Prof. Solomon Akinboye, the Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, University of Lagos, on Wednesday made a startling revelation which is saddening about the depths to which tertiary education has deteriorated in the country.
At the same time, it reflects the mind-boggling efforts necessary to pull it back to its former preeminence.
Akinboye, the Dean of Postgraduate Studies, University of Lagos, said the inability of postgraduates students and researchers to write robust research proposals is a setback to adequate research and development funding in Nigeria.
The professor made the observation in an interview with newsmen in Lagos saying that aside from funding, one of the major setbacks for attracting stakeholders from within and outside the country is the postgraduates’ inability to write detailed and meaningful research proposals.
“The challenges of research and development in our university system is multifaceted.
“On the part of the postgraduates, they seldom avail themselves the opportunity of getting research funds by not doing the first thing first.
“So, many of them still lack the skill of writing very good and robust research proposals that can attract funding from within and outside the country. This is majorly what is lacking on the part of students,’’ the university professor said.
According to him, there is the need for university authorities to consider organising research proposal workshops for postgraduate students. Such workshops should be organised in collaboration with those with expertise in proposal writing that could attract research grant.
He suggested that such workshops should hold annually. The professor said that there was no way Nigeria could move forward without research and development, in terms of actualising all that had been put in place to reposition the country.
He said that many advanced countries of the world have gone very far in terms of achievement as a result of research. “So, we must ensure that we put our resources together to enhance productivity.
“We must also devise a means of ensuring that the bureaucratic bottlenecks that slow down the process are reduced to the barest minimum. In other words, let’s find a way of fast-tracking the process,’’ the don said.
Akinboye urged the government to adequately fund research to enable postgraduate students to engage in serious research works because without funding, no institution would grow.
“Funding is very essential in promoting research the world over. It is critical; it is of paramount necessity and indispensable.
“It is only when this is available for postgraduate students that they can engage in serious research. And any serious research requires serious funding.
“So, sometimes it becomes difficult for our postgraduate students to get the necessary financial support for their research,’’ Akinboye said.
The don, however, said that research grants would not come that easy because it is limited.
As suvh, there is the need for government to pay more attention to this area by investing hugely in the various universities.
Complementarily, Akinboye urged the universities to seek means of generating funds internally for the purpose of encouraging research and development.
-Vanguard