ASUU President Professor Emmanuel Osodeke raises concerns over the rising number of first-class degrees awarded by private universities in Nigeria. He warns this trend could compromise academic integrity and laments the decline in educational foundations, blaming primary and secondary schools for producing top graduates without sufficient knowledge.
Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has raised concerns over the rising number of first-class degrees being awarded by private universities in Nigeria. During an event at Delta State University (DELSU) in Abraka, Osodeke criticized this growing trend, which he believes could undermine the integrity of academic standards if public universities follow suit without proper regulation.
He expressed worry that the pressure to award more first-class honors might compromise academic integrity, resulting in inflated grades without a corresponding increase in actual knowledge or skill. Osodeke noted that the issue might extend beyond universities, pointing to the poor foundation provided by primary and secondary schools, which produce students with excellent grades but lack the essential knowledge and competencies required in higher education.
The ASUU president stressed that while the number of first-class graduates has increased in private institutions, the quality of education and the integrity of academic qualifications remain crucial for the credibility of Nigerian higher education. He called for urgent reforms to ensure that academic excellence is achieved through hard work and genuine understanding, not through inflated grading systems.
This development has sparked debates about the value of first-class degrees in Nigerian universities and whether the trend in private institutions reflects a larger issue of standards in the education sector.
