Poor research output bane of infrastructural deficit in Nigeria – Echono

Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, bemoaned the dearth of quality researches in Nigeria, saying it’s at the core of why meaningful development has eluded the country for long.

According to him, neglecting the impact of research in Nigeria’s national development dynamics is as a result of clear-cut philosophy and goal for sustainable development of the country.

He noted that conduct of research in the nation’s higher institutions has not been accorded the seriousness and attention it deserves, hence poor output.

Arc Echono gave the charge while delivering a keynote lecture at the 18th Convocation ceremony of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), in Enugu.

In the lecture titled ‘Education, Research and Human Development in Nigeria: The Challenges and Missing Link’, the TETFund Boss said,“Poor research output is a natural consequence of the absence of infrastructural facilities. Conducting research requires a conducive atmosphere or environment. In many institutions, basic infrastructure such as laboratories, instruments and equipment, internet connectivity are either absent or dilapidated. Similarly, the capacity of academics across higher institutions in Nigeria to carry out meaningful research is lacking.”

He lamented that many universities, polytechnics and colleges of education lecturers lack the basic ability, skill and motivation to carry out standard research in many fields. Hence they are equally handicapped to access any grants or research funds either within or outside their institutions due to lack of capacity.

“The situation is compounded by lack of credible and timely data, absence of legal frameworks for research, low uptake and implementation of research results, academic corruption including protracted supervision of postgraduate students and low computer literacy amongst scholars,” Arc. Echono lamented.

He explained that the missing link between education research and human capital development in Nigeria can be attributed to lack of effective interactions between the Academia (the University), Industry, and Government (the Triple Helix) to foster economic and social development, which contemporary globalised economies have embraced and applied to attain greatness through innovative