CATCHMENT AREAS AND UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT

Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions are expected to play a pivotal role in the development of education in the country, and ultimately in national development. Recently the universities have been beset by a plethora of problems, one of which is the apparently simple but pernicious question of whether staff and students should be recruited on the basis of hiring quotas or by merit. Attempts to resolve the question has had dire implications for university governance and for the mission of the universities in national development. This is readily evident in the deployment of the concept of ‘catchment areas’, which pits ideas of equity in the plural society against those of efficiency and effectiveness. This study explores the problems associated with the emphasis on ‘catchment areas’ in the management of recruitment into Nigerian universities. The analysis points to the significant influence of factors external to the university system over its internal dynamics, with significant consequences for educational and national development.