Massification of University Education in Nigeria: Private Participation and Cost Challenges

Abstract

This study investigated the massification of university education in Nigeria as a result of the reforms in the education subsector that led to private participation in the provision of university education from 1999. The question of the study hinges on the percentage of access and if the increased number of universities has led to increased access. Using a checklist based on the objectives of university education and some policies of the Nigerian government such as sixty percent admission for science and technological based courses and forty percent for art and humanity based courses, the massification was examined in view of meeting the manpower needed for technological development of Nigeria. Suggestions were proffered on the inherent challenges of the massification of university education in Nigeria.