The university system, social change and sustainable development in Nigeria

The educational system of any nation all over the world remains a strong determinant of the development of such nations. The secret of the high level of development witnessed in many developed nations in the world could be attributed to the success of their educational system, especially their University system. Among the various tertiary institutions, the effectiveness of the University system is essential in achieving national goals and objectives. The major functions of the university are to inculcate sound and practicable knowledge, undertake research and involve in community development. The achievement of these seems to remain a tedious task in Nigeria. The study seeks to examine the role or place of the university system in Nigeria as an agent of social change and sustainable development. The study adopts the system theory as its theoretical framework. The research is a descriptive-analytical one and it draws qualitative data derived from secondary sources. The content analysis was used as a tool for data analysis. Findings from the study reveal that the universities in Nigeria are still lagging, compared to other world-class universities in the world and it has not played the expected role of being a catalyst of social change and sustainable development due to many challenges bedevilling the sector. This includes among others, inadequate funding, inadequate qualified academic staff, and inadequate and dilapidated infrastructure. The paper recommends among others synergy between the university system and other sectors of the economy, including the private sector, merit should be the basis for recruitment, promotion of staff, and appointment of the management staff of the university, a special funding mechanism through taxation of telecoms companies to fund the university. With this, Nigeria will achieve the desired development.