Academic corruption is one of the most significant issues that have had a negative impact and has continued to contribute to poor quality of education in the University system.
Delays in PhD supervision has become a clug in the wheel of the progress of quality, world Phd candidates from the Nigerian university system. The experiences of postgraduate students, including those at the University of Abuja are not anything to write home about. This issue manifest in various forms and have had lasting negative impact on students, the university, and the academic system.
Though, there are different forms of academic corruption which includes but not limited to bribery and extortion whereby some supervisors or university staff demand financial gratification before approving research works or speeding up processes like proposal defense or final thesis review.
Some supervisors choose to favour some students in preference to others due to tribal affinity, religious affiliation and personal fraternity with supervisors or university officials, leaving others neglected.
In some cases, Supervisors fail to provide adequate support or even be absent for a period, leaving students without guidance.
Academic research is supposed to be original. But plagiarism tolerance has in some cases become the order of the day. In environments like ours where academic dishonesty is rampant, plagiarism may be overlooked, leading to the submission of substandard and unoriginal research.
Delays in PhD Supervision occasioned by administrative bottlenecks is also another challenge created by the system. This emboldens delays in processing key documentation like approval of research proposals, ethics reviews and examiners’ reports. This extends the time it requires to complete a PhD.
Issues raised through our investigation are the overburdening of supervisors with heavy teaching loads or multiple postgraduate students, which make them to struggle to provide timely feedback and mentorship. The University of Abuja as well as other Nigerian Universities need to reappraise these issues to ensure timely graduation of PhD students.
Moreover, most Universities are not clear in their academic guidelines and expectations: Lack of a clear timetable for research milestones, or unclear expectations from supervisors and university administration are rampant in the University system. There is no certainty as to the date of graduation.
A visit by our team of investigators discovered that in University of Abuja, for instance, particularly in the Arts and Social Science departments, some PhD students have had to spend upward of ten (10) years without the end in sight.
Some Supervisors use it as a bet, assuring students that they will never graduate except they meet certain pecuniary conditions before they can be let off the hook of the pursuit of a Phd.
Vice Chancellors should show personal interest on the activities and attitudes of supervisors. The inherent victimization towards the acquisition of a Phd in Nigeria is hazardous and the psychology injurious.
Today, students know when to go into the University but doesn’t know when to graduate.
Our investigation among University of Abuja Post Graduate students with emphasis on the PhD programs show that some of them have spent over 8 years in the program.
Abdul Rahman Sule, a PhD student said that he has spent 7 years in the program while Adetunji Sunday Olawale said that he is in his 9th year without any hope in sight because his supervisor is unavailable. He said what made her case worse was that the students had to pay school fees each academic session and with the present economic conditions its tasking to make such payments.
A PhD student in the English Department who would not want his name mentioned explained that he is in his 10th year of the program. He particularly blamed his Supervisor for his inability to conclude his Phd Program because his Supervisor is not always available. Whenever he is available, it takes him time to attend to his dissertation. He stressed that the delays are occasioned by extraneous demands by the Supervisor who would always not see any post graduate student without being offered something insisting that when they complete their academic Programs, they would be nowhere to be seen.
Another PhD student from Osun state, who prefers to remain anonymous said her Supervisor has already ruined her ambition to obtain a Phd as her office which gave her a 4 years study leave with pay, has cancelled the gesture because she has asked for the extension of time thrice and hasn’t still concluded the program. According to her, she is more pained by the insensitivity of her supervisor who went on Sabbatical Leave and refused to pick her calls. Ironically even when she visited him, he refused to look at her direction, saying that she had to wait till he resumes from the sabbatical leave. This is despite her offering him a token of gift. She further stated that some Supervisors see obtaining PhD as a lifetime meal ticket.
She said what made her matter worst was that she left other nearby Universities in her state to enrol in university of Abuja thinking that being an institution in the nation’s capital, it would have developed an academic culture that would enable students conclude their PhD programs at record time but the situation of PhD students in University of Abuja are worst than where she left.
Anselm Ekeanyanwu, another PhD student, said the challenge of unnecessary delays and drama in the conclusion of PhD programs at the University of Abuja stems from the behaviour and orientation of the Management of the University which allows supervisors to have a field day with PhD students. He suggested that the management of the University and other Universities in Nigeria should set a benchmark on the completion of PhD programs. Any supervisor who is unable to graduate a Phd student in a maximum of 5 years should be queried. In his submission, 5 years are enough by whatever standard to complete a PhD program whether in or out of the country. He said that the minimum number of years is 3 years, but an additional 2 years should be sufficient for both the students and supervisors (internal and external) to tidy up the loose academic ends to ensure quality and standards are not compromised.
Meanwhile, he called on the National Universities Commission, NUC to look into the penchant and recurring decimal of delays in the post graduate programs of Nigerian Universities. He described it as perennial and unfortunate and brings down the quality and standard of the products of Nigerian University post graduate system.
– Dr Onyekachi Njoku, A Public Affairs Analyst writes from Abuja.
