“Teaching and research are closely intertwined in academia because a lecturer cannot operate in isolation. Curricula at the university level are supposed to reflect the lecturer’s research output, conference or workshop attendance, updated literature, consulting engagement, new publication, funders preferences, and global and local challenges that are not addressed yet. The suggestion that a committee somewhere is responsible for periodic (3-5 years) changes of teaching curricula for all lecturers is preposterous.
Until 99.9% of lecturers in Nigeria can write a proper literature review; access new publications; know cutting edge research ideas; know new methodologies; have networks of collaboration, can write a fundable proposal; attend international conferences and workshops; take plagiarism seriously; update teaching materials every session to reflect new knowledge, this debate about degree versus skills will not go away.
Until university staff recruitment is drawn from local and international talent pools on merit, those who have no business being academics would continue to teach our younger generations what they don’t know.
Until the labour market needs and academic competence of graduates are matched, this debate will not end.
Finally, until the universities have become innovation hubs where knowledge is truly incubated, debated, and produced to meet development needs for local industries and government, graduate unemployment will not be addressed.
Getting a degree is good, but the paper itself doesn’t give candidates anything beyond meeting application eligibility requirements for entry level positions. You can’t claim to be proud of a paper that doesn’t speak to what you can actually do. Any serious employer is not looking for such a candidate.
Let the debate continues!” – Usman Isyaku
