Better universities will lead to ‘Nigerian exceptionalism’
NUC’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Julius Okojie
As I was saying when we began this university education question last week, I am fully persuaded that the time has come for our leaders at all levels, to renew their minds about some critical factors that will determine the future of Nigeria. Certainly, what we will do with education funding is one of them. First, there is no need for education summit anywhere before an emergency can be declared and funds massively deployed to re-equip all our schools, retrain our teachers and dignify teaching with good conditions of service.
We are in a world of business and governance system where the quality
of servants at all levels determines the quality of output and global
competiveness. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has in its website where
it profiles country and global competiveness in its yearly index on
competiveness. The WEF notes that education quality is the only known
tool for country and global competiveness. They always advise
Switzerland and Singapore that lead the global index pack regularly to
even scale up despite the fact that they are leaders.
South Africa, for instance, is the only country in Africa that is a
member of G-20 and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China & South
Africa), an elite group of global emerging markets. It is no surprise
that from global rating, the quality of education in South Africa is the
highest in Africa. Of the ten top universities in Africa, most times,
the best eight of them are from South Africa. Even in the 2016 Times
Higher Education Supplement Ranking of Universities in BRICS and
emerging economies, South Africa that has about 24 universities compared
to Nigeria’s more than 120, registered four of its universities in the
top 50 and two of them in the top 10.
That is why
Professor Ayo Olukotun who analysed the implications of the 2016 Times
Higher Education ranking of universities the other day, warned the Abuja
policy makers thus: “The point to note is that while the dizzying
expansion of the universities in Nigeria may have its uses for example
in the area of widening access vertically and horizontally, there must
be complementary investment in quality focusing on those institutions,
which possess the best potential to rise to global stature…”
Same for the United States that has almost eight of the top ten
universities in the world. The quality of education in the United States
explains part of the critical success factors, former House of
Representatives Speaker, Newt Gingrich calls “American exceptionalism”
in a classic he wrote in 2011. What United Kingdom’s Cambridge and
Oxford Universities (OXBRIGDE) for instance, represent has been part of
the reasons the United Kingdom is a world power. It is a case of show me
your universities and I can tell where you are and why you are where
you are and how far you can go!
There is, therefore, this nexus between quality of education and
development of any country. This is the reason South Korea of about 55
million people has become an emerging world power even in disruptive
technologies development. It is the world’s No.5 in research and
development (R&D) funding. The United States is No.1. China
(European Union) are No.2, Japan is No.3, Germany is 4th while South
Korea is No.5, France is No.6, India is 7th, United Kingdom is No.8,
Russia takes no.9 slot while the 10th is Brazil.
Specifically, South Korea is unique in Asia as it takes education
quality to a new height as it has a minister in charge of Knowledge
Economy apart from the one in charge of Education, Science &
Technology. That is why Samsung is a global leader in electronic
quality. The state is behind the competitive quality and advantage of
Samsung. It is not just a miracle of some sort. That is why Apples
(United States) is often sleepless about the brand equity of South
Korea’s) Samsung.
It is quality in their higher education, their research funding
quality that is driving their competitive spirit. We do not have to talk
about China. It is regarded as No.2 in R&D funding in the world
now. South Korea used to be there (N0.2). Japan has always been a world
economic power, second to the U.S. China just overtook Japan somehow but
not diminished. Let’s learn more from the small-yet-so-big South Korea:
This is what the influential Organization for Economic Cooperation
& Development (OECD) has just testified about South Korea in a
foreword to a recent publication:
“In 2016, Korea will celebrate its twentieth anniversary of OECD
membership. In this time, it has achieved impressive convergence in
living standards towards the Organisation’s top performers. Fundamental
to these efforts have been investment, innovation and human capital.
“Korean students regularly rank among the best performers in the OECD’s PISA tests, while the country is a leader in investment in research and development. At the same time, Korea has not been afflicted by the curse of rising inequality that has struck most other OECD members over the past decade. The level of income inequality remains slightly below the OECD average.
“Korean students regularly rank among the best performers in the OECD’s PISA tests, while the country is a leader in investment in research and development. At the same time, Korea has not been afflicted by the curse of rising inequality that has struck most other OECD members over the past decade. The level of income inequality remains slightly below the OECD average.
“Korea’s development strategy has served it well, but appears to be
in need of re-engineering to face the social, economic and environmental
challenges ahead.
Korea’s population will undergo the most rapid ageing of any OECD
member over the next half century, putting pressure on public finances
and underlining the necessity to boost productivity to secure
sustainable long-term growth. This report identifies policy priorities
to meet these challenges.
To leverage its position as a leading innovator, and thereby
stimulate economic growth, President Park introduced the “creative
economy” initiative in 2013, whose goals require harnessing the
productive potential of Korea’s private sector, in particular its
lagging services sectors and smaller firms. There is scope to enhance
the impact of Korea’s substantial R&D investments, for example, by
strengthening links between public research institutions and the private
sector, as well as by improving the regulatory environment for
innovative entrepreneurs.
“Korea has been relatively successful in ensuring the benefits of development….Angel Gurría Secretary-General, OECD signed the foreword about this great country that even Japan now dreads
“Korea has been relatively successful in ensuring the benefits of development….Angel Gurría Secretary-General, OECD signed the foreword about this great country that even Japan now dreads
The powerful OECD has also reported that South Korea has one of the
highest levels of R&D expenditure relative to GDP in the OECD area
(4.1 in 2013). The country also leads in the development of frontier
technologies and it is a top player in 11 of today’s 20 rapidly
accelerating technologies. Equipped with R&D-intensive manufacturing
sector, a strong science and engineering base and firms operating at
the global technology frontier, Korea is ready for the next production
revolution. Besides, it is written that Korea leads in creative
activities, as measured by ICT and audio-visual-related designs.
And beyond R&D, Korea is investing heavily in the future, by
nurturing human capital, improving organizational capabilities and
strengthening workers’ skills. The OECD also reveals that the Korea has
increased its integration in global value chains (GVCs) over time,
mostly relying on Factory Asia and its close engagement with China.
China’s demand for Korean products accounts for almost 10% of jobs in
Korean business sector, the highest percentage in G-20 economies.
Meanwhile, the powerful OECD reports that the country’s leadership in
ICT technologies is not a fluke as it has the highest percentage of
tertiary graduates in these disciplines (ICT) in the OECD area (32% in
2012, although this is down from 39% in 2002). As a consequence, the
share of R&D personnel in total employment has doubled over the past
10 years, with 80% of researchers employed in the business sector. The
Paris-based organization notes that R&D leadership has placed Korea
at the frontier in development of cutting edge technologies, in
particular in ICT-related technologies. Information industries in Korea
account for 56% of total business R&D, the highest share in OECD.
The patent portfolio of leading R&D corporations located in Korea
reveals a strong technology specialization in all ICT-related technology
areas, and in associated fields, such as semi-conductors and optics.
We will discuss in our next engagement more examples of the nexus
between quality in education and development. There are specific
examples from countries in Africa including South Africa, Botswana and
Mauritius where the telecom’s giant, MTN actually emanated from. MTN
Nigeria is 75.81% owned by MTN International (Mauritius) Limited (MTNI);
19.65% held by Nigerian shareholders through special purpose vehicles,
etc. It may be relevant to know in our interrogation of this contextual
question about the universities in Nigeria how the giant (MTN) listed in
Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), Securities Exchange in South Africa,
with a vision to lead the delivery of a bold, new, Digital World to our
customers… is linked to Nigerian universities in terms of
collaboration, especially with the faculties of electronics and
information and communication technologies. Are Airtel, Etisalat,
Globacom in anyway benefiting from R&D initiatives of Nigeria’s more
than 120 universities?
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