QUALITY ASSURANCE IN NIGERIAN PUBLIC HIGHER INSTITUTIONS: CHALLENGES AND WAY FORWARD

Abstract

The quality of higher education in Nigeria is falling and this is affecting the social, economic and technological development of the country because the higher institutions are saddled with the responsibilities of manpower development of the country. In order to address this problem, there are various agencies designed to ensure quality assurance in the various higher institutions. These agencies are been confronted with many challenges. This paper is aimed to examine the problems preventing quality assurance programme in Nigerian public higher institutions from achieving their goals. To achieve this, the researchers employed secondary data to justify the various points raised in the paper. Print materials and online publication were sorted and used in the paper. This paper identified; inadequate funding, shortage of academic staff, poor implementation of quality assurance policies, inadequate infrastructural facilities, brain-drain, strike Actions ,corruption, weak supervision, poor staff development as problems preventing quality assurance in the Nigerian higher institutions. To ensure quality in the Nigerian higher institutions, the following have been suggested: adequate funding, employment of adequate academic staff, provision of adequate infrastructural facilities, fight all forms of corruption practices, implement all agreement reached with the different union groups, motivate academic staff, effective supervision, effective staff development.