The Federal University of Technology, Akure, has called on Nigerian universities to prioritise quality over quantity in producing graduates, warning against turning higher institutions into “degree mills.”
The call was made on Thursday at the university’s 15th Registry Annual Lecture, where a Professor of English Literature and Literary Analysis at the University of Lagos, Hope Eghagha, delivered a lecture titled, “Quality or Quantity: Rethinking Higher Education Administration in the 21st Century.”
Eghagha said universities must focus on producing highly skilled and globally competitive graduates rather than merely increasing enrolment and graduation figures.
“Balancing the scale between educational expansion and academic excellence is the defining challenge of our time. In 21st-century Nigeria, the true measure of our universities’ success must shift entirely from merely producing large numbers of graduates to cultivating highly skilled, globally competitive professionals.
