The government of Nigeria recently initiated higher education policy reforms intended to bring its university
system more in line with international good practices. The reforms promote increased institutional autonomy,
greater system differentiation, strengthened governance, and mechanisms for quality assurance. They seek to
create a more flexible and responsive system of university teaching and research that, over time, will contribute
increasingly to national innovation capacities, productivity gains, and economic growth. This paper reports on
the current status of higher education in Nigeria and reviews the country’s new policy initiatives in this context.
The discussion gives particular attention to issues of access, teaching/learning, finance, and
governance/management.
Keywords: Educational policy; Development; Higher education; Nigeria
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