University Autonomy in a Third‐Generation University in Nigeria

Institutional Governance Structures

“…Integration among academic staff in merged institutions (Cai, 2006) The impact of neoliberalism on university management (Mok, 2010) Stakeholders' perceptions of national policies for internationalization (Cho and Palmer, 2013) The level of autonomy of the university with regard to the state (Arikewuyo and Ilusanya, 2010) n/a n/a The factors affecting the decision to merge among higher education institutions (Kyvik and Stensaker, 2013) Evaluation and accreditationquality assurance n/a n/a n/a n/a The implementation of systems for quality assurance (French et al, 2014;Shah and Nair, 2011) The board's role in quality assurance (Rowlands, 2012(Rowlands, , 2013a(Rowlands, , 2013c The implementation of systems for quality assurance (Askling, Lycke and Stave, 2004) The implementation of systems for quality assurance (Csizmadia, Enders and Westerheijden, 2008) The introduction of quality management (Papadimitriou, 2011) education laws across Europe provide for university boards with either external members only or a combination of internal and external members. There has been a gradual strengthening of the power of these bodies.…”

“…The only study from the African continent included in our review is an article by Arikewuyo and Ilusanya (2010). The issue of autonomy and interference is more direct than in many of the other studies, with descriptions given on the role played by nepotism in admission to universities, the dismissal of academic staff involved in strikes and the direct interference in university matters by political authorities.…”

The Erosion of University Freedom and Autonomy: Nigerian Experience

“…According to Arikewuyo and Ilusanya (2009) between 1992 and 1998, for instance, sole administrators were appointed for the following Nigerian universities: Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria (Retired General), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, University of Maiduguri, Ladoke Akintola University (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso, and Edo State University, Ekpoma. As a matter of fact, Babarinde (2004:26) captured the picture of Nigerian universities in this way: …the recent attack on the Nigerian intellectual community by the Federal Government of Nigeria through refusal to honour agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), support to the arbitrary sacking of lecturers at the University of Illorin, attempt to force arbitrary rule on universities through the Federal Government sponsored Autonomy Bill and when that failed, another attempt to jettison already passed and assented Bill which did not contain government positions.…”

The Challenge of Academic Freedom in the Nigerian University System

“…Each university has a governing council, which takes care of appointment, promotion and discipline of staff. Arikewuyo and Ilusanya (2010) have also observed that government in Nigeria does not often infringe on the power of the university councils to appoint, promote and discipline staff. However, there have been some cases, especially during the military era, when some lecturers were dismissed because the military felt they were not teaching what they were employed to teach.…”