Corruption and University Education in Nigeria, 2004-2022: The Underdevelopment of Nigerian University Educational System

Abstract

To say that corruption has been midwifed into almost every aspect and structure of Nigerian society particularly the university education system in the country might not be an exaggeration. This study examines the effect of corruption on university education in Nigeria. The study relies mostly on secondary data, even though the researchers also employed personal observation based on his experience as a university teacher. The data were collected from print and online publications. Content analysis was the method of analysis employed. The structural-functional theory was used in analysing the subject matter. The study revealed that corruption has negatively affected the quality of university education through symptoms like an increase in the administrative cost of running university education, mismanagement of available funds, infrastructural deficits, shortage of qualified academic staff, and ultimately poor quality of university education. The study recommends among other things that, The Federal Government of Nigeria and the state government should employ the service of an integrity-based non-governmental organisation to monitor the activities of the various public universities to reduce corrupt practices in procurement, promotion, award of contracts and in other academic activities in the country. The suggested solution will check the excesses of corrupt staff in the university education system.