Private Universities and Development of Higher Education in Nigeria: A Mixed Methods Approach

Private university education is unarguably one of the growing trends in the education system in the world. Providing university education to citizens should not be the solitary efforts of government, but should be the responsibility of adults at all levels. The giant stride of private investment in the acceleration of university education in Nigeria is overwhelming. This paper examines the private university's contribution to the development of university education in Nigeria, focusing on the strengths, weaknesses and way forward. Basically, the purpose of the study is to highlight the areas where private universities had contributed to the advancement of university education. It carefully looked at the historical background, rationale and antagonists of private universities. Also, the paper examined the global trends of private universities. Methodologically, mixed methods approach was used for the study. Quantitatively, secondary data were collected and analyzed to establish the areas in which private universities contributes to the development of higher education in Nigeria. Qualitatively, interviews were conducted in two private universities, where teaching and non-teaching staff of the universities granted the interview. NVivo Software was used to do the transcription, coding and analysis of the interview. Findings from the two methods employed revealed that the importance of private universities cannot be under-estimated, it is akin to the advancement of university education in Nigeria. Conclusively, the activities of private universities would continue to play a positive role in ensuring that Nigerian university education is placed among the developed countries. Significantly, the study would assist private universities on how to improve their efforts for a better private university education so as to ensure quality service. Also, government should endeavour to assist private universities in the area of staff capacity building and infrastructure. Lastly, enabling environment should be provided by the government for more private investors to establish more universities in Nigeria.