Quality of Education in Nigerian Universities

The Significance of Accreditation

Abstract

As the global need for higher education increases, measures continue to be needed to meet people's expectations for this level of education. Thus, this study determined how important accreditation is to the quality of higher education in Nigeria. It further discussed the role of accreditation on quality higher education under conceptual issues. The descriptive survey research design was adopted with a population of ninety academic staff who responded to the designed questionnaires to collect data on accreditation and quality of higher education in Nigeria. Frequency tables and percentages were used to analyse the data collected. The findings revealed that accreditation determined quality education in Nigeria’s higher education and that academic development programmes and capacity building for academic staff enhanced quality education. Thus, the paper recommended that periodic orientation be carried out on both students and the university staff since their responses influenced the educational system. In conclusion, the major constraint included problems of post-assessment exercise which might expose some of the schools that are used to borrowing facilities for accreditation. Hence, the study provided the best for the stakeholders to identify and prioritize capacity enhancement for quality improvement in higher education through the accreditation of academic programmes.