products and services
From
the above discussion, it clearly indicated that there is an acute
shortage in the patronage, funding, and acceptability of Research and
Development in Nigeria. Yet, various revolutionary has been witnessed in
the education sector of this country. Different government has
instituted different approach toward enhancing dissemination of quality
education to all in Nigeria. The approach includes UPE, 6-3-3-4, the
introduction UBE in 1999, the funding of education through PTF and so
on.
Despite
all these approach to ensure quality education for all, dearth of
research has always stands as bane of government effort towards this.
Thus, the government decision has been always truncated.
As
an example, in Oyo state despite the fact that government is throwing
her weight behind the successful implementation of solid educational
foundation for everyone in Oyo State, the government has not in a day
wake up to realize the effect of researching into the distribution of
Higher educational institution in the State. Institution of Higher
learning were been sited base on sentiment and political wills.
According to Hammed Abiodun of Economics Department, University of
Abuja; citing of Higher institution in Oyo state has been more
favourable to some cities than other.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The dearth of research in Oyo state can be link to the uneven distribution of Higher Institution in Oyo State.
OYO STATE IN PERSPECTIVE
Oyo
State with an approximate population of 6,617,720 (2007 Pop. Census) is
an island State situated in the South-West region of the country. Its
capital is situated in Ibadan. Oyo State has a total number of 33 Local
Governments council and it is politically divided into four zones, that is Ibadan/Ibarapa zone, Oyo zone, Ogbomoso zone and Oke-Ogun zone.
The
State has over 1,703 public schools, 97 private schools (nursery and
primary), 335 public secondary schools and 57 private secondary schools.
Also in the State is 5 Government Technical Colleges each in Ibadan,
Ogbomoso, Oyo, Iseyin and Saki. There several research institute located
in Ibadan.
Oyo
State has 5 major cities which are relatively high in population, these
are Ibadan, Ogbomoso, Oyo, Iseyin and Saki respectively.
There
is no State University that will accommodate both the Technology and
Humanities students and there is no Federal Polytechnic in the state
PURPOSE OF RESEARCH
For
the State to minimize illiteracy, ignorance and poverty as well as
stimulate and accelerate the pace of national development, political
consciousness and national integration, there is need to evenly
distribute Higher Institution in the State. The research investigate how
Higher Institution is been sited in the State.
Higher
Institution in the State are been distributed based on political
motivation and influence of high profile individual or group of people
rather than level of literacy consciousness, numbers of student turn
over in the cities, economic implication of school on the city, etc.
Of course, while some cities can boast of more than 2 Higher Institutions some are without any.
The
implication of this is that, number of literacy level in the area
without the Higher Institution will be on high side compare to the
numbers in the cities with Higher Institution. Also, economy of the
cities with Higher Institution will thrive well compared to other cities
without Institution. This will also generate gross of misunderstanding
and grudges among the cities in the State
The purpose of this research shall be limited to these 5 cities.
Below is the tabular distribution of Higher Institution in the State:
City
|
Fed. University
|
State University
(Oyo and Osun)
|
Private University
|
State Polytechnic
|
Federal Coll. Of Educ.
|
State Coll. Of Educ.
|
Private Coll. Of Educ.
|
Total
|
Ibadan
|
1
|
Nil
|
1
|
1
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
1
|
4
|
Ogbomoso
|
Nil
|
1
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
1
|
Oyo
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
1
|
Nil
|
1
|
1
|
Nil
|
3
|
Saki
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
1
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
1
|
Iseyin
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Nil
|
Table 1: Table showing the distribution of Higher Institution of learning in 5 major cities of Oyo State.
METHODOLOGY
The
population of study includes Teachers, Students, Parents and Government
workers in the State. The instrument was both content and face
validated. And, the research which is spread among 12 individuals is
conducted through Telephone conversation and E-mail because of the time
constraint.
RESEARCH AND DISCUSSION
Research question 1 :
How will you describe the distribution of Higher Institution in Oyo State
Respondents:
8
respondents said that the distribution of Higher Institution in Oyo
State was base on bias mind, 3 respondents said it is alright with them,
while 1 respondent stood on neutral ground
RESEARCH QUESTION 2:
Lack
of research before locating Higher Institution in the State is
responsible for high rate of illiterate in some part of the State
Respondents:
10
respondents agree that lack of research before locating Higher
Institution is responsible for high level of illiterate and other evil
vices being witnessed in some cities in the State. They also, agree that
location of schools in the State has always been based on sentiment and
bias mind.
2 respondents did not see anything wrong in the distribution of schools in the State.
RESEARCH QUESTION 3:
Adequate
research before locating Higher Institution will solve the problem of
uneven literacy level and social vices in the State
Respondents:
While
10 respondents totally agreed with the introduction of research on
which city is having which Institution, and which is having none will
not only harmonise the State but it will also check social ills,
increase literacy levels as well as increasing economic level of the
area.
2 respondents did not give any comments on this.
FINDINGS
It
is often says that whoever fail to plan has already plan to fail. This
is the case when it comes to the issue of research as "Research is about
finding out: It is about deep thoughts hence the dearth of skills and
little or no awareness is responsible for it".
Hence lack of it can be likening to building a society without focus.
From
our research question 1, which ask “how will you describe the
distribution of school in Oyo State”. It clearly shows from the
respondents’ perspective that the distribution has been bias. The table
aboved, shows that Ibadan is having 4 Higher Institutions while Iseyin,
the 4th largest city in the state is having none.
The
implication of this is that various successful governments have been
cheating on Iseyin, or perhaps Iseyin may not have strong personality in
the government.
During
the course of the interview, it was learnt that the turn over of
students in Iseyin secondary schools is quiet impressive but lack of
school to commiserate this has always been the bane of progress of
students.
Alhazan
Abiodun, an English Teacher in Iseyin District Grammar School lamented
the absence of Higher Institution in Iseyin saying that despite various
agitation to government, none of them has ever consider locating Higher
Institution in the city, though it is the 4th largest city in
the State. He went further that, some towns with lesser population were
been granted Institutions, some of these towns are Lanlate which is
only one fifth of Iseyin population, Igbo Ora which is about one third
of Iseyin Population and Eruwa town which has State College of
Education(Campus), State College of Agriculture and State
Polytechnic(Campus) respectively. These three towns are incidentally
fall within axis of Ibarapa under Ibada/Ibarapa zone.
Adedoja
Julius, a UBE monitoring group said that Iseyin has been suffering
negligence from every successful government stating that various
political office seeker has turned the problem into the political weapon
of campaign knowing fully well that the in dwellers will cast their
votes for him if he promise them a Higher Institution. This clearly
shows that, government knows that they cheat this city which has desire
for education.
The
implication of this is that, a desiring student has to travel thousands
of kilometer to get a school as contrary with students in Ibadan,
Ogbomoso, Oyo, or Saki. Students from the area where the schools are
located also enjoy special priviledge when seeking admission.
The
research question 2 ‘Lack of research before locating Higher
Institution in the State is responsible for high rate of illiterate in
some part of the State’. When conducting the interview, it was gathered
that about 75% of male secondary school leavers in Iseyin could not
further in their education. Out of this 75%, about 60% of them go into
riding Okada in big cities such as Ibadan and Lagos. The reason being
that, the government of Oyo State has failed in discharging her
responsibility of giving quality education to her citizenry. This set of
people will in no doubt contribute to increasing social vices in the
city. Little wonder then that armed robbery and thug is on increasing
side in the area.
Many
analysts have also argued that no nation can make any progress in
advancement without being consciously involved in research and
development; this is the case of Oyo State. Oyo State is gradually
falling back to State of Educational disadvantage State in the Country,
solely because she has taken Research and Development with levity. Osun
State which was carved out of Oyo State some years ago is far better
than Oyo State now in terms of literacy level, and social-economic
development. Her political institution is also more stable while vices
in the cities are at the barest minimum.
Osun
State was able to do this because of accurate research measure put in
place before locating her Higher Institution of learning. This is
evident in the fact that no city in Osun State that is not without
Institution and this is of course yielding good result on the
educational development of the State.
It then down on Oyo State not to have engaged in Research and Development before locating Schools.
Research
question 3 which says “Adequate research before locating Higher
Institution will solve the problem of uneven literacy level and social
vices in the State” is the right solution to all present in balance
education and ever increasing evil vices in the State.
When
the school is evenly distributed, every prospective student will be
able take the advantage of the school hence reducing level of illiterate
which is currently on the high side in Oyo State. The availability of
school will also, provide economic emancipation for any one who could
not go on direct admission and thereby given them opportunity to run
program of their desire through part-time basis.
In
the same vein, evenly distribution of schools will help in checking the
rural urban immigration as individual will have no cause to travel to
other city before vending for themselve
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
The
point has always been made that for Oyo State to make effective
progress as a State in the nation and retrieve her past glory, she needs
to tap into the areas of research and development. Interestingly, most
of Oyo State students now found solace in neighboring State Higher
Institution of learning. There is no State own University and there is
no Federal Polytechnic in the State but, should this continue to happen?
The main source of value and competitive advantage in the new economy
is human and intellectual capital. With a population of about 7million
people, Oyo State, in theory, has the capacity to make a successful
transition into a truly knowledge driven State. The State is rich enough
to have own State University that will accormodate both the Science and
Humanities students. According to the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OCED), Research and Development refers to
"creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the
stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society,
and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications"
It
is easy to see from the examples of the economies of Osun State, Ekiti
State and other States of the federation which are both knowledge
driven, the growing importance of research and development.
In
Oyo State, the story of research and development is rather pathetic.
Despite the Government pledge to improve research and development (both
Federal and State), it is still at it lowest ebb.
The
challenges of research and development in Nigeria is multifaceted, says
Lanre Ajayi, an IT expert, "from poor public and private sector funding
capability for R & D to poor access to knowledge and intellectual
property protection, inadequate tools for research and the deteriorating
quality of university graduate". This is of course true about the
State, as government often assumes that any money spent on research and
development is a waste. Making a case for more attention to be given to
research Christopher Olumuyiwa, Public Relations Officer, Federal
Institute of Industrial Research, FIIRO, Oshodi, notes that "Research
and Development has always been a tool for development for any nation
and Nigeria is not an exception". On the challenges facing R & D in
Nigeria, he pinpointed "inadequate funding from the public and private
sectors especially for scientific research, inadequate encouragement
given to researchers by stakeholders in the country, violation of
intellectual property rights (patents, copyrights, royalties) without
compensation and the unavailability of infrastructures for research".
Many
analysts have also argued that no nation can make any progress in
advancement without being consciously involved in research and
development. It is my opinion that knowledge is not exclusive to those
States earlier mentioned above neither is the concept of knowledge
driven economy through research. Other emerging State like Osun State,
Kogi State have developed their own frameworks for catapulting their
States into a knowledge driven economy. Just like the Osun and Ekiti
States, it is also possible for Oyo State to become a successful
knowledge rich State.
The
phenomenal scale of work, commitment and seriousness that is required
before the State can lay claim to being knowledge and peace driven is
enormous. This of course demands a complete change of culture and
attitude from both the public and private sectors. Higher Institution
must be evenly distributed most especially across the cities in the
State. In fact , Oyo State purported State University should have been
located in Iseyin without any much ado. As, It is only remaining one out
of the big 5 in the State.
It
has also been pointed out that the government needs to put in place a
cohesive and coherent long-term strategy to help make the idea a
reality. Enuani Lawrence, a Research Chemist with CAP, in Lagos lent his
voice to this thinking by saying that "funding of research is not
negotiable" since history had shown that various inventions came about
as a result of research. President Jonathan says that “We must equip our
students with knowledge that will make them active contributors to
national development.” And we can only achieve this by bringing Schools
very close to them
REFERENCES
International Journal of African & African American Studies Vol. VI, No. 1, (Jan 2007)
Adu,
E.O. (2004) Universal Basic Education Towards a Functional Development
of Nigerian Educational System In J.B Babalola (eds) Management of
Primary andSecondary Education in Nigeria. NAEAP Publication, Ibadan,(
Pp 439-4446).
Akangbou, S.D. (1985). The Economics of Educational Planning in Nigeria, New Delhi:Vikas Publishing House Put. Ltd.
Akangbou,
S.D. (1986). Financing Nigerian Universities. Faculty Lecture No2,
Department of Educational Management, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
Akangbou, S.D. (1987). Economics of Education: An Introduction, Ibadan: Shaneson C.ILtd.
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