Private varsities: Nigeria yet to meet UN requirement on expatriate

Nigeria is yet to meet the United Nation’s requirement for engaging expatriates as one-third of the number lecturers in private universities, says Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, Proprietor of Baze University.
Baba-Ahmed, who led a team of students from the institution to the UK, made this known during a visit to the Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK, Dr. Dalhatu Tafida, on Thursday in London.
He said that under the UN requirement for categorisation of universities, expatriates must constitute one-third of the members of the teaching staff among other criteria in order to be graded as a world class institution.
According to him, immigration rules have made it difficult for expatriates to lecture in private universities and that is responsible for the inadequate number of foreign lecturers in such institutions.
Under immigration rules, institutions must prove that expatriates are being employed because of the absence of Nigerian lecturers.
Baba-Ahmed said if such excuses were not sorted with the authorities, the development could constitute a major problem for the universities system.
He added: “Additionally, universities are made up of a large number of academic staff.
“So to attain up to 30 per cent of that will require a large number of expatriates to come in and that is what the Nigerian Immigration Service is finding difficult to approve.”
“We have permission to hire expatriates but given this challenge, we may not attain the 30 per cent ratio and at the moment Baze University has six Britons and we are expecting four Indians.”
The proprietor also said that the university has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of West Minster on exchange programme for students.
Responding, Tafida commended the university for its quality of education, and professionalism.
He said the decline in quality education was among reasons why parents sponsor their children to take advantage of Education Technology abroad.
He said: “If you translate the number and cost of Nigerians acquiring education in the UK, on each child thousands of pounds are spent.
“If we have good universities and no strikes, it will reduce the number of students coming to study in the UK.”
Baze University, which was established in 2009 with 24 pioneer students, now has over 600 students studying various courses.