₦airaland Forum

kometpuvo:
The writer has done so well in bringing up this issue as regards post graduate programme in Nigerian universities.
The case is so pathetic here in the south east. Post graduate students are treated as non entity. Lecturers behave like they don't have children and as such frustrate students out of their programmes.
Imagine a lecturer telling a student to resign from his place of work in order to be the students supervisor. The only means for paying for all fees and dues comes from this job. Is it fair?

then u haven't heard about funaab

mercytripletz:
Unibadan Anyday, anytime.

Lies

Now OAU is just in a class of its own.... Imagine after several months of painstaking research and PG school wahala.... And a date was finally fixed for your project defense.... Only for your supervisor(s) to go on sabbatical for months amd you are left hanging..... If that is not pain.... O don't know what is.... Twas an experience I wouldn't wish on my enemies....

These are 'Nigerian' problems my friend. What's going on in these schools is a reflection of what's been going on in the country they're situated, and virtually every aspect of Nigeria is bedeviled with these problems.

Which way Nigeria?

Still wondering,when I started as undergraduate in OAU,i met a person who was doing his masters degree and I graduated before him, maybe he wants to inherit the university

kometpuvo:
The author skipped Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.

Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, is easily the best school in the South East. I wouldn't know your reasons for your above opinion though.
I got my MSc in Unizik and I can assure you of its quality. Department matters however, and I believe that in such cases you should be specific.

The problem with Unizik PG at the moment is the high cost which wasn't so in 2013. They imply that it is because of the TSA regime and all that.

Please help fill this questionnaire, its part of my GIS MSc thesis on "Integration of Geospatial data and Social media data for Emergency Management." Thanks in anticipation. One love!
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Just like an upper and lower bound in algebra, these schools are like this


{a, b, c, ........,n}


The schools in between that interval called "....." are not good either, they are just managing.


It's sickening that dynamism is negative infinity under a nig govt.


We still use this archaic method of education since 5 decades ago.


Let's just adopt China system of education and see the ratio of thugs, polithiefcians to sane citizens would drop drastically.

DLondonboiy:
Uniben is the best in Nigeria...I think.

Ermmmmm... I doubt that o. However, it's certainly not among the worst.

okonja:
Hari Unimaid Namu , wane iri abun ne wana yanzu?...barin kira Njodi ngiya mishi

English please.

when you post the worst also post the best so we can compare and contrast. thank you

DLondonboiy:
Uniben is the best in Nigeria...I think.

muah for that pics bro

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Marcelinho:
when you post the worst also post the best so we can compare and contrast. thank you

I have done that in another list sometime ago.

Access it here : https://www.nairaland.com/2273104/nigerian-universities-fastest-masters-degree

DLondonboiy:
Uniben is the best in Nigeria...I think.

Uniben is even the worst. What op listed in also being experienced in Uniben too

Op I taught you will not mention Uniport. .

fratermathy:
Many Nigerian graduates are rushing to get postgraduate education nowadays mostly due to the lack of jobs. It is believed that a Masters degree will better the chances of getting a good job. A few others undertake PG programmes in order to enter into the academic path as it is known that the minimum requirement for employment into many tertiary institutions in the country is a Masters degree. Because of this, many Nigerian universities have witnessed a surge in the number of applicants for PG programmes. Youths are rushing to various schools for PG programmes and it becomes necessary to inform the students of what they are to expect in the various schools in the country. I have already covered the list of best universities for PG programmes in Nigeria before. I think it is right to inform prospective PG students of the schools to be "cautious" of if they want to graduate on time. Not everyone can go to the "ivy-league" institutions for PG study in Nigeria due to various factors.

I am not trying to spoil the reputation of any school here because, as we all know, many of these schools have internal issues and policy issues that affect the students. So if your school or alma mater is mentioned, don't take it the wrong way but try to evaluate the cause so that suggestions can be made to make things better. In compiling this list, I considered a few factors such as duration of study and graduation, infrastructure, library resources, staff-student ratio, among others. I relied heavily on personal research and opinions. I also interviewed with some persons studying in these schools in order to get their experiences. I have also been to some of the universities on my list at a point or another before now. The aim of compiling this list is basically to draw attention to the issues that they have so that the universities can seat up and make the plight of students better. We should also proffer working solutions to the problems identified in this list. I can't take all the universities since there are so many with issues so I focused more on regional varsities with many applicants. Below is the list:

1. Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State
This school was established in 1961 as a regional university for the South West of Nigeria. It is considered by many as one of the best universities in the country for undergraduate studies. This first generation university has a wide variety of alumni members and has played important roles in training some of Nigeria's academic, scientists, writers, and aristocrats. However, its postgraduate programme is quite the opposite of what obtains at the undergraduate level. Let us look at some of the issues this university faces:

i. Incessant strike actions by staff and students: The university is regarded as the centre of "aluta" in Nigeria. Staff and students know their rights and don't hesitate to close down the entire school to assert it. At its worst, there are more than 3 strikes a year and whenever they occur, students go home and any form of research halts. This extends the duration of the programme from 18 months to at least 24 months in the best case scenario and 36+ in the worst.

ii. Self-centred nature of staff: The staff of this university are quite antagonistic towards students. Most take pride in the school's notoriety for delaying and stressing students. Many can't help students in basic things and even supervisors are not concerned with the student's academic progress.

iii. Lack of uniformity by the PG school: In OAU, every department runs its PG programmes however and whenever it sees fit. The PG school only "advises" but never "implements" strict uniformity. This has created situations where some departments are faster than some. Any school where departments are allowed to run programmes however they like usually face delays in PG programmes.

iv. Too many bureaucracies: The PG school has too many protocols for registration, thesis/dissertation writing, defence, graduation, etc. These protocols can take months to accomplish sometimes.

There are many other reasons why the PG programme in OAU is bad but the above are the major ones. If the school can implement a strict adherence to PG calendar by the departments, simplify many of their bureaucracies, monitor staff activities, among others, the PG programme will move faster. The facilities are there and the school has a fairly good library. If every other thing falls in place, OAU will be a school to reckon with in terms of PG programmes in Nigeria.

2. University of Calabar, Cross River State
UNICAL, as it is fondly called, is one of the second generation universities in Nigeria that was established in 1975. Some students have had terrible experiences with this university in terms of PG education. The university has a good academic culture, a wide array of alumni members and fairly manageable infrastructure. It is a go-to university for undergraduate education. However, they have not gotten it right in terms of PG education and below are some of the reasons why:

i. UNICAL allows departments too much flexibility: In UNICAL, every department works independently of the other and does so however it sees. There are no strict policies in place to make sure the departments are running the programmes in line with the PG school's dictates. With this level of flexibility and individuality, many departments unbearably delay students beyond their graduation deadlines.

ii. Corruption: This is one university where academic corruption has eaten deep into its marrows. There are many reports of PG students being extorted by the staff of the university. Extortion starts upon registration till result collection. In fact, UNICAL is for those with a fat pocket as you will have to pay for everything from the day you pick the form and the day you write the aptitude test to the day you gain admission and graduate. If you don't come with a fat pocket, be prepared to linger in the system for a long time.

iii. Nonchalance of staff: The members of staff in this university have a very bad attitude to work, save a few. Lecturers may not come and teach as and when due. Supervisors may never read student's submissions or even be available for discussions. Non-academic staff are not left out. They are hardly accessible for registrations, explanation, etc.

From the above, we can see why UNICAL is lagging behind in terms of speed and other indices of a standard PG programme. The university management has to immediately scrutinise the system and get to the root of the problem before it becomes worse than it already is.

3. Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State
This is the premier university in Northern Nigeria. Many of the educated elites in Nigeria's north, and even south, are alumni members of this school. It is widely recognised as one of the most beautiful and spacious schools in Nigeria. However, it is plagued with many issues that affect the timely graduation of students. These issues include:

i. Intolerant Staff: This university has certain staff members that are plain bigots, tribalists and fanatics. They only see members of their ethnic group, religion and beliefs. If you are from the other side of the divide, you may face difficulties interacting with lecturers, your supervisor and even non-academic staff.

ii. Too many bureaucracies: Many of the students in this university complain that the system is hard and there are too many protocols. Unlike other universities, ABU has too many protocols that students have to go through in order to finish their programmes.

ABU has all it takes to be at the forefront of PG education in Nigeria. It just has to treat some of the issues that border on intolerance and bureaucracies.

4. University of Portharcourt, Rivers State
UNIPORT is a second generation Nigerian university that was established in 1975. It has produced some of the intellectuals and elites in Nigeria's Niger Delta region. However, it is plagued with various issues at the PG level and these include:

i. No uniformity of PG programmes: In this school, like many others on this list, the departments do not follow a general academic calendar for PG programmes. Each department is free to do whatever it likes and this has affected the duration of programmes badly. There are some departments where students from 2 academic sessions earlier are not done with course work even though new students are waiting to start theirs.

ii. Lack of research infrastructure: UNIPORT is an old school and many of the infrastructure available to students for research are already old and mostly unusable. The library is not constantly furnished with new books, laboratories are in a mess, and the learning environment is not encouraging. Do not expect the best if you intend running a programme in UNIPORT.

iii. Corruption: Given the status of Port Harcourt as an oil city, this should come as no surprise to all. UNIPORT's staff members love money and will not hesitate to actively go after it even if it means extorting students. Many students have to pay their way through the programme before they eventually graduate.

iv. Nonchalance of staff: The staff members are not after student's welfare but theirs alone. Supervisors and course lecturers are lazy to the bones and contribute to the delay of students.

UNIPORT has many other problems but the above are the major ones. The school's management needs to step up its game and create a conducive environment for postgraduate research.

5. University of Abuja
The University of Abuja is a third generation Nigerian university which is located in Nigeria's capital city of Abuja. It is fairly okay for undergraduate degree programmes but has much to overcome if it is to take a lead in PG education in Nigeria. Many Abujalites prefer going to Nassarawa for PG education than UNIABUJA. Below are some of the issues it faces:

i. Lack of uniformity: Again, like the other schools, every department operates their PG programmes independently and the PG school does not enforce strict adherence to its calendar. Because of this, departments with lazy staff tend to delay students unnecessarily.

ii. Lazy staff: Many of the staff of UNIABUJA are unnecessarily lazy and not interested in work. They generally do not like students and treat them most as disturbances than students. Because of this, supervisors hardly graduate students on time as there are no deadlines for such.

iii. Exploitation of students: Given the fact that Abuja is Nigeria's capital, with a lot of politicians and their wards going to UNIABUJA, the general idea is that money flows in this school. The staff are always quick to remind students of that through some of their exploitative tendencies.

iv. Lack of infrastructure: The university is still undergoing development and because of that, students do not have access to research infrastructure needed to complete their programmes.

If the above issues can be addressed by the management of UNIABUJA, things will surely get better. UNIABUJA is strategically located in the heart of Nigeria and has the burden to serve as Nigeria's archetype of standard education save for the issues affecting its PG programmes.


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Apart from the top 5 schools in the list, there are also some other schools to watch out for in terms of quality PG programmes and duration of study. Like the top 5, these schools have issues that border on corruption, non-uniformity of calendar, nonchalance of staff, etc. They include:

6. Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State
7. Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, Oyo State
8. University of Maiduguri, Borno State
9. Benue State University, Makurdi
10. University of Jos, Plateau State

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From the above, it is obvious that many regional and "big" schools have a long way to go in standardising their PG programmes to world standard. The common issues that they face border on the inability of schools to fix and enforce a uniform academic calendar for PG programmes, the lackadaisical attitude of staff to work, lack of work ethics, lack of research infrastructure, and more. Many Nigerian schools do have access to online databases such as Ebscohost, Questia, ProQuest, etc; online and physical interlibrary loans; standard ICT systems; theses, dissertations, journal articles and book online repositories, among others. These are things that make PG programmes to run smoothly for the student. It is also to be noted that some forms of delays are caused by students who do not take their work serious. However, if the system is working well, unserious students will be sifted out with ease.

Let us simply hope and pray that Nigerian universities standardise their PG programmes and make it less frustrating for students. For those intending to go to the listed schools or those already there, do not lose hope. Do what you can and wish for the best. Some of you can even be the ones to start the change by writing to the Deans of the PG schools about your plight so that they can address them and make the system run smoothly.

- Iroro Orhero <literarymathy[at]gmail.com>

op remove olabisi onabanjo from the list......they have a very good calendar...

Statsocial:
Feel free to attend Babcock and CU. PG is top notch at both Universities

The NUC is only concerned with enforcing rules when it has to do with private school. The outcome is better standard.

Federal university of technology Akure shld top the list. They increase fee @ will and they don't care. The longer u stay, the more money u pay.

AleAirHub:
Op I taught you will not mention Uniport. .

UNIPORT is among the kings of terrible PG programmes in Nigeria. It can't miss a list such as this.

Please, if you can, edit your post and delete the original post.

ogapatapata24:
op remove olabisi onabanjo from the list......they have a very good calendar...

This is a list for postgraduate studies not undergraduate. They may have everything that can make it one of the best in terms of undergraduate studies but trust me, the PG school has a long way to go. Indicate if you are PG student and share your experience.

Ebonyi State University is the worst in PG programs in the world,M.Sc can take over ten years

fratermathy:
Even at Ilorin? Chai! Most rankings generally favour Unilorin though.

It is well with Nigeria. We have a long way to go.

that lady is wrong bro. You can't use just a faculty/dept to judge a whole school

OP is totally wrong. ABU being on the list is incorrect. the OP must have consulted lazy students in writing this list. Am not saying ABU is à perfect institution but it is trying. you can not make collusion based on anecdotal evidence. you have to come up with à list based on the number of PG student à university graduates compared to the number of intake.
Studies have shown that when students finish their course work they find it difficult to complete their thesis. That is why most people who travel out complete their study in good time because they have the time to study.
lastly i did my Msc in ABU and also doing my PhD. I completed my study within the stipulated time 24 months. After 4 years 60 of my class mate who have completed and passed the course work are yet to complete the study.
I dont know of other schools but based on first hand expérience i totally disagree with the OP

fratermathy:
No public university charges more than 300k for PG programmes with the average being 150k. Even at that, some schools break down this amount into semester-by-semester payments with the average per semester being 50k.

CU and other private universities charge much higher. However, their pay is worth it in the final run because students graduate as and when due and the lecturers are very helpful. The only downside to private universities' PG education is the bias and misconception that the degrees were bought rather than worked for.

Accurate.

GlorifiedTunde:
Do not say what you don't know Oga!

Olabisi Onabanjo just graduated hundreds of PG students out of which are over 40 PhDs.

The school currently has the 5th fastest academic calendar in Nigeria and it is the current best state university in Nigeria.

Since the new VC got in over four years ago, there has been no strike of any kind except the just concluded "national" warning strike by SSANU, NASU and JAT.


Get your facts right!

Don't say things based on sentiments Oga.

Undergraduate programmes are topnotch in almost every school I mentioned. You don't need to have strikes, or a fast undergraduate academic calendar for students to be delayed and stressed.

Again, more than 40 students graduating does not mean the programme is fast. Each of the 40 students may have spent an average of 10 years before that graduation.

Are you a PG student there? If you are, share your experience.

You did your best when you mentioned ABU but the gravity of what makes it a very terrible institution you did mention just one.

It must be of note that 60% of students that come to that institution dont graduate. They end up getting frustrated and dumping the programme further more the remaining 40% on average don't finish below 4years! Many 5 years and above...

They have this general mentality that your coming to take an Msc programme is to occupy the job market as lecturers hence they sniff the life out of you. It must be mentioned that out side the politics and religious undertone the institution benefits more from admission of students that end up frustrated after several years of school fees and none-completion of the programme amidst departments with incompetent lecturers or supervisors with little idea about a research topic - they would prefer you take up a research in some thing the feel you should do.

If you walk into most of their departmental Libraries you will be terrified the number of students admitted and the projects of graduated students in they library.

Further more there are departments considered as extra dangerious... let me leave others to mention them

AlMuflihah:
OP please add University of Ilorin at the very top of the list, the pg program is so terrible ug students and pg compete for lecture room, as a pg student you have restricted use of the labs, in fact everything is wrong with the whole system.
Its high time we stopped celebrating mediocrity, how do you expect someone to submit a good research thesis when you have to beg your supervisor to just take a peek at your work?

have you been to other faculties in this same school before you drawn your conclusion? This is not so in faculty of ARTS AND BSS. Undergraduates and postgraduates never competes for classrooms in both faculties because their lecture time never clashes. Please stop misinforming the public

elhafeez:
OP is totally wrong. ABU being on the list is incorrect. the OP must have consulted lazy students in writing this list. Am not saying ABU is à perfect institution but it is trying. you can not make collusion based on anecdotal evidence. you have to come up with à list based on the number of PG student à university graduates compared to the number of intake.
Studies have shown that when students finish their course work they find it difficult to complete their thesis. That is why most people who travel out complete their study in good time because they have the time to study.
lastly i did my Msc in ABU and also doing my PhD. I completed my study within the stipulated time 24 months. After 4 years 60 of my class mate who have completed and passed the course work are yet to complete the study.
I dont know of other schools but based on first hand expérience i totally disagree with the OP

As indicated in the introductory part of my writeup, I didn't only focus on duration only study but many other factors. When I was discussing ABU, I only highlighted intolerance of staff and too many bureaucracies. Even in the worst of schools, you still find a few students that graduate on time. That is a peculiar case and does not speak for the generality of the school's programme.

A standard school will have modalities in place to flush out unserious students who have failed to finish their dissertations and theses on or before the deadlines. At Ibadan and Lagos, more than 95% of the class graduate at the right time. Those that fall out are hardly given another chance and even when so, they utilise it well because the school follows a strict system.

So how exactly have I misjudged ABU when you have even revealed one of its problems yourself?

[quote author=drizzit post=54428319]Now OAU is just in a class of its own.... Imagine after several months of painstaking research and PG school wahala.... And a date was finally fixed for your project defense.... Only for your supervisor(s) to go on sabbatical for months amd you are left
hanging..... If that is not pain.... O don't know what is.... Twas an experience I wouldn't wish on my enemies.

MrRosh:
You did your best when you mentioned ABU but the gravity of what makes it a very terrible institution you did mention just one.

It must be of note that 60% of students that come to that institution dont graduate. They end up getting frustrated and dumping the programme further more the remaining 40% on average don't finish below 4years! Many 5 years and above...

They have this general mentality that your coming to take an Msc programme is to occupy the job market as lecturers hence they sniff the life out of you. It must be mentioned that out side the politics and religious undertone the institution benefits more from admission of students that end up frustrated after several years of school fees and none-completion of the programme amidst departments with incompetent lecturers or supervisors with little idea about a research topic - they would prefer you take up a research in some thing the feel you should do.

If you walk into most of their departmental Libraries you will be terrified the number of students admitted and the projects of graduated students in they library.

Further more there are departments considered as extra dangerious... let me leave others to mention them

Thank you for your wonderful addition. I must confess that my sources at ABU were very conservative with the truth. However I knew from the start that there was a problem because many of them were supposed to have graduated 2 years ago and these are quite brilliant lads.

Cc:
Elhafeez

OAU runs the most terribe PG programme in Nigeria....Form A and oda unimportant forms na die....If you wanna knw d ril meaning of PATIENCE, come to OAU.....the lecturers will tell you datz y d schl is gr8....Gr8 my foot