ETHNICIZATION OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION AND NATIONALudDEVELOPMENT: THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE

摘要

At the base of national development is an advancement in education; specifically university education.udThe Nigerian case reveals that the system of education is at the mercy of state’s internal intricacies.udThe issue of ethnicity, which has fuelled distrust, suspicion and competition among the ethnic groupsudhas resulted in the introduction of certain resolutions such as quota system, federal character, revenueudallocation, rotation, zoning, etc. which have further exacerbated the issue; normalizing and legalizingudethnicity. The destructive effects of ethnicity have trickled down to education, and nationaluddevelopment remains at the receiving end. In fact, it reflects in the county’s public university admissionudprocess, appointment of university dons, and even in the location of university facilities: culminating inudthe deprivation of university education for qualified applicants, displacement of frustrated students andudbrilliant academics abroad, and the eventual loss of those that could assist in national development toudmore inclusive societies of the world. As one of the world’s most pluralised society, Nigeria becomesudthe preferred case for the study. A descriptive-analytical approach is applied, while the data areudbasically collected from texts, institutional records and academic journals. Findings indicate that meritudis sacrificed at the altar of national integrity and political accommodation.