Degrees Without Direction: The Manufactured Hardship in Nigeria’s Public Universities
Source: Pinterest Eniola Olagunju For many students in Nigeria’s public universities, education is not merely a pursuit of knowledge, it is an endurance test. What should be a structured journey of intellectual development has, in many cases, become a system that thrives on unnecessary hardship, outdated practices, and a troubling disconnect from real-world relevance. Across campuses, a culture persists; one rooted not in academic excellence, but in inherited struggle. Some lecturers, shaped by their own difficult experiences, replicate the same conditions for their students. In extreme cases, failure is not treated as an outcome but as a standard. Stories abound of lecturers who openly declare that no student will earn an “A” in their course, not due to academic rigor, but as a matter of principle. This institutionalized rigidity raises a pressing question: when does academic discipline cross into deliberate obstruction? A Culture of Intimidation and Withheld Knowledge In ...