Interdisciplinary Seminar:
Overcoming Hunger and Poverty as a Source of Insecurity and Conflict
Convener: Alice Kagoda, Uganda

Proliferation of Tertiary Institutions as a Challenge to Sustainable Development in Nigeria
Roseline Chinwe Onah, Non-member, Nigeria

Education has been identified as the most effective instrument for poverty eradication: it has been described by the British government as the most effective investment the world could ever make.

Under the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS), a Nigerian home-grown poverty-reduction strategy and instrument for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, education is one of the key policy-thrust areas. Within the framework of NEEDS, the Government recognizes the critical importance of university and tertiary institutions for high quality manpower development. The Government also recognizes the challenges facing these institutions, challenges which include inadequate funding and facilities, poor curricula structuring and inadequate staffing. The above constraints notwithstanding, universities and other tertiary institutions have continued to spring up in large numbers in Nigeria. These are established by state governments, religious organizations and private individuals.

It is indisputable that for higher education to impart the requisite knowledge and skills for the promotion of sustainable development, a high standard of teaching and learning environment must be maintained. This can only be achieved with adequate funding and staffing. In a situation where these are lacking in the older institutions, most of which receive heavy subvention from the federal government, what hope is there for the new tertiary institutions? What are the implications of the proliferation of universities and tertiary institutions for the eradication of poverty and promotion of sustainable development through the instrumentality of education? This paper seeks to provide answers to these questions.

Dr Onah Roseline Chinwe is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Administration andLocal Government at the University of Nigeria. Her initial degree in Political Science was followed by a Diploma of Education and a PhD in Public Administration, where her particular interest is in financial management.