Poor-quality education worse than illiteracy – Afe Babalola

Legal luminary and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, has called for urgent reforms in Nigeria’s higher education system, warning that poor-quality education is worse than illiteracy.

Speaking at a High Impact Research and Journal Advancement Workshop organised by the ABUAD Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy, Babalola criticised the National Universities Commission (NUC) for its declining oversight in maintaining quality standards.

He said while the NUC was once known for its meticulous approval process for new universities, it has recently adopted an “anything-goes” approach, leading to a surge in substandard institutions.

“The focus now seems to be on quantity rather than quality. Universities are being licensed without adequate plans to monitor their standards. The result is the rapid decline of our education system and the quality of graduates it produces,” he said.

Babalola emphasised that the proliferation of “mushroom” universities, many of which hire underqualified lecturers and produce poorly researched publications, is a major threat to national development.

“We cannot talk about sustainable development or high-impact research when substandard universities dominate the landscape. These institutions churn out half-baked graduates who add little value to society,” he added.

He further criticised the federal government and NUC for failing to act on the growing number of illegal universities, now reportedly over 50.

In his keynote address, Prof. Peter Okebukola spoke on “Promoting High Impact Research Publications for Sustainable National Development in Nigeria”. He defined high-impact research as work that advances knowledge, influences policy, or drives societal change.

He urged stakeholders to increase funding, strengthen research capacity, and embrace open science.

ABUAD’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, reaffirmed the university’s commitment to democratising knowledge and empowering local research initiatives.

The Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation & Strategic Partnerships (RISP), Prof. Damilola Olawuyi, SAN, added that the workshop was designed to instill an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset toward research and academic publishing.